Whirl-It

The Whirl-It, manufactured by the National Automatic Machine Company of St. Paul, Minnesota, dates to February 1933. It is a pure mechanical pin table from the early years of coin-operated ball games, when manufacturers across the country were experimenting with a wide variety of mechanical layouts.

Gameplay on the Whirl-It is straightforward: for five cents, players receive 10 balls to roll around the playing field, navigating obstacles in an attempt to score points. The machine's compact size, measuring 36 inches long and 18 inches wide, would have made it well suited to any amusement location of its era.

Due to its age and rarity, details about the Whirl-It's design, art, and theme remain largely unknown. Even so, as a surviving example of an early 1930s pin table, it offers collectors and enthusiasts a window into the mechanical amusement games that preceded modern pinball.