1981 · Gottlieb
Mars God of War
Known for Warbases, Launch lane, Stargate and MARS lanes. Black outer space starfield with red radial sunburst rays, large red-orange planet disc behind the title, small yellow-green planet at upper right, small green and orange planets at lower left, streaking white-and-red rocket at left, small spacecraft at right and orange stars and spark bursts scattered around.
- Year
- 1981
- Maker
- Gottlieb
- Type
- Solid state
- Display
- Alphanumeric
- Players
- 4
Known for
- Hole
Warbases
- Lane
Launch lane
- tube
Stargate
- Lane
MARS lanes
- Multiball
Hyperforce
On the playfield
- black
- red
- orange
- yellow
- 2 flippers
- 4 pop bumpers
- 2 ramps
- 2 spinners
Ramp 1
- Stargate tube
Hole 1
- Warbases
Targets 3
- Center drop bank
- Right drop bank
- Lower right standup
Lanes 3
- Launch lane
- MARS lanes
- Upper left in lane
Flipper 1
- Upper flippers
On the backglass
Who and what
- man One large muscular bare-chested male warrior at the centre, painted in orange and tan flesh tones, three-quarter view facing left with a stern heavy-jawed expression. he wears a tall crested helmet pushed back on his head with a high red-and-black plume and a lion emblem on the brow plate. his right arm is raised and bent across his chest as if gripping something; the lower body is hidden behind the title banner.
- vehicle A white and red rocket ship with swept fins streaking diagonally in from the left edge over a red sunburst.
Setting
- Black outer space starfield with red radial sunburst rays
- Large red-orange planet disc behind the title
- Small yellow-green planet at upper right
- Small green and orange planets at lower left
- Streaking white-and-red rocket at left
- Small spacecraft at right
- Orange stars and spark bursts scattered around
Text on it
- Gottlieb
- MARS
- god of war
- JAM AND ORBIT
- CREDIT ADJ
- CREDITS
- FOURTH PLANET
- 984 880
How it plays
-
Multiballs 1
- Hyperforce
-
Goals 2
Other
- Last Chance
- Stargate bonus
Made by
- Design
- John Buras
- Art
- David Moore
Reference
Linked terms
- Warbases also called Locks also called left lock also called right lock
- Launch lane also called Launch hole
- Stargate also called Stargate tube
- Center drop bank also called Center Warbase
- Right drop bank also called Right Warbase
- MARS lanes also called Mars also called MARS rollovers
Playfield vision analysis
Written by a machine from the photos, so details may be off.
Playfield
- black
- red
- orange
- yellow
Fingerprint: Mars: colossal rust-red planet with translucent bumper caps embedded in its surface, radiating orange-yellow-red chevron pattern, small astronaut figure, two striped ramp mouths with gold pylons, concentric target rings, black starfield, numbered and multiplier inserts throughout field
A colossal mottled rust-red planet occupying the whole upper playfield, with four fat translucent red pop-bumper caps sitting directly on its surface and a fan of five red posts above. The bottom third carries a striking radiating chevron of concentric orange, yellow and red stripes that echoes the planet's colours. Two matching orange-and-yellow striped ramp mouths with gold 'pylon' posts flank a black diamond 'cargo bay' plaque. Three separate LAST CHANCE Lane areas are called out, one on each side plus the centre-right, and the whole field is a dense black starfield rather than any character-driven scene.
Setting
- Deep black outer-space starfield speckled with white stars
- Giant rust-orange cratered planet filling the upper third
- Concentric orange, yellow and red radiating arc stripes at the bottom
- Scattered small painted spaceship and rocket illustrations in white, green and pink
Symbols
- Yellow semicircular lamp inserts like small moons
- Green circular inserts marked 2x, 3x, 4x and 5x
- Red-outlined round targets numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10 and 20
- Raised red letters a, r, e, m, r and s spaced around the field as planet initials
- Yellow circular spinner rings at the left and right mid-field
- Gold pylon posts on either side of each ramp mouth
- Curved chrome wire ball guides and crescent rails
- Yellow-bordered circular disc
- A small upward yellow arrow beside last chance
Notable shapes
- Giant cratered red planet filling the upper playfield
- Concentric orange/yellow/red radiating v chevron at the bottom drain
- Two matching striped ramp mouths with gold pylons
- Curved chrome wire ball guides arcing across the top
- Black diamond cargo-bay plaque with yellow border
- Arc of round numbered targets ringing the central mars bonus value disc
- Yellow crescent moon inserts lining the ramp approaches
Art motifs
- Cratered planet texture in red and orange
- Concentric radiating arc stripes forming a giant v chevron
- Black starfield with hand-painted white star speckle
- Striped orange and yellow ramp mouths with black hazard chevron trim
- Chrome and silver lane guides against black
- Black diamond plaque with a yellow border
Themes
- Space
- Interplanetary freight
- Cargo transport
- Planet landing
- Arcade scoring
- Red planet
- Lunar and planetary exploration
- Score multiplier
Title on it
- Mars
Text on it
- LAUNCH
- PRESS FIRE TO LAUNCH
- HOLD FIRE TO AUTOLAUNCH
- 3 BALLS WHEN SCORE IS LIT
- MARS
- SHOOT AGAIN
- STORAGE
- SAUCER
- HYPERFORCE
- scoring accelerator
- ALL CARGO DELIVERED AT CARGO BAY PAYS BONUS
- MARS bonus value
- LAST CHANCE Lane
- SPECIAL WHEN LIT
- Flipper button rotates M-A-R-S and pop bumpers
- CREDITS
- BALL IN PLAY
- gottlieb
- How to play MARS, visit
- STANDARD
- EXTRA BALL
- SPECIAL
- LAST CHANCE
- FLIPPER ROTATION
- SUPER BONUS
- MULTIPLAYER
- HYPERSCORE
- 4 BALLS
- 1 REPLAY FOR EACH SCORE OF 400,000 POINTS
- 1 REPLAY FOR EACH SCORE OF 720,000 POINTS
- 3 REPLAYS FOR BEATING HIGH SCORE TO DATE
- A-2001
| Kind | Description |
|---|---|
| Other | Small painted astronaut in a white and orange spacesuit with a round bubble helmet and blue chest panel, standing full-length on a small circular blue-grey medallion graphic directly above the drain between the flippers |
| Other | Small illustrated spacecraft and rocket ships scattered over the black starfield background at the left and right edges |
A photographed, glass-covered playfield set in deep space: a black starfield background spangled with tiny white stars and scattered colourful spacecraft illustrations, dominated by a huge rust-orange and red planet with a cratered, mottled surface filling the upper third. Four big translucent red pop-bumper caps sit clustered on the planet, ringed by curved chrome wire ball guides and yellow-glowing lamp inserts. A row of five red plastic posts in a clear plastics bank spans the top. Two orange-and-yellow striped ramp mouths cut into the mid-upper field, the right one captioned with a small 'ALL CARGO DELIVERED AT CARGO BAY PAYS BONUS' plate. Angular concentric orange, yellow and red arc stripes form a huge radiating V/chevron at the bottom. Ballistic lettering is chunky blocky red with yellow outline: 'MARS' centred, 'SHOOT AGAIN' and 'HYPERFORCE scoring accelerator' below it, and an arc of round number targets (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,9,10,20) plus green round inserts marked 2X, 3X, 4X, 5X, red-outlined 9 and 10 and 20 targets. Near the bottom drain is a small helmeted astronaut figure. Condition: strong specular glare streaks across the left-centre of the playfield glass and heavy reflections.
Backglass vision analysis
Written by a machine from the photos, so details may be off.
Backglass
- black
- orange
- red
- green
Fingerprint: MARS red-green-white stacked block-capitals orange-cream oval-swoosh banner bottom, muscular bare-chested warrior roman-helmet red-plume stern-expression arms-crossed, four glowing green seven-segment numeric-windows showing identical 984 880 value, white-red rocket red sunburst left-edge, black starfield red radial rays planets, god-of-war classical-warrior space-exploration theme metallic aesthetic
A single huge bare-chested warrior with a towering red-plumed Roman helmet dominates the centre, arms crossed over his chest, with four glowing green numeric score windows flanking his head. The bold italic block word MARS in red, green and white sits on a cream-and-orange oval swoosh at the bottom, with the red lowercase subtitle god of war beneath it. Four green seven-segment readouts all show the identical value 984 880, giving a very distinctive grid of glowing numbers across the upper half. A white-and-red rocket with a red radial sunburst behind it cuts in from the left edge.
Setting
- Black outer space starfield with red radial sunburst rays
- Large red-orange planet disc behind the title
- Small yellow-green planet at upper right
- Small green and orange planets at lower left
- Streaking white-and-red rocket at left
- Small spacecraft at right
- Orange stars and spark bursts scattered around
Symbols
- Four green seven-segment score windows
- Red radial sunburst
- Planets
- Rocket
- Helmet crest plume
- Lion emblem on helmet
- Orange star spark bursts
Lettering
- Bold italic sans-serif block letters, mars filled red with green and white angular highlights and a dark drop shadow; subtitle in rounded red lowercase; manufacturer name in small plain black type
Themes
- Space
- War god
- Planets
- Rockets
- Classical warrior
- Planetary exploration
Title on it
- Mars
Text on it
- Gottlieb
- MARS
- god of war
- JAM AND ORBIT
- CREDIT ADJ
- CREDITS
- FOURTH PLANET
- 984 880
| Kind | Description |
|---|---|
| Man | One large muscular bare-chested male warrior at the centre, painted in orange and tan flesh tones, three-quarter view facing left with a stern heavy-jawed expression. he wears a tall crested helmet pushed back on his head with a high red-and-black plume and a lion emblem on the brow plate. his right arm is raised and bent across his chest as if gripping something; the lower body is hidden behind the title banner. |
| Vehicle | A white and red rocket ship with swept fins streaking diagonally in from the left edge over a red sunburst. |
A dark, space-themed backglass dominated by a single muscular bare-chested male warrior figure at the centre, painted in warm orange and tan flesh tones. He wears a tall crested Roman-style helmet pushed back on his head, topped with a high red-and-black plume, and a lion-like emblem on the helmet brow plate. He faces three-quarter left with a stern, heavy-jawed expression, his right arm raised and bent across his chest as if gripping a weapon. Around him: a black starfield with red radial sunburst rays, a yellow-green planet at upper right, small green and orange planets lower left, a white-and-red rocket streaking in from the left, another craft to the right, and a large red planet disc behind the logo. Four green seven-segment score windows sit in two columns of two, each reading 984 880. A wide orange-and-cream swoosh banner carries the title at the bottom.