Cybernaut

The Cybernaut, designed by Greg Kmiec with artwork by Doug Watson, was manufactured by Bally Midway in May 1985. A solid-state electronic four-player game with a confirmed production run of just 900 units, it comes from a lean period for the pinball industry, which makes surviving examples relatively uncommon.

One of the key features that sets the Cybernaut apart is its playfield design, which includes three flippers, a single pop bumper, four drop targets, and a kick-out hole. The upper right playfield ramp with three targets provides a satisfying scoring path, while the left ramp sends the ball through an elevated tube to the right-side lane, adding an element of surprise and flow to gameplay.

The machine's sleek, futuristic aesthetic evokes a sense of high-tech excitement fitting its name. The Cybernaut also has an unusual production quirk: it has been reported factory-issued with any one of three different MPU boards (6800-, 6802-, and 6803-based), a consequence of key components for Bally's original MPU design becoming discontinued after nearly a decade of use. It uses the AS-2518-45 'Cheap Squeak' sound board, and was also produced in Germany under license by Bally Wulff in 1986. These details make it an interesting study piece for collectors of mid-1980s Bally solid-state games.