Swashbuckler

The Swashbuckler, manufactured by Recel S.A. of Madrid, Spain in 1979, is a solid-state (SS) single-player machine built on the Recel System III platform. Its Historical Characters theme draws on swashbuckling adventure -- the flyer references D'Artagnan, the historical basis for the famous character in Alexandre Dumas' The Three Musketeers.

The machine's most distinctive mechanical touch is its open-elbow right inlane, which lets the ball pass between the inlane and outlane and back again, adding an unusual and somewhat unpredictable wrinkle to ball control. Gameplay is built around two flippers, two pop bumpers, two slingshots, two kick-out holes, a vari-target, and a spinning target.

Recel produced Swashbuckler for export markets, while its sister company Petaco released the same game domestically in Spain under the same name. No designer is credited in IPDB's records. As a Spanish-made machine from the late-1970s solid-state era, Swashbuckler is a relatively unusual find outside continental Europe, though claims about its broader recognition or acclaim can't be confirmed.