- gameplay_feature
- Trap Holes ×2
- gameplay_feature
- Spring Bumpers ×11
- ipdb.corporate_entity_name
- Daval Manufacturing Co.
- ipdb_id
- 4687
- ipdb.image_urls
- ["https://www.ipdb.org/images/4687/image-3.png","https://www.ipdb.org/images/4687/image-4.png","https://www.ipdb.org/images/4687/image-5.png","https://www.ipdb.org/images/4687/image-6.png","https://www.ipdb.org/images/4687/image-7.png","https://www.ipdb.org/images/4687/image-8.png","https://www.ipdb.org/images/4687/image-9.png","https://www.ipdb.org/images/4687/image-10.png","https://www.ipdb.org/images/4687/image-11.png","https://www.ipdb.org/images/4687/image-1.png"]
- ipdb.notable_features
- Spring bumpers (11), Trap holes (2).
The Instructions state:
A minimum score of 4,000 and a ball in either skill hole
earns an award of 2 skill points and is so recorded in
lights on backboard.
After making the above, every additional bump earns
2 skill points.
Any ball going thru skill channel earns an award of 2
skill points and is so recorded in lights on backboard.
Skill points are awarded for high score according to
scorecard.
High score awards do not light up on backboard, but
are additional to all other awards.
- ipdb.notes
- The game name on the backglass is encased in quotation marks as "Trio".
The earliest ad we found for this game was in Automatic Age, May 1939, page 30, where a distributor lists it as rebuilt among other novelty pinball games from 1938-1939. We found no ads from the manufacturer but we found a publicity photo (pictured here) from its debut at an unnamed banquet at the Hotel New Yorker appearing in The Billboard, Mar-25-1939, page 83.
A careful inspection of the inside of the backbox reveals that 18 holes do not have light bulb sockets wired to them. Visible through these holes are numbers silkscreened on the backglass that the manufacturer must have originally intended to be illuminated. From left to right, the numbers are 9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1, then 10-20-30-40-50-60-70-80-90. They would appear to count up to 99.
It seems unlikely that an operator would have removed the sockets and wiring, when removing only the bulbs would be a much easier way to disable the scoring that these numbers represent. When looking at the front of the backglass, these numbers seem to fit into the upper half of the large red square that frames the center of the glass. We note the lower half of this red frame does have its lamps wired in the backbox and in one picture in this listing we see an illuminated '6' in this lower half. This second '6' suggests duplicate point systems in this red square except for the missing lamp sockets. Since the regular point scoring, ranging from 200 to 24,000 points, is lined along all four edges of the backglass, we presume the red square numbers are where the skill points mentioned in the Instructions appear. In the Instructions they are also mentioned as listed in the score card that is missing from this game.
Without more information, we can only speculate what three components of game play might constitute a "Trio".
The images in this listing are from a single game in 2003. We have not seen a second example of this game or any documentation for it. If anyone knows about this game or where one exists, please contact us.
- month
- 3
- player_count
- 1
- technology_generation
- electromechanical
- theme
- Art Deco
- year
- 1939