2008 Acquisitions

We were lucky to find and procure a very rare game from 1956 called Flying Aces, by the Genco Company. There are only four such games in existence as far as we know; one in Australia and the rest here in the U.S.

It’s an unusual game in that it goes well beyond the typical wood-rail game format to include a mirrored ball-bouncing card game. When certain holes on the playfield are activated by the metal pinball, rubber balls in the backbox begin to bounce around forming new card-hand configurations. It’s quite unusual and, fortunately for the museum, its in very good condition. We plan on having this one up and running in time for our move into larger facilities.

Another game we’ve recently acquired is a Gottlieb Lariat from September of 1969. This was another short-run machine, boasting a production of only 150 games. It’s a 2-player Add-A-Ball game that’s a bit atypical in that you can only tell if you’ve added a ball by looking to see if the running-rabbits on the backglass are lit-up. As a 2-player game, contestants can compete for points by stealing each others scoring off the playfield. This should be another exciting game to play.

We’ve also recently obtained a number of Exhibit Supply Company games from the wood-rail era. Mr. Silverman our curator is hoping to collect all of the flipper games that ESCO produced during its existence. They closed their doors in 1953. Tumbleweed, Judy, Jamboree, Be Bop and Gondola have all been purchased this year.