Roll-A-Line
About This Machine
The Roll-A-Line, manufactured by J.H. Keeney and Company Incorporated in 1962, is an electro-mechanical (EM) rolldown game for up to two players. Each player gets 6 balls, one per frame across 6 frames, aiming for any of 24 trap holes arranged on a slanted platform.
One of the most distinctive features of the Roll-A-Line is its kicker bar, which can be activated by pressing either "flipper" (kicker) button. Balls that miss the scoring holes settle along the back wall of the game, where the kicker bar can pulse them back onto the grid for another scoring attempt. As more holes get filled during a game, this becomes progressively more challenging, rewarding players who can time their kicks to land in the remaining open holes.
The Roll-A-Line features a backglass with a wood frame that hinges open for service access, a laminated plastic playfield, and legs mounted on built-in wheels for easy relocation. The game was also produced under the name "Keeno-Ball" with an added match feature, and it is essentially the same underlying game as Keeney's 1962 'Lite-A-Line,' released with a different backglass. Little information is available about the designer or theme of the Roll-A-Line, but its kicker-bar mechanic makes it a distinctive rolldown game of its era.
Images (4)
Technical Details
- Notable Features:
- 6 balls per player, 1 ball per frame, 6 frames per game. Trap holes (24), Ball kicker (1). Backglass in wood frame hinges open for service access. Laminated plastic playfield. Legs are on built-in wheels. The array platform of 24 holes is slanted towards the rear of the game, and any balls that miss the holes will settle along the back wall of the game. Along the length of the back wall is a slot in the wood hiding a metal rod "kic ker bar". When non-scoring balls settle along this wall, the player can press either " flipper " button to pulse this kic ker bar outward, kicking these balls back onto the grid area for possible scoring. The more balls that have already scored, the fewer holes remain available, and the player may have to repeatedly kick the balls back into play until they can score. A strategy is possible when a non-scoring ball rolls along the back wall, allowing the player to time the kick with a desired available hole.