Variety

The Variety pinball machine, manufactured by Bally in 1939, is a flipperless, single-player electro-mechanical (EM) game whose design and gameplay mechanics provide valuable insight into the development of pinball as an amusement device during this era.

The machine features 14 scoring bumpers: 12 numbered bumpers plus two additional bumpers that build toward a carryover 'reserve' of points. Hitting a numbered bumper turns off its light and lights the corresponding number on the backglass; hitting all 12 numbered bumpers scores the reserve, and the #7 bumper returns an out-ball to play. According to a 1953 Bally newsletter, this game introduced the "Spottem" feature, in which a pair of numbered bumpers may be pre-spotted for the player at the start of a game. Any reserve points earned were paid out in cash by the location, since the machine itself has no coin payoff mechanism.

The Variety's advertised cabinet measures 44 inches long by 22 inches wide, with a 21-by-19-inch backglass. As one of Bally's late-1930s EM offerings, it reflects the ongoing experimentation with scoring and payout mechanics that characterized pinball design just before the widespread adoption of the flipper.