Roto-Pool

Roto-Pool, released by United Manufacturing Company of Chicago in February 1956, is technically not a pinball machine — IPDB classifies it as a billiards-themed cue game rather than pinball, despite similarities in cabinet and coin-operation. It is an electro-mechanical, two-player game with a hinged playfield and a plastic backglass.

For one dime, a single player could play, or two players could compete for two dimes. The game included two cue sticks and ten cue balls; sending a ball into a lit hole scored a bonus of 100 or 200 points, rewarding accuracy over raw power.

Little else is documented about Roto-Pool's design team or its place in United's catalog, but its billiards theme and dedicated cue-stick equipment set it apart from the pinball machines being produced by the same manufacturer during this period.