Wild Fire

Wild Fire, manufactured by Western Equipment & Supply Company in 1936, is a payout machine from the early years of electromechanical (EM) pinball. As a single-player EM game, it reflects the industry's ongoing transition from purely mechanical to electrically-assisted play during the 1930s.

Wild Fire's gameplay centers on ten balls per play, a notable departure from the one- or two-ball machines common earlier in the decade. The playfield's 17 trap holes add complexity, with each ball dropping into a scoring pocket advancing an arrow on the backbox score indicator dial. As a payout machine, specific score levels - 14,000 through 24,000 points in thousand-point increments - each paid ten cents, with a top score of 25,000 points paying fifty cents; a score of 16,000 paid nothing.

Little is known about the machine's designer or its intended market, adding to its mystique. Priced at $115 when new (with a $5 surcharge for a check separator, or $123 for a ticket model), Wild Fire offers a glimpse into the payout-machine segment of electromechanical pinball during the 1930s.