Calcio "Italia" (1st series)
About This Machine
Calcio "Italia" (1st series), produced in 1965 by Soc. Elettrogiochi of Florence, Italy, is an early electro-mechanical head-to-head soccer-themed pinball machine for two players, who compete simultaneously from opposite ends of the playfield.
Each player controls their own set of flipper buttons, which operate only the flippers facing their opponent, and the game is loaded with an unusually large complement of parts for its era: 12 flippers, 4 pop bumpers, and 4 slingshots. Scoring is tallied using a row of lamps on each player's apron rather than an elevated backbox display, and the ball is launched with a manual shooter knob rather than an automatic one. Unlike the later 1967 second series of this game, the first series has no magnets under the playfield.
Little further detail survives about the specific designer or original marketing of Calcio "Italia" (1st series), but its head-to-head format and dual-flipper-bank layout make it a distinctive design within 1960s Italian electro-mechanical pinball.
Technical Details
- Theme:
- Sports - Soccer
- Notable Features:
- Flippers (12), Pop bumpers (4), Slingshots (4). This is a head-to-head game where two players at opposite ends of the playfield compete in simultaneous play. Each player has flipper buttons which control only those flippers facing the opponent. These features make the first series different from Soc. Elettrogiochi's 1967 'Calcio "Italia" (2nd series)': • There is no elevated scoring backbox attached to the side of this game. Instead, scores were tallied using a row of lamps on the apron of each player. • A manual ball shooter knob is used instead of an automatic shooter. • There are no magnets under the playfield.