Gottlieb

Central Park

Pinside Rating

This game received 30 approved Pinsider ratings and currently rates 7.581 _/10

7.581

Top 100 ranking

This game ranks #175 in the Pinside EM Top 100.

Score breakdown

Score breakdown in the 4 main categories:

Game Design: 7.556

Artwork: 7.963

Sounds/Music: 2.148

Other Aspects: 7.441

Pinside staff rating

This is how we, the very knowledgeable (wink wink) Pinside.com staff & moderators rate this game. 1 of us has rated this game.

5.985

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Found 24 ratings (with comment) on this game

There are 24 ratings (that include a comment) on this game.
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4.636/10

21 days ago

VEE

Veemonroe

Pinside member

London

3y 62,800 300 8 190

Played at Pinfest 2024 in Daventry, UK.

I really don't understand the modern appeal of pins like Central Park. There's a massive flipper gap and a huge hole in the middle meaning it's largely dependent on nudging and, even then, you've got to be careful to avoid a tilt. Short version, there's definitely skill involved but your score is also heavily based on luck.

The monkey and artwork were also super-creepy. Not sure why, though.

Central Park was next to Capersville and I couldn't believe they were released in the same year (1966). Capersville had a controllable 2-ball multiball, a different 3-ball multiball, a further advanceable 2-ball multiball AND zipper flippers that you could shoot to line up your all-important multiball shots. In short, Capersville was - by contrast - a very skill-based pin. So, designers could create pins that weren't a cr*pshoot back in 1966, but they didn't bother with Central Park.

9.841/10

1 year ago

HEY

EMjr

Pinside apprentice

1y 14,150 28 1 9

Tough game and fun! Initially I was like ‘meh’ but then after playing some more I was hooked. The monkey is a hoot and the bell is worth the quarter. Hope to get one of these soon.

EMjr edited previous rating on August 27, 2023.

6.447/10

1 year ago

AJR

T1lt3dR0ll3r

Pinside apprentice

1y 19,150 2 6

It's clear that this table has a bit of that ancient gambling DNA, as it feels a lot more luck based. The flippers, which are labelled as if they're a novelty, are also very small, as their form hadn't quite been standardized yet. As EM tables were before the big boom of pinball's complexity, the layout is simplistic. However, if you know what you're doing, the extra balls are really easy to get. The best part? The monkey ringing the bell every time you get 100 points. It gives a dopamine boost to my pin head, and I love it. I live for the bell-ringing monkey in the backglass.

8.529/10

3 years ago

EH

Mcrics

Pinside member

Lincoln, NE

4y 29,400 17 8 7

Straightforward rule set to increase value of the front-and-center targets, which are risky in any case. Who doesn’t love a monkey?

Mcrics edited previous rating on January 12, 2022.
Mcrics currently owns this game.

5.960/10

3 years ago

EJH

ehex9

Pinside member

Saint Albans City, VT

4y 46,650 5 6 179

Hurdy Gurdy add a ball version. It's OK.

8.640/10

3 years ago

VCP

Vic_Camp

Pinside member

Clifton, NJ

12y 103K 1,870 44 28

Played this in the candy store just 50ft from my house growing up in Newark NJ back in late 1960's. This game stayed on location for a while there because it was hard to win free replays on and a real money maker. Nice theme and great back glass artwork including the animated monkey ringing the bell. The tilt bob must be set up lower for home use so that the player can be allowed to shake the ball free from going out. I like having the side sling shot kickers a little higher up towards the middle of the playfield which makes for some wild ball bounces and also can be kicked back up to the top of the playfield to knock out numbered stand up targets 1 thru 10. Here's a nice feature maybe you players out there don't know about...After a player gets either 1 thru 5 or 6 thru 10 targets out to light SPECIAL a player is awarded a free replay every time after they again knock out the numbered stand up targets 1 thru 5 or 6 thru 10. One of the harder games to beat on high score consistency, especially if the game tilts to easy because the tilt bob adjustment is set to high. Again you won't be getting both SPECIALS lit that often but when you do it's quite easy to hit the Stand up target for a multiple replays. Players must know the correct shot for making top rollovers 2 and 4 or 5 and 7 to help advance to light SPECIALS. Lots of good skilled flipper shots throughout playfield and a friendly set up between flippers with those diamond shine look metal posts blocking the ball from going out. The cabinet paint design is done in the American red, white and blue which was one of David Gottlieb's favorite color combinations as seen on many of the 1960's wedge heads. This games makes you want to play it over again because it's challenging, hard to beat and super fun, especially when you can beat it good. Another must have wedge head in your collection. I've got one! Do you?

Vic_Camp currently owns this game.

7.566/10

3 years ago

BCH

Shijuro

Inactive member

4y 25,650 11 6 6

I've had this machine for almost 50 years. It's not deep by any means: increase the value of the two targets then bang them repeatedly.
The artwork is very nice for its day, and the monkey on the backglass will likely be the cause of my death one day. The monkey's head was snapped off when we got it but we shrugged and played the machine. When I grew up (?) I sought out a replacement and excitedly put it in, Central Park finally restored! It snapped off again within the first few games. I checked the mechanism, adjusted it to ensure that the monkey would not impact any area of the playfield, padded it slightly (out of sight) with a bit of foam, and installed another monkey. It snapped in the same way almost immediately.
It's a simple but fun machine despite the suicidal monkey on the backglass.

Shijuro currently owns this game.

8.045/10

5 years ago

JRB

Atari_The_Jedi

Pinside member

Spanish Springs, NV

7y 45,050 136 5 86

This is the game I love to hate. It's so freaking hard and that Paul drains on me all the time but I keep wanting to play it and see if I can do better. So I guess it's great for the wrong reasons

7.296/10

6 years ago

WXW

Lawlor_and_Order

Pinball 518

8y 81,400 38 112

I am not fond of symmetrical games as a rule, but this one manages to get some extra mileage in part because of the 1-10 advance-value schtick. It's a throwback, or maybe a late version of, the non-Italian layouts with short flippers and house-ball-happy outlanes, but instead of just rewarding UTAD there's a balance between making the skill shot to light the green or yellow bumpers (or both if you magically get the ball back up there, which is hard) and taking your points in bigger droves by hitting the lit standups in the lower playfield. Yes, nudging is a necessity, but the flipper pattern you have to employ is quite different from a modern game and you can get very good scores with some practice if you practice the tap-over pass-to-post necessary to get controlled shots, in lieu of being able to do catches most of the time. It's sort of hypnotic when you get it going.

That said, I prefer the add-a-ball version, Hurdy Gurdy, which for a home use machine has more rewards by being able to extend the game indefinitely (a replay on a free play machine isn't as much fun as it used to be in the arcade). For that reason it gets a slightly lower rating than Hurdy Gurdy.

5.577/10

7 years ago

MJH

TimeBandit

redshiftLED.com.au

Sydney, Oz

11y 159K 5,511 3 65

Listen very carefully..You must nudge. Forget trying to tame this beast with flippers. Without nudging this is basically a pachinko machine. Nudge well and prosper.

9.100/10

7 years ago

ZUL

Caucasian2Step

Evil McBooty

13y 163K 1,456 51 1034

Central Park is a classic wedgehead from Gottlieb. It looks, sounds, plays and feels like a pinball game from the 1960's should.

The Pros:
A great layout with a flipper layout that looks deadly, but once you get used to it, makes all of your nudging a skillful part of your pinball game. Great skill shots from the top mean that you have to do less work than you should in just a few shots. Good action and points in the pops are where this game is at. Learning how to REALLY nudge makes this game sing. If done well a ball will rarely go down the middle lanes between the flippers and many balls can be saved from the sides with judicious manipulation of the table. Believe it or not, this game is very safe once you know how to work it. Monkeys ringing bells are way sweet!

The Cons:
The center targets are VERY dangerous. Even at a high value of 50 pts or a special, I stay away from them. This is too bad, because they are front and center... but it is what it is and there is more to do on this game than straight up and down shots.

The Takeaway:
A game that is best described as hard to difficult by most players. However, if you really learn how to nudge this table, it will shine and all of the sudden you will find those nudging skills transferring to your more modern game skillset with the quickness. Play on, experiment with this table and learn from a game like this simply because it will force you to play differently and in the long run, play better!

So, ya wanna play with my monkey?

2 Pinsiders starred this!

6.721/10

8 years ago

CPI

cait001

Pinside member

10y 114K 4,966 37

This game needs to be modded for home use: make the Special also reward 50 points. If not, you're just racking up free games when it doesn't matter, and not getting points for all of your hard work.
Central Park is all about the upper playfield. Far more points to be had at the lit bumpers than making the risky standup targets.
Still lots of fun, and who doesn't love that dang monkey?

2 Pinsiders starred this!

3.851/10

8 years ago

RAT

FatFoxcoon

Inactive member

Lenexa, KS

8y 16,000 3 11

this is another of those old games where they where trying to find the right idea on how to make it interesting, unfortunately this one fails miserably to make it interesting. the play field is quite buig but the flippers are ever so tiny and you have like 4 slots other then between the flippers for the fall to go down the drain so it makes it very hard to keep the ball in play.

There's no music at all just the basic old pinball sounds and the bell that rings every time you hit 100 points. That bell gets old fast. it's an odd layout to. Not really bad just not very good. If the flippers where normal size it might be a bit better.

Also the graphics are kind of creepy to me, I mean I know it's from really far back but the people just creep me out for some reason. but thats not a factor in why I dislike this machine. Mainly the flippers are to bloody tiny!

8.628/10

9 years ago

MAS

Swainer80

Pinside+ Frequent

Ballwin, MO

11y 88,800 924 32 28

A classic Gottlieb wedge head. Kind of a typical generic theme but the play and rules are what make the game work. The rules of the game are simple (hit upper targets 1-5 or 6-10 to advance point value for center targets) but mastering and getting the point value up for the center targets is the challenge. If that wasn't enough, the center targets carry a high risk/reward factor. Sure you can try to keep the ball in the upper playfield and slowly score points but the money shots are the center targets (up to special per hit). A challenging game with that "just one more" factor.

Swainer80 currently owns this game.

7.477/10

9 years ago

AMK

OrdealByFire

Inactive member

New Baltimore, MI

9y 23,650 57 43

Central Park has a certain charm to it... it's just entertaining old school pinball. Something about this machine just makes me happy, which is strange, because this is an incredibly difficult table to play if you aren't very good at table bumping. What's great about Central Park is that when you get on a roll, you can earn yourself quite a number of extra balls. On my highest scoring game on this table, I believe I got something like five extra balls on top of the five you get when you first start the game. No, this isn't a deep game, but if you're looking for some basic (albeit difficult) pinball, this is a great option.

8.463/10

9 years ago

MLF

stashyboy

Pinside member

High Falls, NY

11y 92,050 2,674 15 44 1

I prefer 3" flipper EMs from the 70s, but I gotta say, this one delivers. If set up properly, can be a fast and fun game for this era-one of the best.

4.900/10

9 years ago

MDK

McDudeMan

Inactive member

Glastonbury, CT

9y 10,150 22 19

It is interesting to play due to the odd nature of design. But it becomes frustrating when you are stuck depending on luck whether or not you will get to hit the ball more than once per ball before it ends up in the outlanes... Maybe its because I am not a nudger (I respect the machines, and I rather not risk breaking anything) so much of this game is left with luck for me. I suppose if you are a great nudger, you would have no problem.

The bell every 100 points can get annoying after a while.

6.095/10

9 years ago

CWE

Zorgar

Inactive member

Göttingen

9y 16,250 43

This table is always in the Top 10 of ipdb and I never understood its appeal. There isn't anything special except the bell of the monkey. Do you really like these double outlanes and the huge center gap? OK, there's kind of a post just in the middle that might give you one more chance. There are only 2 reasonable shots to be made from the flippers. The rest and best shots are shooting somewhere left or right of the center island and praying that it will remain up for some seconds. Nudging to increase bumper action needs to be done with care. Without them your game is lost. Depending on the setup you might get a truck load of EBs which will give you the opportunity to get even more of them. Overall I have to admit that playing Central Park isn't pure luck only but also a sort of skill.

8.716/10

10 years ago

FJS

cantbfrank

Pinside+ Frequent

Far Hills, NJ

11y 66,300 646 26 15 2

A fun but tough and challenging pin. Require accurate shots and good nudging skills.

cantbfrank currently owns this game.

9.746/10

10 years ago

DEN

KingNine

Pinside member

Beaumont, TX

11y 51,900 1,050 18 13

I love playing this game on our virtual machine. It is a different layout than traditional modern machines but I like it and it's uniquness. I come back to it alot out of the 100's of games I can play on the virtual cabinet.

7.459/10

11 years ago

DEB

Dbaum88

Pinside member

Roswell, GA

12y 90,050 1,274 8 78

Good old EM game. Very unique strategy and scoring. Increase bonuses and keep adding balls for what seems like forever. Quite a challenge, with wide flippers and several outlanes.

Dbaum88 has owned this game in the past.

8.553/10

11 years ago

DAN

Rat_Tomago

Pinside member

Plano, TX

11y 107K 3,491 22

This game is a pain in the butt but after many games you will become more efficient. This game is a nudgers paradise. This game has to be set up right for it to play correctly or you will have a miserable time. This is not the game you play 5 games on and then walk away in disgust. This is a game that you play 25-50 games on before you make a decision. This game is one of the most difficult games that Gottlieb designed. Because of this you will find Central Park playfields in good shape most of the time with low play counts.

There is not much of a skill shot. The skill shot is easy to get and it splits into two roll overs. they spot the targets 2 and 4 or 7 and 9 on the right side. The 10 targets 1-10 are in an arch and must be all hit to advance the bonus. There is a green side and a yellow side. The stationary green and yellow targets advance in value as you clear a side of targets (1-5 and 6-10) The gap between the flippers is the size of the Grand Canyon with two rollovers with rubber posts to bump and nudge the ball back tot he flippers. I used to hate this game. Now it has grown on me and challenges me every night that I play it. The theme is gorgeous and the game is gorgeous. There is a monkey animation that rings the bell for every 100 points scored.

Rat_Tomago edited previous rating on April 07, 2015.
Rat_Tomago has owned this game in the past.

8.644/10

11 years ago

???

cjmiller

Inactive member

11y 46,050 181 33 13

I hated this machine when I was a kid and it was on location. It was real bore. I blamed the machine, and I should have blamed the operator for not setting it up correctly and keeping the rubbers fresh.

When Central Park is set up on liberal settings to tame the outlanes a bit, and when it is waxed with fresh rubbers, this game is one of the best. You can do amazing things with those bottom posts between the flippers with a bit of nudging, and once you learn to shoot to avoid the massive center targets, the game really comes to life.

Best of all, once you light the specials, it turns into a real turkey shoot, and you can rack up games faster than almost any other wedgehead. The other nice thing is that so many games of this era depend on luck--either you get that top rollover or you don't, and if you don't you're pretty much screwed. Not with Central Park, with Central Park everything you need is right there and available on every ball.

This is one people keep coming back to for one more game. If I had to pick one machine to have down in the basement, Central Park would be high on the list.

cjmiller currently owns this game.

2 Pinsiders starred this!

7.038/10

11 years ago

ATE

AdamTheGamer

Inactive member

12y 56,150 270 2 133

One of my favorite E.M. games ever. Definitely worth playing if you find it.

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