Star Gazer

The Star Gazer, manufactured by Stern Electronics in August 1980, is a four-player solid state electronic pinball machine with an astrology/horoscope theme, designed by Brian Poklacki with artwork by Gerry Simkus.

One of the standout aspects of Star Gazer is its gameplay layout. The machine features two flippers, three pop bumpers, two slingshots, three 3-bank drop targets, three spinning targets, and twelve stand-up targets, one for each Zodiac sign. Rather than side lane flipper feeds, semi-circle concave scoops feed each flipper, adding to the game's challenge. A notable feature is the vari-value system on the top left drop-target bank, which locks in a value for the adjacent spinner while giving an inverse value for clearing the rest of that bank.

Simkus's backglass and playfield art depict a woman surrounded by Zodiac imagery; notably, an early production quirk saw a tassel detail rendered inconsistently between the backglass and playfield art across different production runs, apparently a design goof corrected partway through the run. With 869 confirmed units produced between August and November 1980, Star Gazer remains a distinctive example of Stern's astrology-themed solid-state output.