Found 7 ratings (with comment) on this game

This game is fun. Cool shots. 80s cheese. Don't let the art scare you away. I kinda like the wacky translite. It was the first game to have one. Plays fast but forgiving. I like having games from all eras and this is a good mid 80s example.

Both Rock & Rock Encore are terrible and suck all the fun out of pinball

Another Gottlieb 80b that I can't get into. If the playfield is not set steep enough, it really turns in to a slow yawn-fest. Single level, plain jane game.

I love flipping this pin when I can find one. If one ever pops up near me I am dragging it home.

I'm going to rate this game based on the ROCK only game theme. I have since installed Encore Sound Roms and will ignore that for now.

Pros:
It's a pin that lacks the frills of the newer games but instead makes you concentrate on completing some seemingly simple tasks. The ruleset is very simplistic but the way you go about it is entirely your choice...that's what keeps me coming back to this game. You can choose to try to hit the outside spinners and complete the rollover lanes or use the upper flippers to complete the upper mini playfield targets and curse repeatedly...that's the part I really like. Make sure you have fresh flippers on the bottom or the spinners are nearly impossible to hit.

The lower playfield targets need to be manipulated systematically or you will almost drain every time. For instance, you can safely hit the 3 targets on the left with the left flipper and safely hit the 2 targets on the right with the right flipper. It gets interesting when your flailing about chasing those light changing targets and forget that rule...you're quickly greeted with an outlane drain. The fun part of chasing the lower drop targets is that if you hit one of them, you get 2 letters as a reward, if you don't hit it when lit, you get nothing. Such a simple concept yet it makes this game very fun. If you complete the Rock and Roll Lives letters, you are rewarded with the chance to get an extra ball...at least that's the way I have it setup. If you drain before collecting the extra ball, you need to start all over again next time.

Cons:
The weakness of this great playing game is the sound and the playfield artwork. There is very little in the way of a sound reward for a game that's supposed to be a rock theme. Encore chips do a much better job of this but the disappointing part is that you lose all those cool sound enhancements for completing a mode when you start your next ball. Realistically, you would have to have to be a "pinball wizard" and have a lot of luck to ever hear all the sounds stored in those mysterious sound chips.

This brings me to the quick drains. By default, although this game has the ability to choose 5 balls, and I see why, each ball only last a short period of time. The drains are so unfair that most people walk away from it after a few games. Because of that, I added a mini post between the 2 bottom flippers...I know, crazy! However, it brought the fun factor back to this game. Setup a reasonable tilt setting and nudge away...my wife even likes this game now.

There is also an annoying shot that seems to be only hit at random. I don't like this as it's an important shot in the game. There are 2 outlanes that feed into each bottom flipper when the game is setup properly (thin rubber bands and slope). When you roll over these it gives you up to 2 letters for each lane and the light/s goes out. Upon completing that, you have a skill shot to Reset the lanes and do it all over again. Having the right lane as a random shot takes away from this being a Players pin....someone correct me if I'm wrong about being unable to hit this shot with consistency.

Lastly, the playfield artwork is atrocious. I've heard it referred to as being cheesy but fits the theme...I disagree. Cheesy to me means that it was well done and signifies something. This artwork doesn't signify anything neat or cool from the 80's...and there's a lot that you can pick from. It just looks like somebody slapped something on and didn't care much about making this a game to be proud of....too bad.

Overall:
This is a game that could have been so much more. The simple ruleset makes it easy for new players to walk up to this game and understand how to play it in no time. The upper mini playfield is fun but very difficult to master. You can achieve your points by shooting for 3 different modes in the game or a combination of all 3...that gives the game longevity for me. I do enjoy playing this game but I find myself always staring at the playfield afterwards thinking about what I could do to make the game play better. After a few minutes of that I shrug my shoulders and realize it's not worth the effort. Overall a simple but challenging game to play if it's setup properly.

Fun Machine . Looks great and plays good. I would buy this machine again. But would upgrade it to the Rock Encore.
It was a easy upgrade that gave new life to this machine. Sound is good for it's age. and the cab is sharp.

''ROCK'' seems to be a difficult game to find. I'm not sure if that's because of the lowish production run, the age or maybe they went over seas or a combination of everything.

I had first played one with a friend at the Allentown show 2012 that had a weak flipper and we really enjoyed it. So much so that when we went to look at a price for it, it was not for sale. Recently, one came up for a great price and we jumped on it. It's a cool game that plays very different than others. For starters, there are no pop bumpers. Nicely placed spinners that really spin a lot, and mini zipper flippers up at the top of the playfield make it feel like a different part of the pin. It's always fun and a challenge to get to level four on one ball. If you tire of that, getting your bonus multiplier via the top rollovers works, as does hitting drop targets below- completing ''rock and roll lives!'' lights extra ball, which is also an interesting shot because you have to hit a weird round horshoes type shot for the first part of the extra ball, then you collect the other half of the extra ball at the left side, that feeds to the left inlane. First I've seen that kind of shot. The playfield lighting is super, and this is no exception with well placed leds. In Attract mode, a relay will click off certain lights up top- if you have red leds, this is a really slick look. The playfield art is as you would expect, and it's really not bad. It fits the era. Something about 1985 makes this pin feel right at home in that iconic decade. I also think the backglass is cool and my friend and I can share a good laugh over it (thankful that it is also hand drawn!)
In the end, a solid pin from a very cost cutting company at this time. Makes for a good time for all, good sounds and music, and has some addictive gameplay, and it gets better with friends.