C.O.C.A. Times

pay games, "Lucky Circle" and "Lucky Star" to
name two. I have checked the primary English ref-
erence book, Arcades and Slot Machines by Paul
Braithwaite. Alas, there is no listing for a "Lucky
Horse Shoes" under the B.M. Co. name or any
other for that matter. This is not surprising as the
names of the games under the manufacturers list is
not complete, even in this primary reference book.
What supports my proto-
type theory? Take a close
look at the inside of the case
(Photo D). You will note that
the back wall of the case is
most unusual. Almost every
wall game has a solid back-
board. The board provides the
strength necessary to support
the game when it is screwed
into the wall and more importantly, is cheap to
manufacture and install. "Shoe" has three separate
boards joined by the two visible seam strip boards.
No one in their right mind would suggest such a
time-consuming feature on a hidden component
when a simple single board solution already exist-
ed and was in use on all production games.
Finally there is that unusual payout mechanism.
Shoe's exterior configuration with its lack of a pay-
out knob tells the player: "I am an autopay game."
The Brits know autopay games well and they love
them. They know exactly what is required to play
which is nothing more than to deposit the coin and
push/release the hammer lever. If you score a win,
the reward is automatic. When the punter wins but
does not automatically get the payout with this
imposter, the next logical step is to bang his fist on
the case to "encourage" the payout mechanism.
How many bangs does he take before he puts his
own shoe into action? Due to the fact that I have
not seen this payout mechanism on any other game,
I believe "Shoe" was "an idea ahead of its time" to
quote Edsel Ford. "Lucky Horse Shoe" had the
unlucky fortune of being B.M. Co.'s version of our
Edsel automobile. It looked incredibly good but
based on the expectations of the day, it was just too
advanced for the audience.
The last issue demanding our attention is the
What about age, class? The more observant
have noted the art deco shape of the cabinet. If cor-
rect, this would date the game from 1925 through
the later 1930's. As if to reinforce the art deco con-
clusion, the thematic scheme is emphasized by the
physical structure of the playfield and the bold
color organization. Look at the terrific metal shoe
that serves as the "win" hole. True to inspired
design, it appears that one almost cannot lose with
this game. Once you start playing you soon realize
that the nails across the mouth of the open shoe is
giving you the boot! If this were a game from the
1950's or 60's it would have featured a multi-col-
ored plastic backflash with bright pictures, proba-
bly of horses and horseshoes. The "win" and "lose"
holes would likely have been placed on a horizon-
tal gallery. Garnes from the 1940's were severely
limited by World War Two. Themes from that peri-
od usually reflected the tremendous stress under
which Great Britain labored most heroically.
Adding up the elements of the case design, the inte-
grated hardware and color scheme plus the elimi-
nation of later periods, I think it safe to conclude
that this is almost certainly a 1930's or late 1920's
game.
Next, manufacturers. Anyone care to guess? I'm
going to go out on a limb and suggest that it was
the British Manufacturing Company (B.M. Co.).
They built games from 1914 to 1946 in London,
England. When they went out of business at the
end of the War, much of their remaining stock was
sold to Oliver Whales of Redcar, England. Because
of this, some of Whales' better games appear to be
a hybrid of styles from both companies. I will have
an example of this to show you at a later date.
Back to "Lucky Horse Shoes." I'm going to
climb further out on that limb and suggest that this
was most likely a prototype game by the B.M. Co.
that never made it into production. Here is why.
First, the attribution to B.M. Co. is due in part to
the hardware. Take another look at the allwin in
Photo B. This is a more traditional game also made
by B.M. Co. about the same time as "Shoes." The
art deco styles of the two cases are quite similar.
Note the identical shape of the distinctive hammer
levers. Secondly, B.M. Co. made a number of auto-
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