Automatic Age

October, 193 U
115
A U T O M A T IC A G E
D o n ' t O v e r lo o k T h e C o u n t e r S p o t s
' .
•
B y G .
A. B o w
m an
Rock-Old Manufacturing Corporation
HEN you put out money for
a game, are you sure it is
the right one for your loca­
tions? Do you make sure that the
game appeals to the player’s imagina­
tion? I f so, you are on the right
track.
Regardless of how mechanically
perfect, how attractive, how small,
how large, or how this and that a
game might be, it simply doesn’t
amount to much unless it appeals to
the player. W hat good is mechanical
dependability, if the game doesn’t
get enough play to test its mecha­
nism? Or what good is an attractive
paint job, if the location owner
pushes the machine in a dark corner
because no one plays it?
W
That is why it is so important to
look for playing-appeal in the game
you buy.
But counter games are different
from marble games in the variety and
quality of their playing-appeals. The
tables offer you a choice of an end­
less number of playing-appeals. Coun­
ter games, however, usually are based
on one of five appeals. These are
Poker, Bell Fruit symbols, Dice,
Numbers, and combinations of Ciga­
rette brands.
Any one of these five, as has been
proved, is a strong appeal. The only
drawback is that the same appeal
cannot be used with equal success in
all locations. In some locations, the
Poker appeal goes best. In others,
the Bell Fruit appeal grabs the big
play, and so on. And often it happens
that from week to week the power of
these appeals change in the same
location. It is possible for an opera­
tor to get a counter game having all
of these appeals, thus you save the
trouble of carting machines around
from spot to spot and, at the same
time, allowing him to make the larg­
est possible profits.
When you select a counter game,
no doubt, you have found that it is
even more necessary to consider the
wishes of the location owner than
when you choose a marble table. For
one thing, your counter game occupies
the most valuable position in the loca­
tion— the COUNTER. Here is the spot
where customers wait with money in
their hands. Where every large ad­
vertiser in the country wants his
goods to be displayed.
Now, being on the counter, a coun­
ter game must be attractive, noiseless,
and fast. So you will be wise to in­
quire whether or not you’re getting
a game that doesn’t make a lot of
racket while people are talking.
Except in taverns and bars, people
step up to the counter, transact their
business, and step away to make room
for others. It is in the few seconds
the customer pauses at the counter
that the counter game must extend
an eager hand, so to speak, and reach
for the change. The counter game
must then take this change quickly.
A slow playing game ties up business,
and customers in the rear are unable
to move up to the counter quickly.
This is another reason why the coun­
ter game must be speedy. I f the game
plays fast, it wins the storekeeper’s
approval. That is why you see ex­
perienced operators looking for fast
playing mechanisms these days.
In the beginning of this article, I
mentioned the fact that regardless
of how mechanically perfect a ma­
chine might be, it doesn’t amount to
much if it hasn’t the right appeal.
Now, if you twist that sentence
around it will be just as true the
other way — a game may have the
right appeal but it doesn’t amount to
much if it isn’t mechanically perfect.
What good is the right appeal, if you
can’t make the game work?
Many operators have been heard to
lament loudly and long on this sub­
ject. Every day one hears stories of
good, solid profits being cut off by
sudden failure of the machine t o
work. Naturally, the operator blamed
the manufacturer. Being on the other
side of the fence, we could see the
manufacturer’s side.
There is, no doubt, that it is diffi­
cult to make a smooth, steady-work­
© In t e r n a t io n a l A r c a d e M u s e u m
ing counter game. It takes skill and
keen engineering, and the latest con­
struction equipment. And nobody can
do more than their best. It, however,
is the operator’s privilege to select
his own machines and, by using care
in his selection, he can pick those
which are mechanically right.
One thing more should be con­
sidered in choosing the right counter
game.* That is appearance. As men­
tioned before in this article, the
counter game occupies the most valu­
able position in the location. And to
keep this position it has to have an
appearance that adds “Class” to the
counter. It shouldn’t be cheap-looking.
It shouldn’t be too small, and it can’t
be too large. It shouldn’t be gaudy.
It should have a quiet, rich-looking
dignity like a man in a top hat riding
in a limousine.
In order to illustrate all of these
points, let me take one of our own
games as an example — “Hold and
Draw.” I can explain it quickly.
“Hold and Draw” is so constructed
that it allows the operator to use five
different sets of appeals. I f the
players in a certain location tire of
poker, the operator can give them
Bell Fruit symbols with which to
amuse themselves or Dice or Num­
bers or Cigarette names.
“Junior Convention”
By Sicking
A large delegation of Chicago Man­
ufacturers and Coin Machine men
were visitors to Sicking’s Junior Coin­
Machine Convention, held Saturday
and Sunday, October 13th and 14th,
at the Sicking Offices in Cincinnati.
Operators from many states were
in attendance and the venture was a
huge success, according to all reports.
Baskets of flowers and hearty con­
grats were received by Sicking Offi­
cials, headed by President William
Marmer.
h t t p :/ / w w w .a r c a d e - m u s e u m .c o m /