Alligator

Alligator, designed by Ted Zale with artwork by Jerry Kelley and manufactured by Bally in June 1969, is a four-player electro-mechanical game built around one of Zale's signature innovations: zipper flippers, which close together to protect the center drain when triggered. Alligator is the German-market version of Bally's 1969 'Gator' — according to a collector account, the German importer chose the name because 'Bally Gator' on the backglass would have sounded strange to German players of the era.

The playfield carries classic late-1960s Bally hallmarks: two zipper flippers, three pop bumpers, five mushroom bumpers, three slingshots, and three ball return gates offering multiple pathways back into play. The maximum displayed score is 9,999 points per player, with a replay wheel that displays up to 25 replays.

With its aquatic alligator theme, Ted Zale mechanics, and Jerry Kelley art, Alligator is a characteristic example of Bally's inventive EM output of the period, and its German-market history makes it an interesting variant for collectors — the manufacturer even produced its backglasses in both crystal glass and Plexiglas.