Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Close Encounters of the Third Kind, designed by Ed Krynski with art by Gordon Morison, was released by Gottlieb in September 1978, shortly after Gottlieb had been acquired by Columbia Pictures. It stands as one of the early examples of movie-tie-in synergy between a film studio and a pinball manufacturer, leveraging the cultural phenomenon of Steven Spielberg's sci-fi film released the year before.

Gameplay on Close Encounters is marked by a challenging and dynamic layout, featuring two flippers, a slingshot, two pop bumpers, and an array of targets including three roto-targets, three standup targets, a 5-bank drop target, and a spinning target. The end-of-ball bonus and replay wheel (maximum 15) add to the machine's depth, while the maximum displayed score of 199,990 points per player offers ample incentive for high-scoring players.

Gottlieb offered operators a choice between EM chimes or an optional System-1 electronic soundboard, a feature also seen on other Gottlieb EM games of the period. With 470 confirmed units produced (479 including additional records), Close Encounters remains a notable and collectible example of Gottlieb's late-1970s EM output and an interesting artifact of early film-to-pinball licensing.