Stern Electronics’ Lectronamo, released in 1978 and designed by Mike Kubin, is an early entry from the dawn of the company’s solid-state era, wrapping a zappy electric/sci-fi theme around a clean, fast playfield. With a five-bank and a three-bank of drop targets, a spinner, and an upper-left kickback lane, it’s a tidy, skill-rewarding machine typical of the late-70s transition into electronic pinball.
The scoring rewards a player who learns its little secrets. Completing the right drop-target bank scores 6,000 points plus a climbing bonus multiplier — 2X, 3X, then 5X — that lasts the rest of the ball, making that bank the priority. Every fourth spin of the spinner advances the bonus, and so do the top saucer, the outlanes, and assorted targets, while the left lane collects your multiplied bonus (after which the base bonus resets, though the multiplier holds). There’s even a small hidden rollover by the spinner turnaround that lights the left inlane for a tidy 9,000.
Quick, clean, and full of period character, Lectronamo is a likeable artifact of pinball’s electronic awakening. For collectors who appreciate the elegant, uncluttered design of the earliest Stern solid-state games — and a satisfying drop-bank-and-spinner loop — it’s an enjoyable and historically interesting classic.