Ice Fever

Designed by John Trudeau, Ice Fever aims to bring the excitement of hockey to the game of pinball. Released in February 1985, it was the final Gottlieb System 80A game ever made, and only 1,585 units were produced.

This solid-state electronic game features two flippers, four pop bumpers, two slingshots, five standup targets, a captive ball, a spinning target, and a unique 3-bank drop target setup.

Highlights of the machine include the 1980s cartoonish playfield artwork by Larry Day, the hockey sound effects present throughout the game, and the mechanical backbox animation, where a puck slides into the net.

Unfortunately, the gameplay lacks depth and suffers from unbalanced scoring. Hitting the spinning target when lit awards too many points relative to other shots, so players are incentivised to only focus on this shot if they wish to maximise their score.