Gottlieb’s Card Whiz, released in 1976, deals players into a poker-themed electromechanical with one of the more strategically rich layouts of its era. Designed by the famed Ed Krynski and artist Gordon Morison, it centers on an imposing nine-bank of drop targets and a clever card-game conceit, asking you to complete poker hands across the playfield for a payoff at the end of each ball.
The depth comes from the Jokers. Collecting them increases the value of the drop targets, so the smart play is to grab two or three Jokers before committing to the bank — maximizing your points. Jokers also advance the value of color-coordinated lanes and the right saucer, making them the engine of a big game; veterans specifically plunge for the red and green Jokers, which affect the bottom lanes. Raising the base drop-target value before knocking them down is another key to squeezing out maximum points, and collecting the white insert lights a repeatable 3,000-point shot on the left loop.
Thoughtful, layered, and rewarding to learn, Card Whiz offers more strategic meat than its modest vintage might suggest. For collectors who love a gambling theme and the satisfying click of a big drop-target bank, it’s an absorbing and well-designed Gottlieb classic that rewards a planning mind.