Poker Ball

Poker Ball, manufactured in 1933 by the Lindstrom Tool and Toy Company of Bridgeport, Connecticut, is a pure mechanical (PM) bagatelle for a single player, built around a poker/playing-card theme. This example is a chrome-plated version measuring 22 1/2 inches long by 14 1/2 inches wide, carrying Lindstrom's model number 310.

As a purely mechanical game, Poker Ball relies entirely on physical mechanisms — gravity, spring tension, and the layout of pins and pockets — rather than any electrical components, placing it among the bagatelle-style amusement devices that predated the electromechanical pinball machines that would become common later in the 1930s and 1940s.

Specific details of Poker Ball's playfield layout, scoring rules, and artwork have not been documented beyond its chrome finish and poker theme. Little is known about its designer or original marketing, but its compact size and precious-metal finish suggest it was aimed at a more upscale segment of the home or countertop amusement market.