Gottlieb’s Super Mario Bros., released in 1992 and designed by Jon Norris, brings Nintendo’s world-conquering plumber to a playfield built around the video-game logic fans grew up with. With three flippers, twin up-kickers, and an elevated mini-playfield, it translates the run-and-jump spirit of the Mushroom Kingdom into pinball, complete with castles to smash and a Yoshi target to feed.
The scoring leans into its game-world theme. During multiball, hitting the castle pays a five-million jackpot, and each successive castle shot is worth double the last — a powerful, escalating reward. Lighting all four bullets via the left inlane and shooting the castle starts a video mode worth thirty million if you win it. The skill shot grows with practice: after a plunge, hitting the Yoshi target in the upper playfield bumps the skill-shot value by 500,000 with each successive hit. And there’s a clever strategic fork — being “SUPER” enables double mode scoring, which can be far more valuable than simply destroying castles.
Approachable, colorful, and bursting with Nintendo charm, Super Mario Bros. is a fun and family-friendly machine that captures the joy of its source. The game even lights multiball automatically by your third ball if you haven’t triggered it, keeping newcomers in the action. For collectors who love a beloved gaming license and an accessible, cheerful table, it’s an enjoyable slice of early-90s Gottlieb. Here we go!