Roto Lite

The Roto Lite, manufactured by Pacific Amusement Manufacturing Company (PAMCO) in February 1935, is a single-player electro-mechanical bingo-style pinball machine designed by Don Hooker. It provides insight into the early bingo/pinball hybrids of the mid-1930s.

The gameplay features of the Roto Lite are intriguing: players can choose to play with one or two number cards on the backglass by inserting coins into specific coin slides, allowing them to select their desired level of challenge before starting each game (1 or 2 coins for 10 balls). The machine also has a "Spinner" hole, which rotates lights in the backglass when a ball lands in it and returns the ball to the player for another shot. A winning score is achieved by lining up the backglass lights in straight lines.

Roto Lite also features 21 trap holes, a free-play hole, and a kicker, adding variety to how a ball can be captured or diverted during play. Instruction and score cards for the game are marked with the identifier "A 402 Model L Rotolite." As with many mid-1930s machines, detailed sales or survival records are scarce, but Roto Lite remains an interesting example of the bingo-pinball machines PAMCO produced during this period.