Black Jack

Black Jack, designed by Jim Patla with artwork by Dick White, was manufactured by Bally in April 1977 as an electro-mechanical (EM) two-player machine with a cards/gambling theme. A four-player solid-state version of the same game followed in 1978. Only 120 units of this EM version are confirmed to have been produced, making it a scarce find today.

Gameplay features two flippers, three pop bumpers, two slingshots, four standup targets, a spinning target, a kick-out hole, and an end-of-ball bonus - typical of Bally's EM designs of the era, emphasizing physical interaction with the game over complex electronics.

Little specific trivia is documented about Black Jack beyond its technical specifications, but its low production numbers and the existence of a later solid-state sibling make it an interesting artifact of Bally's mid-1970s EM-to-SS transition period for collectors of electromechanical pinball.