Smack 'Em

Smack is an electro-mechanical payout machine (model 50) manufactured by Bally, notable for a lower-playfield patent marking from Consolidated Patents Corporation: Patent No. 1,802,521, filed in 1928 and granted in 1931 to George H. Miner. This patent reference suggests the machine dates from Bally's early years of production.

As with other pre-flipper-era EM machines (flippers were not introduced to pinball until 1947), gameplay likely relied on relays, solenoids, tilt mechanisms, and gravity to guide the ball toward scoring or payout targets rather than active flipper control. Beyond the patent notation, specific rules, theme, and artwork for Smack are not documented.

Little else is known about this rare Bally machine, but its patent markings offer a useful clue for dating it within the company's earliest catalog of payout machines.