Classic Mode

Mechanical Memories Magazine

Issue: 2012-May - Issue 66

J.
****, thank you for the speedy reply! If you don't mind, a few more quick
questions. Are those circles on the top of the playfield flat against the field or do they
stick out so that a ball can fall into them? I can't tell from the photos. If the ball can
fall inside the game, how are they released for the next game? Does the game actually
play if you put in a nickel? By play, I mean does it do what you described, allowing
the player to release the balls so they may be shot onto the playfield? There is a metal
circle just under the upper lock on the front door. Is there a button in the centre? Does
it do anything that you can tell? Thanks! As you can tell, I'm definitely interested.
Kind regards,
§
Just added a note in the listing about shipping AND professional packaging. They
wanted a zip code, so I just picked one. To answer your questions ... Yes, after your
previous question, I went out with several coins. The nickel was a perfect fit (making
this game seem older than I thought). I put it in and did all the stuff I described
previously. That is the only way I would know. The metal circle by the lock has a little
hole in the centre. I believe it had a lever there to pull open the door open after you
unlocked it, but that is missing. It is the same circle that is under the "flipper" lever.
The circles on the top are not flat. They stick out and have pins around them (kind of
like pinball). Nothing falls through them though. The ball hits them and then goes
down one of the metal tracks below, and then to the area that they started in. Ask as
many questions as you like, and I will do my best to answer them.
J.
****, thank you again for your information. In the pictures on Ebay, as shown,
there is nothing that prevents the balls from falling through the scoring chutes and
landing where the pictures show them, on that bottom ledge. I'm pretty sure there are
individual "fingers" that protrude out at the bottom of each chute. These little rods
catch the falling balls in the individual chutes, allowing for the score to be added up at
the end of the game. At the beginning of the next game, the fingers are then pulled
back to allow the balls to drop to the bottom ledge. Am I correct in this? If so, what
pulls away the fingers? The lever in the centre of the door or pushing in the coin
mechanism with a nickel in place? I apologize for the questions but my biggest
concern is that there may be pieces of the internal mechanism missing. Without being
able to see inside, I can only try and understand from the current operation of the
game if it is complete. Thanks! Kind regards,
§
am not sure how to answer this question. Like I said, I don't know anything about
this game (or other games). Your questions have been a learning experience for me on
it. I know more now than I did when I listed it. I am just not sure how much more I
can tell you. When you use the flipper on the ball, it goes up and hits the top and then
goes down one of the individual chutes and ends up on the very bottom UNDER the
area where you see the balls now. When all of them get below, I guess you press the
release button to start again. I don' t think we will know exactly how it plays unless we
know what it is, and that I haven' t been able to find that out. This is another reason I
put local pick up, so a person could come and look at it if they chose to .
Page 17
.J
Hi****, Your game is an amusement game but one that would also double as a
gambling machine. To work as a gambler, the players would have to be able to bet
against each other as to which would be able to attain the highest score. To be able to
count the score of each player at the end of individual games, the balls would have to
be trapped in the individual chutes so the numbers could be tallied up . If you look
closely at your game, at the bottom of the vertical chutes, below the lower screw
holding that chute in place, you will see a hole in the centre of the chute, right at the
bottom of the metal. If the game is playing correctly, a small "finger-pin" would come
out that hole to block the chute and catch the falling balls as the game was being
played. Without that finger-pin blocking the bottom of the chutes, the balls fall
through, preventing scoring. Without scoring, there is no betting. Without the ability
to bet on the outcome, the game would not have sold. Normally, the finger-pins are
retraced with the activation of the game. In this case, I thought it might be the act of
pushing in the coin slide with a nickel that retracted the finger-pins. It may also have
been activated by a pin in the middle of that metal circle we talked about earlier.
There should be a push-button in the centre that does something; like retracting the
finger-pins below the chutes. Your game is missing that button. It's clear the game is
not working as it should. Unless they're missing (a significant problem if true,) the
finger-pins are retracted inside the game and are not releasing as they should to come
out at the beginning of a new game. Try pulling out the coin slide (which I'm sure you
have already done since you put some nickels through it already). If pulling out the
coin slide does not bring those finger-pins into place, something else is wrong or
missing. Would there be any chance you could removed the screws from the back
board of the game, remove the board and take a picture of the interior mechanism?
That picture could tell me a lot. Thanks for your help on this,****. I'm a collector of
British machines with over 100 British games, some going back to before 1900. I have
a game that is similar to yours but not exactly the same. I'm interested in your game
too but bidding on an incomplete game is always an unknown risk. The more
information you can provide, the lower the risk to me or any other purchaser. Kind
regards.
tried taking screws off the back yesterday, and when it was loose enough up top, I
looked, and it looks as the play area is inside another type of case. I couldn' t get the
screws off the bottom, so I couldn't get it off completely. I will go out and look at the
metal chutes again and let you know what I see
§
.J
****. You're terrific!
I just went out with another nickel. The balls dropped to the bottom. I watched for
the pins under the metal chutes. You are right. I could see them "trying" to come out
in the first two, but I couldn't see them in the others. My "guess" is that maybe
someone needs to go inside and clean and oil so the moving parts will work. This
game has probably been sitting in the garage for 30+ years.
§
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