Fun House

The 1956 Williams "Fun House" is a four-player electro-mechanical pinball machine designed by Harry Williams, founder of the Williams Manufacturing Company, with artwork by the prolific Roy Parker. Released in August 1956, it wraps a cheerful circus and carnival theme around a genuinely clever playfield gimmick.

That gimmick is the game's trio of "trapdoors": unique doors in the playfield that open up when lit to become gobble holes, swallowing the ball in exchange for a reward. Alongside two flippers, three pop bumpers, and the three gobble holes, this mechanism adds a real layer of risk and strategy, as players weigh shots at the lucrative openings against the loss of the ball. Operators could configure the game for 3, 4, or 5 ball play.

As the brainchild of Harry Williams, one of pinball's true pioneers, "Fun House" is a testament to his inventive spirit. The theme proved durable, too: Williams revisited it 34 years later on 1990's celebrated 'Funhouse,' which featured a single trap door in homage to this game's three. For collectors of 1950s woodrails, the original Fun House is a charming and historically interesting find.