Five Star Reserve
About This Machine
The Five Star Reserve, produced by D. Gottlieb & Company in July 1938, is an electro-mechanical (EM) payout machine from pinball's pre-war era. Payout machines dispensed coins for winning play, placing them closer to gambling equipment than to the amusement pinballs Gottlieb would later become famous for - a reminder of how varied the coin-op industry was in the 1930s.
Very little is documented about this single-player machine's specific gameplay features, artwork, or designer, leaving enthusiasts to imagine what made it tick. Its interest lies less in technical detail than in what it represents: a period when manufacturers like Gottlieb produced both amusement and award-paying games as the industry, and the laws governing it, were still taking shape.
The Five Star Reserve remains an enigmatic piece of pinball history. For those who seek to understand the pioneering and experimental spirit of 1930s coin-op design, it is a curious machine to explore.