Ice Mania

Ice Mania is a solid-state electronic pinball machine from the Dutch manufacturer Jac van Ham, released in 1986. Van Ham was primarily known for building slot/fruit machines, and reportedly only about 25 units of this ice-hockey-themed pinball were built in the Netherlands, making it a genuinely scarce machine. It is closely comparable to Premier's 1985 'Ice Fever,' and its nearly identical backglass art has also led to it sometimes being confused with an unrelated, similarly-named game from I.D.I. in Italy, which used a different backglass display layout and had a backbox extension this game lacks.

The gameplay features a variety of interactive elements, including two flippers, four pop bumpers, two slingshots, five standup targets, and a single 3-bank drop target. The captive ball feature adds an extra layer of challenge as players must navigate the ball to release it from capture. A spinning target on the playfield requires precision shots to activate, while electronic sound effects and a knocker round out the presentation.

The machine's design and artwork reflect its ice hockey theme, with blue and white color schemes reminiscent of a frozen rink. Little is documented about the specific designer behind Ice Mania, but its combination of low production numbers and playfield/plastics sourced from Italy's IDI, paired with a cabinet built in Tilburg, makes it a genuine curiosity for serious collectors of European pinball.