Stargate is a lot of things, and a lot of people praise it for the rules, theme etc.
For me Stargate is the antithesis of fun; it may be the least fun machine I've ever played. Hated it new out of the box, it hasnt got any better.
Not the most popular view

I had one for three months and couldn't wait to get rid of it. All the shots feel clunky. Nothing organically flows. Cool features, but didn't feel right. Dunno how else to say it. Pretty easy to service the game.

Get one for $2250 or less in good shape and give it a spin. If it doesn't float your boat, pass it on.

I own one. Best Gottlieb for sure. Some good rules. Does have a little of the Gottlieb clunk to it, but still a solid game. Give it a shot.

I'll offer a competing opinion. I like the game for a few reasons.

There's a lot of challenge. Many ways to earn points and after years of playing mine there's still many levels I can't reach (yes, I'm not the best).
Loads of modes, hard as heck to hit some of the skills when you need them.

Very good light shows (I really like Sandstorm).

Call outs are horrible... "Shoot the pyramid" will haunt your dreams but I think you can make it so it does not call so often.

Cool toys. Lots of multi-balls. Some gimmies if you are really bad but it makes it fun for the kids when they can't hit anything.

My 2¢.

It's a fun game it's now one I would consider owning as it seems to be an easy simple pin.

I've seen one for sale on Craigslist in Northern CA. It seems like it would be worth checking out but the title makes me unsure. It's an obscure title (although top 100) that would seem difficult to sell if you didn't like it. Assuming the one on CL is in good condition, the asking price is just above the estimated value on pinside.

I agree it will have the Gottlieb feel. Easily their best all around dot matrix game. Artwork and play. Value wise I think it is a good value at under $2.5k. It’s a better game than that, IMO. If you have a lineup of other DMD games and want some diversity this would be the best Gottlieb to add.
I like the play, like the light show, isn’t the hardest game to play and is rewarding when the glider comes out. I do agree that the standard system 3 call outs will bug you, shoot the ... I think just about all system 3 games have these. All Gottlieb production rates compared to WPC and DE, and recently Stern are low, so kinda rare. So if you have one in your lineup it will be something not everybody has. Again, at the listed price I think it is a good value. If the game was made by DE or WPC it would be worth 2x this value.

This era of Gottlieb's flippers are kind of ridiculous...it makes the games too easy IMO. You can cradle anything, it removes much of the finesse in flipper skills and while many are good pins it usually keeps the fun short lived for me (love playing them elsewhere, but with very few exceptions I'm done bringing them home). That said, I consider Stargate easily among the top 20 I've owned (around 70 total) and I'd take it over at least half of the pins ranked above it in the top 100.

Never saw the movie so not sure how the theme translates, but it's a good looking pin and just flat out fun to play. Hit your shots and it flows very well, which is strange to say considering it's a mostly a stop-and-go game. Hate the flippers, LOVE the game.

*disclaimer - I own and love both Genesis and Bad Girls, so take my opinion for exactly what it's worth

It was good when I was a beginner back in the day. It's easy and you're rewarded pretty early in gameplay. It's one of the best games for kids since they can be taught to get multi ball on plunges. Fun for novice but can get boring for intermediate to advanced players.

Stargate is an excellent game, loaded with options, great rules and an awesome theme. You can adjust flipper travel, out lanes, pitch, etc to make this a very challenging game, it is not a children's game. I disagree with many posts here.

Gottlieb System 3 is probably the most robust and reliable system ever designed in pinball, they dont fail often aside from wear and tear or battery issues. I would highly highly reccomend Stargate to someone purchasing a pinball, one of the best value to quality purchases out there, it has something for everybody.

I wouldn't hesitate or listen to a grouch like TheLaw , this game is great! One of the best bang for buck pins out there.

We all know you're a dumpster diver of shit games
You're like 1 notch up from Whysnows rankings!

Did I ever tell you how much I love you?

Is it fun? Yes it's a very fun game. Is it a Bally/Williams or modern Stern? No it's not. Is it for the seasoned competition player? No it's not.
It has simple rules with a good bit of stuff to do. Easy multiball and a lot of them. The Shoot the pyramid does get annoying but you can reduce this.
Had my first one for about 5 years then sold it. A year later I was on the hunt for another one. I've had that one for 10 years now and no plan of selling it.
One thing that needs done right away is to buy Gottlieb system one coil stops for it. They will reduce the flipper travel that everyone complains about. To use the system one stops. You just have to drill out their mounting holes a little bigger.

I think it’s fun and different. A little flawed (like most of the Gottlebs of that era) but it actually feels very ambitious. You can see they were really trying to make something special.

Stargate is fun to play

I owned mine six months. That was enough to appreciate the effort they put in the machine and get frustrated enough to sell it. The flippers killed it for me. It seemed I had to fight making shots. I rebuilt the flippers but the snappynes and ball control of a stern or William's machine just wasn't there. Not a fan of the wider les pointed bats. Even toyed with changing them to stern assemblies but in the end sold it.

Go and play it, if you like it buy it, don't let other people make up your mind for you.

Here is a little tip for everyone complaining about System 3 flippers. This has been fairly common knowledge for at least the past 20 years but I'm sure a lot of the new crowd missed the memo.
Replace the coil stops with system 1 coil stops. This does several things to the flippers. It shortens the travel length to about the same as WPC games.
By shortening how far the flippers move it will:
A) eliminate the supper easy ball catch/cradling.
B) Decreases travel time of flippers both power and return strokes. Less time for flippers to move to complete a stroke gives it a more snapper response.
C) Gives it more power to make those super tall ramps.

Hmm. I wish I knew this when I owned Stargate.

Get a one in decent condition and at a decent price. Have some fun. Improve the game so that it is better then you received it. Sell it/trade it, to get another game. Sounds like the hobby to me

It would easily be my desert island machine. Its the only game that I own that has that "Just one more game," effect on me.

Eh, the pot calling kettle black...

I really like the theme. Enjoyed the movie and the series. But, the sound is terrible and will keep me from owning one. If pinsound ever supports Gottlieb and the music and sounds can be replaced, I'd be interested.