A cosmic card game — Gottlieb’s Asteroid Annie and the Aliens is a wonderfully offbeat solid-state single-player that blends outer-space aliens with a poker-and-playing-cards theme, designed by John Buras with art by the masterful Gordon Morison. A genuine rarity with a confirmed run of just 211 and an alphanumeric display, it’s a scarce and characterful early Gottlieb with a clever card-collecting hook.
The strategy is a satisfying blend of drops and card play. The core wisdom is simple: go for the drop targets, since completing all of them lights the extra ball in the upper-left part of the playfield, a valuable prize. Cleverly, completing as many top lanes as you can lights one or two of the poker suits, and only lit suits can be claimed on the drop targets — so there’s a thoughtful interplay between the lanes and the drops that rewards a strategic player. You can even speed up card collection by plunging for suits you don’t already have. A word of caution: watch that right outlane, be careful trapping on the right, and be ready to nudge the ball from the outlane back to the flipper.
Asteroid Annie is a delightfully weird and scarce Gottlieb, a machine whose mash-up of alien invaders and poker gives it a personality all its own, brought to life by Morison’s distinctive art. With only 211 built, it’s a genuine find for the collector who prizes rarity and offbeat charm, and the lane-and-drop card-collecting mechanic gives a thoughtful player something rewarding to master. Complete the top lanes to light your suits, claim them on the drops, and chase that extra ball. Some machines are beloved for their sheer originality, and this cosmic card game is one of them. Deal a hand among the stars and drop a coin.