Gottlieb’s Royal Guard, released in 1968, is a standout of the late-1960s wedge-head era, distinguished by one of the cleverest mechanical gimmicks of its day. Its four central “snap targets” pivot back and forth in unison, and their position changes what they do: pivoted left, hitting a target lights a stationary target of matching color; pivoted right, it lights a pop bumper instead. It’s a genuinely ingenious bit of electromechanical engineering that gives this World Cultures-themed table real strategic texture.

The scoring is a rich web of light-and-collect goals. Rolling over the top A-B-C-D-E lanes lights the “C” lane for a special — and that progress holds over from ball to ball — while those same lanes light the corresponding drains for 500 points apiece, a meaningful score boost over a game. The deep play, as veterans attest, is to light all eight standup positions (each target in both its left and right states) to light the special at one of the fan targets, then keep feeding the rear standups off the pops for repeated points.

Inventive, layered, and rewarding to learn, Royal Guard punches well above the typical complexity of its era. For collectors who treasure the mechanical creativity of golden-age Gottlieb, it’s a fascinating and genuinely strategic classic that still surprises.