Scram!

Scram! is an early example of pure mechanical (PM) pinball, produced in May 1932 and credited to designer Thomas S. Hutchison. As shown here, it is attributed to the J.P. Seeburg Corporation, though its manufacturing history is disputed: period advertisements and researcher Dick Bueschel's notes suggest the same design may have been produced under slightly different configurations by Seeburg, A.B.T. Manufacturing Company, and Hutchison Engineering Company, with the shooter knob's placement and style varying between versions.

The game's most distinctive feature is its slanted playfield, which tilts away from the player and gives the ball an unpredictable roll purely through gravity and mechanical obstacles — there are no flippers or electrical components involved, since both were still years away from pinball. As a small tabletop/counter game with a fully mechanical, hand-plunged design, Scram! represents pinball in its earliest, pre-electrification form.

Little is documented about Scram!'s artwork or theme, but its age, mechanical simplicity, and disputed manufacturing history make it a curiosity for historians researching the earliest years of commercial pinball.