Big Ben

Big Ben, manufactured by Hawtins of Britain in July 1946, is a single-player electro-mechanical (EM) pinball machine. As a post-war game from a British manufacturer, Big Ben provides a glimpse into pinball's development outside the United States, where the game also found an audience during this period.

Unfortunately, specific details about the machine's playfield layout, gameplay mechanics, and features are lacking due to the limited information available. As a 1946 game it would have predated the flipper, which did not appear on pinball machines until late 1947, so play would have relied on nudging and gravity rather than player-controlled flippers.

The scarcity and age of Big Ben make it an appealing find for collectors and historians. Specific details about its design, artwork, and theme remain unknown, but as a British-made EM game of the immediate post-war years it offers a fascinating opportunity to study the game's history on the other side of the Atlantic.