Gold Star

The Gold Star is a bagatelle - a small tabletop marble game - produced circa 1933 by the Lindstrom Tool and Toy Company of Bridgeport, Connecticut, which made such games from 1932 to 1934. Carrying model number 600, it holds a specific distinction in the company's catalog: it was Lindstrom's first Figure 8 game, referring to the looping path the ball travels on the board.

Gold Star was made in at least three versions. One was a standalone game with chrome triangular sides, a round metal top, and a copyright date of 1933 on the back, measuring 24 by 14 inches. The other two appeared as double-sided boards in boxed sets: the 'Gold Chest of Games' paired Gold Star with Backgammon alongside two other game boards, while the 'Blue Ribbon Chest of Games' paired it with Hop-O.

As a Depression-era home bagatelle rather than a coin-operated machine, Gold Star offers a glimpse of the parlor-game side of the marble-game craze that also gave rise to commercial pinball, and it is a charming artifact for collectors interested in the era.