Ride ’em cowboy — Gottlieb’s 1977 Mustang is an electromechanical two-player that gallops into the American West with all the dust and swagger of a frontier tale, and it comes from the legendary team of designer Ed Krynski and artist Gordon Morison, the partnership behind an incredible run of Gottlieb’s most cherished classics. With reel scoring and a confirmed run of 2,327, it’s a handsome late-EM machine offered in three- or five-ball play.
The layout carries a distinctive character, notably ditching slingshots in favor of a different flow: two flippers, three pop bumpers, three star rollovers, two kicker lanes, two kick-out holes, and a three-bank of drop targets, all crowned by an end-of-ball bonus. That end-of-ball bonus is the strategic heart of the game, rewarding a player who works the drops, the rollovers, and the kicker lanes to build up their haul before the ball drains. The absence of slingshots gives the machine an unusual feel, changing how the ball behaves near the flippers and marking it as a genuine product of Krynski’s willingness to vary his designs.
Mustang is a fine showcase of the celebrated Gottlieb team’s craft, pairing an evergreen western theme with Morison’s evocative art and Krynski’s reliably satisfying playfield instincts. The frontier setting was a perennial favorite in these years, all cowboys and open range, and this machine captures that spirit with real charm. For the collector who loves the golden age of EM pinball and its greatest designers, it’s a worthy find. Work those drop targets and kicker lanes, build your bonus, and ride off into the sunset. Some machines just capture the romance of the West, and this galloping Gottlieb classic rides tall in the saddle. Yeehaw.