"Surf Champ" was one of the first arcade surfing games of all time. The pinball machine was built by D. Gottlieb & Co. in 1976.
In professional surfing, 1976 was the year of Peter Townend.
The Australian claimed 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 all getting into these coin-operated machines.
"Surf Champ" is widely considered the best pinball surfing game ever made.
The official record says the production reached 1,070 units, but serial numbers of "Surf Champ" compiled by fans indicate that over 4,000 machines were manufactured.
Pinball Fever
The electromechanical 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).
If you don't own a real pinball machine, play one of our online surfing games.