Hy-Ball
About This Machine
The Hy-Ball, manufactured by Lindstrom Tool and Toy Company beginning in March 1932, was Lindstrom's first bagatelle game and one of many pin-and-ball games that followed in the wake of Gottlieb's hugely popular 1931 Baffle Ball. Contemporary observers noted the resemblance to Baffle Ball, though Hy-Ball's design actually traces back to 'Play Threes,' a 1928 game from the Modern Games and Novelty Company of Akron, Ohio.
A square, wood-cabinet game measuring 23 by 14 3/4 inches, Hy-Ball is a purely mechanical machine with no electrical components, typical of the wave of countertop pin games that followed Baffle Ball's success in the early 1930s.
Little else is documented about Hy-Ball's specific design or reception, but as an early Lindstrom entry in the bagatelle craze of the era, it remains an interesting artifact for collectors studying the origins of pinball.