Match Play
About This Machine
Match Play, manufactured by Gottlieb in February 1935, is a single-player electro-mechanical payout machine with an unusual dual-playfield design. Two (or three) balls are played for five cents: the first ball is shot into an upper playfield with no outlane and always lands in a scoring hole, after which a switch closes off the upper playfield for the rest of the game; the second ball is then played only on a separate lower playfield.
If the second ball lands in a hole matching the value scored by the first ball, a match occurs and a payout is awarded, ranging from 2 coins for matching 200 points up to 20 coins for matching 2000 points. Operators could adjust the payout percentage by slightly tuning the torpedo springs at each pocket or by adding a third ball to the lower-playfield round, and the automatic payout unit could be locked entirely in jurisdictions where payouts were prohibited. The machine ran on Eveready Columbia batteries.
No documentation of Match Play's artwork or theme has surfaced, but its unusual two-playfield matching mechanism makes it a distinctive piece of 1930s payout-pinball history.
Images (2)
Technical Details
- Notable Features:
- 2 (or 3) balls for 5 cents. There are two separate playfields, upper and lower. The upper playfield has no outhole. The first ball is shot into the upper playfield and, while it is in play, a switch closes the upper playfield to further play. The first ball will always land in a hole. The second ball can only be played in the lower playfield. If the second ball lands in a hole corresponding in value to the hole scored by the first ball in the upper playfield, a ma tch occurs and payout is awarded as follows: Matching 200 pays 2 coins. Matching 400 pays 4 coins. Matching 600 pays 6 coins. Matching 800 pays 8 coins. Matching 1000 pays 10 coins. Matching 1200 pays 12 coins. Matching 1400 pays 14 coins. Matching 1600 pays 16 coins. Matching 1800 pays 18 coins. Matching 2000 pays 20 coins. The operator can adjust the payout percentage by: 1) slightly adjusting the torpedo springs at each pocket, or 2) adding a third ball to be played in the lower playfield. The automatic payout unit can be locked for locations where automatic payouts are not allowed. Operated on Eveready Columbia batteries.