Sweetheart

Sweetheart, manufactured by Houston Showcase and Manufacturing Company of Houston, Texas, in February 1933, is a rare example of one of the earliest pinball machines. This Pure Mechanical (PM) game holds significance in pinball history as it predates flippers, electric scoring, and other innovations that would define later pinball, offering a glimpse into the pioneering days of the industry.

As a Pure Mechanical game, Sweetheart would have relied entirely on gravity and mechanical construction -- no electricity, no flippers -- with players simply plunging balls onto a pin-studded playfield and scoring based on where they came to rest, in the tradition of early bagatelle-style games.

A double-playfield variant of this game, called Sweetheart Double, was also produced by Houston Showcase. The scarcity and historical importance of Sweetheart make it an object of interest among pinball enthusiasts and historians, highlighting the experimental, rapidly evolving landscape of the earliest pinball manufacturers.