Humpty Dumpty (pinball)
Humpty Dumpty is a pinball machine released by Gottlieb on October 25, 1947.[2] Named after Humpty Dumpty, the nursery rhyme character, it is the first pinball machine to include flippers — invented by Harry Mabs [3] — distinguishing it from earlier bagatelle game machines.[1][4]
Manufacturer | D. Gottlieb & Co.[1] |
---|---|
Release date | October 25, 1947 [2] |
Model # | 1 |
Players | 1 |
Design | Harry Mabs |
Artwork | Roy Parker |
Production run | 6,500 units[2] |
Description
Humpty Dumpty had six of these flippers, referred to as "flipper bumpers" by the company.[5] However, unlike modern pinball tables, they faced outward instead of inward and were not placed at the bottom of the table near the main outhole.[6]
Like all early pinball tables, Humpty Dumpty was constructed with wood and had backlit scoring in preset units of scoring rather than mechanical reel or electronic LED scoring.
Design team
- Concept: Harry Mabs
- Game Design: Harry Mabs
- Mechanics: Harry Mabs
- Artwork: Roy Parker
- Animation: Harry Mabs
Digital version
The table was virtually recreated in pinball simulation video game, Microsoft Pinball Arcade, although it was not included in the Game Boy Color version of that game.
References
- "Microsoft Pinball Arcade". Microsoft. Archived from the original on 21 August 2010. Retrieved 5 September 2010.
- "Gottlieb "Humpty Dumpty". The Internet Pinball Database.
- Brack, Ray (December 30, 1967). "Vendors-into-music rated as biggest story of 1967". Billboard. Vol. 79, no. 52. pp. 49, 54. ISSN 0006-2510.
- Boland, Ed (2 June 2002). "F.Y.I - Question". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 September 2010.
- Cumming, Terry. "50th Anniversary of the Flipper - The Modern Game is Born". Pinnovations. Retrieved 5 September 2010.
- Porges, Seth (5 August 2008). "Top 8 Most Innovative Pinball Machines of All Time". Popular Mechanics. Retrieved 5 September 2010.