Coin Machine Review (& Pacific ...)

April 1935
COIN MACHINE REVIEW
We Women Enjoy
Playing
Marble Games
By POLLY PETERSON
I
NEVER asked myself why I enjoyed
playing marble games until Mr. Blackford
suggested to me that the reactions of a
feminine fan might prove interesting to
readers of THE REVIEW. This article may
seem personal, but it will give you some
idea of what my friends and I think about
these fascinating games; why we like to
play them and why we don't.
In the first place, it's chiefly a matter
of where we play. These days it doesn't
matter much where a woman goes, alone or
with companions, but we have to be a
little careful about the places where we
tarry, the places where we might spend a
few plea ant minutes at an amusement
table.
Last Sunday two other girls and myself
went out to a country club to call for our
husbands at the end of their round of golf.
We had to wait nearly an hour until the
men came in, and another fifteen minutes
while they were in the locker room. Lack·
ing a fourth for bridge, we sat down to
chat for a while but after running out of
topics (that may sound strange, coming
from a woman) we looked around for
omething to do. After all, the men were
having their sport, so why shouldn't we
find some fun? In the corner was a marble
game, and neither of the other girls had
played one before. We figured out a basis
of competition and soon were having a
merry time propelling the balls around
various ob tacles, into funny gadgets that
made them bounce someplace else, and
getting thrills when we hit the 5000 pocket
or barely missed! The banging down of
golf bags on the floor was all that we
noticed on the arrival of our husbands,
and soon we were fighting for our prior
rights to the table when the boys wanted
to get in our game. One of the girls be-
came quite expert and won five free games,
o we had to handicap her. When we were
ready to leave, we checked up and found
our entertainment hadn't cost us nearly
as much as one of the men's green fees.
Just the other night the fellows got to-
gether for a penny ante party and ran all
the wives out. We went to a show and
afterward stopped at a drugstore on the
corner of our block for sundaes. The two
girls who had been with me Sunday were
quick to notice that there were six differ-
ent marble games lined up against the
wall and went over to inspect them. The
other five of us soon joined in and had a
hilarious time. I observed that one of these
games was the same as that at the golf
club. The others were varied. But only
two of the tables were at all popular with
the girls and I got to wondering why.
There were four games, each taking up
valuable space, and not one was given a
second play after the initial try. The four
games may have been popular with men;
I don't know. One was obviou ly battered,
worn out, and half the time it put eight
or nine balls into play instead of ten. An-
other was in need of paint and wasn't
level, causing the marbles to roll down
only one side of the playing field. The
other two had no life. Ju st pull the
plunger and watch the ball bounce again t
a lot of pegs and probably end up lost.
But the two the girls played most looked
new and attractive. They had nicely fin-
ished cabinets and clean glass. They had a
few electric gadgets that made the balls
jump here and there when you least ex-
pected them to, but most of all the girls
liked them because by putting a shot in
a certain pocket you could get all the
lost balls back. They seemed to think they
were getting something extra for their
money, like the butcher tossing in an extra
chop, and believe me, bargains will loosen
women's purse trings faster than anything
else!
Some time ago my husband: and I took
a trip up the coast. After he had paid for
a meal, I'd invariably pick up what small
change there was and start looking for a
game device that worked by coins. If there
happened to be a marble game conveni-
ently placed, we'd spend a few minutes
playing it. But if it was out of the way,
we'd pas it up. I hate to feel con-
picuous in a public place.
Some hotel where we stopped had
amusement tables in the lobby. My hus-
band is great for competition, and I take
keen delight in beating him. We'd spend
half an hour or more in this fascinating
rivalry. At a large resort hotel where we
topped they had a recreation room that
was furnished with a number of amusement
tables of the marble game type in addi-
tion to billiards, ping pong and so forth .
Here was an ideal etting for women play-
ers; in fact, they were more plentiful than
the men. I am of the opinion that many
hotels and clubs which are now without
these games would be interested in baving
some placed there after they learn how
much everybody likes to play them, es-
pecially the women_
At one hotel we had friends as our din-
ner guests and afterwards strolled into a
far corner of one of the big rooms to talk.
The other couple didn't play cards. Near
where we sat was a table game different
from any; I had ever seen. It was one with
a revolving top and we sat down to play
it, swingi ng the plunger side around to
each player as his turn came. Ralph and
I agreed afterward that we hadn't had
quite 50 much fun in a long time, and the
other couple was fascinated, too.
Why don't night clubs provide marble
games in the tap room? We went to a very
nice place for supper and enjoyed the danc-
ing and floor show a lot. We went over to
the bar for cocktails, and I thought to my-
self, "If only there were a few amusement
games in here, I'd like to while away the
re t of this dance number playing one. You
know, pop the marbles around the board
with one hand and hold your cocktail glass
with the other." Where there's dancing
there always are lots of women guests, and
everybody has time for a few rounds on
one of the e games. I don't know why
more attention hasn't been paid to getting
the fair sex to play. I think it's really
the life of the party, with the girls' ex-
cited laughter and occasional little shrieks
putting more animation into the place
than if there weren't any games there.
All this may seem silly to you, I know,
but after all in the amusement business the
one who entertains everybody is going to
be the greatest success. And what Jdnd of
a uccess is any entertainment scheme go·
ing to be that doesn't include us, too?
First you've got to give us the right
kind f places to play, then the smart, at-
tractive, fa cinating games. and soon you'll
realize that we women will be bringing in
more of our nickels and our boy friends'
nickels than your machines can hold!