Unknown
This little mechanical pintable of unknown name and make is typical of the type produced in Britain in response to the craze for such games in America which coincided with the start of the Great Depression in October 1929. The gameplay is that of a simple coin-operated bagatelle with convenient numbered pockets for totting up the final score. |
Unknown maker 1930s
Automatic Obstacle Race
Automatic Obstacle Race employs the slightly unusual concept of two players racing to complete a challenge on separate, identical playfields. The winner's coin is returned. No examples known. |
Unknown maker 1920s
Depthcharge
Airship bomb-dropper game: drop three balls over the battleship targets to win. No examples known. |
Unknown maker 1920s
Unnamed bagatelle
Another typical small British coin-operated bagatelle of the early 1930s. Unfortunately the name and make of this one are as yet to be determined. |
Unknown maker 1930s
Test Your Muscles
Try to ring the bell by twisting the handle. According to patent GB20660, this rare wrist strength tester was originally conceived to incorporate an advert and award a cigar or cigarette for a twist exceeding (for example) 120 lbs. |
James Garrow 1890
Star Eight
The maker of this figure-of-eight game is unrecorded, but it appears to be of British origin. Balls failing to make the high scoring holes at the top (1000 for orange, gold or yellow, 1500 for red) roll down to the lower pinfield for 500 to 100 points, out or replay. |
Unknown maker 1930s
Winasmoke
This unusual metal-cased variant of the Circle-Skill game rewards the winner with a single cigarette. |
Firmans 1930s
Each Way
Attractive game with popular horse-racing theme offering the player three tiers of win cups, paying 2, 4 or 6 pennies. |
Oliver Whales 1954
Scooter Race
This is the rarest of these large two-player racing games from Ruffler & Walker. The little scooter models were made by Mettoy and are based upon the Lambretta LD125 Mk.I of 1951, which gives us a clue as to earliest date of the game's production. |
Ruffler and Walker 1950s
Penny-Go-Round
Oscillating sweepers over the rotating playfield disk cause a continuous shifting of the pennies. The pusher has a small footprint relative to most. Only 55 are recorded to have been made and few of those seem to have survived. |
Bryans 1968