Williams’ Grand Lizard, released in 1986 and designed by Barry Oursler with artist Python Anghelo, is a steamy jungle-fantasy adventure that pairs a player-controlled Magna-Save with a multiball whose scoring scales with the action. With four flippers, no pop bumpers, and a split upper playfield, it’s a distinctive mid-80s machine wrapped in Anghelo’s lush, exotic artwork.
The scoring has a clever multiplicative heart: your points scale with how many balls are in play, so a two-ball multiball doubles everything and a three-ball trebles it. Spelling LIZARD on the lower standups lights the spinner and advances the bonus multiplier toward a hefty 10X max, while the upper playfield’s “Cave” shot builds value via the leftmost drop targets — four caves lighting an extra ball. Locks sit just right of the left ramp, and the wise move is to start multiball off the upper-right spot target, since multiball has no ball save.
There’s real depth for the dedicated, from using the Magna-Save (and the ARD targets that extend its timer) to weighing risky Bonus X targets against safer lit shots. Combos through the Cave to the upper-right standup pay 50K, and lighting bonus holdover sets up a big ball-three payoff. Exotic, strategic, and rewarding, Grand Lizard is an underrated Oursler–Anghelo collaboration — a jungle quest that gives a knowing player plenty of treasure to chase.