Over 18 Under
About This Machine
Over 18 Under, produced by Daval Manufacturing Co. in February 1936, is an electro-mechanical pinball machine built around a distinctive dual-objective scoring system. Players get five balls for five cents, shooting for 18 trap holes, each valued from 1 to 5 points.
The heart of the game is its "Over" or "Under" mechanic: a device at the center of the playfield instructs the player, before each game, whether to aim for a total hole score higher than 18 (Over) or lower than 18 (Under), adding a layer of strategy uncommon in pinball machines of the era. After all five balls are played, the game awards "skill points" based on how close the final total lands to 18 — points that were presumably payable by the operator, based on surviving scorecards.
Even the game's name is a matter of some debate: while the upper playfield reads "Over 18 Under," its scorecard shows "Under-Even-Over," and no period advertisement has surfaced to settle the question definitively. Measuring 43 inches long and standing up to 42 inches tall at the back, the cabinet is a distinctive example of mid-1930s payout pinball design from one of the era's smaller manufacturers.
Images (11)
Technical Details
- Notable Features:
- 5 balls for 5 cents. Trap holes (18). The cabinet measures 43 inches long, 24 inches wide, 38 inches high in the front, and 42 inches high in the back. Each playfield hole is assigned a value ranging from 1 to 5. A device at center playfield instructs the player whether to shoot for a total hole score to exceed the number 18 (Over), or to shoot for a total hole score not to exceed the number 18 (Under). If Under, then the object is to get the lowest hole score as possible. If Over, then the object is to get the highest hole score as possible. The score card shows that different quantities of "skill points" are awarded to the player depending on how far from 18 the total hole value is, after shooting all five balls. We presume the "skill points" could be paid off at the location.