Scram!

Scram! stands as one of the earliest and most fascinating examples of mechanical pinball's evolution. Manufactured by the Hutchison Engineering Company of Nashville, Tennessee in May 1932, and designed by Thomas S. Hutchison, this Pure Mechanical (PM) tabletop/counter game predates the flipper era entirely -- flippers would not be introduced to pinball until 1947.

What makes Scram! unique is its playfield, which slants away from the player rather than toward them. The design was protected by Patent 1,772,006 ('Marble Game'), filed in April 1929 and granted in August 1930 to Hutchison. There is long-standing confusion among historians (notably documented by Dick Bueschel) about whether A.B.T. and Seeburg also manufactured versions of this game or merely distributed it for Hutchison, as ads and surviving examples show subtle physical differences, particularly in the shooter knob.

As one of the earliest patented coin-operated marble/pinball games, Scram! offers a rare glimpse into the formative, pre-flipper years of the pinball industry, and remains of strong interest to historians studying the game's origins.