Betcha-Ball

Betcha-Ball, produced by Zenith Manufacturing Company of Chicago, Illinois in May 1932, is an early Pure Mechanical (PM) pin game, sold under the model number GRT. Zenith - better known for manufacturing radios - offered the game in several configurations: Model G as a counter-top game only, Model RT as a radio table without the game, and Model GRT, reviewed here, combining the game with a radio table on legs.

As a Pure Mechanical machine, Betcha-Ball relied on gravity, pins, and pockets to route the ball around the playfield rather than any powered mechanisms - flippers and other electromechanical features would not arrive in pinball for another decade or more. Players could choose between 1-cent or 5-cent play, making it accessible at multiple price points.

Little else is documented about Betcha-Ball's specific playfield layout or artwork, but its Zenith branding and radio-combination models make it a notable curiosity from the earliest years of coin-operated pin games.