Late 18th century: Spring launcher invented Billard japonais, Alsace, France c. The tabletop versions of these games became the ancestors of modern pinball. The evolution of outdoor games finally led to indoor versions that could be played on a table, such as billiards, or on the floor of a pub, like bowling and shuffleboard.

Croquet, golf and pall-mall eventually derived from ground billiards variants. Games played outdoors by rolling balls or stones on a grass course, such as bocce or bowls, eventually evolved into various local ground billiards games played by hitting the balls with sticks and propelling them at targets, often around obstacles. The origins of pinball are intertwined with the history of many other games. Pre-modern: Development of outdoor and tabletop ball games Bueschel traces the history way back to the 1500s when the table versions of garden bowling games were invented. Roger Sharpe, a pinball historian, asserts that the origin lies in Montague Redgrave's patents for the spring plunger and playfield bells (1871).Kent, declare that the history begins in the 1930s when Gottlieb’s Baffle Ball and Raymond Maloney’s Ballyhoo were manufactured in large quantities The opinions on the relevance of the earlier prototypes varies depending on the definition of the pinball machine, for example: These machines definitely arrived in recognizable form prior to World War II. The history of pinball machines varies by the source. The biggest pinball machine manufacturers historically include Bally Manufacturing, Gottlieb, Williams Electronics and Stern Pinball.Ĭurrently active pinball machine manufacturers include Stern Pinball, Jersey Jack Pinball, American Pinball, Chicago Gaming Company, Pinball Brothers, Haggis Pinball, Dutch Pinball, Spooky Pinball and Multimorphic, Inc., as well as several smaller boutique manufacturers. 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 game's object is generally to score as many points as possible by hitting these targets and making various shots with flippers before the ball is lost. Today, pinball is most commonly an arcade game in which the ball is fired into a specially designed cabinet known as a pinball machine, hitting various lights, bumpers, ramps, and other targets depending on its design. 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. 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. Terminator 2: Judgment Day, 1991 pinball machine designed by Steve Ritchie Boys in Niger with a self-made pinball game ( May 2023) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) Use the lead layout guide to ensure the section follows Wikipedia's norms and is inclusive of all essential details. The lead section of this article may need to be rewritten.

Small pinball machine