"Top Card" and "Royal Pair" are two electro-mechanical pinball machines released by D. Gottlieb & Co. in 1974. "Top Card," introduced in August, is a single-player game with a card and gambling theme, featuring two flippers, three pop bumpers, four slingshots, and thirteen standup targets. Designed by Jeff Brenner with artwork by Gordon Morison, it had a production run of 3,100 units and is known for its straightforward gameplay. "Royal Pair," released in October as the add-a-ball version for export to Italy, shares the same design and features but focuses on awarding additional balls to extend gameplay.
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Top Card
Quickie Version:
UTAD via bank shots off the card stand-up targets. Whenever the rollover value is on 1000, nudge to get as many of those as possible.
Go-to Flipper:
Balanced
Risk Index:
Very High
Skillshot(s):
Hit the top star rollovers several times before having the ball fall onto the inner side of one of the top two bumpers where it can be kicked into the Ace target.
Full Rules:
To score well, you need to light the bumpers and to increase the star rollover values from 10 to 1000. Rollover value changes each time you hit a card target, going 10-100-1000-10-etc. When they’re worth 1000, try to avoid the targets and get as many rollovers as you can before their value changes again. The stand-up targets are primarily geared for getting a special rather than points; they only score 500 in 5-ball play (may be 1000 in 3-ball play). Where they help on points is in increasing the value of the bumpers. Strategy is to hit targets to light the bumpers: get the Ace to light the bottom bumper; get the five #9-K targets on the right to light the right bumper; get the five #2-6 targets on the left to light the left bumper. Once you have the bumpers lit, just keep flipping the ball up top and nudging to get as much bumper action as you can before the ball comes back down. This was one of the first games to use the indented-angle-with-post return lanes. You’ll need to learn when to nudge and when not to nudge to get balls to enter the return lane vs. drain when they go into either lower side. Competitive item: when you start the game, the rollover value is that left at the end of the previous game. This is an advantage for any player who inherits a 1000 value vs. a 10 value. Since it’s a single player machine, if it’s at the 1000 value before your match starts, you may want to choose to play first.
via Bob's Guide
