Kick some action-hero tail — Gottlieb’s Barb Wire is a solid-state four-player based on the mid-’90s action film, designed by Bill Parker with art by Constantino and Jeanine Mitchell and a Craig Beierwaltes sound package. With a DMD display and a confirmed run of 1,000, it’s a scarce and interesting licensed machine from the twilight of Gottlieb’s storied run, built around a lively mode-and-multiball structure.
The strategy centers on the “Big Fatso” toy and the machine’s many multiball modes. Off the plunge, feed the ball into Big Fatso for a Haywire letter, and strike Big Fatso to raise him briefly, then hit him once more to launch a mode — and nearly all the modes are multiballs, with only Hideout being the exception. Make a flashing arrow shot to claim the lit award on the triangle, and make sure to grab that fat 100-million award. Hideout mode is a clever risk-reward gauntlet: drive one of the holes — Retina Scan, Fatso, or Mind Read — to pick between a payout or gambling on for a better one, with the sequence climbing from Advance Multiplier to Extra Ball to Super Jackpot to the glorious Double Your Score. The left ramp awards an add-a-ball in every multiball mode, a crucial bit of ball-keeping.
Barb Wire is a fun, scarce Gottlieb that packs a genuinely multiball-heavy ruleset into its action-movie package, with that Big Fatso toy and the Hideout risk-reward gauntlet giving a player plenty to chase. As a late Gottlieb machine, it’s a poignant deep cut for collectors who cherish the company’s legacy. Raise Big Fatso, start those multiball modes, and push your luck in Hideout for the Double Your Score. Some machines reward bold play, and this one does. Lock and load, and drop a coin.