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Pinball games trace their origins to bagatelle, a fashionable eighteenth-century French table game. Bagatelle was developed from billiards, and utilized an inclined playing field with central pockets shrouded by pins. Using a cue and ball, bagatelle players deflected indirect shots towards an arched backstop. Skilled shots made their way directly into high-scoring pockets, while others bounced downward from pin to pin, left to chance for a score or additional shot from pockets in the lower trough. Bagatelle was also found in taverns, home parlors, and saloons throughout England and the United States. In 1901, Caille Brothers of Detroit patented Log Cabin, a nickel-operated bagatelle game and trade stimulator. Log Cabin features a spring-loaded plunger for shooting and pioneered the mechanical ball lift—an important feature of modern pinball machines. This version of Log Cabin offered $1 for the central shot, or between two and five cigars from alternating pockets in the lower trough. Pinball game is courtesy of Joe Welch American Antique Museum. "The Automatic Age: Coin-Operated Machines" is on display, pre-security, in the International Terminal. http://bit.ly/CoinOperated This image was posted on August 10, 2018.

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