1963 · Gottlieb
Square Head
Known for Tic-tac-toe board, Corner bumpers and Gobble holes. Row of brick tenement buildings, narrow city alley, pale blue sky with a faint moon, upper-floor windows with figures leaning out, fire escapes and ladders, shop fronts with awnings and olive-green pavement.
- Year
- 1963
- Maker
- Gottlieb
- Type
- Electro-mechanical
- Display
- Score reels
- Players
- 1
Known for
- Display
Tic-tac-toe board
- Bumper
Corner bumpers
- Hole
Gobble holes
On the playfield
Hole 1
- Gobble holes
Bumpers 2
- Corner bumpers
- Center pop bumper
Lane 1
- Upper side lanes
Lights 1
- Gobble hole inserts inserts
Display 1
- Tic-tac-toe board
Other 1
- Center drain drain
On the backglass
Who and what
- man Top left, cartoon decorator in yellow jacket marked interior decorator and green trousers, balancing on a plank, arm raised with a spray gun
- man Top centre, grinning cartoon carpenter in white cap, red shirt and green overalls, carrying a long plank over his shoulder in white gloves
- woman Far left, thin woman in a black-and-white striped sleeveless top and red shorts, arms raised, mouth open
- man Centre left, balding stubbled man in a torn pink shirt and dark blue overalls, standing over a fallen figure
- woman Centre, stout woman with black hair in a bun, red-and-white spotted dress and yellow-and-black striped bloomers, holding a chubby baby in a bonnet
- man Centre right, wide-eyed blond man in a black suit and spotted bow tie, clutching a cardboard box, down on one knee
Setting
- Row of brick tenement buildings
- Narrow city alley
- Pale blue sky with a faint moon
- Upper-floor windows with figures leaning out
- Fire escapes and ladders
- Shop fronts with awnings
- Olive-green pavement
Text on it
- Gottlieb's
- SQUARE HEAD
- INTERIOR DECORATOR
- A Gottlieb
- FLIPPER
- SKILL GAME
- CHICAGO, ILL.
- PREVIOUS HIGH SCORE
- 2 5 5 0
- E-2
- DESTRUCTION CO.
- GROCERY
- KEEP OFF THE GRASS
- CHEERSHEE
- MILD-O-MATIC
- 1000%
- CLEAN UP
- DIRT
- AND HER CHIEF
- GAME OVER
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- BALLS to PLAY
Made by
- Design
- Wayne Neyens
- Art
- Roy Parker
Reference
Linked terms
- Corner bumpers also called Passive bumpers
Playfield vision analysis
Written by a machine from the photos, so details may be off.
Playfield
- red
- blue
- cream
- tan
Fingerprint: Three-by-three grid of nine pop bumpers with alternating red-and-blue caps and printed values, large triangular bare wood center ringed by 50 POINTS starburst, 3x3 grid of dark circles behind red crosshair lines, eyeball at top with red X diamonds and blue O clubs, two white oval flippers on wooden rails, cartoon side art, early Gottlieb style, wood and aluminum aesthetic
The most memorable element is a full three-by-three grid of nine pop bumpers, alternating red and blue, each printed with a small value number, covering almost the whole upper playfield. A large triangular patch of bare unfinished wood sits in the middle of the field, ringed by a red starburst reading 50 POINTS, an unusual undecorated void in an otherwise densely painted surface. Directly above it is a 3x3 matrix of plain dark circles overlaid with thin red crosshair lines, a deliberately abstract grid rather than characters. At the top an eyeball is painted between a red X of diamonds and a blue O of clubs, and the lower right carries the instruction FLIPPER BUTTONS ON SIDE OF CABINET with two blue arrows.
Setting
- Flat cream-white playfield background with fine crackle-glaze crazing and age spotting
- Painted cartoon city street scenes with terraced buildings down both side lanes
- Painted spectator crowd behind a picket fence at mid-field
- Bare aluminium cabinet rails and side walls surrounding the playfield
- Painted off-white sky and cloud shapes at the upper corners
Symbols
- Red x of diamonds
- Blue o of clubs
- Painted human eyeball
- 3x3 grid of dark maroon circles
- Red crosshair lines
- Red five-pointed starburst
- Picket fence
- Red and blue star shapes
- Blue directional arrows
- Red-bordered score reels
- Qr code on the instruction card
Notable shapes
- Large triangular patch of bare varnished wood in the centre of the playfield, ringed by a red 50 points starburst
- 3x3 grid of nine dark circular holes under red crosshair lines
- 3x3 grid of nine scalloped pop bumpers
- Two upright white oval flippers mounted low on the playfield rather than in the usual apron cutout
- Curved chrome ball-guide rail arching across the top of the field
Art motifs
- Red lane guide wires with blue ball guides
- Yellow and red bumper surrounds
- Cream score panels with black numerals
- Brick wall and building facades in flat pastel colour
- Woodgrain ball-return apron at the bottom
Themes
- Playing cards and symbols
- Squares and grids
- Carnival or village street
- Score-attack skill game
- Add-a-ball feature
Text on it
- D. Gottlieb
- A PRODUCT OF
- CHICAGO ILLINOIS U.S.A.
- SQUAREHEAD
- FLIPPER
- FLIPPER BUTTONS
- ON SIDE OF CABINET
- 50 POINTS
- ADD-A-BALL
- 20 POINTS WHEN LIT
- ADD-A-BALL POINTS WHEN LIT
- 3000
- 200
- 100
- POINTS
- ADDITIONAL BALL WHEN LIT
- 10 POINTS WHEN LIT
- SQUARE HEAD
- MINIMUM 5 BALLS PER PLAY
- BUMPERS SCORE EITHER X OR O AS INDICATED. COMPLETING A LINE OF XS OR OS, LIGHTS HOLES AND ROLLOVERS. X AND O FEATURES RESET AFTER EACH BALL.
- 1LT PENALTY - 1 BALL PLUS BALL IN PLAY
- SCORING 1000 POINTS ADDS 1 BALL
- SCORING 2000 POINTS ADDS 1 BALL
- SCORING 3000 POINTS ADDS 1 BALL
- SCORING 4000 POINTS ADDS 1 BALL
- Regular PinballGame.info
- 1963 Gottlieb Square Head
| Kind | Description |
|---|---|
| Man | Bespectacled cartoon man in a blue shirt and dark hair on the left mid-field, arm raised holding a red paddle, mouth open in a grin |
| Woman | Smiling cartoon woman with bright red bobbed hair and a blue-and-white outfit at the left upper-mid edge, head and shoulders only |
| Woman | Smiling cartoon woman with bright red hair at the right upper-mid edge, head and shoulders only, mirrored to the left one |
| Other | Line-drawn clown or jester figure in a pale blue-and-white costume on the lower right apron area, wearing a pointed cap with a pom-pom, arms raised |
| Other | Two small line-drawn figures in striped swimwear in the lower centre-left, drawn in thin blue outline on the white apron area |
| Other | Small painted human eye centred at the very top of the playfield between two playing-card symbols |
Painted wood playfield seen from above inside a bare aluminium cabinet, lower apron and front edge visible. The dominant feature is a three-by-three grid of nine round pop bumpers filling the upper two-thirds, alternating red and blue scalloped caps ringed in white on tan bases, printed with values 10, 10, 50 across the back row, 5, 10, 5 in the middle and 10, 5, 10 in front, threaded on red and yellow lane guide wires. At the very top sits a painted card display: an eyeball flanked by a red X of diamonds and a blue O of clubs. Below the bumpers a 3x3 grid of dark maroon circles sits behind red crosshair lines, with two cream score reels marked 50 and yellow panels reading ADD-A-BALL 20 POINTS WHEN LIT. The field centre is bare varnished wood in a large triangle carrying a red starburst marked 50 POINTS, flanked by two white oval flippers on wooden rails. Cartoon side art shows a bespectacled man in a blue shirt and two smiling red-haired women. Lower right lettering reads FLIPPER BUTTONS ON SIDE OF CABINET beside a blue signature.
Backglass vision analysis
Written by a machine from the photos, so details may be off.
Backglass
- blue
- red
- yellow
- olive green
Fingerprint: "SQUARE HEAD" in enormous bevelled red-yellow letters, grinning carpenter carrying title plank below, chaotic alley with tenement walls, circus family, woman with baby, boys chasing coins, animals, mechanical four-digit score showing 2550, "E-2 DESTRUCTION CO." awning, red-and-white tile number strip bottom edge with "GAME OVER" and "BALLS to PLAY", cartoon comic-alley aesthetic
The title 'SQUARE HEAD' in enormous bevelled red-and-yellow block letters, with a grinning cartoon carpenter carrying the title plank over his shoulder directly beneath it. A chaotic one-point-perspective alley scene where a circus-like family, a woman carrying a baby, and two boys chasing coins on the pavement are crammed between brick tenement walls. An old-style mechanical score window reading '2 5 5 0' with a pink 'PREVIOUS HIGH SCORE' panel sits dead centre, just above a yellow 'E-2 DESTRUCTION CO.' awning. A red-on-white tile number strip '1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10' runs the whole bottom edge between 'GAME OVER' and 'BALLS to PLAY'.
Setting
- Row of brick tenement buildings
- Narrow city alley
- Pale blue sky with a faint moon
- Upper-floor windows with figures leaning out
- Fire escapes and ladders
- Shop fronts with awnings
- Olive-green pavement
Symbols
- Four-digit mechanical score reels
- Red-and-white tile number strip 1 to 10
- Brick tenement facades
- Fire escape ladders
- Planks of timber
- Spray gun
- Picnic basket
- Scattered coins
- Detergent or refuse tins
- Game over and balls to play insert panels
Lettering
- Mixed: slanted white cursive script with navy outline for the brand name; huge bevelled red-to-orange gradient block capitals with yellow inline and dark drop shadow for the title; small hand-lettered black sans-serif and script on the novelty shop signs and labels
Themes
- Comic alley
- Tenement buildings
- Circus family
- Street scene
- Sign painter and handyman
- Demolition company
- Children playing
- Cats and dogs
- Picnic
Title on it
- Gottlieb's square head
Text on it
- Gottlieb's
- SQUARE HEAD
- INTERIOR DECORATOR
- A Gottlieb
- FLIPPER
- SKILL GAME
- CHICAGO, ILL.
- PREVIOUS HIGH SCORE
- 2 5 5 0
- E-2
- DESTRUCTION CO.
- GROCERY
- KEEP OFF THE GRASS
- CHEERSHEE
- MILD-O-MATIC
- 1000%
- CLEAN UP
- DIRT
- AND HER CHIEF
- GAME OVER
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- BALLS to PLAY
| Kind | Description |
|---|---|
| Man | Top left, cartoon decorator in yellow jacket marked interior decorator and green trousers, balancing on a plank, arm raised with a spray gun |
| Man | Top centre, grinning cartoon carpenter in white cap, red shirt and green overalls, carrying a long plank over his shoulder in white gloves |
| Woman | Far left, thin woman in a black-and-white striped sleeveless top and red shorts, arms raised, mouth open |
| Man | Centre left, balding stubbled man in a torn pink shirt and dark blue overalls, standing over a fallen figure |
| Woman | Centre, stout woman with black hair in a bun, red-and-white spotted dress and yellow-and-black striped bloomers, holding a chubby baby in a bonnet |
| Man | Centre right, wide-eyed blond man in a black suit and spotted bow tie, clutching a cardboard box, down on one knee |
| Child | Lower centre, boy in a yellow cap, pale blue shirt and green shorts, kneeling and reaching for scattered coins |
| Child | Lower right, boy in a red-and-white striped shirt and blue trousers sitting on the pavement, one hand raised |
| Woman | Right, tall blonde woman in a pink-and-white striped top and green shorts, barefoot, holding a grey cat and a wicker picnic basket |
| Animal | Lower left, small ginger cat with arched back |
| Animal | Lower centre, grey-and-black striped kitten |
| Animal | Lower left, small brown dog with a bone |
| Animal | In the blonde woman's arms, small grey cat |
| Other | A figure sprawled face down on the pavement under the balding man, in dark clothing with a white mark on the back |
| Man | Upper right, man in an orange shirt leaning out of a window with arms out |
| Man | Mid right, worker in a red shirt on a ladder against the brick wall |
| Woman | Far upper right, woman at a window with arms raised |
A wide cartoon-style backglass set inside a royal-blue painted border with two tall white vertical panels at the left and right edges. Across the top, 'Gottlieb's' appears in slanted white-and-navy cursive script, followed by 'SQUARE HEAD' in huge block capitals with red-to-orange gradient faces, yellow inline shading and a dark blue drop shadow. Below is a crowded cartoon alley of brick tenement buildings under a pale blue sky with a faint moon. At top left a man in a yellow jacket marked 'INTERIOR DECORATOR' balances on a plank reading '...AND HER CHIEF', spraying paint; at top centre a grinning carpenter in a white cap and green overalls carries a plank over his shoulder with a small sign reading 'A Gottlieb FLIPPER SKILL GAME CHICAGO, ILL.' Four mechanical score windows sit centre showing '2 5 5 0', flanked left by a pink 'PREVIOUS HIGH SCORE' panel. A yellow awning reads 'E-2 DESTRUCTION CO.' Below is a mad jumble of figures: a striped-shirt sailor, a balding man in torn pink shirt and blue overalls with a 'KEEP OFF THE GRASS' sign, a stout woman in a red-spotted dress and yellow-black striped bloomers holding a bonneted baby, a wide-eyed man in a black suit clutching a box, a boy in a red-striped shirt sitting on the pavement, a kneeling boy in a cap reaching for scattered coins, and a tall blonde woman in a pink top and green shorts holding a cat and a picnic basket. A ginger cat, a striped kitten and a small brown dog cross the olive-green ground. The bottom edge carries 'GAME OVER', numerals '1' to '10' in red-and-black tiles, and 'BALLS to PLAY'.