History Pinball / BaffleBall

%%* SkillShot: The Baffle Point.

No discussion of {{Pinball}} history would be complete without mentioning ''Baffle Ball''. Invented by [[Creator/{{Gottlieb}} David Gottlieb]] in 1931, this is the first [[TropeMaker commercially successful]] "pin game". It is rightly credited with jumpstarting the entire pinball industry, to the point of often being misidentified as the first pinball game ever.

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Shooting a ball into the Baffle Point will double your score for the entire game... unless you knock out the ball with ''another'' one.

* SkillShot: The Baffle Point.
* TopDownView

* ScoringPoints: Averted due to technology. ''Baffle Ball'' was a purely mechanical game, and required players to calculate scores themselves. The digital version found in ''Microsoft Pinball Arcade'' plays this straight, however.

* FollowTheLeader: The success of ''Baffle Ball'' led to countless imitators.

No discussion of {{Pinball}} history would be complete without mentioning '''Baffle Ball'''. Invented by [[Creator/{{Gottlieb}} David Gottlieb]] in 1931, this is the first [[TropeMaker commercially successful]] "pin game". It is rightly credited with jumpstarting the entire pinball industry, to the point of often being misidentified as the first pinball game ever.

A digital version is available on ''Microsoft Pinball Arcade''.

* ScoringPoints: Averted due to technology. ''Baffle Ball'' was a purely mechanical game, and required players to calculate scores themselves.

No discussion of {{Pinball}} history would be complete without mentioning ''Baffle Ball''. Invented by [[Creator/{{Gottlieb}} David Gottlieb]] in 1931, this is the first [[TropeMaker commercially successful]] "pin game". It is rightly credited with jumpstarting the entire pinball industry, to the point of often being misidentified as the first pinball game ever.

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Shooting a ball into the Baffle Point will double your score for the entire game... unless you knock out the ball with ''another'' one later in the game.

No discussion of {{Pinball}} history would be complete without mentioning ''Baffle Ball''. Invented by [[Creator/{{Gottlieb}} David Gottlieb]] in 1931, this is the first [[TropeMaker commercially successful]] "pin game". It is rightly credited with jumpstarting the entire pinball industry, and is often misidentified as the first pinball ever.

* ScoringPoints: Like other "pin games", ''Baffle Ball'' was a purely mechanical game, and required players to calculate scores themselves.

As with other "pin games" of the time, ''Baffle Ball'' required players to shoot ten colored metal balls into a series of scoring pockets or slots. Shooting a ball into a hole of the same color doubled the score, and shooting a ball into the "Baffle Point" at the top of the field doubled the score for the entire game. The success of ''Baffle Ball'' came from a combination of challenge and affordability during TheGreatDepression; a ''Baffle Ball'' machine cost $17.50 to buy, and games cost only a penny to play. In contrast, competitors like ''Whiffle'' cost over $100 for a machine and required a nickel to play.

While ''Baffle Ball'' did not [[VideoGame/SpaceInvaders cause a nationwide shortage in pennies,]] it did become a hit, and Gottlieb boasted that many locations made back the cost of the machine after a single day. Some unscrupulous operators would offer cash rewards for high scores, [[TheGamblingAddict further enticing players to feed in their pennies.]] With the factory running 24 hours a day, Gottlieb could produce 400 games a day... and had '''75,000''' orders to be filled. ''Baffle Ball''[='=]s success [[FollowTheLeader prompted Gottlieb's competitors to follow with machines of their own,]] including [[Creator/MidwayGames Bally]], Rock-Ola, and Creator/WilliamsElectronics.

* ScoreMultiplier: The individual colored saucers, which doubled points for any shots that landed in them, and the Baffle Point, which doubled the score for the entire game.

While ''Baffle Ball'' did not [[VideoGame/SpaceInvaders cause a nationwide shortage in pennies,]] it did become a hit, and Gottlieb boasted that many locations made back the cost of the machine after a single day. Some unscrupulous operators would offer cash rewards for high scores, [[TheGamblingAddict further enticing players to feed in their pennies.]] With the factory running 24 hours a day, Gottlieb could produce 400 games a day... and had '''75,000''' orders to be filled. In the end, 50,000 ''Baffle Ball'' machines were made with different prices and balls per game. By the time the line stopped, it had spawned a new industry, started a new company, and secured a place in gaming history.

As with other "pin games" of the time, ''Baffle Ball'' required players to shoot ten colored metal balls into a series of scoring pockets or slots. Shooting a ball into a hole of the same color doubled the score, and shooting a ball into the "Baffle Point" at the top of the field doubled the score for the entire game. The success of ''Baffle Ball'' came from a combination of challenge and affordability during TheGreatDepression; a game only cost a penny to play, and a ''Baffle Ball'' machine cost $17.50 -- in contrast, competitors like ''Whiffle'' cost over $100 for a machine and required a nickel to play.

----

While ''Baffle Ball'' did not [[VideoGame/SpaceInvaders cause a nationwide shortage in pennies,]] it did become a hit, and Gottlieb boasted that many locations made back the cost of the machine after a single day. Some unscrupulous operators would offer cash rewards for high scores, [[TheGamblingAddict further enticing players to feed in their pennies.]] With the factory running 24 hours a day, Gottlieb could produce 400 games a day... against '''75,000''' orders. In the end, 50,000 ''Baffle Ball'' machines were made with different prices and balls per game. By the time the line stopped, it had spawned a new industry, started a new company, and secured a place in gaming history.

While ''Baffle Ball'' did not [[VideoGame/SpaceInvaders cause a nationwide shortage in pennies,]] it did become a hit, with Gottlieb boasting that many locations made back the cost of the machine after a single day. With the factory running 24 hours a day, Gottlieb could produce 400 games a day... against '''75,000''' orders. In the end, 50,000 ''Baffle Ball'' machines were made with different prices and balls per game. By the time the line stopped, it had spawned a new industry, started a new company, and secured a place in gaming history.

* SkillShot