The Best Corsair

The Best Corsair, manufactured by Europlay of Italy in 1976, is an electro-mechanical (EM) Add-A-Ball machine with a pirate adventure theme. Rather than an early example of EM technology — EM pinball had been the industry standard for decades by 1976 — it represents a late-era EM design from a European manufacturer, arriving even as solid-state machines were becoming dominant elsewhere.

The gameplay on The Best Corsair is built around two flippers, two pop bumpers, a 4-bank of drop targets, a standup target, a kick-out hole, and a roll-under spinner. Its backglass displays 'Ball In Play' rather than 'Balls To Play,' aligning it more closely with Gottlieb's 1976 replay game 'Buccaneer' than with Gottlieb's Add-a-Ball 'High Seas' from the same year, even though its playfield design resembles Gottlieb's 1976 'Surfer.'

The Best Corsair's design and artwork, credited to Michele 'Mike' Martinelli, evoke a sense of adventure and piracy, with nautical symbols and colors featured throughout the cabinet and playfield. No further information is available regarding additional trivia surrounding its creation, but as a European reinterpretation of contemporary Gottlieb designs, it offers an interesting glimpse into 1970s Italian pinball manufacturing.