Rock 'N Roll The Crazy Maze
About This Machine
The International Mutoscope Corporation's 1956 'Rock' pinball machine is a pure mechanical (PM) game, entirely without electrical components apart from a single fluorescent light illuminating the playfield. It represents an era before solid-state or even electromechanical scoring became standard, relying instead on purely physical mechanisms.
Gameplay on Rock is unusual: rather than flippers, players use a knob on the front of the cabinet to place a ball onto the playfield, then work a handle that tilts the playfield from side to side and front to back to guide the ball through a maze. The game offered 5 balls of play for either 5 cents or 10 cents, depending on the coin option selected.
The Rock's cabinet measures 23 inches long, 18 inches wide, and four feet high -- a compact, understated design typical of its era, with a simple marquee and minimal artwork. Little is documented about its designer or specific theme. A solid-state successor to this style of game, Williams' 1983 'Rat Race,' would later revisit the same tilting-maze concept using electronic components.
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Technical Details
- Notable Features:
- 5 balls for 5 cents, or for 10 cents. Tilting playfield. The left-side knob on front of cabinet is used to place the ball on the playfield. The handle on the cabinet front is used to move balls through the maze by inclining the playfield from side to side and from front to rear. Cabinet advertised as 23 inches long, 18 inches wide, and four feet high. Game operation is entirely mechanical. The only electrical part of this game is the fluorescent light over the playfield, below the marquee.