Six Sticks

The Six Sticks pinball machine, designed by Ted Zale and produced by Bally Manufacturing Corporation in March 1966, is a hockey-themed electromechanical machine and, notably, the first six-player production pinball machine ever made (an earlier six-player design, Gottlieb's 1954 'Hi Boy', never reached production). With 1,410 units built, it remains a relatively scarce piece of 1960s pinball history.

Key to the machine's gameplay are its three pop bumpers, five mushroom bumpers, and three slingshots, along with two standard flippers. A right outlane ball-return gate and a left outlane kickback lane, which shoots the ball all the way back to the top of the playfield, add extra routes for keeping the ball in play.

While detailed information on this machine's specific artwork and history is limited, its status as pinball's first production six-player game secures Six Sticks a distinctive place in the sport-themed pinball of the 1960s.