Dark Rider

Dark Rider is a 1984 conversion kit from Geiger-Automatenbau GmbH of Germany, designed to convert Bally's 1979 'Star Trek' into a new fantasy-themed game. It's a four-player solid-state machine running on the Bally MPU AS-2518-35, with only 150 units confirmed produced.

The game's most striking feature is its backglass, a mirror-image copy of fantasy artist Frank Frazetta's famous 1973 painting 'The Death Dealer.' All of Geiger's conversion kits, including Dark Rider, were illustrated by artist Michele "Mike" Martinelli, according to information later confirmed directly by Mr. Geiger, who also clarified the kit's 1984 production date (having previously been listed as 1985).

Gameplay includes two flippers, three pop bumpers, two slingshots, a 4-bank of drop targets, five stand-up targets, two star rollovers, a kick-out hole, and a free ball return lane. As a conversion kit built on an existing Star Trek cabinet, Dark Rider let operators refresh older machines with striking new fantasy-themed artwork and a fresh layout, a common and cost-effective practice among European pinball distributors in the 1980s.