Gottlieb’s Rock Encore, released in 1986 and designed by John Trudeau, turns up the volume with a music-and-concert theme, arriving as a re-themed companion to the studio’s earlier game Rock. With four flippers, twin spinning targets, a five-bank and a four-bank of drop targets, and a rollunder, it’s a fast, spinner-driven solid-state machine built for players who love ripping a good spinner for big points.
The scoring philosophy is wonderfully direct: spinners all day. The two spinning targets are the heart of the game, paying 10K per lit spin, with the slingshots changing which spinner is lit — so the winning rhythm is to keep the lit spinner ripping while working the drop targets in between. There’s a satisfying combo to chase, too, in shooting the double-score shot and then immediately hitting the lit spinner for amplified points. It’s a clean, high-energy ruleset that rewards a player with a good feel for the table’s flow.
Loud, fast, and dripping with mid-80s concert energy, Rock Encore is an enjoyable and underrated Gottlieb machine — its spinner-focused scoring makes for an addictive, rip-it-again gameplay loop. For collectors who love a music theme and a great spinner game from the System 80 era, it’s a likeable and characterful classic that knows exactly what it is. Take the stage, find the lit spinner, and play for the encore the crowd is begging for.