One notable exception to this was Oliver Whales of Redcar. A prolific manufacturer of
allwins and other arcade games, he survived the war and continued producing stock into
the 1960's when changes in technology and public taste finally put him out of business.
His secret during the war years? He bought out competitors as they went bankrupt.
With their stock in addition to his own he was able to convert pre-war machines to
games that focused on the perilous times at hand.
An excellent example of this is the game in photo l (page 6), Khyber Pass. Many
of you will recognize the backflash as reminiscent of the British Manufacturing
Company game, Cresta Run. The resemblance is striking and for good reason. When
BMCo. went out of business during the War, Whales purchased their stock and from it
created this game with historical reference to the British military adventures in the
Hindu Kush mountains between Afghanistan and Pakistan. I happen to know this
machine is a war game from Oliver Whales due to a stamped block inside the game that
documents the game as having been 'tested for 0. Whales on July 14, 1943 by H. Smith.'
When a winning shot is made into the 'V' shaped gallery, an interior battery
illuminates the stream in the valley on the centre of the playfield. The sophistication
level of this game, including the battery, an item that had to be in short supply during
wartime, guaranteed that this game would be produced in extremely limited numbers.
This particular game is not mentioned in any reference books about British arcade
games, and I have not seen another to date. For those interested in a more thorough
discussion ofmy analysis of this game, go to the Arena on the pennymachines website.
The next two examples, photos 2 and 3, are more typical of the genre of games
produced during the War. Both are allwins but without any of the expensive electrical
components employed in Khyber Pass. There is an additional feature that makes these
two games more distinctive than the normal all win. Both of these machines are 'giant'
allwins, meaning they are larger than the standard size game. The typical allwin is
approximately 18" wide by 31" tall. The giant allwin is the same height but 22" wide.
This may not seem like much of a difference but you will notice a completely different
'feel' to the game. This is primarily due to the wider diameter of the ball track. When
you play a giant allwin, the ball travels a greater distance before reaching the gallery.
More exciting? Only you can decide. From an operator's perspective, they are heavier
to transport and take up greater space in an arcade. I believe that these attributes made
them less favoured by operators. Whatever the reason, giant allwins are the decided
minority of allwin games.
Looking at photos 2 and 3, the war theme ls instantly recognisable. Photo 2 has the
name Defiant cut into the aircraft silhouette on the playfield. It would be easy to assume
that the name was a description of the spirit of the Brits during these perilous times. In
fact, the Defiant was a British RAF fighter aircraft. Produced by Boulton Paul, the
Defiant was a two-seater aeroplane with a forward seated pilot and a rear-facing gunner
manning four .303 Browning machine guns operated from a hydraulically powered turret.
The more conventional fighters of the day had forward facing wing-mounted guns
operated by the pilot. The Defiant was a decided departure from that design. The intent
was to free up the pilot to fly the aircraft while the gunner would be able to destroy
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