Fence Buster

Fence Buster, released by D. Gottlieb & Company in May 1936, is a baseball-themed payout machine from the early electro-mechanical era. It came equipped with Gottlieb's ElectroPak power unit, and operators could also order a DC AdaptoPak, a single unit that could serve any number of machines in the same location. The "duo-tone" cabinet was advertised as 50 inches long and 29 inches wide.

The game was flexible by design. Operators chose one, two, or three balls per play when ordering, and a multiple coin chute allowed the player to change the odds by inserting additional nickels. For territories where multiple-coin chutes were not permitted by law, Gottlieb offered its "exclusive single mystery coin slot": inserting one coin would flash from two to all eight teams on the score board, with odds ranging up to 40-1.

Fence Buster sold for $125 when new, with a ticket model at $135 and options including a check separator ($5), mint vender ($10), and 2- or 3-ball play ($5). As a 1930s baseball payout game, it offers collectors a window into the pre-flipper era, when pinball machines straddled the line between amusement and gambling.