1983 · Gottlieb
Rack 'Em Up
Known for Drop target 4-bank, Drop target 3-bank, Corner Pocket and Lower left standup target. Mottled teal-blue studio wall, dark shaded void behind the wooden frame and green felt billiard table surface.
- Year
- 1983
- Maker
- Gottlieb
- Type
- Solid state
- Display
- Alphanumeric
- Players
- 4
Known for
- Drop target
Drop target 4-bank
- Drop target
Drop target 3-bank
- kicker lane
Corner Pocket
- Target
Lower left standup target
- Goal
Pool balls
On the playfield
- yellow
- sea green
- cream
- red
- 2 flippers
- 3 pop bumpers
- 1 spinner
- 2 slingshots
Drop targets 2
- Drop target 4-bank
- Drop target 3-bank
Target 1
- Lower left standup target
Lanes 6
- Corner Pocket kicker lane
- Upper side lanes
- Left in lanes
- Right in lane
- Right out lane
- Left out lane
On the backglass
Who and what
- man Slim young man at left in a bright red jacket, red patterned bandana at the neck, dark sunglasses and a yellow cap, bending low over the table with a cue held diagonally, grinning
- man Broad-shouldered man behind him in a tan wide-brimmed hat and blue shirt, leaning in from behind, mouth open in a wide grin
- man Man at right in a yellow shirt with blue epaulettes, white collar, red tie and a brown flat cap, smiling, with a cue stick angled up past his shoulder
Setting
- Mottled teal-blue studio wall
- Dark shaded void behind the wooden frame
- Green felt billiard table surface
Text on it
- Rack 'em Up!
- CREDITS
- BALL
- IN PLAY
- MATCH
How it plays
-
Goals 3
- Pool balls
- Complete Rack
Other
- Lane change
-
Awards 2
- Spot Number
- Light Spinner
Made by
- Design & Software
- John Buras
- Art
- David Moore
Reference
Linked terms
- Drop target 4-bank also called Upper-left drop bank
- Drop target 3-bank also called Lower-right drop bank
- Corner Pocket also called Top-left corner pocket
- Lower left standup target also called Lower-right spot target
- Left out lane also called Lower-left Special outlane
- Pool balls also called Rack
- Complete Rack also called Rack and Special
Playfield vision analysis
Written by a machine from the photos, so details may be off.
Playfield
- yellow
- sea green
- cream
- red
Fingerprint: Huge cream-orange italic script Rack em Up slanting middle over cartoon striped-vest man holding cue yellow tent, three fat round yellow bumpers black chevrons triangle, large black inverted triangle lower centre full pyramid numbered inserts 12 9 3 14 5 to 1, cream-red harlequin diamond pattern repeats
The centrepiece is the huge cream-and-orange italic script 'Rack 'em Up!' slanting across the middle of the playfield, over a cartoon of a striped-vest man holding a cue beside a yellow tent. Three fat round yellow pop-bumper caps with black chevron markings sit in a triangle above it. A large black inverted triangle in the lower centre carries a full pyramid of numbered insert rings (12, 9, 3, 14, 5 down to 1) flanked by two red 'RACK' letters, which is unlike anything else on the field. The plastics are printed with a cream-and-red harlequin diamond pattern that repeats across every ramp and lane guide. At the bottom, the apron carries a large stepped blue-and-yellow chevron 'V' and a dark instruction card headed 'HOW TO PLAY RACK 'EM UP'.
Setting
- Abstract painted pale sea-green and blue gradient suggesting sky and water
- Faint ghosted pin-up figures of women in swimsuits painted large and semi-transparent behind the plastics
- Cream and red harlequin diamond pattern printed on all plastics and on the apron border
Symbols
- Pool cue and cue ball
- Playing-card rank inserts numbered 1 to 15
- Yellow tent
- Black inverted triangle target with concentric rings
- Red chevron bullseye insert
- Speech-bubble graphic on the apron
- Playfield arrow
Notable shapes
- Large black inverted triangle in the lower centre holding a pyramid of numbered inserts
- Three round yellow pop bumper caps with black chevrons
- Cream-and-red harlequin diamond plastics on every ramp and lane guide
- Red plunger tip at lower left
- Tall cream-and-red diamond-patterned plastics flanking both upper corners
Art motifs
- Harlequin diamond print on plastics
- Stepped chevron bands on the apron
- Concentric numbered scoring rings
- Airbrushed fade from yellow to blue-green
Themes
- Billiards
- Pool hall
- Carnival
- Circus tent
- Card scoring
Title on it
- Rack 'em up!
Text on it
- Rack 'em Up!
- CORNER POCKET
- 10,000
- LIGHTS
- RACK CHANGES
- RED ONE 5000
- MATCH MISSILES
- 10K
- 5K
- 3K
- SPECIAL WHEN LIT
- RACK
- SHOOT AGAIN
- HOW TO PLAY RACK 'EM UP
- 27B14 REV.F
- LANE CHANGE
- SPECIAL
- EXTRA BALL
- Cottlieb
- Cottlieb™
- 1 REPLAY FOR EACH SCORE OF 700,000 POINTS.
- 1 REPLAY FOR EACH SCORE OF 1,600,000 POINTS.
- 3 REPLAYS FOR BEATING HIGH SCORE TO DATE.
| Kind | Description |
|---|---|
| Man | Cartoon, bare-chested with dark hair, wearing a red-and-white striped vest and dark trousers, standing mid-playfield to the left of the title, holding a cue or club up in one hand, mouth open |
| Man | Cartoon, smaller figure with a moustache wearing a yellow hat and yellow shirt, standing just above the title script near the red lane-change inserts |
| Other | Large yellow peaked tent or circus tent painted immediately right of the striped-vest man |
| Woman | Faint painted pin-up figure in a swimsuit, upper left quadrant, mostly hidden behind the corner plastics |
| Woman | Large faint painted pin-up figure in a swimsuit at the lower left of the playfield, pale blue-green, semi-transparent behind the plastics |
| Woman | Large faint painted pin-up figure in a swimsuit on the right side of the playfield, pale blue-green, semi-transparent |
A photographed electro-mechanical pinball playfield, viewed slightly from the left, dominated by a pale sea-green and yellow colour scheme with cream-and-red diamond-patterned plastics. At the top of the upper playfield a horizontal row of clear plastic lane guides sits above five blue-white glowing post-covers and small numbered inserts reading 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13. Three large round yellow pop bumper caps with black chevron/arrow markings form a triangle across the upper-centre. A cartoon illustration of a bare-chested dark-haired man in a red-and-white striped vest stands mid-playfield holding a cue or club, beside a large yellow tent; a smaller moustached cartoon man in a yellow hat stands left of the 'Rack 'em Up!' script. The title runs across the centre in big curved italic script, cream with orange outline and dark shadow. Below sit a black triangular target with concentric rings of numbered inserts, a yellow 'SPECIAL WHEN LIT' panel, two pale slingshots, a red plunger tip, and the lower apron with a blue-and-yellow stepped chevron motif. Pale grey-blue ghosted figures of women in swimsuits are painted as faint background art behind the plastics.
Backglass vision analysis
Written by a machine from the photos, so details may be off.
Backglass
- yellow
- teal
- brown
- red
Fingerprint: Rack 'Em Up!, enormous yellow hand-lettered script title slanting across top with tiny oval brand wordmark above capital R, three grinning cartoon hustlers in caps and sunglasses crowding billiard table, lowest red-jacketed figure in sunglasses most memorable, cue sticks and scattered numbered pool balls lie across mottled teal wall, wooden pool-cue case rendered as funnel with open lid
The dominant feature is the enormous yellow hand-lettered script title Rack 'em Up! slanting up across the top, with a tiny oval brand wordmark tucked above the capital R. The illustration is framed by a giant wooden pool-cue case rendered as a funnel or trapezoid, its open lid showing yellow hanging lamp light. Three grinning cartoon hustlers in caps and sunglasses crowd a billiard table, with the low red-jacketed figure in sunglasses most memorable. Cue sticks, a chalk cube and scattered numbered pool balls lie across the mottled teal wall.
Setting
- Mottled teal-blue studio wall
- Dark shaded void behind the wooden frame
- Green felt billiard table surface
Symbols
- Pool balls with numerals
- Pool cue sticks
- Cue chalk cube
- Wooden cue case
- Hanging conical lamp shade
- Green felt table
- Cue ball
Lettering
- Very large slanted yellow cursive script with thick black drop shadow and white highlights
Themes
- Pool
- Billiards
- Hustlers
- Game room
Title on it
- Rack 'em up!
Text on it
- Rack 'em Up!
- CREDITS
- BALL
- IN PLAY
- MATCH
| Kind | Description |
|---|---|
| Man | Slim young man at left in a bright red jacket, red patterned bandana at the neck, dark sunglasses and a yellow cap, bending low over the table with a cue held diagonally, grinning |
| Man | Broad-shouldered man behind him in a tan wide-brimmed hat and blue shirt, leaning in from behind, mouth open in a wide grin |
| Man | Man at right in a yellow shirt with blue epaulettes, white collar, red tie and a brown flat cap, smiling, with a cue stick angled up past his shoulder |
A backglass painted in bold comic-book cartoon style. A huge yellow cursive title reading Rack 'em Up! with heavy black shadow and white highlights sweeps across the top, with a small oval maker's wordmark above it. Behind the title a large wooden, trapezoidal cue-cabinet frame forms a funnel from the upper corners down to a narrow box at bottom centre, and a hanging cylindrical lamp shade casts a bright yellow cone of light onto the scene inside. Three cartoon men crowd around a green-felted billiard table: at left a slim youth in a red jacket with a red-and-white bandana, dark sunglasses and a yellow cap, leaning low with a cue across his chest; behind him a broad grinning man in a tan wide-brimmed hat and blue shirt; at right a smiling man in a yellow shirt with blue epaulettes, white collar, red tie and a brown flat cap. Pool balls, a chalk cube, a triangle rack, cue sticks and an open cue case surround the cabinet. A mottled teal-blue studio wall fills the background. Six blue rectangular display windows glow across the glass, and a yellow-gold metal frame with black side rails borders the whole piece.