F-14 Tomcat

F-14 Tomcat, designed by Steve Ritchie and released by Williams in March 1987 on the System 11A platform, is one of the best-known combat-themed games of the solid-state era, with a substantial confirmed production run of 14,502 units. Ritchie also conceived the game and contributed to its music, with art by Doug Watson, software by Eugene Jarvis and Ed Boon, and sound work by Bill Parod and Chris Granner. According to Ritchie, he and his brother Mark Ritchie provided the game's voice work.

Gameplay is fast and intense: four flippers, a pop bumper, two slingshots, twenty standup targets, three ball kicker lanes, a spinning target, a vertical upkicker, and a 4-ball multiball. The game's signature device is the 'Jagov Kicker', which Ritchie describes as a first-ever kickback that fires the ball straight back at the flippers at very high speed; he also credits F-14 as the first game with 'Autosave', returning the ball to the player after premature drains. Speech features prominently, reinforcing the fighter-jet theme.

Visually, the game is topped by three rotating beacon lights on the backbox - so bright on early examples that their domes, along with the clear flash lamp domes on the playfield, were changed to red during production. With its speed, its firsts, and its unmistakable presence, F-14 Tomcat remains a favorite among System 11 collectors.