Silver-Cup

The Silver-Cup is a rare and intriguing electro-mechanical pinball machine from T.H. Bergmann & Company of Hamburg, Germany, produced in 1968. It is notable for its head-to-head format and its unusual complement of eight flippers, split between two players stationed at opposite ends of the playfield.

Gameplay on the Silver-Cup involves direct head-to-head competition: each player controls only the flippers facing their opponent, using them to defend their own goal and send the ball back toward the other player, rather than the usual single-player, single-set-of-flippers layout found in most pinball machines. This format adds an element of social interaction and strategy not found in typical pinball design.

The Silver-Cup's design is simple yet effective, with graphic art depicting soccer-inspired elements reflecting the sport's popularity in West Germany during the 1960s. Its head-to-head, multi-flipper format makes it a distinctive and memorable piece of pinball history, even though flippers themselves had already been standard in pinball for roughly two decades by the time it was produced.