Gottlieb

Duotron

Pinside Rating

This game received 13 approved Pinsider ratings and currently rates 7.023 _/10

7.023

Top 100 ranking

This game ranks #262 in the Pinside EM Top 100.

Score breakdown

Score breakdown in the 4 main categories:

Game Design: 6.441

Artwork: 7.823

Sounds/Music: 4

Other Aspects: 6.886

Pinside staff rating

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

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Found 11 ratings (with comment) on this game

There are 11 ratings (that include a comment) on this game.
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8.579/10

32 days ago

DLK

TheUnitedEggs

Pinside member

Modesto, CA

<1y 11,000 8

Me and my dad's first machine. The whole reason we got it is because we thought it was a good quality game by online photos, videos, and reviews. Once we had it in our house and played it, I felt it all was proven correct. While not the most elaborate of games, it does have a nice ways rule set, but being as old as it is has that difficulty level to keep you wanting to play, play again.

8.895/10

1 year ago

DPG

ChefGuilbert

Pinside member

South Kingstown, RI

7y 22,750 1 5 6

This game is pretty old. However, in my opinion its a very fun EM game that is significantly underrated. It's a lot of fun to play and has many challenges. By reading the other ratings, it scored low on sounds/music which is dragging the score down but since it's an EM game, it doesn't have a lot of sounds other than bells, etc.

ChefGuilbert currently owns this game.

7.378/10

3 years ago

???

Jugglebug65

Pinside member

Fresno, CA

6y 24,900 7 13

Overall play is pretty good. Artwork is excellent!

6.707/10

5 years ago

DEM

Brutilus

Pinside member

5y 28,550 61 24

This is the first, and so far only, machine that I've ever bought. I've been puttering with it on and off for about 12 years. When it has worked, it's been passably fun. I think I've enjoyed it more when I've been working on it than playing it. It's a fairly pedestrian table, but still fun.

Brutilus edited previous rating on January 31, 2019.
Brutilus has owned this game in the past.

7.065/10

5 years ago

???

Mikelondon

Inactive member

London, ON

5y 11,750 5 6

The game is nice to play ....
Fun but i wish it had flip down target's
It has hit piont that are nice to go for and a
Roll over hit ball that fun to get.....
I wish the back glass had more lighting in it...
But very nice art work........

Mikelondon has owned this game in the past.

5.541/10

6 years ago

SDJ

SergioJ

Pinside member

11y 57,050 507 44 28

See my rating for Magnotron for comments.

3.638/10

7 years ago

PDK

Ravennapin

Inactive member

Ravenna, MI

7y 26,750 9 4 7

So I bought Duotron as my second machine, after Far Out, another Gottlieb from the mid 70s. Big disappointment. There is so little to do on the playfield except to knock the trapped center ball back and forth which racks up an inordinate amount of points compared to the other elements. I have 6 pins and this one gets played the least by far. I think if you are not a player but just want a pin for your man cave it is ok, but you will grow tired of it right away.

Ravennapin has owned this game in the past.

6.860/10

10 years ago

MAT

MArmour

Pinside member

Woodstock, GA

10y 26,900 169 5 11

My first machine so I am a little biased. It for sure is easy to drain on but I found it fun. Hitting the captive ball and the saucer is fun but you get more points keeping it in the bonus kickouts on the left and right upper parts of the PF.

I love the theme and the art on the backglass is cool. Overall it delivers what I expect from an EM.

MArmour has owned this game in the past.

7.419/10

10 years ago

LJH

GreyScale

Pinside member

Lawrence, KS

11y 66,150 398 244

(Simply copied over my Magnotron review. It is pretty much the same game, just with 2 players)

Love the backglass and cab artwork, one of the best done by the legendary Gordon Morrison. Game is a an absolute drain monster, learn to nudge or get ready to accept short ball times. Saucer and the Bonus Booster can be tough shots to make, very high risk but the payoff is nice especially if the saucer is up to 5,000. Lot of luck involved in this one. The kickers and the gate are a nice touch.

GreyScale edited previous rating on August 21, 2014.

5.885/10

11 years ago

TAR

pinwiztom

Pinside member

Salem, OR

11y 116K 8,953 311 18

Very blah playing game. Ball always seems to hit posts and not targets. NO flow at all.

3.466/10

11 years ago

ZUL

Caucasian2Step

Evil McBooty

12y 163K 1,455 51 1011

Duotron is a game that was a lot more fun when I was a kid.

The Good:
Incredibly detailed artwork by Gordon Morrison. The Robot on the BG looks like he is going to swallow you whole.

The Cons:
The saucer seems to be more luck than skill making this shot as well as the captive ball horseshoe that builds the scoring here an almost non-factor in this game. Too much risk, not enough reward for the middle 1/3 of the PF. One of the worst playing Gottleibs to ever be produced. Surprisingly, the games I played seem to score best when I could get the ball into the top kickout holes to add bonus as well as scoring pts. These are luck shots, possibly bounced into the kickout lanes from the bumpers, not skilled snots. Playing this game it makes you wonder what was going through the mind of Ed Krynski, if it was the bill of construction had been too high at Gottlieb or if it was a matter of he just got tired of using drop targets. I wonder if they even play tested this deck.

The Takeaway:
This could be a fun game, but can be a matter of luck as compared to skilled shots. Luck if you land the saucer. Lucky if you get a bounce into the top kickout lanes. This game needs fresh rubbers and wax, but you may ask yourself... why bother?

1

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