Casba

The Casba pinball machine, manufactured by Acme Coin Machine Manufacturing Company of Chicago in January 1948, is a curious footnote in electro-mechanical (EM) pinball history. Its most distinctive trait was an unusual construction approach: as a Billboard article from February 7, 1948 noted, roughly 90 per cent of the mechanism was installed in the backboard, a departure from the usual construction of the time. The game also featured high scoring and a different type of kick-out device.

Casba's story is as interesting as its engineering. Acme brought two sample games to the January 1948 CMI Convention in Chicago and was readying its facility at 1701 Belmont Avenue for production while appointing regional distributors. Yet by the end of February 1948, the company had closed its offices and plant, having produced only 'a number' of Casba games. It remains the only game this manufacturer ever made.

While the theme is not specified and little information is available about the designer, Casba's unconventional construction and its maker's remarkably brief existence make it an intriguing subject for enthusiasts of early post-war pinball history.