1978 · Atari
Middle Earth
Known for Upper five-target bank, Lower five-target bank, Standing targets and Star rollovers. Cave of gold treasure and coins, orange sun or planet disc, red and teal radiating speed-line rays and dark green jungle foliage.
- Year
- 1978
- Maker
- Atari
- Type
- Solid state
- Display
- Alphanumeric
- Players
- 4
Known for
- Target
Upper five-target bank
- Target
Lower five-target bank
- Target
Standing targets
- rollovers
Star rollovers
- loop
Upper left u-turn
On the playfield
- yellow
- orange
- red
- green
- 2 flippers
- 3 pop bumpers
- 1 spinner
- 2 slingshots
Extra level 1
- Upper playfield upper playfield
Orbit 1
- Upper left u-turn loop
Targets 3
- Upper five-target bank
- Lower five-target bank
- Standing targets
Lanes 2
- Star rollovers rollovers
- Lower inside lane
On the backglass
Who and what
- man Muscular bare-chested adult man, small white cap, bright blue trousers, brown boots, right arm raised holding a short sword aloft, a second hilt at his belt, legs apart atop the treasure, confident grin
- monster Enormous shaggy brown gorilla-like beast at left, heavy brow, small dark eyes, mouth gaping wide showing bright red throat and white fangs, roaring towards the viewer, one huge arm forward
- monster Bright lime-green scaly dragon at right, red eye, orange brow ridge, jaws open with rows of white fangs and red mouth, row of dark spines along neck and back, long neck curving in from the right edge
- woman Plump blonde woman at bottom centre, long wavy yellow hair, green sleeveless leotard, gold shoulder pauldron and gold arm band, leaning back in distress, one arm raised
- man Bald, stubbled man in a blue shirt at bottom right, arms wrapped around the woman's waist from behind, grinning, standing in front of an open wooden chest of gold coins
- creature Two tiny indistinct winged/beaked figures flying in the gap between the woman and the dragon's jaw
Setting
- Cave of gold treasure and coins
- Orange sun or planet disc
- Red and teal radiating speed-line rays
- Dark green jungle foliage
Text on it
- MOON
- EARTH
- TM
- ATARI
- © 1981 ATARI INC
Made by
- Design
- Gary Slater
- Art
- George Opperman
Reference
Linked terms
- Upper five-target bank also called upper target bank
- Lower five-target bank also called lower target bank
- Standing targets also called Standup targets also called Five standing targets
- Star rollovers also called Five star rollovers
- Upper left u-turn also called Upper loop
- Lower inside lane also called Lower inside award lane
Playfield vision analysis
Written by a machine from the photos, so details may be off.
Playfield
- yellow
- orange
- red
- green
Fingerprint: Enormous green-scaled dragon wide-open toothed maw sprawled centre, second dragon head rising directly behind, huge pink-red translucent ramp along right side matching left ramp, cream MIDDLE EARTH instruction card FREE PLAY logo, red ATARI logo wooden apron
An enormous green-scaled dragon with a wide-open toothed maw sprawled across the centre of the playfield, with a second dragon head rising directly behind it. A huge pink-and-red translucent ramp runs along the right side, mirrored by a matching ramp on the left. A cream 'MIDDLE EARTH' instruction card with a 'FREE PLAY' logo is clipped to the lower right of the glass, next to the red 'ATARI' logo on the wooden apron.
Setting
- Fantasy woodcut illustration with hatched engraving lines
- Yellow-gold parchment-like ground
- Grey-blue sky band along the right edge
- Wooden apron and yellow cabinet front at the bottom
Symbols
- Playing-card suits
- Stars
- Spiral and compass-rose motifs
- Circus-style target faces
- Gateposts and arches
- Swords
- Coins and chalices
Notable shapes
- A large circular wire ramp sweeping the right edge, a round dome-shaped raised structure at upper left, a yin-yang spiral medallion, and two large translucent ramps that mirror each other across the vertical centreline
Art motifs
- Etched cross-hatching
- Yin-yang spiral
- Stone arches
- Flame and lava orange
Themes
- Fantasy
- Dragon
- Sword
- Woodcut illustration
- Riddle-game
- Drop targets
Text on it
- MIDDLE EARTH
- Drop targets light "Extra Ball" and "Special"
- features.
- Shooting targets increases value of Thumpers,
- Spinners, and Rollovers.
- Lighting of rollovers = Double Bonus
- This dispenser ball in play.
- FREE PLAY
- ATARI
- 1-4 PLAYERS CAN PLAY
- BALL CREDIT
- PLAYER 1
- START
- DOUBLE BONUS
- ORBIT
- WARP
- SPECIAL
- 500
- 1000
- 5000
- 7000
- 3000
- 200
- 20
- 50
- TILT
| Kind | Description |
|---|---|
| Creature | Enormous green dragon, yellow-green scaled body, gaping mouth full of white teeth, head at centre with a clawed foreleg stretched left and a coiled tail running up the left side |
| Creature | Second large green-scaled dragon head with open jaws just above the first, upper centre of the field |
| Man | Thin grim-faced human figure in pale grey-green tunic and leggings, centre-left, one arm raised holding a short sword above his head, mouth open as if shouting |
| Creature | Small snarling animal or wolf-like head at the lower left beside an orange rocky outcrop, painted in orange and black stripes |
| Other | Small robed figure in green near the upper right ramp, partly hidden behind the metal rail |
| Creature | Crab- or spider-like multi-legged creature at the far left beside the red slingshot platform |
Full view of an electro-mechanical playfield under glass, shot from above with the yellow cabinet front and coin door visible at the bottom. The field is a fantasy woodcut/etched illustration in yellow-gold, orange, crimson and magenta. A huge green-scaled dragon with a gaping toothed mouth dominates the centre, its body and clawed legs sprawling across the middle; a second large dragon head looms just above it near the upper centre. A thin, grim-faced human figure in pale grey-green clothing stands left of centre with one arm and a sword raised overhead. Curving metal ramps arc down both the left and right thirds, with wire-form rails, a wire ramp running the right side, a spinner and several yellow oval target banks. Lettering is sparse: white-outlined numeric drop-target values (500, 1000, 5000, 7000, 3000), 'DOUBLE BONUS' on a black arrow plaque, 'ORBIT' in a small black oval, red 'SPECIAL' lamps beside both slingshots, and a cream instruction card at lower right headed 'MIDDLE EARTH' above 'FREE PLAY'. The wooden apron carries the red 'ATARI' logo, '1-4 PLAYERS CAN PLAY' and 'PLAYER 1 / START'.
Backglass vision analysis
Written by a machine from the photos, so details may be off.
Backglass
- orange
- red
- green
- yellow
Fingerprint: Five-figure clash frozen mid-action bare-chested sword-wielding man blue trousers white cap standing atop pile gold, roaring shaggy gorilla blood-red mouth, huge lime-green fanged dragon rearing right, blonde woman green leotard grabbed behind bald man blue shirt bottom centre, wooden chest gold coins, top banner title interrupted white four-point starburst middle letters unreadable white fury cave of treasure
A five-figure clash frozen mid-action: a bare-chested sword-wielding man in blue trousers and a white cap standing atop a pile of gold, a roaring shaggy gorilla with a blood-red mouth, and a huge lime-green fanged dragon rearing from the right. A blonde woman in a green leotard is grabbed from behind by a bald man in a blue shirt at bottom centre, with a wooden chest of gold coins behind them. The top banner title is literally interrupted by a white four-point starburst, so the middle letters cannot be read.
Setting
- Cave of gold treasure and coins
- Orange sun or planet disc
- Red and teal radiating speed-line rays
- Dark green jungle foliage
Symbols
- White four-point starburst over the title
- Gold treasure coins and nuggets
- Open wooden treasure chest
- Sword
- Orange sun/planet disc
- Radiating speed-line rays
- Fuji-shaped logo above the atari wordmark
Lettering
- Italic slanted bold sans-serif capitals in orange-yellow with a heavy red drop shadow and black outline, set in a banner of red and teal diagonal stripes with a gold keyline frame
Themes
- Fantasy
- Adventure
- Monsters
- Treasure
- Combat
- Cartoon
Text on it
- MOON
- EARTH
- TM
- ATARI
- © 1981 ATARI INC
| Kind | Description |
|---|---|
| Man | Muscular bare-chested adult man, small white cap, bright blue trousers, brown boots, right arm raised holding a short sword aloft, a second hilt at his belt, legs apart atop the treasure, confident grin |
| Monster | Enormous shaggy brown gorilla-like beast at left, heavy brow, small dark eyes, mouth gaping wide showing bright red throat and white fangs, roaring towards the viewer, one huge arm forward |
| Monster | Bright lime-green scaly dragon at right, red eye, orange brow ridge, jaws open with rows of white fangs and red mouth, row of dark spines along neck and back, long neck curving in from the right edge |
| Woman | Plump blonde woman at bottom centre, long wavy yellow hair, green sleeveless leotard, gold shoulder pauldron and gold arm band, leaning back in distress, one arm raised |
| Man | Bald, stubbled man in a blue shirt at bottom right, arms wrapped around the woman's waist from behind, grinning, standing in front of an open wooden chest of gold coins |
| Creature | Two tiny indistinct winged/beaked figures flying in the gap between the woman and the dragon's jaw |
A square backglass/translite mounted in a cream-yellow cabinet frame, bordered by a red-and-gold art-deco frame of stepped triangles and diagonal rays. Across the top a wide banner carries a large italic block title in orange-yellow with a heavy red drop outline and black keyline; the centre of the word is buried under a white four-point starburst, leaving MOON ... EARTH legible, with a small TM at the right end. Below, five figures crowd a cave of gold treasure. A muscular bare-chested man in blue trousers and a small white cap stands at top centre on the treasure, right arm raised holding a short sword, another hilt at his hip. Left, a huge shaggy brown gorilla-like beast with a red gaping mouth and white fangs roars outward. Right, a bright green scaly dragon with a red eye, open fanged jaw and spines down its neck rears into the frame. Below centre, a blonde woman in a green leotard with gold shoulder armour and arm bands is held from behind by a bald man in a blue shirt clutching her waist. An open wooden chest of coins sits behind them, an orange sun or planet glows behind the gorilla, two small winged figures fly in the gap at right, and yellow ATARI text with a fuji logo sits bottom right above a tiny copyright line. Paint is scuffed and chipped along the top rail.