Seven balls for a penny were offered as well as 10 balls for a nickel from the factory in this totally mechanical game devised by David Gottlieb. Three models were made, ranging from $16.50 to $37.50, for the senior (or biggest) model with legs. A yellow ball was introduced into the ball trough, which scored double points when landing. When the ball is shot from the plunger, its path is figure-eight-like, which was an interesting twist for the day. After shooting all the balls, the game is over and one has to tally his or her score to arrive at a total. If you qualified a high score, awards could be won at the discretion of the pharmacy or bar owner. These silent salesmen made a lot of money in the form of tax-free coins for a lot of people. The government got a piece of the action by levying an excise tax on each game, which had to have the tax sticker displayed on top of the machine.
This early mechanical and battery-operated machine was a popular game with patrons, and 500 machines were produced for three weeks in its heyday. Everyone back then was trying to come up with a new gadget to catch the player’s excitement. This machine incorporates seven cannons to shoot into, which “fire” the ball “uphill” into higher scoring areas. Next, land a ball in the action hole. This shoots all seven cannons! If you’re skillful enough to make the top cannon and advance it to shoot the ball into the repeater hole, all balls are fired twice! The main object of the game is to get as many balls into the “shell hole” through the large tubular cannon to score a bunch of points for rewards dictated by the location you played the game. A bar scene would award free beer. A pharmacy would award cash or soda fountain treats. These games literally had be monitored for dead batteries as they wouldn’t work without one. Electricity eventually came.
This totally mechanical one-player machine was very complex for its day. Rock-ola was known for producing very high-quality machines with high-end furniture like finishes and nice castings. This machine was released in December and cost $44.50. The yellow football is reset each time the ball is lifted onto the shooter lane at the 50-yard mark. It’s Army vs. Navy as the ball is shot and yards are scored toward touchdowns (score 6 points automatically) or 3 points for a field goal. The single ball drains and is recycled to the shooter again while the football is reset via chain link mechanism. Another mechanism keeps track of how many balls were played during the game. An interesting game, to be sure, and shows how mechanical ingenuity could be harnessed in the early ’30s.
