Ace High

Ace High is a playing-cards-themed pinball machine designed by John Trudeau for Premier Technology (which produced games under the Gottlieb trade name) - but it never made it to production. According to Trudeau, the single-level design was built into a whitewood, played, and approved, and was scheduled to follow Premier's 1985 'Rock' into production as model #700.

Plans changed when Trudeau designed Premier's 1986 'Raven', which introduced an up-down ramp and a second playfield level; Raven was judged the stronger product to release first, pushing Ace High back in the schedule. Once ramps became the new standard, Ace High was shelved again in favor of Premier's 1986 'Hollywood Heat', and it was never manufactured.

As a design that exists only as an approved whitewood prototype, Ace High is a notable "what if" in Gottlieb/Premier's history - a single-level, playing-card-themed game caught at the exact moment the industry was moving toward multi-level, ramp-driven playfields.