Hi-Score Pool

Hi-Score Pool is an electro-mechanical pinball machine from August 1971, produced by the Chicago Coin Machine Manufacturing Company. Designed by Wendell McAdams with artwork by Christian Marche, this two-player game takes billiards as its theme, a subject with a long tradition in pinball. Its most distinctive feature is a turret shooter operated by the right flipper button, which adds a novel twist to how the ball is put into play.

Players work the playfield with two flippers, and the game could be adjusted for Add-A-Ball operation when so equipped. Interestingly, at least one example is known to have left the factory without the add-a-ball hardware installed at all: the backbox insert has empty lamp holes with no sockets or wiring, and the add-a-ball stepper unit is absent, even though the backglass is silkscreened with the add-a-ball numbering. How many games shipped this way, and why, remains unknown.

For enthusiasts of early-1970s electro-mechanical games, Hi-Score Pool's turret shooter and factory quirks make it an interesting example of Chicago Coin's output from the period.