King of Diamonds

King of Diamonds is a four-player, solid-state "retro" reimagining of Gottlieb's 1967 electro-mechanical original of the same name, produced by Retro Pinball LLC of York, Pennsylvania between 2010 and 2012 - the only game the company ever manufactured. A confirmed 55 units were built (5 sample production games plus 50 numbered regular production games), following two earlier hand-built prototypes that led to Gottlieb granting a license in 2009.

Gameplay includes two flippers, three pop bumpers, two slingshots, and carousel roto-targets, paired with a mechanical backbox animation in which playing cards drop down. A single set of score reels serves all four players: as each player is served the ball, the reels smoothly and silently rotate to display that player's accumulated score from the previous ball, with the active player indicated on the playfield back panel. The playfield art is applied as a mylar overlay rather than silkscreened directly onto the wood.

Because only the first nine production games carry plaque numbers matching their actual place in the production line - buyers thereafter could pick any available number - King of Diamonds has an unusually well-documented and quirky production history for a modern-era pinball machine, making it a notable entry for collectors of small-run retro titles.