Love it! Very addictive game play. Always so close to getting one more ball. Great art. The saucer section is a great gimmick that adds to the game play. Has a good, proper Skill shot. Bells sound great, flippers are nice and powerful. Has a neat attract mode thst light the words “music” on the back glsss when in game over. (Im not sure how many games had attract mode in the ‘60s, but this is a nice touch.)

I added late style flipper bats with the flat rubber rings. This is a good mod that helps give some ball control, likely improving the fun factor even more. It’s also rather dark on the playfield as I think there just isn’t enough lights. I put comet warm white retros in the playfield GI, and it looks great and makes it much easier to see. (certainly many EMs don’t need, or look bad with LEDs , but this game looks great with them).

Another great A-A-B game I played in 66-67 Oklahoma City. Great game, severe dime eater. Can lose balls fast on this game. Would like to own again.

Melody is a charming machine; the art and bells work well together and you have to work hard to light all the rows, well worth the reward. One of the best EM games of the 60's hands down.

Don't compare my EM ratings to SS ratings, 2 different classes.

The playfield layout requires a bit of a skill shot to hit the "1" rollovers. After that, it requires good shot-making to get all of the white-yellow-red-green sequences. The step-ladder kickout holes are a great points builder and the only way to add balls to the game after the scoring threshold is reached. The only flaw this game has is that none of the "4" rollovers can be obtained without losing a ball. That means you have to lose a ball to light the add-a-ball lights. This diminishes the long-term lastability of this game. High scoring is not necessarily diminished because there is a 100-point target in the center of the playfield that also lights the 10-point bumpers.

Game is solid, but it doesn't stand out.

Like the layout and the art. Would like to own one someday

Perhaps my favorite EM game of all-time. The design is similar to other designs of the 1960s, but this game has more panache. The theme does little for me, but chasing the 16 numbers around the playfield to score extra balls is great fun. Having to lose a ball to score the number 4 of each colour is an interesting money grab from Gottlieb. Watching the ball move from kick-out hole to kick-out hole is extremely satisfying! I perfer the AAB Melody to the replay Sing Along, especially in a home environment.

I can see the appeal of Melody, although not one of my top favorites. Still, a classic game with lots to offer.

Just a tough EM with a great goal that keeps you coming back for more.

Outstanding game. AAB extends gameplay over Sing Along which is what I like most. My second favorite EM only to Cowpoke but this one is considerably more challenging and honestly one of the best gameplay EM's ever made. If you roll it over you have had a true wizard round!

Popular AAB title. Addictive trying to light all 4 KO holes to hear pop, pop, pop, pop! Nice mellow artwork. Can have some pretty long games on it. A classic title for sure but something is missing and I can't quite put my finger on what it is.

So what makes Melody that good?
My two favourite games of all time are Cross Town and Kings & Queens.
No surprise then that Melody is a mix of the two aforementioned games.
But Melody is better than Sing Along because of the way it awards extra balls.
Now this is a subtle difference but let me explain: with both Sing Along and Kings & Queens you knock out corresponding numbers or cards under holes. When four of the same colour or suit are lit that particular Ko hole will award 50 points (10 points for getting the ballnin the hole + 10 points per number lit) and a replay. With Melody when the four numbers are lit under that one particular Ko hole the light underneath the Ko hole stays lit until a ball enters it and awards an extra ball. Then the four numbers reset. With the replay version the hole will light every 4 pulses of the motor. So the hole only stays lit once out of every four turns.
Some prefer the replay version, I like the add a ball simply because it makes the game more playable.
The artwork is excellent with Art Stenholm fully capturing the spirit of Christmas past.
The colours on the Playfield and backglass marry perfectly.
The design of the game is fantastic but I am the first to admit that I am biased.
Only 550 made, so pretty rare. I love it.

Gottlieb Melody is the Add A Ball (AAB) version of Sing Along. For the home environment, I prefer AAB games over replay games, although I really enjoy both. In my opinion, I prefer roll over games from the 1960's over the drop target games of the 1970's. The game play and sounds separate Melody from other Gottlieb games of this era. The two inch flippers force you to learn to nudge and bump. The use of the ball transfer most famously used by Kings & Queens adds a delicious dessert to the incredible entree that is Melody.

Melody's sound is unique and easily distinguished from other games of this era. The combination of bells with point thresholds provides Melody with the unique status of being an EM game that can be identified by the sound alone. The melodious bells match the theme perfectly. And while the sounds are incredible, the game play is equally good.

The "toy" that stands out on Melody is ball transfer on the playfield. The "toy" is made up of four ball captures in the middle of the playfield. Once a ball is captured, it is gently transferred to the ball capture on the right. The fourth ball capture will eject the ball towards the flippers. Each ball capture represents "bonus" points that can be scored. You can score 10 - 50 points. Each number collected within a color is worth 10 points. So the "toy" can easily earn 100-200 points in one shot.

This "toy" also represents the method by which a player can add a ball. If all numbers in a single color have been collected, and therefor are lit solid, this ball capture will reward 50 points and an added ball. Once redeemed, all the numbers are reset. Only one ball may be added per color. The coolest shot in the entire game is hitting the far right ball capture when all colors are fully lit and are primed for awarding an extra ball. Adding four balls in one shot is very satisfying!

The key to a great scoring game is lighting the pop bumpers so that they score 10 points rather than 1 point. With the pop bumpers on, you can quickly accumulate hundreds, and sometimes, thousands of points on one ball. And when you add the ball transfer points with the add a ball function, the game play is very impressive considering the limitation of EM logic.

Now, some will complain that adding an extra ball requires draining a ball. And while the number four can only be lit by draining down one of four lanes, there is still plenty of opportunity to add a ball using sound strategy. In my opinion, the use of the fours makes the game very balanced. It is very difficult to get multiple balls added during one ball. And when you do finally add a ball, this game entrenches itself into your collection.

Overall, Melody is one of the best Gottlieb Wedgeheads of all time. I highly recommend this game for home use.

This is an overall fun game with the 4 kick out holes. You collect all the colors and collect the bonus points for getting the kickout holes just like in Kings and Queens. I am not really a fan of winter themes and this is one of them. I will say that playing this as an Add-A-Ball made this game more fun. I would definitely recommend owning a Kings and Queens Vs Melody alone on the theme and similar gameplay unless you are a die hard AAB collector.

Simply one of the best AAB Wedgeheads that Gottlieb every made and that's really saying something!!
The game is endlessly challenging, can let you have a good game, then humble you the next. The parallel kickout holes are one of the great toys of the EM era, there is little in all of pinball more satisfying than hitting them when they are lit for add a ball, and hearing those thwacks!!!!!

Melody is a game that takes you back in time to see what a great playing pinball game Gottleib made when they were the kings of pinball.

The Pros:
Skill is required all over the PF. Nudging at the top lanes, nudging in the pops to hit the 50 point gate back and forth, nudging by the eeeety beeety fleeepers with the post between them. So much to shoot for and when you get it all lit... lining up that white saucer is so sweet... The entire art package is a joy to take in. Art Steinholm is the MAN! Personally, I get the idea that he was a Christmas kind of guy because everyone looks happy and is having a great time.

The Cons:
This game is hard to aim with having no inlanes and eeety beeety fleeepers. Reflex shots are pretty much all you can get. Drop catch at your own risk.

The Takeaway:
A true players game for the era. You have to work your nudging skills as well as your flipper skills. Just remember, there is no tilt warning, just a tilt. Ed Krynski strikes again!

One of my favourite EM pins along with it's replay version Sing along. Making all 4 of the same colour numbers is a bitch, especially as each #4 is a drain. Once you have made them all though, it's add-a-ball City here we come! Aim that ball into the left of the 4 saucers in the centre of the playfield to really boost up your score as it flips it over to the right in sequence. Slow to play, as all EMs are, lovely retro backglass though.