International Concepts

International Concepts was established in 1989, headquartered in the Kansas City, Missouri region, with the aim of producing innovative “cocktail” style pinball machines for both established coin-op routes and novelty-oriented small businesses. Founded by entrepreneurs seeking to revive a market segment that had largely disappeared by the late 1980s, the company partnered with Premier Technology (Gottlieb) for manufacturing and enlisted veteran designer John Trudeau to create the playfields. International Concepts set out to compete with full-sized pins by offering compact, table-like cabinets that combined modern gameplay elements—such as multiball, pop bumpers, and four-player capability—with smaller footprints.

​

Although the firm attracted some market attention, it ultimately released just two pinball machines—both in 1989—before ceasing operations. The first title, Night Moves, was built on Gottlieb System 80B hardware and featured a nightclub theme, while Caribbean Cruise used the newer System 3 architecture and carried a tropical motif. Despite their distinctive form factors and decent reception, production of these games remained limited—Caribbean Cruise is confirmed at around 377 units—making them rare collector’s items. International Concepts’ unusual strategy of selling the machines through exclusive distributorships proved unsustainable, and by late 1990 the venture had ended. However, its two releases are remembered today for packing full-featured pinball gameplay into the compact “cocktail” concept, preserving a unique niche in the industry’s history.