Fair Grounds

Fair Grounds, released by Bally in February 1937, is a one-ball horserace payout machine from the era when gambling-style pinball was a major part of the coin machine business. Play cost 5 cents per ball, and the game had an unusual multi-player wrinkle: coins inserted for the second, third, and fourth players increased the payout awards for all players.

The playfield instructions capture the flavor of the period. The lower left panel reads: '1 ball 5 cents. Deposit 1 to 4 coins. Points multiplied by coins played. 1 to 7 selections each game. A game of skill for amusement only' - the last phrase being the standard legal hedge of the payout era. The lower right cautions the player to deposit a coin first, then raise the ball to playing position with a button under the plunger.

With its 46-by-22-inch playfield and 21-by-26-inch backbox, Fair Grounds is a representative example of the horserace one-ball games that Bally built its early fortunes on, and a window into a side of 1930s pinball very different from the amusement-only games that followed.