Joker Ball

The Joker Ball is an electro-mechanical game from Midway Manufacturing Company that, despite resembling a pinball machine, is officially classified as 'Not A Pinball' -- it is included in pinball references only for clarification. Its exact release year is unknown.

The machine's defining feature is a pop-up array of 25 trap holes, a mechanic more akin to an arcade redemption or novelty game than traditional pinball scoring. It shares its playing-card theme with Midway's 1960 'Joker's Wild,' to which it is closely related.

Little further information is available about its design, artist, or specific play rules. Nonetheless, the Joker Ball is an interesting historical curiosity for collectors interested in the borderline between pinball and other coin-operated amusement games of the era.