Gottlieb

Black Hole

Pinside Rating

This game received 274 approved Pinsider ratings and currently rates 7.854 _/10

7.854

Top 100 ranking

This game ranks #110 in the Pinside Pinball Top 100.

Score breakdown

Score breakdown in the 4 main categories:

Game Design: 7.955

Artwork: 8.308

Sounds/Music: 6.713

Other Aspects: 8.031

Pinside staff rating

This is how we, the very knowledgeable (wink wink) Pinside.com staff & moderators rate this game. 7 of us have rated this game.

7.414

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Found 152 ratings (with comment) on this game

There are 152 ratings (that include a comment) on this game.
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9.495/10

6 years ago

GAR

Cherga

Inactive member

6y 50,550 332 16

Classic machine that is very challenging. Overall a fun and difficult game to master. Descending into the lower level via the gravity tunnel is always fun. Shots on the lower level are tough and unforgiving. My only complaint about this game is difficulty in repairs and keeping it running but once all the recommended ground mods are done along with the addition of the pull-up resistors, particularly on the lower level, the game can be made to be rock solid.

8.446/10

6 years ago

???

pinballjames

Pinside member

10y 27,800 76 5 10

Excellent machine. Very, very challenging. Hard to get Multiball.

8.549/10

6 years ago

XQZ

douggalecawitz

Pinside member

Naperville, IL

11y 62,900 45 85

Total classic and among the best of it's era. Black Hole with that subterranean level that obsessively must be gotten to. The speech sounds like a garbled Stephen Hawking but then again that's fitting given the nature of the theme. I could play this for days. Great to practice on Pinball Arcade virtual recreations because you can get plenty of practice in on the lower level playfield so that you aren't thrown off when you get it on the real machine.

douggalecawitz edited previous rating on June 18, 2021.
douggalecawitz has this game on the wishlist.

9.091/10

6 years ago

ZAP

zahner

Pin-a-Go-Go

Fair Oaks, CA

10y 81,800 1,098 6 16

One of the most difficult games to consistently master. Very decent player with surprising varied tasks to complete. With refurbished boards or Pascal's or perhaps other aftermarket replacements, a solid and challenging pin.

zahner has owned this game in the past.

9.068/10

6 years ago

MLP

tabascoman77

Pinside member

6y 46,150 4 110

Black Hole was another machine I discovered playing virtual pinball and had the pleasure of finally playing in real life at last year's California Extreme. The game is deceptive in that it feels simple but takes skill to truly master. It has a really cool retro space theme that reminds one of Disneyland's Space Mountain (and even has this cool "humming" soundtrack, reminiscent of the main loading room at Space Mountain, that plays as you play) and a really deep blue color scheme which looks even cooler in a dark room. The main gimmick is the upside-down mini-playfield below the main table where you accumulate points in the "black hole". Very cool idea that inspired several modern tables including "The Twilight Zone" and "Congo". The only con I can think of is that the ball feels like it moves too slowly even when you give it a good whack with the flippers. The main bumpers and pins are also stretched out too far on the board so there's a distinct lack of targets to hit. No ramps, either, but that's not really much of a complaint. The table is very fun to play. This is far better than "Haunted House" because it keeps things simple. I will probably take some heat for that but it's true.

tabascoman77 edited previous rating on August 06, 2017.

8.499/10

6 years ago

IAN

icallison

Inactive member

Seattle, WA

11y 22,750 1 101

I have only played this on location, and never in tournament, but I love how challenging it is and how often I end up swearing and berating the machine with insults. ( I would never hit a pinball table...) But I keep coming back for more abuse from this difficult machine.

8.723/10

7 years ago

APD

twinankhs

Twinankhs

San Jose, CA

7y 18,000 8 4 15

This is my #4 Favorite game, I am trying to find one of these at a reasonable cost. I am having lots of fun with this on Pinball Arcade. I would like to find one near San Jose to play...

twinankhs has this game on the wishlist.

8.985/10

7 years ago

S V

solarvalue

Pinside member

11y 107K 3,514 8

One of the best early 80s games.

7.611/10

7 years ago

SAM

Samerica

Inactive member

7y 19,650 11 6

Classic Gotlieb...The Black Hole!!
A great game, I am constantly challenged at trying to achieve multiball at this game.
Sometimes it can be tough, but also very rewarding! Definitely this game was ahead of its time with the lower playfield when it was released. Very unique, very cool. If you are into the older classic games of the early 80's this game is a must have.

4.941/10

7 years ago

DRW

Lithonion

Pinside+ Frequent

9y 63,300 267 6

Like every rating it is all on the player. Some like a certain pin while others don't. This is one of those that I don't. I have played this one quite a few times but I just couldn't get into it. The only real cool feature is the second play field and the back glass. Other than that I found this game very drab and annoying. The background sound of the same 8 or 10 tones looping over and over, the screech during the multi ball is enough to drive you insane. I do like the artwork and the back glass is really nice. That is about it. A pin I will never have in my home.

6.789/10

7 years ago

MJS

Matesamo

PinballRI

Warwick, RI

7y 117K 1,292 112 1

This table is just to bare for my tastes, the secondary reverse table is neat but everything is a long shot on top. One of those tables that I never see anyone play on league night.

7.296/10

7 years ago

WPG

guymontag451

Wedgehead

Portland, OR

13y 92,800 1,006 25 170

A classic gottlieb pin. The animated backglass is stunning, and the crude sounds are great. The game is built around the under playfield gimmick and it serves to keep you coming back to it well enough. Although it's big brother Haunted House is a much better overall game. Black Hole feels like a warm-up for HH.

9.560/10

7 years ago

MAT

rattmuscle

Pinside member

Honor, MI

8y 35,600 102 18 9

For early SS pins, this one knocked it out of the park for me. Do ground mods if not done! Very hard to get multiball. Mine is on 5 ball play and will hand most folks their tail! Set pops to sneeze sensitive and it gets the ball flying with the asymmetrical layout of the game. Artwork fits well. Better than HH for me.

rattmuscle currently owns this game.

8.215/10

7 years ago

???

danske

Inactive member

Reims

8y 24,250 2 11 15

my only gottlieb but the best for me !a really good multiball with a huge atmosphère!
I'm fond of it..it's a drug captive ball...

danske edited previous rating on May 15, 2016.
danske currently owns this game.

8.291/10

8 years ago

TAM

tamoore

Pinside member

Grayling, MI

11y 123K 6,661 37 58

I really don't care for the early solid state pinball era much at all. It's my least favorite pinball time period for pinball, where the layouts were largely uninspired, the rules just slightly better than EM's, and the sounds were really bad...

The guys who did Black Hole got it right, however. It is wide open, but really fast, there is a lot of sling and pop bumper action along with pretty clear objectives that are pretty hard to complete. The lower playfied just pushes the whole package over the top, and makes it one of the best solid state games ever made.

I'll expand on this review at a later date...

- I got a request to expand on my review, so I will now -

It's a great looking and playing game, well ahead of its time. Multiball is really hard to achieve so it's a treat to finally get it and it is crazy to have the balls going on both levels. The sounds and lighting are good and fit the theme really well. A couple years back I thought I was going to have to trim from 30 games down to 9. Black Hole was one of the games I was going to keep. I recommend this game, even if you don't really care for the era the game comes from.

tamoore edited previous rating on January 01, 2018.
tamoore currently owns this game.

8.227/10

8 years ago

TBK

xTheBlackKnightx

Pinside member

8y 128K 4,097 137

"Re-entry attempt has FAILED".

One of the best known Gottlieb System 80 machines for a number of reasons.
Absolutely the "Number One" of all the Gottlieb System 80 machines of the entire series.
Set the new standard for cost per play, which was 50 cents at the beginning.
The game before "bulletproofing" was a real PITA for operators, which is the other reason for it being notorious.
The tube kicker was poorly designed, and the improper grounding on all System 80 machines caused coil shorts.
It can be a hard machine to work on as well in regards to lower playfield, as the it is not operator friendly, and the lower playfield essentially has to be removed from the cabinet to be properly worked on, trying to "flip it up" does not work out real well...
It is a tight fit into the cabinet either way, and alignment is very important, or the ball is not going to make it back up to the top playfield.
Owners you probably already understand.
If you do not, there is your simple technical tip for the day.

Very challenging to maximize score multipliers.
Very challenging game for high scores.
Very challenging to achieve proper multiball.
The shot to the lower playfield through the spinner is always satisfying.
The game as large as it is is very fast especially with the rebound kickers and seemingly overpowered pop bumpers on "super power" voltage setting.
If you rate this game less than 6.5, it probably because you just completely terrible at playing pinball.
Improve your skills, and give it a try in a few years, you will find you were mistaken.
If you cannot find a real machine, use Pinball Arcade, it is $5 title.
This will increase your "pinball IQ" for next to nothing in cost.
Most new players have a love or hate relationship with this machine, mostly because they do not understand the ruleset.
The flipper on the upper left side is IMPORTANT to scoring and multiball.
Learn how to USE IT.

Artwork for all areas is superb (backglass, playfield, and cabinet).
Rotating disk in the backbox with double mirrored backglass and lighting is hypnotic.
Ruleset is SOLID for the era.
The reverse flipper lower playfield design was innovative as used, it was not just a "gimmick", it set new standards.
Contender for many modern machines even today.
Better than 80% of all modern Sterns.
A "keeper" for every collection, as long as it maintained, corrected and if you like the era.

6 Pinsiders starred this!

9.246/10

8 years ago

SCC

mrgone

Pinside member

Casper, WY

12y 119K 5,181 4 54

want to be a better player? black hole is a game that will challenge you. you will become a better player just by spending time on this game. its fun and not the usual layout for its time.

2 Pinsiders starred this!

5.207/10

8 years ago

YOS

Yoski

Pinside member

Sebring, FL

9y 88,150 456 17 133

Another impressive looking Gottlieb machine of that era which wasn't all that much fun to play. The double flipper on the right doesn't do it for me. If you lose the ball on the lower PF it drains into the right outlane. WTF?? Other than that you have a 2 target banks in the upper PF to aim for plenty of pop bumpers and a captive ball. Poor flow and a poor layout just didn't do it for me, sorry.

7.180/10

8 years ago

AMK

OrdealByFire

Inactive member

New Baltimore, MI

8y 23,650 57 43

Another difficult table, I nearly scored this one a little higher. Black Hole is a table that was a first for many things, including being the first fifty cent pinball machine, and the first with an inverted table within the table. With Black Hole, like many older machines, there isn't any type of story line. This table has a lot going on. Not only because it has a second table that can be played on (and, needs to be played on), but because it's just a very, very fast table. When you get the ball shot up and bouncing off the side panels and bumpers, the ball moves really fast, and you really need to be alert to prevent the ball from shooting itself right out of play. This table took me a little while to get used to, and I'm still not completely comfortable with it, as it's a bit intimidating. Your best bet at getting a high score is to, simply and probably stupidly put, fling the ball towards the top of the table and let it bounce around to trigger multipliers and the like. After that, it'd be wise to try locking balls, and taking the ball to the second table to work on what ends up being your bonus, as there's no other bonus applied after your ball's lost. Black Hole is an intriguing table due to the added inverted playing field, and super fast game play, both of which also make the table more difficult and more fun to play.

8.988/10

8 years ago

DJB

brenna98

Pinside+ Frequent

Wind Point, WI

10y 132K 2,245 59 54

This is a very fun a fast widebody game! The 3 multi-ball is one of the hardest accomplishments in pinball; and very exciting when it happens.
What I gathered from this game is that you need to wrack up multipliers and open the drain gate before entering the black hole. Then just stay in there as long as you can.
The downside is that the system 80 Gottlieb games need a lot more attention to get everything working right or you need to buy expensive aftermarket boards to fix issues. Either way, it is time consuming and can be expensive. I do not recommend this game to anyone new to pinball, unless all of the bulletproofing has already been done.
Overall, its a great game and I'll be keeping it around for a while.

brenna98 has owned this game in the past.

7.096/10

9 years ago

KL

knockerlover

Pinside+ Frequent

9y 126K 2,002 39 1

I love playing my black hole, but I can see why people don't like it. The 4-target bank that needs to be completed is very difficult to hit on purpose, and the shot geometry could have been a little better here. It's a critical part of the game to get the top playfield captive hole lit. Frequently it requires shots to be taken off the very tip of the flippers where the accuracy is extremely variable. Often times a direct hit will also mean a rebound down the left outlane also. I've noticed with the game on 3 ball the targets you have hit will stay unlit after a drain, however on the 5-ball setting they are all reset.

It's cruel that if you manage to get the targets lit for captive ball, and actually capture a ball (which isn't too difficult to do). The ball ejects. However, captive ball does stay lit so you can have another go.

The lower playfield captive hole is always available which is a bonus, and this captive hole is a pretty easy shot. It's somewhat challenging however to complete the banks to allow for reentry to the upper playfield without draining.

The bumper on the left outlane is pretty brutal, if you manage to get caught in this trap it almost always ends in a drain.

I love the playfield artwork on this, and given that its 33 years old it's relatively timeless as it doesn't look nearly as dated as some other games of this time. The rotating black hole in the backglass is a huge draw for this game.

The repetitive "music" is terrible, thank god it can be turned off on the sound board with a simple dipswitch setting. The speech is definitely from the 80's however, the speech on a speak and spell from the same time is better in my opinion. Sometimes the words are a little hard to make out, and there is very little variation in what is said.

For someone who enjoys a challenge, (i.e. 75-100 games before you get your first multiball, and even then you might drain it). This is a great game. It will definitely improve your shot accuracy and nudging skills, as they are essential to getting high scores. However, if you get frustrated easily or this game will be mostly for children I don't recommend it. I see this as a cool collectors piece, and can definitely be reconditioned and modded out to look amazing.

6.003/10

9 years ago

QRK

Deez

Pinside+ Frequent

12y 139K 6,783 13

I borrowed one of these in really nice condition from a fellow pinhead. I couldn't get rid of it fast enough. The game is such an incredible bore. I don't get what people see in it. I tend to like all eras of games, especially early SS, but this title didn't click with me.

Pros:
One of the most amazing backglass art packages. Absolutely gorgeous.
The layout is really cool and really flings the ball wildly around the playfield.
Love the double flipper layout at the bottom
Sounds are really well done and match the theme very well
Cons:
The multiball is so hard to get and when you do it tends to drain super quick
I hate how you lose your ball if you don't drop the targets on the lower PF. I think this is just super cheap.

Overall I just find the game to be like a hot girl with no personality. It looks really pretty but deep inside it's just an empty box.

8.357/10

9 years ago

CEN

ulysseslions08

Inactive member

Unknown

12y 22,000 1 72

This is the first game that I have purchased. Purchased from Dr. Scott in 2011. This is the first game with a basement sub-level. Activating the multi-ball function is one of the hardest systems I have ever played. Fun wide body five ball game, and, owning a Gottlieb feels like owning a Rickenbacker; it's just cool.”

ulysseslions08 currently owns this game.

7.086/10

9 years ago

K K

snowvictim

Inactive member

Warsaw

9y 66,050 549 4 29

For an early alphanumeric game, Black Hole is a really simple and yet good game (the only Gottlieb I can say so for).

Pros:
- 6 flippers!!!!
- easy, but great shots
- second playfield is wonderful (reversed angle!!)
- "No one escapes the Black Hole", somehow love that line
- really gives off that space-theme
- personally, I love the artwork on this game, truly a work of art

Cons:
- there's not much going on on the playfield (easy shots, lots of empty space)
- not much lighting

7.886/10

9 years ago

SDC

Archytas

Pinside member

Kettering

10y 76,150 285 1 152

One of the better Gottlieb solid state games, you can see why it was the first game to demand a higher price. I enjoyed finally getting to play a real one which was a blast. Fantastic theme and lots of fun, just shows its age really is my only gripe.

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There are 152 ratings (that include a comment) on this game. Currently showing results page 3 of 7.

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