Space Orbit!

Space Orbit! is a 1972 electro-mechanical add-a-ball machine manufactured by Renato Montanari Giochi (trading as R.M.G.) of Bologna, Italy. Rather than an original design, it is a close copy of Gottlieb's own 1972 add-a-ball title of the same name -- a common practice among European manufacturers of the period, who frequently adapted successful American games for local markets. Notably, the relay hardware on Space Orbit! is actually stamped 'Gottlieb,' while the coils are branded to the Italian manufacturer, underscoring how directly Montanari's games reused genuine Gottlieb parts.

Gameplay is built around an outer-space theme, with two flippers directing the ball among 3 pop bumpers, 2 slingshots, 7 standup targets, 6 star rollovers, a vari-target, and a kick-out hole. The maximum displayed score is 1,999,990 points, and the game announces play with three chimes and a knocker rather than electronic sound.

As with many machines from this manufacturer, some design elements were inherited from Gottlieb's originals without full functionality -- the playfield's cardholder includes an oval viewing window intended for kick-up-ball games, a feature this particular model does not have, and it lacks lamp sockets for an illuminated ball-in-play display even though holes were drilled for them. On at least one surviving example, the 'WOW' feature was found inoperative due to components that were apparently never installed at the factory. These quirks make Space Orbit! an interesting case study in how closely -- and imperfectly -- some European manufacturers replicated Gottlieb's designs.