Fire Cracker

The Fire Cracker pinball machine, manufactured by Chicago Coin Machine Manufacturing Company in December 1963, is a solid example of classic electro-mechanical (EM) pinball design from the heart of the EM era. It was created by the design team of John Gore, Albin Peters, Jerry Koci, and Wendell McAdams, with artwork by the prolific Roy Parker.

The Fire Cracker features a well-rounded combination of gameplay elements for a two-player EM game of its time. Players are treated to dual flippers, three pop bumpers, four slingshots, three standup targets, two kick-out holes, and two rollover buttons. The High Score Zone is particularly notable, using kick-out holes to keep the ball in fast-paced action play, and a target at the top of the playfield always scores Special. With a maximum displayed point score of 9,999 points per player and a replay wheel that can reach 28, players have plenty of incentive to keep the ball in play through either 3- or 5-ball games.

The machine's sound package consists of two bells and a knocker, and the tilt penalty could be adjusted by the operator to forfeit either the ball in play or the entire game. An add-a-ball version of the game was also produced under the same Fire Cracker name, and Chicago Coin announced the game in The Billboard on December 28, 1963.