C.O.C.A. Times

Victuallers'
Shooting
Range
by John Peterson
Before we shove off on today's story, first, a
swing by the editor's desk. Daniel Webster
defines "victualler " as:
1) the keeper of a restaurant or tavern;
2) one that provisions an army, a navy,
or a ship with food;
3) an army or navy provisions ship.
With that under our belts, cast off the lines;
we 're underway with today 's tale.
I remain in semi-constant amazement at the num-
ber of British coin -operated games that have found
their way across the Atlantic to America. I have
heard various explanations as to why: the antique
container craze of the 60's where shipping vessels
were stuffed with flotsam -jetsam from England for
an ever gullible American public and their insatia-
ble appetite for anything British ; or the twin demon
scavengers of British arcade who swept through fairs
and seaside resorts, grabbing all discarded games
for foreign disbursement. I like to think that there
was a much simpler force at play. I believe that the
Karma Force Commander (KFC) , ruler of the coin-op
universe, knew in his infinite wisdom that one day,
in the distant future, in a land far, far away (the cold
and windy state of Minnesota in the United States of
America,) there would be an enterprising lad who
would grow up to love and cherish all these orphans
from a long forgotten period of British history; the
time when English men , women and children frol -
icked and played in their innocent youth with the
magical games of chance. You think not? What else
explains my marvelous success at cornering some
of the best games from Britain's high water era of
coin-op history? Still think I'm kidding? Read on , my
friends.
The games I favor within my own collection are
those by the manufacturer Handan-Ni. I own three
games by them: Domino Model 4 , Multi-ball , and
Bomb Dropper. All three share several common
traits. They are close to the turn of the century, all
three are ball drop games and they all are visually
stunning. It is with great sorrow that I had to an-
nounce to the "hand -and -eye " group: "Move over,
boys; there is a new kid on your block! "
I have advocated tirelessly for expanding your
knowledge first before looking to expand your col -
lection. Part of the challenge with collecting British
games is the lack of written literature on the subject.
There is one decent book on the field , "Automatic
Pleasures," by Nie Costa. This pitiful state of credible
information impedes both collectors and researchers
from advancing their knowledge of the rich history of
British coin games and those English inventors who
so clearly displayed their ingenuity with early design
and development. In spite of this impediment, the
coin-op stars do align upon occasion to illuminate a
jewel from the past.
The year was 1896 and the company, Haydon &.
Urry, was an early stand-out in British coin-op histo-
ry. Their signature machine, 'Tivoli ," is still heralded
as one of the earliest commercial successes of the
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