"Surf Champ": the best pinball surfing machine of all time


"Surf Champ" was one of the first arcade surfing games ever. The pinball machine was built by D. Gottlieb & Co., in 1976.

In professional surfing, 1976 was the year of Peter Townend. The Australian secured the only world title of his career, in the newly-created International Professional Surfers (IPS) circuit.

In the entertainment world, the introduction of microprocessors brought pinball into the realm of electronic gaming. Digital sound effects, speech, and complex rules were getting into these coin-operated machines.
"Surf Champ" is widely considered the best pinball surfing game of all time. The official record says the production reached a total of 1070 units, but serial numbers of "Surf Champ" compiled by fans indicate that over 4000 machines were manufactured.

The electro-mechanical structure featured flippers, pop bumpers, slingshots, star rollovers, five-bank drop targets, one kick-out hole, and one spinning target.


The pinball surfing game had a maximum display score of 99,990 points, and three chimes. The "Surf Champ" model was designed by Ed Krynski, and the artwork was a creation of Gordon Morison.


"Surf Queens" (1946), "Surf Club" (1954), "Surf Rider" (1956), "Surf Side" (1967), "Surfers" (1967), "Surf Champ" and "Surfer" (1976), "Surfing" (1972), and "Surf 'n Safari" (1991), are some of the most important pinball surfing machines ever produced.
Between 1929 and 1996, D. Gottlieb & Co. released 624 different pinball machines. Their most popular arcade game was "Baffle Ball" (1931).

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