Double Track

The Double Track, manufactured by Genco in 1938, is a two-player electro-mechanical game from pinball's earliest years, predating the widespread use of flippers by nearly a decade. Its design reflects the mechanical ingenuity manufacturers relied on before electronic scoring and flipper controls became standard.

In gameplay, Double Track offered five balls for five cents per player, giving each player a full turn before passing play along -- the game was even available with either a single shared coin slide or independent coin slides per player. The machine's standout feature is its 18 spring bumpers alongside a mechanical backbox animation of racing horses or autos, a feature likely considered state-of-the-art at the time for its complexity and novelty. Operators could switch the theme between horse and auto racing by swapping the moving animation figures in the backbox.

The Double Track's dual-theme design and use of heavy paper to fashion the racing horses reflect the resourcefulness of early pinball manufacturers, as well as the era's broad cultural fascination with both horse and auto racing. As one of the earlier known EM games, it offers a window into the sport's formative years.