Avalanche

Avalanche is an unusual and mysterious electromechanical pinball machine whose true manufacturer and production date are unknown. Its backglass is an after-factory modification of the glass from Chicago Coin's 1938 'St. Moritz' - the original name and point values were scratched off and replaced - and the cabinet front and hardware also match St. Moritz, though all identifying cabinet paint has been removed. The playfield art appears hand-drawn, along with the bumper caps and plastics, and may itself be a reused or homemade piece. Researchers don't know who assembled this composite game, or when.

Avalanche's gameplay features two flippers, a single pop bumper, eight passive bumpers, and a gobble hole. Its theme blends world travel, winter sports, and recreation, fitting with its snow-sports imagery repurposed from the St. Moritz original.

The known surviving example carries backbox serial number 1230 and a coin slide that accepts an old English penny. At some point, someone converted the machine into a coffee table by removing the backbox and replacing the corner legs with short ones attached to the cabinet bottom; the whereabouts of the original backbox and legs are now unknown. This one-of-a-kind history makes Avalanche a genuine curiosity of pinball archaeology rather than a documented factory product.