1981 · Stern Electronics
Lightning
Known for Upper playfield, 1-2-3 banks, Nine standup targets and Three-ball Multiball. Solid black field, airbrushed white and pale blue smoke clouds, yellow lightning bolt and dark industrial line-work at the lower corners.
- Year
- 1981
- Maker
- Stern Electronics
- Type
- Solid state
- Display
- Alphanumeric
- Players
- 4
Known for
- upper playfield
Upper playfield
- Target
1-2-3 banks
- Target
Nine standup targets
- Multiball
Three-ball Multiball
On the playfield
Extra level 1
- Upper playfield upper playfield
Hole 1
- Upper saucers saucers
Targets 2
- 1-2-3 banks
- Nine standup targets
Lane 1
- Return lane arrows
Display 1
- Bonus display
On the backglass
Who and what
- man One enormous bare-chested muscular male, orange-tan skin, long dark hair, head thrown back with mouth open roaring, crouched and twisted at the centre, one arm reaching down, small circular compass-star emblem on his right thigh
- man Smaller long-haired male head and shoulders rendered in gold and bronze line work at the lower left corner, partly cropped
- other Crowd of gold-and-bronze sketched figures and mechanical shapes packed into both lower corners, partially cropped by the frame
Setting
- Solid black field
- Airbrushed white and pale blue smoke clouds
- Yellow lightning bolt
- Dark industrial line-work at the lower corners
Text on it
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- HIGH SCORE
- GAME OVER
- MATCH
- CREDIT
- 1,585,380
- 0 4
- 1 7
How it plays
-
Modes 1
- Bonus Time
-
Multiballs 1
- Three-ball Multiball 3-ball
-
Awards 2
- Red Special
- Green Special
Made by
- Design & Mechanics
- Joe Joos Jr.
- Art
- W. Schmidt
Reference
Linked terms
- 1-2-3 banks also called Paired 1-2-3 also called Drop banks
- Nine standup targets also called Nine Multiball standups
- Return lane arrows also called Lit return lanes also called Rollover lanes
- Three-ball Multiball also called Nine Multiball
Playfield vision analysis
Written by a machine from the photos, so details may be off.
Playfield
- black
- gold
- red
- blue
Fingerprint: Lightning: Huge gold letter C with five-pointed star beside it, woman's upraised arms as glowing golden aura beneath C, gold BONUS plaque with orange rectangular display, two vertical columns of 1X-2X-3X-4X inserts blue and yellow, black rainbowed kaleidoscopic artwork
A blazing gold 'C' letterform with a five-pointed star beside it in the upper playfield, over a swirling rainbowed kaleidoscope of gold, red and blue paint. A woman's upraised arms rendered as a glowing golden aura sit directly under the 'C', flanked by red inserts and clear plastic ramp tubing. A gold plaque lettered BONUS and a rectangular bonus display glowing orange anchor the centre, above two neat vertical columns of round '1X/2X/3X/4X' inserts - one blue, one yellow. The whole lower third is dominated by two large black instruction cards with orange borders, one headed LIGHTNING.
Setting
- Black playfield
- Rainbowed swirling gold filigree
- Wooden cabinet side rails
- Grey metal coin door apron
Symbols
- Five-pointed star
- Playing-card diamond shape with '4'
- Playing-card diamond shape with '5'
- Green apple motifs
- Lightning bolt
- Arrows
- Spiral and scroll filigree
- Curving wire ball guides
- Green round inserts lit like lamps
- Orange rectangular bonus display
Notable shapes
- Huge gold 'c' letterform with 3d bevel
- Five-pointed gold star
- Glowing golden aura figure with outstretched arms
- Orange rectangular bonus display window
- Two symmetrical vertical columns of round inserts
- Mirror-symmetrical swirl artwork either side of the centre line
- Curving chrome wire ball guides forming lanes at both lower corners
- Blue rail running along the lower left and lower right edges
- Flame-shaped painted inserts in the upper playfield
Art motifs
- Kaleidoscopic rainbowed paint
- Gold leaf filigree
- Swirling mandala borders
- Flying figure-of-light woman
- Apple and fruit clusters
- Calligraphic scrollwork
Themes
- Fantasy
- Lightning
- Bonus
- Mythological
- Airbrushed artwork
Title on it
- Lightning
Text on it
- LIGHTNING
- BONUS REPLAY IF LIT
- BONUS ZONE
- 10 FLASH LETTER
- HOLD DOWN FLASH
- SCORE 4 LETTER
- 8 BALL FEATURE
- 5X-
- SHUN LI APPLE
- BLUE/GREEN LIT APPLE WITH SCORE
- RECORD SCORE
- LIT APPLE PAYS BONUS
- RED LETTER ADVANCES BONUS
- SECOND LETTER PAYS 1 APPLE
- ANY LETTER SCORES 10 TIMES (LIT) AND ADVANCES BONUS
- EXTRA BALL WHEN LIT
- SHUN LI APPLE EITHER SHOOTS AGAIN OR
- AWARDS BONUS LETTERS
- WHEN A LETTER IS LIT AND SHOOTING AGAIN LOOP
- SHOOTING AGAIN PAYS 10 TIMES APPLE BONUS
- SHUN LI APPLE SCORES 10,000 BONUS
- BONUS ZONE BONUS PAID AT END OF
- BONUS
- 2X
- 1X
- 3X
- 4X
- SHOOT AGAIN
- PLAYFIELD VALUE
- BONUS MULTIPLIER
- MULTIPLIER
- ADVANCE
- TO
- 4
- 5
- 5 BALLS PER GAME
- 1 PLAY - QUARTER
- 4 PLAYS - DOLLAR COIN
- 890,000
- 1 REPLAY
- 1,000,000
- EXTRA BALL LIT 5 SHOTS AGAIN
- SPECIAL SCORE 1 REPLAY
- 3 Replays Free Ballin' High Score to Date
- 3 Replays Free Ballin' High Score
- 1 Replay When High Score Exceeded
- Numerical High Score Remains
- 1C9-FA-19
- QUARTERS
- DOLLAR COIN
- SHOOT AGAIN SCORES
- HELP
- SCORE
- SPECIAL
- AGAIN
| Kind | Description |
|---|---|
| Woman | A painted female figure in the upper playfield centre, visible mainly as bare upraised arms and hands spread wide, rendered as a glowing golden aura/figure of light beneath the gold 'c' |
| Other | A large gold letter 'c' letterform with a beveled 3d look, upper centre, paired with a gold five-pointed star to its left |
| Other | Two blue-glowing upright standing target lanes / drop-target figures in the mid playfield, lit electric blue |
| Vehicle | Grey metal cabinet front apron with three coin doors, two white plungers, and a chrome ball-knob plunger visible at the right edge |
Photographed from above at a slight angle inside a cabinet with wooden side rails visible, showing a black playfield covered in rainbowed, airbrushed fantasy/mythological art. Dominant colours are black, gold/bronze, crimson red, royal blue and white, with a kaleidoscopic swirling painted border. The upper third holds a raised plastic/metal cluster of a blazing gold 'C', a five-pointed star, a woman's upraised arms in a gold aura, red inserts and clear plastic ramps; two white diamond card markers read '4' and '5'. The mid playfield has a gold plaque reading BONUS, two lit blue standing-target figures, a rectangular bonus display box glowing orange, and two symmetrical columns of round inserts (blue '1X 2X 3X 4X' and yellow '1X 2X 3X 4X') flanking green lit inserts and the numerals 1, 2, 3 with 'SHOOT AGAIN'. Two large white rubber-tipped flippers sit below, with curving wire ball guides and blue rails either side. Two black instruction cards with orange borders fill the bottom: left headed LIGHTNING, right headed '5 BALLS PER GAME / 1 PLAY - QUARTER / 4 PLAYS - DOLLAR COIN'. The cabinet front below shows three coin doors with red LED words QUARTERS, DOLLAR COIN, QUARTERS.
Backglass vision analysis
Written by a machine from the photos, so details may be off.
Backglass
- black
- yellow
- orange
- blue
Fingerprint: Raging bull with large curved horns lowered in charging pose, matador in red cape and golden costume leaning back dramatically, Spanish bullfighting arena setting with crowd in background bleachers, intense action captured mid-motion, fiery red dominant colour palette throughout the composition
A single thick yellow lightning bolt slashes vertically through the entire backglass, cutting across the faces of four red LED score displays and over the main title logo. Behind it one enormous crouching, orange-skinned muscular man throws his head back roaring, his body drawn in hot orange and gold with a tiny compass-star emblem on his thigh. Four identical 1,585,380 score readouts in a rectangle is an unusual, very memorable symmetry. The bottom corners are crammed with dense gold-and-bronze line work of smaller figures and machinery against a black field sprayed with white and blue smoke.
Setting
- Solid black field
- Airbrushed white and pale blue smoke clouds
- Yellow lightning bolt
- Dark industrial line-work at the lower corners
Symbols
- Zig-zag lightning bolt
- Small circular star-and-compass emblem on thigh
- Four coloured player numerals 1-4
- Smoke and cloud spray patterns
- Gold frame border
Lettering
- Large slanted cursive script in gold and orange with heavy black outline, crossed by a yellow lightning bolt; small cream condensed sans-serif capital labels
Themes
- Lightning
- Roaring figure
- Airbrush smoke
- Score displays
- Gothic script lettering
Text on it
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- HIGH SCORE
- GAME OVER
- MATCH
- CREDIT
- 1,585,380
- 0 4
- 1 7
| Kind | Description |
|---|---|
| Man | One enormous bare-chested muscular male, orange-tan skin, long dark hair, head thrown back with mouth open roaring, crouched and twisted at the centre, one arm reaching down, small circular compass-star emblem on his right thigh |
| Man | Smaller long-haired male head and shoulders rendered in gold and bronze line work at the lower left corner, partly cropped |
| Other | Crowd of gold-and-bronze sketched figures and mechanical shapes packed into both lower corners, partially cropped by the frame |
Landscape rectangular backglass with a black field framed by a narrow gold border. A thick zig-zag bolt of bright yellow lightning runs from the top edge down through the centre to the bottom edge, splitting the composition. Behind it the black background is broken up by mottled spray-painted clouds of white, pale blue and steel grey, giving a smoky airbrushed texture. Four rectangular red-orange LED score windows with black surrounds are set into the art in a rough rectangle: player 1 upper left, 2 upper right, 3 middle left, 4 middle right, each showing 1,585,380 in seven-segment digits with an outlined coloured player numeral beside it. Dominating the centre is one huge orange-tan muscular male figure, bare-chested and bare-armed, crouched low and twisted, head thrown back with long dark hair and mouth open in a roar, one arm reaching downward; a small circular star-and-compass emblem is drawn on his right thigh. The lower left and lower right corners are packed with additional smaller gold-and-bronze sketched figures and mechanical shapes, including a long-haired head at lower left. A large slanted cursive logo in gold and orange with heavy black outline spans the top, partly buried under the lightning bolt. Small cream lettering labels HIGH SCORE, GAME OVER, MATCH and CREDIT around small window cutouts.