Devil's Dare

The Devil pinball machine, designed by Tom Szafransky and released in August 1982 by Gottlieb (then a Columbia Pictures Industries company), is a fantasy-themed widebody four-player game with a notable technical distinction: it was the first game to run on Gottlieb's System 80A hardware. A confirmed 3,832 units were produced.

Devil's playfield is loaded with targets. It boasts three flippers, three pop bumpers, four slingshots, two spinning targets, two 5-bank drop target banks, a 3-bank drop target bank, twelve standup targets, a kick-out hole, a middle left-side kickback lane, a left outlane kickback, dual inlanes, and multiball - a generous feature set that demands quick reflexes and strategic thinking.

The artwork has its own colorful backstory. Artist Doug Watson's original backglass design was deemed too extreme by Gottlieb executives, who prized the company's family-friendly image; a second artist, David Moore, created the production painting based on Watson's design minus its 'naked green bat-winged babes', and the glass was used to showcase a new four-color printing process. The result is a vibrant fantasy-themed package that remains a point of interest for collectors of System 80-era Gottlieb games.