Diamond Lady

The Diamond Lady is a notable entry in Premier Technology's late-1980s lineup, released under the Gottlieb trade name in February 1988. Designed by Jon Norris with artwork by Constantino and Jeanine Mitchell, sound by Dave Zabriskie, and software by John Buras, this four-player System 80B game carries a cards-and-gambling theme, with 2,700 units confirmed produced.

The playfield rewards strategic play. It features two flippers, three pop bumpers, two slingshots, six standup targets, two spinning targets, two 5-bank and one 4-bank drop target banks, a left outlane kickback, a drop target between the flippers, and a 2-ball multiball. Five standup targets hide behind drop targets, and the game's signature scoring mechanic doubles the player's score for hitting all Diamond drop targets without knocking down any Spades - rewarding precise shot placement. A shortened shooter alley feeds the ball onto the playfield at the right flipper inlane.

The presentation has its own distinctions. The translite is a combination of hand-drawn artwork and photography, and Diamond Lady introduced a new backbox design with extended side panels, relocating the score display and speakers to the top of the backbox. Designer John Trudeau has noted that Diamond Lady, Premier's 1987 'Victory', and 1988's 'TX-Sector' were the only games to use Vitrigraph playfields, a process he believes Premier alone developed. The woman who modeled for the flyer and backglass also appeared on the flyer for International Concepts' 1989 'Night Moves'.