Released in multiple versions, solid state and electromechanical, Sinbad is one of a handful of "cross-over" titles as the pinball world shifted into a new digital format. The feel of the game is classic EM, but the game takes advantage of the burgeoning digital age with electronic scoring, tones, and other new-wave options at the time.

The game is loosely based on Columbia Pictures’ 1977 feature film “Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger”. Gottlieb had recently been purchased by Columbia Pictures, and Sinbad represents one of the first attempts at synergy between a Columbia property and their newly acquired pinball division. The four banks of drop targets in the game are tied in with the bonus ladder, the bonus multipliers and the top rollover lanes. Two- and four-player electromechanical versions of the game were made, titled Sinbad and Eye of the Tiger respectively. Slight differences in artwork and rules exist between the EM and solid state versions to accommodate EM limitations.