Forgotten your password?
Search Home Arcade Museum Forum Archive Library Market Arena Calendar News
    ☜ 📱
    • Latest
    • Allwins
    • Automata
    • Catchers
    • Diggers
    • Dropcase
    • Fortunes
    • Gamblers
    • Multiplay
    • Music
    • Pinballs
    • Pushers
    • Services
    • Shockers
    • Shooters
    • Skills
    • Strength
    • Vendors
    • Viewers
    • Latest
    • Notices
    • Intros
    • Q & A's
    • Let's Talk
    • General
    • Auctions
    • Finds
    • Top Tips
    • Resource
    • Build It
    • Videos
    • Stolen
    • Scrutton
    • Feedback
    • Latest
    • Links
    • Locations
    • Services
    • Patents
    • Sourcing
    • Resource
    • Gallery
    • British
    • European
    • American
    • Pinball
    • Jukebox
    • Sales
    • Wants
Search
  • Latest
  • Allwins
  • Automata
  • Catchers
  • Diggers
  • Dropcase
  • Fortunes
  • Gamblers
  • Multiplayers
  • Music
  • Pinballs
  • Pushers
  • Services
  • Shockers
  • Shooters
  • Skills
  • Strengths
  • Vendors
  • Viewers
  • Latest
  • Notices
  • Intros
  • Q & A's
  • Let's Talk
  • General
  • Auctions
  • Finds
  • Top Tips
  • Resource
  • Build It
  • Videos
  • Stolen
  • Scrutton
  • Feedback
  • Latest
  • Links
  • Locations
  • Services
  • Patents
  • Sourcing
  • Resource
  • Gallery
  • British
  • European
  • American
  • Pinball
  • Jukebox
  • Sales
  • Wants
Arena
Calendar
Arcade
News
💻
Main MenuMain MenuMain MenuMain MenuMain MenuMain Menu
×

Games of Skill became the stock in trade of the British amusement machine industry thanks to the Betting and Gaming Acts of 1853 and 1854 which legislated against gaming machines even before they were invented. Most common were the allwin, ball catching, dropcase and shooting games, but this section of the museum will represent the ingenious diversity of other designs which emerged over the years. Many were genuine tests of skill, and offered no reward, a free game or a returned coin at most. Others, which paid prizes of higher value than the original stake, employed the legend "a game of skill" somewhat liberally. Usually the skill was outweighed by a larger element of chance. It had to be really, otherwise players would quickly have honed their technique and emptied the machines.

Museum

MUSEUM

Virtual museum of vintage British slot machines

Skip to content
  • Latest exhibits
  • All machines
    • 12 win clock
    • 1849 Prospector
    • 22 Cup
    • 24 Cup
    • 24 Cup
    • 3 Ball Nine Cup
    • A Live Peep-Show
    • Advance Pin Table
    • Aerial Cup
    • All Sport
    • All Square Crane
    • All-Win
    • Allwin de Luxe
    • Allwin de Luxe
    • Amusement
    • Auto Sales
    • Autofruit
    • Automatic Billiard Player
    • Automatic Stereoscope
    • BAC Scales
    • Bajazzo
    • Beat The Goalie
    • Beech-Nut Chewing Gum
    • Bingola
    • Bomb Aimer
    • Bomb Dropper
    • Bomber Command
    • Boomerang
    • British Beauties Bureau
    • Bubbles
    • Bullion
    • Bulls-Eye
    • Bumper
    • Cadbury’s (various chocolates)
    • Cadbury’s Chocolate
    • Cannon Balls
    • Carousel
    • Challenge
    • Challenger
    • Change Machine
    • Chip or Bust
    • Chocolate
    • Cigarettes
    • Cigarettes (2 Column)
    • Cigarettes (3 Column)
    • Cigaretto
    • Clown
    • Clown
    • Clutching Hand
    • Colonial Shooting Range
    • Colour of Your Hair
    • Commercial
    • Conqueror’s Flags
    • Conquerors’ Flags
    • Cox’s Sovereign Gold Changer
    • Criterion
    • Crusader
    • Cupid’s Post & Telegraph Office
    • Davy Jones Locker
    • Dawn Patrol
    • Defiant
    • Derby
    • Diabolo?
    • Ding A Bell
    • Double Top
    • Earth Satellite
    • Easy Push
    • Electric Amuser
    • Electrodart
    • Elevenses
    • Entirely Automatic
    • Entirely Automatic
    • Entirely Automatic
    • Entirely Automatic
    • Everitt’s Try Your Grip
    • Express Gold Changer
    • Express Goldchanger
    • Fair Play Totalisator
    • Fairplay Switchback
    • Fairy
    • Fascination
    • Fill ‘Em Up
    • Fireworks
    • Firmans one arm bandit
    • Five Win
    • Fleet Air Arm
    • Forks
    • Fortress
    • Fruit Bowl
    • Fry’s Chocolate
    • Game of Skill
    • Gap-Win
    • Garrett’s Bijou Gold Changer
    • Get Tee Zee
    • Get the Ball Past the Arrow
    • Golf
    • Greyhound Racer
    • Gripteze
    • Gypsy Fortune Teller
    • Harper De Luxe
    • Harper Super De Luxe
    • Harper Super Product
    • Hat Trick
    • Hidden Treasure
    • Hill Climber
    • Hod Clod
    • Ice Hockey
    • Ice Hockey
    • Irish Sweepstakes
    • Iron Maiden
    • Jackpot
    • John Bull
    • Krac Shot
    • Laughing Sailor
    • Licensed Victuallers’ Automatic Shooting Range
    • Licensed Victuallers’ Shooting Range
    • Life & Health
    • Lifeline
    • Lighthouse Grip
    • Lime House Nights
    • Little Bren
    • Little Mickey
    • Little Stock Exchange
    • Looping the Loop
    • Luck-E-Push
    • Lucky Twelve
    • Many Happy Returns
    • Master Football Game
    • Master Golf Game
    • Medicine vendor
    • Monument Cigarette Box
    • Mother Shipton
    • Moving Stars
    • Music Maker
    • Nameplate printer
    • Nestle’s Milk Chocolate
    • New Get Tee Zee
    • Nine Holes
    • Number Parade
    • Octopus
    • One Penny fortune teller
    • Pascal Ambrosia Devonshire Milk Chocolate
    • Pascal Pearl Drops
    • Payramid
    • Peerless Pictures
    • Penny Points
    • Personality Love Meter
    • Pilwin ’56
    • Pin Royal
    • Pin Up Girl
    • Platform Tickets
    • Playball
    • Playball automatic
    • Prospector
    • Quick Returns
    • Regent
    • Retreeva
    • Rippler
    • Road Safety
    • Robot King
    • Rock Roll
    • Rockets
    • Roll Out The Barrel
    • Rolling Home
    • Rolling Road
    • Rolling Road
    • Roulette
    • Rowntree’s Fruit Gums
    • Rowntrees Fruit gum
    • Royal Jubilee
    • Safari
    • Safechek Gold Sovereign Changer
    • Salectric
    • Satellite
    • Screen Stars
    • Screen Stars
    • See The Guv’Nor
    • Shares
    • Shoot!
    • Silver Arrow
    • Sirdar Polyphon
    • Skill Score
    • Slick
    • Snakes & Ladders
    • Speedway
    • Spitfire
    • Steeple Chase
    • Steer-a-Ball
    • Step Up To Mike
    • Super Challenger
    • Super Steer-a-Ball
    • Sweetmeats
    • Swinging Swinger
    • Tele-Test
    • Ten Cup
    • Territorial Shooting Range
    • Testo Reaction Meter
    • The Cricket Match
    • The Major
    • The Very Latest
    • Three Alike
    • Three Penny Supreme
    • Three-Ball-Seven-Win
    • Time Limit
    • Tip-It-In
    • Torpedo
    • Trapper
    • TREFF
    • Trickler
    • Try Your Grip
    • Try Your Grip
    • Try Your Weight
    • Try Your Weight
    • Tuck Shop
    • Uncle Sam’s Philosophy
    • Uneda
    • Up The Pole
    • VAL vendors
    • Victory Ball
    • Victory Cups
    • Village Blacksmith
    • Vocal Radialyst
    • Walk The Plank
    • Waltonophone
    • When Were You Born?
    • Whirlwin Spinball
    • Wills’s Woodbine Cigarettes
    • Wills’s Woodbine Cigarettes
    • Win A Packet of Aero
    • Win A Peppermint
    • Win a Spangles
    • Win And Place
    • Win With Flowers
    • Winaway Pool
    • Wizard
    • Wonder Pools
    • Woodbines
    • Wrigley’s Chewing Gum
    • Wrigleys
    • Wrigleys Chewing Gum
    • Wunder
    • Yacht Race
    • Your Character From The Colour Of Your Hair
    • Zig-Zag
    • Zunt
  • Makers
    • ABA
    • Ahrens
    • BMCo
    • BMCo.
    • Bollands
    • Brenco
    • Brenner
    • Bryans
    • Ell
    • Haworth
    • Hawtins
    • Humphris and Forster
    • Jay Pee
    • Mastermatics
    • North Autos
    • OK Novelty Co.
    • Price and Castell
    • Pugh Automatics
    • Stevenson and Lovett
  • Skill games
    • Testo Reaction Meter
    • Bomb Aimer
    • Diabolo?
    • Lifeline
    • Road Safety
    • Rolling Road
    • Beat The Goalie
    • Swinging Swinger
    • Up The Pole
    • Rippler
    • Bumper
    • Rockets
    • Automatic Billiard Player
    • Winaway Pool
    • Steer-a-Ball
    • Rolling Road
    • Village Blacksmith
    • Super Steer-a-Ball
    • Master Golf Game
    • Master Football Game
    • Slick
    • Silver Arrow
    • Get Tee Zee
    • New Get Tee Zee
    • Game of Skill
    • Looping the Loop
    • Prospector
    • Irish Sweepstakes
  • Generic selectors
    Exact matches only
    Search in title
    Search in content
    Search in posts
    Search in pages
    Filter by Categories
    Allwins
    Automata
    Catchers
    Diggers
    Drop Cases
    Fortune Tellers
    Gamblers
    Manufacturers
    Multi-players
    Music Machines
    Other Skills
    Pinballs
    Pushers
    Service Machines
    Shockers
    Shooters
    Strength Testers
    Vendors
    Viewers
  • registerRegister loginLogin 
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • >

1849 Prospector

Leave a Reply

Added to Other Skills by sweetmeats on 02/06/17

1849 Prospector



Coin-operated version of the popular fairground striker game. "Tap lever with palm to lift striker. Land on any metal - you strike lucky." Gold pays the jackpot.


Unknown maker   Unknown date
Added to Other Skills on 02/06/17

Comment


 

Aerial Cup

Leave a Reply

Added to Other Skills by pennymachines on 27/03/20

Aerial Cup



Simple but attractive upright coin-operated bagatelle, one of a series of similar games from the same unknown manufacturer.

 


Unknown maker   1933
Added to Other Skills on 27/03/20

Comment


 

Automatic Billiard Player

Leave a Reply

Added to Other Skills by bob on 03/11/18

Automatic Billiard Player



Arcade counter-top amusement machine


Ell   1910
Added to Other Skills by bob on 03/11/18

Comment


 

Beat The Goalie

Leave a Reply

Added to Other Skills by sweetmeats on 17/06/17

Beat The Goalie



This machine deserves a description...

Bollands   1930s
Added to Other Skills on 17/06/17

Comment


 

Bomb Aimer

Leave a Reply

Added to Other Skills by gameswat on 02/04/20

Bomb Aimer



Rare war-time arcade game in which the player has to turn the knob on the left as the moving airship is over the target in the Germanic town below. A successful hit is rewarded by the return of the player's penny.


Ahrens   1920s
Added to Other Skills by gameswat on 02/04/20

Comment


 

Bumper

Leave a Reply

Added to Other Skills by pennymachines on 14/01/18

Bumper



Bryans version of the fairground striker enticed players to drive a slug up an 18" scale by hitting the chrome knob at the bottom. If it landed adjacent to one of the 28 winning positions, the machine paid automatically. There are eight 1s, twelve 2s, four 4s, three 8s and one 12 as a maximum prize. Few were made it would seem, as it was reportedly too generous to the skilful player and, unfortunately, no example is known to exist.



Bryans   1935
Added to Other Skills by pennymachines on 14/01/18

Comment


 

Diabolo?

Leave a Reply

Added to Other Skills by sweetmeats on 21/12/18

Diabolo?



This machine deserves a description...

BMCo   1900s
Added to Other Skills by sweetmeats on 21/12/18

Comment


 

Ding A Bell

Leave a Reply

Added to Other Skills by widget2k4 on 24/05/17

Ding A Bell



Several coin-operated versions of this simple skill game (familiar from garden fêtes etc.) were made by a number of manufacturers. Move the metal hoop over the wiggly wire, from right to left, being careful to avoid making contact between the two. Touching the wire sounds a buzzer and the coin is released to the machine's cash box. If you get to the end of the wire without incident, the coin is returned and a bell rings.



Unknown maker   Unknown date
Added to Other Skills by widget2k4 on 24/05/17

Comment


 

Game of Skill

Leave a Reply

Added to Other Skills by pennymachines on 10/11/17

Game of Skill



A half penny is inserted from the right side of cabinet and fired upwards by means of the trigger on the right. If it makes the central target, the handle on the left can be pulled to release a 2D token; if it falls between the outer tracks, it is returned; otherwise it falls to the lower centre lose pocket.



Price and Castell   1900s
Added to Other Skills by pennymachines on 10/11/17

Comment


 

Get Tee Zee

Leave a Reply

Added to Other Skills by pennymachines on 10/11/17

Get Tee Zee



Very early and simple game of skill using the half penny coin as a projectile, with two winning targets for coin return or token (2D) payout. Price and Castell made several similar games, operating on the half penny, all rather naive in concept and plain in presentation.



Price and Castell   1900s
Added to Other Skills by pennymachines on 10/11/17

Comment


 
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • >
Right Menu Icon
  • Latest exhibits
  • All machines
    • 12 win clock
    • 1849 Prospector
    • 22 Cup
    • 24 Cup
    • 24 Cup
    • 3 Ball Nine Cup
    • A Live Peep-Show
    • Advance Pin Table
    • Aerial Cup
    • All Sport
    • All Square Crane
    • All-Win
    • Allwin de Luxe
    • Allwin de Luxe
    • Amusement
    • Auto Sales
    • Autofruit
    • Automatic Billiard Player
    • Automatic Stereoscope
    • BAC Scales
    • Bajazzo
    • Beat The Goalie
    • Beech-Nut Chewing Gum
    • Bingola
    • Bomb Aimer
    • Bomb Dropper
    • Bomber Command
    • Boomerang
    • British Beauties Bureau
    • Bubbles
    • Bullion
    • Bulls-Eye
    • Bumper
    • Cadbury’s (various chocolates)
    • Cadbury’s Chocolate
    • Cannon Balls
    • Carousel
    • Challenge
    • Challenger
    • Change Machine
    • Chip or Bust
    • Chocolate
    • Cigarettes
    • Cigarettes (2 Column)
    • Cigarettes (3 Column)
    • Cigaretto
    • Clown
    • Clown
    • Clutching Hand
    • Colonial Shooting Range
    • Colour of Your Hair
    • Commercial
    • Conqueror’s Flags
    • Conquerors’ Flags
    • Cox’s Sovereign Gold Changer
    • Criterion
    • Crusader
    • Cupid’s Post & Telegraph Office
    • Davy Jones Locker
    • Dawn Patrol
    • Defiant
    • Derby
    • Diabolo?
    • Ding A Bell
    • Double Top
    • Earth Satellite
    • Easy Push
    • Electric Amuser
    • Electrodart
    • Elevenses
    • Entirely Automatic
    • Entirely Automatic
    • Entirely Automatic
    • Entirely Automatic
    • Everitt’s Try Your Grip
    • Express Gold Changer
    • Express Goldchanger
    • Fair Play Totalisator
    • Fairplay Switchback
    • Fairy
    • Fascination
    • Fill ‘Em Up
    • Fireworks
    • Firmans one arm bandit
    • Five Win
    • Fleet Air Arm
    • Forks
    • Fortress
    • Fruit Bowl
    • Fry’s Chocolate
    • Game of Skill
    • Gap-Win
    • Garrett’s Bijou Gold Changer
    • Get Tee Zee
    • Get the Ball Past the Arrow
    • Golf
    • Greyhound Racer
    • Gripteze
    • Gypsy Fortune Teller
    • Harper De Luxe
    • Harper Super De Luxe
    • Harper Super Product
    • Hat Trick
    • Hidden Treasure
    • Hill Climber
    • Hod Clod
    • Ice Hockey
    • Ice Hockey
    • Irish Sweepstakes
    • Iron Maiden
    • Jackpot
    • John Bull
    • Krac Shot
    • Laughing Sailor
    • Licensed Victuallers’ Automatic Shooting Range
    • Licensed Victuallers’ Shooting Range
    • Life & Health
    • Lifeline
    • Lighthouse Grip
    • Lime House Nights
    • Little Bren
    • Little Mickey
    • Little Stock Exchange
    • Looping the Loop
    • Luck-E-Push
    • Lucky Twelve
    • Many Happy Returns
    • Master Football Game
    • Master Golf Game
    • Medicine vendor
    • Monument Cigarette Box
    • Mother Shipton
    • Moving Stars
    • Music Maker
    • Nameplate printer
    • Nestle’s Milk Chocolate
    • New Get Tee Zee
    • Nine Holes
    • Number Parade
    • Octopus
    • One Penny fortune teller
    • Pascal Ambrosia Devonshire Milk Chocolate
    • Pascal Pearl Drops
    • Payramid
    • Peerless Pictures
    • Penny Points
    • Personality Love Meter
    • Pilwin ’56
    • Pin Royal
    • Pin Up Girl
    • Platform Tickets
    • Playball
    • Playball automatic
    • Prospector
    • Quick Returns
    • Regent
    • Retreeva
    • Rippler
    • Road Safety
    • Robot King
    • Rock Roll
    • Rockets
    • Roll Out The Barrel
    • Rolling Home
    • Rolling Road
    • Rolling Road
    • Roulette
    • Rowntree’s Fruit Gums
    • Rowntrees Fruit gum
    • Royal Jubilee
    • Safari
    • Safechek Gold Sovereign Changer
    • Salectric
    • Satellite
    • Screen Stars
    • Screen Stars
    • See The Guv’Nor
    • Shares
    • Shoot!
    • Silver Arrow
    • Sirdar Polyphon
    • Skill Score
    • Slick
    • Snakes & Ladders
    • Speedway
    • Spitfire
    • Steeple Chase
    • Steer-a-Ball
    • Step Up To Mike
    • Super Challenger
    • Super Steer-a-Ball
    • Sweetmeats
    • Swinging Swinger
    • Tele-Test
    • Ten Cup
    • Territorial Shooting Range
    • Testo Reaction Meter
    • The Cricket Match
    • The Major
    • The Very Latest
    • Three Alike
    • Three Penny Supreme
    • Three-Ball-Seven-Win
    • Time Limit
    • Tip-It-In
    • Torpedo
    • Trapper
    • TREFF
    • Trickler
    • Try Your Grip
    • Try Your Grip
    • Try Your Weight
    • Try Your Weight
    • Tuck Shop
    • Uncle Sam’s Philosophy
    • Uneda
    • Up The Pole
    • VAL vendors
    • Victory Ball
    • Victory Cups
    • Village Blacksmith
    • Vocal Radialyst
    • Walk The Plank
    • Waltonophone
    • When Were You Born?
    • Whirlwin Spinball
    • Wills’s Woodbine Cigarettes
    • Wills’s Woodbine Cigarettes
    • Win A Packet of Aero
    • Win A Peppermint
    • Win a Spangles
    • Win And Place
    • Win With Flowers
    • Winaway Pool
    • Wizard
    • Wonder Pools
    • Woodbines
    • Wrigley’s Chewing Gum
    • Wrigleys
    • Wrigleys Chewing Gum
    • Wunder
    • Yacht Race
    • Your Character From The Colour Of Your Hair
    • Zig-Zag
    • Zunt
  • Makers
    • ABA
    • Ahrens
    • BMCo
    • BMCo.
    • Bollands
    • Brenco
    • Brenner
    • Bryans
    • Ell
    • Haworth
    • Hawtins
    • Humphris and Forster
    • Jay Pee
    • Mastermatics
    • North Autos
    • OK Novelty Co.
    • Price and Castell
    • Pugh Automatics
    • Stevenson and Lovett
  • Skill games
    • Testo Reaction Meter
    • Bomb Aimer
    • Diabolo?
    • Lifeline
    • Road Safety
    • Rolling Road
    • Beat The Goalie
    • Swinging Swinger
    • Up The Pole
    • Rippler
    • Bumper
    • Rockets
    • Automatic Billiard Player
    • Winaway Pool
    • Steer-a-Ball
    • Rolling Road
    • Village Blacksmith
    • Super Steer-a-Ball
    • Master Golf Game
    • Master Football Game
    • Slick
    • Silver Arrow
    • Get Tee Zee
    • New Get Tee Zee
    • Game of Skill
    • Looping the Loop
    • Prospector
    • Irish Sweepstakes
  • Generic selectors
    Exact matches only
    Search in title
    Search in content
    Search in posts
    Search in pages
    Filter by Categories
    Allwins
    Automata
    Catchers
    Diggers
    Drop Cases
    Fortune Tellers
    Gamblers
    Manufacturers
    Multi-players
    Music Machines
    Other Skills
    Pinballs
    Pushers
    Service Machines
    Shockers
    Shooters
    Strength Testers
    Vendors
    Viewers
  • registerRegister loginLogin 
Arcade  Museum  Forum  Archive  Library  Market  Arena  Calendar  News

Terms of Service  Privacy