Fan-Tan

Fan-Tan, produced by the Northwest Coin Machine Company of Chicago in March 1932, is an early artifact from pinball's formative years. A pure mechanical, single-player countertop game, it is compact and light: the cabinet measures just 19 3/4 inches long, 11 1/2 inches wide, and 6 1/2 inches high, and weighs only 18 pounds, making it well suited for placement on store and tavern counters of the era.

Gameplay on Fan-Tan is simple. For a single cent, the player received five plays on a simplistic playfield dominated by a large roulette-type wheel, with outcomes driven largely by chance in the manner of the countertop marble games of the day. The game carries a playing card theme.

The name comes from Fan-Tan, a Chinese gambling game dating back at least 2,000 years, though as the IPDB notes, the similarity ends with the name. As an example of the very earliest generation of coin-operated pin games, Fan-Tan offers a fascinating glimpse into the development of the hobby, making it an interesting find for collectors focused on the pre-flipper era.