Here’s a genuine oddity for the collectors — Night Moves, a 1989 machine credited to International and designed by the prolific John Trudeau, working outside his more famous houses. With its adult-nightlife theme and a striking forty-character alphanumeric display mounted right in the playfield, it’s the sort of rare, slightly mysterious title that turns heads when it surfaces on a bank. The layout is lean and old-school: a pair of flippers and pops, eight standups, a spinning target, two kick-out saucers, and a two-ball multiball waiting in the wings.
For a game of modest ambitions, there’s satisfying texture in the rules. Send the ball through the lanes feeding the flippers and you’ll arm a short hurry-up on the left, sometimes worth a tasty “double your score” — a real swing for an opportunistic player. Completing a target bank lights one of six bonus lamps, and lighting all six opens the red target for an extra ball, the kind of long-game objective that rewards patience. Multiball asks you to find the lit saucer and lock, then release by driving the ball cleanly through the center spinner lane while release is flashing — and because that release toggles with every sling or pop hit, timing is everything. In multiplayer games, watch out: lock stealing is alive here, so check whether release is lit before you plunge, and a short plunge can swipe an opponent’s stashed ball.
Either inlane will briefly light the spinner for points, a nice little reward for keeping the ball alive. Night Moves is a footnote for most, but a fun, scarce curio for the player who delights in the road less traveled.