Bank-A-Ball

Bank-A-Ball, designed by Ed Krynski with artwork by Roy Parker and manufactured by Gottlieb in September 1965, holds a genuine milestone in pinball history: it was the first pinball machine produced with flipper return lanes, the wireforms that let the ball roll behind the slingshot and back to a waiting flipper. According to the book All About Pinball, 'Paradise' and its add-a-ball version 'Pleasure Isle' were the first games designed with return lanes, but Gottlieb rescheduled production so Bank-A-Ball would be released first. An add-a-ball version of this game was sold as Gottlieb's 1965 'Flipper Pool'.

The gameplay centers on the game's billiards theme. Players use two flippers to hit seven standup targets and three pop bumpers, and the game's signature feature is its mechanical backbox animation: at the start of a game, a billiard table in the backglass shows all balls lit, with the mechanical balls reset out of view. Hitting a lit numbered target on the playfield turns off the corresponding lit ball in the backglass and mechanically drops that ball into view.

Bank-A-Ball's presentation is classic 1960s Gottlieb, with Roy Parker's bold artwork and a sound package of three bells and a knocker. With a confirmed production run of 3,400 units, its place in pinball history as the first production game with flipper return lanes makes it an attractive addition to any collection.