Whirligig

Whirligig, manufactured by the Olympic Games Manufacturing Company of Chicago in 1932 (a name that appears in a May 1932 advertisement, though the Encyclopedia of Pinball Volume 1 lists the maker as "the Olympic Manufacturing Company"), is one of the earlier surviving examples of a Pure Mechanical (PM) pinball machine. As with its sibling game Olympic Doubles, uncertainty around its true manufacturer adds an air of mystery to its history.

As a single-player PM game from this early era, Whirligig's gameplay would have relied entirely on gravity and mechanical components — springs, pins, and levers — to direct the ball, since flippers would not be introduced to pinball until 1947. Specific details about its playfield layout, scoring, or targets are not documented.

Little else is known about Whirligig's design or artwork. Its rarity and age make it a significant, if enigmatic, artifact for those studying the earliest years of commercial pinball manufacturing in Chicago.