Buck Rogers

Buck Rogers is a solid-state pinball machine released by Gottlieb in January 1980, running on the company's System 1 electronics platform. Designed and programmed by John Buras with artwork by Gordon Morison, this four-player game brought the classic science-fiction hero to the playfield during the space-themed pinball boom of the era, and it sold well, with a confirmed production run of 7,410 units. Interestingly, according to the Gottlieb Engineering Game Cards, the game (Model #437) went by the name "Par Four" prior to production.

The playfield offers a solid variety of shots: two flippers, two pop bumpers, a slingshot, a 4-bank of drop targets plus two 2-banks, a standup target, a vari-target, a kick-out hole, and a messenger ball - a captive ball that the player strikes with the ball in play. This mix of target types gives players multiple strategic paths to build their score.

Gordon Morison's artwork brings the outer-space fantasy theme to life with vibrant, futuristic designs across the cabinet and backglass. As a well-produced System 1 title with a broad feature set, Buck Rogers remains an appealing example of Gottlieb's early solid-state output for collectors and enthusiasts.