Contest

Contest, designed by Wayne Neyens with artwork by Roy Parker, was manufactured by D. Gottlieb & Company in October 1958, with a confirmed production run of 1,100 units. This 4-player electro-mechanical machine came from Gottlieb's celebrated late-1950s period, and its backglass carries the company's famous slogan: 'Amusement Pinballs, as American as Baseball and Hot Dogs!' A similar playfield layout can be found on Gottlieb's 1-player 'Rocket Ship' (1958) and 2-player 'Atlas' (1959).

Contest boasts an impressive array of features. Players enjoy four flippers, while two pop bumpers, two passive bumpers, slingshots, three standup targets, two gobble holes, two rollunders, and a roto-target all contribute to a challenging and engaging gameplay experience. A clever touch: playfield inserts near the flippers light up when high roto-target values come around, so players watching the flippers know exactly when to shoot.

The game's match feature awards one replay per player whose score matches at game end, with an operator-adjustable option awarding ten replays when both 1st and 2nd or both 3rd and 4th players match. The maximum displayed score is 1,999 points per player, and a tilt ends the game entirely -- a stern penalty typical of the era. With Wayne Neyens' design and Roy Parker's artwork, Contest is a fine representative of Gottlieb's golden age of electro-mechanical pinball.