Knock-Down Targets

A type of Targets that falls backward when struck by the ball, pivoting smoothly and quickly from an upright position to a flat one. Unlike Drop Targets, which retract below the playfield surface, knock-down targets fold backward and remain visible at playfield level. Midway’s Play Ball (1965) featured the mechanism. Knock-down targets present a satisfying visual confirmation of a successful hit — the target snaps flat in an instant — and are typically arranged in banks where the player must knock down every target in the group to collect a bonus or advance a game objective.