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The "ancestor" of all pinball machines is "Bagatelle-Table"
A sort of hybrid between a "pin table" and pool table. Players tried to hit balls with cue sticks and
get them into pockets or slots surrounded by nails and pins. Another step towards the modern
pinball form occurred sometime at the end of 19th century, when inventor Montague Redgrave
patented a device called a "ball shooter", which was based on the recently invented steel spring. -
Bagatelle table
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The early years of the pinball
The first coin-operated "pinball machine" was invented in 1931 by Automatic Industries and was called "Whiffle Board". But the gaming industry really began in the mid 1930's with the production of a game called "Ballyhoo". It was invented by one Raymond Maloney, who later started the Bally Manufacturing Company of Chicago, IL. -
Ballyhoo
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Pinball from the late 40's to the 90's
Pinball machines really grew in popularity after World War II. The ten year period of 1948-58 is referred to by some as the "Golden Age" of pinball, due to the invention of flippers in 1947 by the D. Gottlieb Co. in a game called "Humpty Dumpty", and was one of the main reasons for the renewed interest in pinball machines at the time. Humpty Dumpty was the very first pinball machine with flippers -
"Humpty Dumpty"
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"Joker Poker"
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Pinball today
Pinball has come a long way in the last ten years or so, particularly in complexity, rulesets and game quality. Pinball will continue to advance with the introduction of high-tech devices and advances incorporated into machine, such as LED's, LCD's, color dot-matrix displays, and today new color LCD and plasma flat panel monitors replacing the traditional pinball playfield. -
"Revenge From Mars"
