Cheetah

The Cheetah pinball machine, designed by pinball pioneer Harry Williams and manufactured by Stern Electronics in June 1980, is a notable widebody entry from the solid state era. Its flyer boasted that it was "the first pinball game ever to have the innovative 'Add-a-Balls' feature giving player up to 5 extra balls on a single play" — according to the manual, extra balls stack this way when the Special feature and Score Thresholds are set to award extra balls.

The Cheetah's jungle fantasy theme is paired with a busy widebody playfield. The machine features three flippers and an array of targets, including a 5-bank of drop targets, three 3-banks of drop targets, three spinning targets, a standup target, and a horseshoe lane, plus a middle-right kickback lane and dual inlanes on both sides. Players can also engage three slingshots and three pop bumpers, and the displays can show up to 9,999,990 points per player.

With a confirmed production run of 1,223 units built between June and November of 1980, Cheetah is a relatively uncommon machine. It remains an intriguing piece in any pinball collection, offering a glimpse into Stern Electronics' output during the solid state era.