As you can see from the photo, the playfield has three bumpers and six rollover switch
lanes, each one is marked up with the picture of a playing card. There are 3 Aces, 3
Kings & 3 Queens, and when the ball makes contact with a bumper or a rollover
switch that card is then lit on the head box display. If you can get the ball to hit a
bumper and rollover switch it is possible to light two cards with one ball increasing
your chances of a win. The wining combinations are as follows:
•
•
•
Three Aces .
Three Kings .
Three Queens .
•
•
•
Ace, King, Queen of Spades .
Ace, King, Queen of Hearts .
Ace, King, Queen of Diamonds .
OR
All the above will payout a packet of Polo' s. It sounds easy! But the playfield layout
has been very well thought out and it can be quite difficult to end with a winning
combination. That said, it is a very addictive game to play and would have been a
good earner for the arcades.
When I first got this machine about two years ago it was in a very sad state and
was missing the head box. Luckily, a couple of years ago I had worked on a similar
machine called Bingo on which the electrical circuit was just the same. So once I had
managed to track down all the various relays and other electrical magic bits that I
required, I was able to set to and make a new head box. I constructed a new head
cabinet from 7/8" thick oak planks to match the playfield cabinet. I was able to get the
correct measurements and details for the new head box from one of my other
machines.
The one thing I was short of and had never seen was the back flash for the head
of the machine. Luckily, my good friend Robert Rowland came to the rescue by
sending me a copy of an old photo of a Threes machine. From this I was able to
reproduce the artwork using PhotoShop, and once I was happy with the finished
artwork, yet another good friend of mine Jim Witherspoon was able to print out a full
size copy for me. It' s always good to have friends!
I have tried to recreate the wiring in the head of the machine with vintage parts
wherever possible using the same methods that they would have used back in the day.
I'm not sure what 'Health & Safety' would have to say about it, but it is a nice
machine; it looks and it works just fine and I am very glad to have it in my collection.
Needless to say, the Grandchildren love to play it and I have to buy packets of Polos
by the cart load.
Stuart Dale
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