Trap Shoot

The 1973 Trap Shoot from Chicago Coin Machine Manufacturing Company is a fascinating piece of pinball history. It continues a long tradition of electro-mechanical gun games with shooting and target-practice themes, offering players a shotgun-themed dual-console cabinet. Notably, according to a 1973 Cash Box article, Trap Shoot was based on an Italian rifle game (identified elsewhere as Model Racing's 'Shot Now') invented by Luciano Ceccaroni and manufactured by Franco Chinea, which Chicago Coin vice president Avron Gensberg discovered on a European trip and brought to the U.S. market.

At its core, Trap Shoot is all about accuracy and strategy. Players take aim with a double-barrel shotgun, firing both barrels simultaneously but counting it as only one shot. The goal is to hit 12 targets in a row, after which the player can continue shooting until they miss or reach a maximum of 20 shots. The game cost 25 cents per play.

According to a 1973 Cash Box report, Trap Shoot was popular enough to start a trend of arcades in New England setting up rows of these rifle games to boost play. While little is documented about the machine's specific art design, Trap Shoot remains a notable example of shooting and target-practice themes in pinball-adjacent gun games, and of the cross-Atlantic licensing deals that shaped the arcade industry in the early 1970s.