Top Card

Pinside rating

This game received 25 approved Pinsider ratings and currently rates 7.699 /10

7.699

Top 100 ranking

This game ranks #155 in the Pinside EM Top 100.



Score breakdown

Score breakdown in the 4 main categories:

Game Design: 7.713

Artwork: 7.889

Sounds/Music: 4.338

Other Aspects: 7.639


Pinside staff rating

None of the Pinside.com staff have rated this game. Sorry, no rating from us.

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Found 17 ratings (with comment) on this game

There are 17 ratings (that include a comment) on this game.
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8.021/10
1 year ago
As a drop target guy, I bought this game at an estate sale and really loved the targets and especially the layout of them. Challenging game now that I increased the slope on the play field to 6.3.
8.076/10
2 years ago
Great game. I love the 4 slingshots. Playing on 5 ball and getting all targets by ball 3 means lots of knocks are comin!
8.128/10
2 years ago
This game sat in my grandfather's outside storage area for my entire childhood. This game was the only pinball machine I got to play consistently as a child, for that reason it is special to me. It is a fun game still, but of course it seemed much more complex back in the 80's when I had to stand on his 5 gallon bucket to see to play it.
8.780/10
2 years ago
This is a game i never played on route in 1974 when it was produced. I got my driver license in 1973 and pinball took a back seat after that year. At a recent York PA show a long time collector of Gottlieb wedge heads from NY had a Top Card set up for free play and that's where i got hooked on wanting to add this title to my already 26 wedge head game collection.
This Top Card was in excellent working order with plenty of snap to it. After playing about 10 games i knew this Gottlieb wedge head was a exciting and sensational player in the wedge head series.

The three pop bumper arrangement is spaced perfectly for this wide open playfield design and allows a player to score on points, knocking out numbered stand up targets and cashing in on the star and stand up target Special for replays once the game sequence has been completed.

The lower playfield with the different side return out lanes which score special when lit and double sling shot kickers stacked above one another makes this EM silver ball speed quicker then most other wedge heads i have played or have in my collection.

The artwork is really cool with plenty of detail and attractive coloring and the cabinet artwork is a throwback to the 1960's wedge heads and looks like the King Of Diamonds cabinet in the colors red/white and blue.

I just picked up a very low played Top Card this weekend(9-28-13)from a local guy here in NJ that had the game since 1977.The playfield top arch is a dead give away without hardly having any wear at all proves this is a low played game for sure. I already have this game cleaned and shopped and will continue to fine tune and make it play like factory new soon like the rest of my wedge heads in my collection and will be posting pictures here on IPBD.

Can't wait to play a few games on my newly aquired wedghead after all this positive talk about this awesome player.
8.954/10
3 years ago
Excellent wedgehead.

This is the first game I ever repaired, so certainly have some bias, but it is a fun one. As an EM game, it isn't deep, but the simple yet challenging goal of collecting all the cards will keep you coming back once you give it a few tries. I have only rolled the game over once, but that was a great feeling.

Grabbing the Ace is tough, but the variable rollover scoring spices up what to shoot for.
7.071/10
3 years ago
Top Card is a great example of pinball art and play from this era. The card theme and backglass art are really well done. The value for the rollovers changes between 10, 100 or 1,000, so scoring is a bit volatile. For this reason, I keep the knocker and Specials enabled, as the primary satisfaction comes from the "free" game. I made the painful decision to sell mine to make space for other games, but I would own this again if the opportunity comes up.
6.142/10
3 years ago
Typical EM card themed game. Play field art is boring. Back glass has good artwork. Lights go out after hitting the targets. Complete all the cards on the play field. Nothing too exciting here. Fun for a couple of plays.
9.634/10
4 years ago
This is my favorite Short-track machine. This is a term that I use to describe a game where you don't need to think about much except avoiding the drain. You just shake, rattle, and roll your way through it, and attrition takes care of the rest. If the expression were not older than this game, I would think that it was the one that started the infamous, 'bouncing around like a pinball machine.' There is no lack of action, and no lull in the action, either. It is fast, and furious.

There is one catch. If you haven't hit the Ace target yet, you are aiming every single shot at it. Without that target, you are simply spinning your wheels, and you're not going to win games on score, and you can't win Specials because you can't light up the whole series. There are another two targets on the lower end, the 7 and the 8, but they are easily picked up. As far as the upper targets go, they are all spot targets, with posts on each side, which need absolute precise shots, if you're going to try and pick them off one-by-one. No need for such nonsense! Just aim at them in general, and use shaking and nudging to catch the rebounds off of the bumpers and posts, and they will ALL get nailed, eventually.

Once the series is complete, you light the Special, which stays lit for the rest of the game! The Special is scored on three different targets, (The tough to get Ace target, the center rollover button, and the inner lanes of the sideouts) and although only one of them is lit at any one time, you really don't need to 'aim' for them, just keep the ball in play, and they will come your way.

I'm not sure if it's a 15 game or a 13 game counter, but I've maxed it out MANY times, both in the wild, and at the Silverball in Asbury Park. Glory! Glory! Be careful though. The first time I played this at the Silverball, I was determined to turn it over 100,000, as nobody else had yet accomplished this feat. I spent six hours banging, shaking, and nudging this thing, and jammed both of my wrists, that I needed to wear Ace bandages on them for three days before I could move them properly again. Being that the spot targets are placed between those posts, there's a lot of crazy, hard, but controllable rebounding going on, which makes this machine just jump with action.

What I like best about Short-track machines, is that they usually don't burn you with the drains that come from poorly placed shots, and those poorly flipped slow rollers that you can see are going to make their way SDTM! Everything about this game is fast, fast, and fast! And how about those unusual sideouts? They LOOK like it will almost never go down the inner lane, but they seem to do so more than your standard ones. Another thing I love about this game, especially when they are lit for Specials!

Now if score is more important to you than game winning, they have you covered on that one, as well, with a gimmick that's as unique as the outlanes. The rollover values vary at 10, 100, and 1000, and change as you cross each one. So when they're at 1000, you CAN actually aim for them, if you'd like, but the only thing I aim at, in this game, is that Ace target. EXCEPT...

This is a neat little trick, that took me a while to figure out. There are three '1000 When Lit' bumpers. One is activated by the Ace target, Each of the others are activated by completing the full rack of left side targets, and the other from the full rack of right side targets. Only one of these will light at a time, even when all three are activated. As you rollover the buttons, there is a sequence of four possibilities. Step one is that none of the bumpers are lit. Next rollover will cause the one associated with the Ace target to light, provided that the Ace has been hit. Next rollover will switch it to the one associated either the right or left side target bank., Again, it will only light if that rack is complete.

Each bumper, in and of itself, is a clean shot, and an easy way to pick up 1000 points, which is a great return on a 100 K counter. So if you have only the Ace complete, only one in 4 rollovers will give you the 1000 opportunity. But if you have the Ace and a bank, you now have a 2 out of 4 cycle shot at it, and of course, when all targets are accounted for, and the Special is lit, you have the chance for that easy pick-up on 3 out of 4 cycles.

So there really is a lot going on, at all times, making this a FANTASTIC Short-track machine!
7.085/10
4 years ago
This game has a wide disparity in reviews that I think partly reflects how much time you have spent with it. Even simple games can keep you coming back if the really big scores are harder to obtain (in this case, hitting the ACE requires either really really good shooting or a bit of luck). This rates very high on IPDB (currently #4 EM). As a casual player, I am not sure why it rates that high.

From a visual aspect the backglass is extremely nice and reflects the theme beautifully. The playfield is more basic but still maintains the card theme. Overall, I think there are much better card themed EMs (Royal Flush/Card Whiz comes to mind of course), and the lack of drop targets doesn't help. I might feel differently if I lit the rotating specials in gameplay which I did not!
6.996/10
5 years ago
One of those 70s wedgeheads that is simply fun to play. I can see why it's in the ipdb top 10 although on first glance it looks like an average player from 1973. Following the trend from that era playfield art is geometrical and blah but overall a good looking vintage game. Nice and bright lit up in a dark room. Give it a go if you have a chance.
9.795/10
6 years ago
I was surprised to see this game rated so low that I had to rate it. The artwork and theme on this one player wedgehead are incredible, and the ruleset is so simple that is addicting: Light up all targets from 2 through Ace to then light the specials. One with skills can conceivably control the ball and hit all of the targets but the Ace. The Ace resides in a place above the pop bumper where you can't really hit it, so you have to rely on chance. My number 1 ranked EM of all time!
3.528/10
6 years ago
WARNING: Gottlieb Snoozefest. Lack of drop targets. Reliance on rollovers. Anemic playfield. Not for me. The game is an exercise in precision, as all of the targets can be hit from the flippers, leaving nothing to chance, which is a good thing. However, I personally obtain very little gratification from hitting a stand-up target. The backglass is a thing of beauty, and incorporates the card theme well.
7.489/10
6 years ago
An outstanding example of a gottlieb wedgehead..Super fun and challenging to hit the ace when you need it .. Bonuses make this game a blast to play and excellent art work on the back Glass..Great game to own if you can get it..
9.267/10
8 years ago
One of the best parts of Top Card is that you can get long play-times from each ball. Now at first you may say "well that means it's easy." I didn't say that. Top Card keeps you on your toes and the ability to effectively cradle, hand-off and complete skill-shots at the 13 stand-up targets (not to mention the 1,000 point Pop Bumpers when lit), is challenging for sure.

The game has classic "Card" themed artwork, fantastic chimes, and GREAT ball movement, thanks in part to FOUR slingshots.

The lone downside in my mind is that there's not alot of diversity when it comes to target-types. The game has 13 stand-up targets, 5 star rollovers (these advance from 10, to 100, to 1000 and back again throughout the game), and four rollovers at the bottom. A kickout hole or drop target (or several!) would have made this game even better.

Still, I find myself coming back to this game again and again. It's a very fun 3" flipper wedgehead!
7.089/10
10 years ago
some say this one is 'too simple' but I don't find it so - my favourite card themed game keeps me coming back for more - love the back glass art and the simple open playfield paint too - bump targets are a nice change from drops and the over all pink / yellow scheme when lit and waxed is a nice bright cheery change! Getting the 'Ace' card .. aka 'top card' is a thrill - great fun and another excellent GTB Wedge.
8.622/10
10 years ago
Don't be fooled by the surprisingly simple layout of this very addictive and fast game. The back glass zany and the artwork very appealing. You can get some very fast action from the pop bumpers and the outlanes can be very frustrating. I used to play this game for hours on end as a kid to the great satisfaction of the guy behind the bar.
7.958/10
11 years ago
Top Card is a surprisingly fast and challenging EM game.

The Pros:
Fast reactions and ball control is paramount with this design. Keep on your toes is necessary for you to stay alive on this table. Nudging and trapping skills are mandatory. When this table is set up for speed with fresh rubbers and touchy pops/slings... Zoom! Set this game to high tap and watch it fly.

The Cons:
Some shots have to be banked into or lucked into with the pop bumpers. I guess this is a skill as well, but that is part of what makes pinball... pinball. I thing drop targets would have been cool (at least 1 for the Ace!).

The Takeaway:
A really fun table from Jeff Brenner. He's only designed a few tables, but they are all players. Normally I would assume that this Gottleib game was a Krynski creation. When I stepped up to it, I thought this was a Krynnski design at first. Regardless of who designed this table, it is very nicely done.
There are 17 ratings (that include a comment) on this game. Currently showing results page 1 of 1.

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