- credit
- Harry Williams — Design
- gameplay_feature
- Kick-Out Holes ×2
- ipdb.corporate_entity_name
- Pacific Amusement Manufacturing Company
- ipdb_id
- 3029
- ipdb.image_urls
- ["https://www.ipdb.org/images/3029/image-1.jpg","https://www.ipdb.org/images/3029/image-2.jpg","https://www.ipdb.org/images/3029/image-3.jpg","https://www.ipdb.org/images/3029/image-4.jpg"]
- ipdb.manufacturer_trade_name
- PAMCO
- ipdb.marketing_slogans
- "CONTACT is the game that is Really Doing Its Stuff Boys!"
"CONTACT Marks a New Chapter in Coin Machine History"
- ipdb.notable_features
- Kick-out holes (2). Used 3 dry cell batteries.
Balls landing in the kick-out holes remained trapped there until a ball landing in the Contact hole rang a bell and advanced the trapped balls downfield to higher-scoring holes. This feature was referred to in the advertising as 'automatic progressive scoring'. Patent 2,073,132 (GAME DEVICE) by Harry E. Williams filed December 18, 1933 and granted March 9, 1937.
The two progressive scoring areas are surrounded by a hedge of pins, but later models used cast aluminum in these areas.
- ipdb.notes
- The manufacturer advertised this 'Senior' version at 30 x 60 inches. It was the first and largest version they produced. Originally named just 'Contact', it was later called 'Contact Senior'.
Contrary to popular belief, 'Contact' was not the first game to use electricity. Dick Bueschel notes in Pinball 1 that there were pinball games and bagatelles of the early 1900�s with electricity that "rang bells, flashed lights and kicked balls around in all directions."
'Contact' did, however, put several exciting ideas into one game that proved to be an enormous success and prompted many copycat versions by other manufacturers. Its success transformed Harry Williams into a major player in the industry.
In an interview with pinball historian Russ Jensen on April 7, 1982, Harry Williams estimated that the production of all four cabinet models totaled between 28 and 33 thousand units. He said the first models had neither a tilt mechanism nor bells, but that both were added somewhere during the first 100 games produced. He then said that later models used an electric "pull-chain" tilt mechanism he designed, having an indicator on the playfield which pointed to either "OK" or "TILT".
- month
- 11
- player_count
- 1
- technology_generation
- electromechanical
- year
- 1933