County Fair

County Fair, designed by Don Hooker for Bally Manufacturing Corporation, is an intriguing electro-mechanical bingo machine from the golden age of Bally's bingo line. Rather than flippers and bumpers, the player shoots balls into a field of 25 trap holes, trying to light matching numbers on the bingo-card backglass. Notably, County Fair marked the first use of Bally's OK Feature.

The game's headline mechanics are its Magic Screen and the OK Feature in the orange section, which add layers of chance and strategy to the basic bingo format. A distinctive player-interactive element rounds it out: when the relevant features have been purchased, the player can press buttons to rearrange numbers on the backglass card, before shooting the fourth ball, before shooting the fifth ball, or even after the fifth ball.

The County Fair's theme is quintessentially American, evoking the nostalgia of summertime fun fairs and carnivals, an atmosphere Don Hooker's design captures through colorful artwork. Surviving examples include at least one described as a payout version, evidenced by its cabinet extension.