Basketball
About This Machine
The 1938 Exhibit Supply Company (ESCO) pinball machine "Basketball" is a notable piece of electromechanical pinball history, featuring an animated backglass display that was ahead of its time. The machine's design and gameplay mechanics showcase an inventive use of electromechanical technology to create a themed, animated experience.
The gameplay is both challenging and visually engaging. Players navigate five balls through 14 yellow bumpers, which serve as a prerequisite to scoring baskets for either the Blue Team or Red Team. The animated backglass display comes alive as players hit these bumpers, showing basketball players moving across the court and scoring baskets in stop-motion sequences. Hitting a blue or red bumper (once live) triggers an automatic seven-step animation sequence culminating in a scored basket for that team.
The machine's backglass features a reclined backbox and depicts a basketball court with animated players and hoops, powered by a clever ball-and-channel stepper mechanism. Since there are no replays or payout mechanism built into the game, IPDB's own notes speculate that a location operator's under-the-counter payouts may have been part of the incentive to insert a second coin and "activate" the Red Team, though this isn't stated on the instruction card itself.
Images (27)
Technical Details
- Theme:
- Sports - Basketball
- Notable Features:
- Reclined backbox. Backglass light animation (basketball players move around court and score baskets). This is a one-player game with two scoring sequences, the Blue Team and the Red Team. Five balls per game, using one or two coins. The first coin starts the game and lites the words 'Blue Team' on the backglass. The player can choose to insert a second coin at this time to lite the words 'Red Team' as well. There are 14 yellow bumpers, 3 blue bumpers, and 3 red bumpers. These bumpers, when hit, lite animated basketball players on the backglass to move across the court and score baskets. Game play: At the start of each game, an animated player is shown in the "start" position on the backglass. The yellow bumpers are live, while the blue and red bumpers are dead. To score a basket for either team, any five of the yellow bumpers must first be hit. Each "yellow hit" causes the backglass animation sequence to step just once, and the animated player is shown in stop-motion, moving in and between the stationary players on the backglass. Once the animation has reached the fifth step, the yellow bumpers cease to advance (they go dead) and the blue and red bumpers become live. If the ball in play next hits a blue bumper, an automated seven-step sequence begins, showing the animated player heading towards the right-side basket, and he sinks the ball through it, scoring for the Blue Team. However, if a red bumper was hit instead, then the animated player is shown heading towards the left-side basket and scores it for the Red Team. Only one blue or red bumper need be hit to initiate the automatic stepping sequence, which takes approximately two seconds to complete. After a basket is scored, the yellow bumpers are live again, the red and blue bumpers are dead again, the animated player is back at his start position, and game play continues. It is possible to have the same ball in play hit a live blue or red bumper, score a basket, and still be in play to hit the yellow bumpers once they go live again. A ball falling through either the Red Team rollover or the Blue Team rollover in lower playfield will automatically score a basket for that Team, even if the prerequisite five yellow bumpers have not been achieved. This is done using a shortened animated sequence, which is actually the last three steps of the longer animation sequence, and shows the ball sinking through the hoop. The playfield bottom has five ball traps and one OUT trough. A skillful shot from the plunger sending a ball through the top rollover will return to the player all balls sitting in the OUT trough. The balls in the traps can only be released upon insertion of a coin to start a new game. If a second coin is not inserted at start of game, the Red Team bumpers and animation sequence still operate during play, and the Red Team score still increments on the backglass. However, because the words 'Red Team' are not lit, the Instructions indicate that its score does not "count". Since there are no replays to win and no payout mechanism of any kind, perhaps the player's incentive to insert a second coin was based on a wholesome enjoyment of the game, or maybe anticipation of under-the-counter payouts by the location owner.