Run the table — Gottlieb’s Bank-A-Ball is an electromechanical single-player wrapped in a billiards theme, and it comes from the legendary designer Ed Krynski with art by the great Roy Parker, a pairing of two of Gottlieb’s most cherished creative talents. With reel scoring and a confirmed run of 3,400, it’s a handsome and popular woodrail-era Gottlieb celebrating the pool hall.
The layout is elegantly focused in the classic Gottlieb tradition: two flippers, three pop bumpers, a pair of slingshots, and a generous seven standup targets. Those seven standups are the heart of the game, giving a sharp-shooting player a satisfying field of targets to work through — a clean, target-focused design that rewards accurate shooting, evoking the precision of running a pool table. The three pop bumpers keep the ball lively up top, and the pair of slingshots adds bounce, all in service of the timeless billiards theme. It’s the kind of straightforward, well-balanced layout that made these Krynski-and-Parker machines such enduring pleasures.
Bank-A-Ball is a fine showcase of the celebrated Krynski-and-Parker craft, pairing an evergreen billiards theme with a satisfying, standup-rich playfield and Parker’s warm artwork. The pool-hall motif was a perennial favorite, and this machine translates its precision into rewarding pinball. For the collector who loves the golden age of EM pinball and its greatest creative talents, it’s a rewarding find. Work those seven standups, ride the bumpers, and run the table. Some machines capture the satisfying precision of their theme, and this Gottlieb billiards classic banks a beauty every time. Chalk up and drop a coin.