Action

The Action pinball machine, manufactured by Chicago Coin Machine Manufacturing Company in September 1969, is a notable example of late-1960s electro-mechanical (EM) design. This single-player game holds a small but genuine place in Chicago Coin history: it was the first Chicago Coin game to feature power targets, the company's version of the Gottlieb vari-target. Curiously, while the instruction card calls them 'power targets', the flyer refers to them as 'impact target gates'.

The gameplay experience on the Action is built around its auto-racing theme, with players accumulating points through a varied array of components: two flippers, three pop bumpers, two slingshots, four standup targets, two rollunders, the two power targets, and a kick-out hole. The game offers 3 or 5 ball play, a maximum displayed score of 9,999 points, and a replay wheel that registers up to 28 credits. Sound comes from two bells and a knocker, and operators could set the tilt penalty to forfeit either the ball in play or the entire game.

The Action's artwork is by Christian Marche, whose distinctive style graced many games of the era, here evoking the speed and competition of auto racing. The machine is a fine representative of Chicago Coin's output at the close of the 1960s and a glimpse of the small mechanical innovations that kept EM design evolving.