Gottlieb
Striker
Striker is an interesting pinball machine by Gottlieb. The machine features an unconventional layout with 6 flippers in total: 2 sets on the lower playfield and one set in the middle. The game has 14 drop targets, 4 slingshots and 2 spinners.
Striker was made in 1982, one of the roughest years in history for pinball manufacturers. Only 910 units were built.
However, Striker does have all the features that define a solid early 80s pinball: apart from the creative extra large playfield layout, there's also a sound package featuring speech & a cheering crowd and a one-of-a-kind ruleset.
Six months after the release of Striker, Gottlieb management decided to make smaller, more sober games with significantly lower bills of materials.
Its rarity plus its full featured design puts Striker in a short, cool list: one of obscure, original and very interesting games made during the dark period for pinball that lasted from 1982 until 1985.