Close Encounters of the Third Kind

With Gottlieb having been acquired by Columbia Pictures in the late 70s, it only made sense that the company would create a machine based on one of their biggest films. Designed by the experienced EM-era pinball designer Ed Krynski, the main gimmick of Close Encounters is the roto-target that can be hit from either lower flipper. The rotating target contains various point values that can be multiplied with the help of the drop targets, and stars that increase the end-of-ball bonus multiplier. Two versions of this machine exist, the solid-state version in this collection, and a much rarer one that uses electromechanical scoring reels in line with earlier Gottlieb pinball machines.