Hannibal

Hannibal is a historical-characters-themed, solid-state electronic (SS) whitewood prototype designed by John Trudeau for Mylstar Electronics, Incorporated (operating under the Gottlieb trade name, 1983-1984). It was never placed into production, and the playfield was later stripped and no longer exists.

The widebody machine's centerpiece was a pair of positionable slingshots on the upper playfield -- an experimental two-position assembly that could rotate to a flatter angle, intended to keep the ball semi-captive against a bank of drop targets and sustain the action, though they only kicked in one direction. Trudeau later noted the mechanism didn't actually make much practical difference to gameplay. The game also featured four flippers, three pop bumpers, four slingshots, a 5-bank drop target, and four stand-up targets.

Trudeau's own recollection of the theme is playful -- "bring on the elephants, try to get over the mountains" -- evoking Hannibal's historic crossing of the Alps. As with several of his prototypes from this period, Hannibal survives mainly as documentation of an interesting mechanical experiment rather than as a finished, released product.