Amuzu

The Amuzu, produced by Caldwell Novelty Co. of Lenoir, North Carolina in March 1932, is an early example of a pure mechanical (PM) coin-operated pinball machine, dating from the first year or so after pinball's commercial debut in the United States. As a pure mechanical device, it relies solely on physical mechanisms to operate.

The gameplay of the Amuzu is built around seven balls that could be played for just one cent. Players navigated these balls through a compact cabinet measuring 31 1/4 inches long, 17 inches wide, and 9 1/2 inches high, which features ten trap holes to challenge players' skills.

Little is known about the Amuzu's designer, art, or theme, and even Caldwell Novelty Co. itself is poorly documented today—an online search turns up no results for a Lenoir, NC manufacturer by that name, though a similarly named Amuzu Novelty Company of Spartanburg, South Carolina appears in a 1937 newspaper reference. Given its age and rarity, detailed records are scarce, but the Amuzu remains a notable artifact from pinball's earliest days.