Pinball
Pinball games are a family of games in which a ball is propelled into a specially designed table where it bounces off various obstacles, scoring points either en route or when it comes to rest. Historically the board was studded with nails called 'pins' and had hollows or pockets which scored points if the ball came to rest in them. Today, pinball is most commonly an arcade game in which the ball is fired into a specially designed Arcade cabinet, cabinet known as a pinball machine, hitting various lights, bumpers, ramps, and other targets depending on its design. The game's object is generally to score as many points as possible by hitting these targets and making various shots with #Flippers, flippers before the ball is lost. Most pinball machines use one ball per turn (except during special multi-ball phases), and the game ends when the ball(s) from the last turn are lost. The biggest pinball machine manufacturers historically include Bally Manufacturing, Gottlieb, Williams Ele ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Stern Pinball
Stern is the name of two different but related arcade gaming companies. Stern Electronics, Inc. manufactured arcade video games and pinball machines from 1977 until 1985, and was best known for '' Berzerk''. Stern Pinball, Inc., founded in 1999, is a manufacturer of pinball machines in North America. Stern Electronics, Inc. Stern Electronics was formed when the Stern family bought the financially troubled Chicago Coin in 1977. Chicago Coin's assets were purchased at bankruptcy sales forming the core inventory of Stern Electronics, Inc.; however, as a separate company, they did not assume any of the debt Chicago Coin had amassed. The first two games made by Stern were ''Stampede'' and ''Rawhide'', both originally made by Chicago Coin, which only had changes made to their branding and logos. After a weak start, Stern Electronics' sales started picking up by the end of 1977. By 1978, they had switched over to fully solid-state electronics for their games. In 1979, Stern acquired ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Williams Electronics
WMS Industries, Inc. was an American electronic gaming and amusement manufacturer in Enterprise, Nevada. It was merged into Scientific Games in 2016. WMS's predecessor was the Williams Manufacturing Company, founded in 1943 by Harry E. Williams. However, the company that became WMS Industries was formally founded in 1974 as Williams Electronics, Inc. Williams initially was a manufacturer of pinball machines. In 1964, Williams was acquired by jukebox manufacturer Seeburg Corp. and reorganized as Williams Electronics Manufacturing Division. In 1973, the company branched out into the coin-operated arcade video game market with its ''Pong'' clone ''Paddle Ball'', eventually creating a number of video game classics, including '' Defender'' and '' Robotron: 2084.'' In 1974, Williams Electronics, Inc. was incorporated as a wholly owned subsidiary of Seeburg. Williams Electronics was sold off as an independent company during the bankruptcy of Seeburg in 1980. In 1987, the company went ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Gottlieb
Gottlieb (formerly D. Gottlieb & Co.) was an American arcade game corporation based in Chicago, Illinois. History The main office and plant was located at 1140-50 N. Kostner Avenue until the early 1970s when a new modern plant and office was located at 165 W. Lake Street in Northlake, IL. A subassembly plant was located in Fargo, ND. The company was established by David Gottlieb in 1927, initially producing pinball machines while later expanding into various other games including pitch-and-bats, bowling games, and eventually video arcade games (notably ''Reactor (video game), Reactor'' and ''Q*bert ''and, leading to the demise of Mylstar, M*A*C*H*3.) Like other manufacturers, Gottlieb first made machine, mechanical pinball machines, including the first successful coin-operated pinball machine ''Baffle Ball'' in 1931. Electromechanical machines were produced starting in 1935. The 1947 development of player-actuated, solenoid-driven 2-inch bats called "flippers" revolutionized the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Arcade Game
An arcade game or coin-op game is a coin-operated entertainment machine typically installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are presented as primarily games of skill and include arcade video games, Pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games or merchandisers. Types Broadly, arcade games are nearly always considered games of skill, with only some elements of games of chance. Games that are solely games of chance, like slot machines and pachinko, often are categorized legally as gambling devices and, due to restrictions, may not be made available to minors or without appropriate oversight in many jurisdictions. Arcade video games Arcade video games were first introduced in the early 1970s, with ''Pong'' as the first commercially successful game. Arcade video games use electronic or computerized circuitry to take input from the player and translate that to an electronic display such as a monitor or telev ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bally Manufacturing
Bally Manufacturing, later renamed Bally Entertainment, was an American company that began as a pinball and slot machine manufacturer, and later expanded into casinos, video games, health clubs, and theme parks. It was acquired by Hilton Hotels in 1996. Its brand name, and mid-20th century pinball & slot machine logo, are still used by several businesses with some trademark rights, most notably Bally Technologies and Bally's Corporation. History The Bally Manufacturing Corporation was founded by Raymond Moloney on January 10, 1932, when Bally's original parent, Lion Manufacturing, established the company to make pinball games. The company took its name from its first game, "Ballyhoo". The company, based in Chicago, quickly became a leading pinball maker. In the late 1930s, Moloney began making gambling equipment, and had great success developing and improving the mechanical slot machines that were the core of the nascent gaming industry. After manufacturing munitions and airpla ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Baffle Ball
''Baffle Ball'' is a pinball machine created in November 19, 1931 by David Gottlieb, founder of the Gottlieb amusement company. Gameplay For one US cent players get ten balls. These balls are fired up onto the playfield and fall into pockets and holes. Some ball targets are worth more than others, and players try to fire the ball at just the right speed. Unlike later pinball machines, ''Baffle Ball'' does not have flippers. The best target is the Baffle Ball, a tiny hole at the top which doubles all points. The game uses no electricity, and all scoring has to be done by hand. Description While bagatelle-derived "marble games" have long existed previously, ''Baffle Ball'' was the first commercially successful game of its type, being affordable enough for store and tavern owners to quickly recoup the machine's cost. Over 50,000 machines were made, jump-starting the arcade pinball field; it spawned a home version in 1932 called ''Baffle Ball Senior''. [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Montague Redgrave
Montague Andrew Elijah Redgrave (July 31, 1844 – 1934) was an English-American game designer who bridged the gap between table Bagatelle and Pinball through his popular "Parlor Table Bagatelle" game. The game was first released around 1871 and possibly went on to influence the creation of the Caille Bros. "Log Cabin" (released around 1902). Redgrave was born in Lambeth, Surrey, the son of William Redgrave and Sarah Curtis Newberry.''England, Select Births and Christenings, 1538-1975'' He immigrated to New Jersey, where he worked as a grocery manufacturer. In 1871, he patented the first game that resembles modern pinball, calling it "Improvements in Bagatelles." His design introduced the spring-loaded plunger for launching the pinball. He died in 1934 in Montclair, New Jersey Montclair () is a township in Essex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Situated on the cliffs of the Watchung Mountains, Montclair is a wealthy and diverse commuter town and suburb of New York Cit ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Pachinko
is a mechanical game originating in Japan that is used as an arcade game, and much more frequently for gambling. Pachinko fills a niche in Japanese gambling comparable to that of the slot machine in the West as a form of low-stakes, low-strategy gambling. Pachinko parlors are widespread in Japan, and usually also feature a number of slot machines (called ''pachislo'' or pachislots) so these venues look and operate similarly to casinos. Modern pachinko machines have both mechanical and digital components. Gambling for cash is illegal in Japan, but the widespread popularity of low-stakes pachinko in Japanese society has enabled a specific legal loophole allowing it to exist. Pachinko balls won from games cannot be exchanged directly for money in the parlor, nor can they be removed from the premises or exchanged with other parlors. However, they can be legally traded to the parlor for so-called "special prize" tokens (特殊景品 ''tokushu keihin''), which can in turn be "so ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Raymond Moloney
Raymond T. Moloney (November 2, 1900 - February 26, 1958) was an American businessman, and the founder of Bally Manufacturing Corporation. He was instrumental in popularizing the pinball machine, and was regarded, at the time, as "Mr. Coin Machine Industry". Biography He was born on November 11th, 1900 in Cleveland, Ohio, the son of Daniel J. Moloney, a steelworker, and Gertrude Smith. He spent his early adult life in a variety of jobs, including in the oil fields of Texas, harvesting crops in California, and working in sugar refineries in the South. Ultimately, he returned to Cleveland to work with his father at the steel mill, as a foreman. In 1921 he relocated to Chicago, where he started working in a print shop, making punchboard, punchboards. He was eventually put in charge of the punchboard operation, for which a subsidiary, Lion Manufacturing Company, was created. Later, Midwest Novelty Company was established as a subsidiary of Lion, to distribute coin-operated products s ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line with Kentucky. The city is the economic and cultural hub of the Cincinnati metropolitan area. With an estimated population of 2,256,884, it is Ohio's largest metropolitan area and the nation's 30th-largest, and with a city population of 309,317, Cincinnati is the third-largest city in Ohio and 64th in the United States. Throughout much of the 19th century, it was among the top 10 U.S. cities by population, surpassed only by New Orleans and the older, established settlements of the United States eastern seaboard, as well as being the sixth-most populous city from 1840 until 1860. As a rivertown crossroads at the junction of the North, South, East, and West, Cincinnati developed with fewer immigrants and less influence from Europe than Ea ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagion began around September and led to the Wall Street stock market crash of October 24 (Black Thursday). It was the longest, deepest, and most widespread depression of the 20th century. Between 1929 and 1932, worldwide gross domestic product (GDP) fell by an estimated 15%. By comparison, worldwide GDP fell by less than 1% from 2008 to 2009 during the Great Recession. Some economies started to recover by the mid-1930s. However, in many countries, the negative effects of the Great Depression lasted until the beginning of World War II. Devastating effects were seen in both rich and poor countries with falling personal income, prices, tax revenues, and profits. International trade fell by more than 50%, unemployment in the U.S. rose to 23% and ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |