#968 Pachinko is one of my favorite games from…

Pachinko is a game similar to pinball but generally with multiple balls in play and minus the flippers.

In the late 1970s my Uncle Tom was a Marine and stationed in Okinawa, Japan. One day he showed up at our door in Sun Valley, near Los Angeles with a large box. He said he brought me a present from Japan. It ended up being a pachinko machine very similar to this one:

Pachinko is a mechanical game originating in Japan in Nagoya around 1930. It is used as both a recreational arcade game and much more frequently as a gambling device. You can sort of compare it to a slot machine in Las Vegas and other places in America. As you see in the picture a pachinko machine resembles a vertical pinball machine although it has no flippers and uses a large number of small balls. The player shoots balls into the machine which then drop down through a dense forest of pins and other obstacles. If the balls drop into certain locations, they are captured and sequences of events may be triggered that result in more balls being released to be played later or turned in for prizes. The object of the game is to capture as many balls as possible which can then be exchanged for prizes.

Pachinko machines like the one my uncle brought me were originally strictly mechanical. There was no electricity what-so-ever. These days modern versions have incorporated extensive electronics. Check out this Flickr photo gallery with thousands of pictures of pachinko machines.

Pachinko parlors are widespread in Japan and look similar to casinos.

I am told gambling for cash is illegal in Japan thus balls won while playing in a pachinko parlor can not be exchanged directly for cash. Instead the balls are exchanged for tokens or prizes which are then taken outside and exchanged for cash at a place which is sort of separate from the parlor. Since ‘winnings’ take the form of additional balls, you could just keep playing until they run out. Among the selection of prizes available there will most likely be an item known as the “special prize”. This is typically a small sliver of gold or some sort of novelty item encased in plastic. The winner can then take that and sell it for cash at an outside establishment near the parlor.

Over the years my pachinko machine and I parted ways. I do not remember how or when. I do remember hours of fun I had with it. One day I would love to have another vintage pachinko machine. That day will be nothing but smiles.

Have you ever played pachinko? Did you play the old style or the modern electronic style and where? Let me know in the comments below.