Davy Jones

Davy Jones, manufactured by the Stoner Manufacturing Company of Aurora, Illinois in September 1939, is a flipperless electro-mechanical pinball machine that showcases the inventiveness of pinball's early days. Its theme draws on hard hat diving, mythology, nautical lore, and treasure - 'Davy Jones' Locker' being the folkloric name for the bottom of the sea, where drowned sailors go.

The game offered five balls for five cents and features sixteen spring bumpers. All fifteen numbered bumpers are lit at the start of the game, and each turns dark when hit by the ball. Hitting all fifteen lights the treasure chest in the backglass and re-lights all the bumpers, this time to score 'skill points'. Hitting the one small un-numbered bumper also lights the treasure chest, opening another path to skill points. Striking the bottom of the cabinet activates a switch to tilt the game - an early anti-cheating safeguard.

Operators could set the game for Free Play (replay award) or Regular Play (no award), reflecting the varied regulations of the era. As a product of Stoner Manufacturing, which operated from 1933 to 1941, Davy Jones offers a fascinating look at the experimentation in objectives and progression that late-1930s pinball designers were exploring.