Unknown ("Figure 8")
About This Machine
The unnamed "Figure 8" cue game from Pickrum-Weaver Corporation of New York is a rare and fascinating artifact in pinball history. It is a full-size pin table played with a cue stick rather than a ball shooter, with the playfield under glass. Its "Figure 8" layout and artwork closely resemble those of Gottlieb's 1932 'Five Star Final,' sharing the same two-color star sizes, colors, and hole placements and point values, suggesting a similar early-1930s date. Little is known about Pickrum-Weaver Corporation beyond its credit as a "co-developer" of A.B.T. Manufacturing's 1933 'Autocount.'
The game offers five balls for five cents, with 12 gobble holes and 2 free play holes that allow for strategic ball management. Only the two 500-point free play holes increment the machine's mechanical score display, shaped like a traditional mantle clock and visible through a small window; all other balls fall through gobble holes and reappear in corresponding channels beneath a large horizontal viewing glass at the front of the cabinet, where players can visually tally their point scores before adding them to the clock score.
The design of "Figure 8" is notable for its imposing clock-shaped backboard and heavy, square-legged cabinet. Because the machine's name was not visible in surviving photographs (the upper playfield was obscured by glare), it remains identified only by its distinctive figure-eight layout. Despite this mystery, "Figure 8" stands as a captivating example of early pinball innovation and craftsmanship.
Technical Details
- Notable Features:
- 5 balls for 5 cents. Gobble holes (12), Free play holes (2). "Figure 8" playfield layout. The backboard is the size and shape of a traditionally-styled mantle clock and has a mechanical score display visible through a small window to show the score incremented each time a ball falls into either of two 500-point free play holes, returning this ball to the player. Only the free balls increment this scoring device, identified on the game as a "clock". All other balls fall though gobble holes and reappear in corresponding channels under a large horizontal viewing glass at the front of the cabinet, where their point scores can be added up visually by the player, to be then added to the clock score to calculate the final score. This viewing area is lower in height than the playfield and below it is the player-accessible trough to which all balls are dropped at start of game. The game looks weighty from the size of its square legs.