Gottlieb’s Atlantis, released in 1975, dives into fantasy mythology with the clean, confident playfield design that defined the company’s electromechanical heyday. It’s the work of designer Jeff Brenner with artwork by the prolific Gordon Morison, and its standout physical feature is an imposing ten-bank of drop targets — a wall of switches that anchors the scoring and gives the table a satisfying, target-rich rhythm.
The play rewards precision and persistence. Any lit rollover is worth a healthy 3,000 points, so the savvy advice is to keep hammering those lit targets even after you’ve collected the special. A clever bonus mechanic carries a lit numbered lane from ball to ball, and there’s a tidy 5,000-point reward for the accurate player who can strike a blue and white target simultaneously. As with many Gottlieb tables of the period, ball control matters: the right inlane is a known danger, ready to punish a sloppy dead bounce or drop catch with a quick drain.
Elegant, balanced, and built to last, Atlantis is a fine example of mid-70s Gottlieb craftsmanship. For collectors and players who love the methodical, drop-target-driven gameplay of the electromechanical era, it’s a handsome and rewarding table that still holds up beautifully today.