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Episode 319 - 1962 Bally Fun Spot 63

For Amusement Only EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast·podcast_episode·11m 55s·held·Jan 24, 2016
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Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.018

TL;DR

Nick Baldridge discusses 1962 Bally Fun Spot 63 and clarifies Ohio Dime game mechanics.

Summary

Nick Baldridge analyzes the 1962 Bally Fun Spot 63, a six-card bingo pinball machine and the final Ohio Dime game. He clarifies misconceptions about how Ohio Dime games functioned based on correspondence from Jeffrey Lawton, author of 'Bally Bingo Pinball Machines,' explaining that players always had to pay an initial coin to activate the game, even with accumulated points. The episode explores the game's mechanics, artwork, and its place in bingo pinball history before transitioning into discussion of the Mystic Lines era.

Key Claims

  • Fun Spot 63 was one of the Ohio Dime games and was the last one produced

    high confidence · Nick Baldridge, host, stated as established fact during episode introduction

  • Fun Spot 63 is a six-card bingo game with a 26th hole at the bottom center that returns the ball without penalty

    high confidence · Nick Baldridge describing the playfield mechanics

  • Ohio Dime games earned score rather than replays, unlike typical bingo pinball machines

    high confidence · Nick Baldridge citing the distinction between Ohio Dime games and standard bingo machines

  • Players always had to pay an initial coin for the first card, even with accumulated points from previous games

    high confidence · Jeffrey Lawton, author of 'Bally Bingo Pinball Machines,' communicated to Nick Baldridge via messages

  • Fun Spot 63 is an exact clone of Fun Spot 62, differing only in cabinet artwork and minor back glass alterations

    high confidence · Nick Baldridge comparing the two games

  • The carnival theme in Ohio Dime games wouldn't be revisited until Big Wheel in 1968

    medium confidence · Nicholas Baldridge historical observation about theme development

Notable Quotes

  • “It is a multi-coin machine. Typically, you walk up and drop your coin in, the game resets and lifts your first ball. And normally, at this point, you have to put in more coins in an attempt to light additional features or move your odds.”

    Nick Baldridge @ early in episode — Foundational explanation of bingo pinball multi-coin mechanics

  • “You spoke about Fun Spot 61 and 62 stating that it started by itself. I don't think that this was true. It's my experience that the player always had to pay for the first card no matter how many points they'd scored.”

    Jeffrey Lawton (quoted by Nick Baldridge) @ mid-episode — Correction to common misconception about Ohio Dime game mechanics

  • “In Ohio you always had to pay hence Ohio Dime Game. Even if you had 20,000 points, you still had to pay for the first card.”

    Jeffrey Lawton (quoted by Nick Baldridge) @ mid-episode — Explains the origin and logic of the 'Ohio Dime Game' terminology

  • “It just an interesting little gray area that they painted themselves into”

    Nick Baldridge @ mid-episode — Reflects on the regulatory/design challenge of earning free games through score rather than direct replay awards

  • “I'm still very much in favor of any omnipresent feature that's going to help the player or entice the player to shoot for it in such a way.”

    Nick Baldridge @ discussing yellow line feature — Designer philosophy on gameplay engagement and player motivation

Entities

Nick BaldridgepersonJeffrey LawtonpersonBallycompanyFun Spot 63gameFun Spot 62gameFun Spot 61gameOhio Dime gamesproductBig WheelgameGolden Gategame

Signals

  • ?

    historical_signal: Documentation of Ohio Dime games as a specific category of bingo machines designed for Ohio territories in the 1950s-1960s, with clarification of their unique coin mechanics and score-based rather than replay-based rewards

    high · Jeffrey Lawton's detailed explanation of how Ohio Dime games required initial coin payment regardless of accumulated points, contradicting earlier assumptions about auto-start mechanics

  • ?

    design_innovation: Fun Spot 63's yellow line feature providing a consistent, always-available target for players to shoot for, contrasting with later random super-line mechanics

    high · Nick Baldridge's appreciation for the yellow line feature as an omnipresent gameplay element that gives players something to shoot for every game

  • ?

    restoration_signal: Active documentation and analysis of bingo pinball machines through podcast episodes with detailed playfield descriptions, artwork analysis, and mechanical explanations

    high · Systematic episode-by-episode coverage of bingo games with cabinet artwork descriptions, card arrangements, and playfield mechanics

  • ?

    community_signal: Community expert (Jeffrey Lawton) providing corrections and clarifications to popular understanding of bingo game mechanics, indicating active scholarly engagement with pinball history

    high · Jeffrey Lawton reaching out to correct misconceptions about Ohio Dime game auto-start mechanics and explaining the regulatory/design rationale

  • ?

    design_philosophy: Ohio Dime games as an example of how regulatory constraints (dime/coin limits) shaped game design decisions, forcing manufacturers to navigate gray areas between free games and score-based rewards

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.036

0:00
What's that sound? It's 4 Amusement Only, the EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast. Welcome back to 4 Amusement Only, this is Nick Baldrige.
0:15
Tonight I wanted to talk about 1962's Fun Spot 63. Fun Spot 63 was one of the Ohio Dime games. But before I get into that, I wanted to talk about what makes a bingo pinball machine such a unique experience. That is that it is a multi-coin machine.
0:42
Typically, you walk up and drop your coin in, the game resets and lifts your first ball. And normally, at this point, you have to put in more coins in an attempt to light additional features or move your odds. In order to win, you have to get three, four, or five in a row on the bingo card on the back glass. Fun Spot 63 is a six-card bingo game. That means there are six different cards with different arrangements of the 25 numbers which are represented on the bingo play field. There's a 26th hole down at the bottom center of the bingo play field. And if you manage to snake your ball all the way down to that, it will be returned back to you and no penalty.
1:34
In a typical bingo pinball game, if you get three, four, or five in a row, you win the indicated number of replays.
1:45
on either the back glass or the score and instruction cards. However, on Fun Spot 63, because it was one of the Ohio Dime Games, you earned a certain amount of score.
Silver Sails
game
Bountygame
Mystic Linesproduct
For Amusement Onlyorganization
Bally Bingo Pinball Machinesproduct

high · Nick Baldridge's discussion of how earning score rather than replays created a 'gray area' in regulatory compliance, suggesting deliberate design to avoid gambling restrictions

  • ?

    gameplay_signal: Explanation of bingo pinball as inherently multi-coin machines requiring players to drop multiple coins to light features, move odds, or purchase additional cards

    high · Detailed walkthrough of how players must pay to light features and purchase cards, with specific example of 25-cent purchase of six cards in Ohio Dime context

  • ?

    historical_signal: Carnival theme in bingo pinball having a notable gap: Ohio Dime games (early 1960s) until Big Wheel (1968), suggesting limited theme reuse in bingo era

    medium · Nick Baldridge noting that carnival theme would not return until Big Wheel in 1968, much later after Ohio Dime games ended

    • 2:01
    Now, after I put out my last episode, Jeffrey Lawton, the author of Bally Bingo Pinball Machines, from which I am familiar with the phrase Ohio Dime Games, sent me some messages about the Ohio Dime games in particular. Fun Spot 61 and 62. He says, You spoke about Fun Spot 61 and 62 stating that it started by itself. I don't think that this was true.
    2:31
    It's my experience that the player always had to pay for the first card no matter how many points they'd scored.
    2:38
    The rub with single coin derivations was that you had to pay 25 cents for six cards. so you win 400 points and play the 400 points buying 4 of the 6 cards. So what do you do if you want to play cards 5 and 6? That right you have to buy them Well there only one coin slot so you pay 25 cents for cards 5 and 6 In Ohio you always had to pay hence Ohio Dime Game Even if you had 20,000 points, you still had to pay for the first card.
    3:12
    And I want to thank Jeffrey for sending that information to me, because, yeah, it's just been a bit of a mystery to me why exactly these games were produced, but this makes a lot more sense.
    3:27
    So, I had mentioned in those previous episodes that the games, if you won, would simply automatically start a new game for you, but instead, what Jeffrey's saying is that you always had to drop in your first coin, so they would automatically tick up based on the number of points you had up to the number of cards if you had that many points, but you always had to put in the first coin in order to activate the countdown, I suppose you'd say. And I suppose I'm still a little fuzzy on what made this more viable than the other bingos, because in those situations you mentioned where you didn't have enough points, you had to put in additional coins.
    4:17
    And he mentioned separate coin slots. So some of the very, very early bingo-style games that we've talked about on this show from the 30s, which had separate coin slots for each card,
    4:35
    you know, that makes a little more sense. But in this case, you're paying a coin to play the game, and then if you don't have enough points earned from the previous game or games to cover the spread, then you have to pay in additional money.
    4:57
    And typically, at a dime a pop. now this Fun Spot 63 is pretty much an exact clone of Fun Spot 62 the only difference really is in the cabinet artwork which I'll link in the show notes as usual and the back glass is very very slightly altered but otherwise it's the exact same game so remember, if you win score on a bingo, it's not the same thing at all as if you won free games.
    5:43
    But again, what muddies the water is that you're essentially earning free games by having that score So it just an interesting little gray area that they painted themselves into So let talk about the artwork You've got the woman leaving the barrel, being scared by or holding the balloon, I'm not sure which.
    6:10
    The points are illustrated all around the outside of the barrel and on the balloon itself. And then you've got a close-up of the woman in front of Carnival Games with a banner that says Fun Spot 63.
    6:29
    Each of the six bingo cards is below, the first being red, second green, third orange, fourth blue, fifth brown, and sixth purple. Now similar to shoot a line or lie to line There is a yellow line of numbers Which is one row up from the bottom on each of the cards If you were to win three, four, or five in a row On these yellow lines on those bingo cards Then you would likely win more score than if you had three, four, or five in a row on any of the white lines which make up the rest of the bingo cards.
    7:16
    I'm still very much in favor of any omnipresent feature that's going to help the player or entice the player to shoot for it in such a way. I think it's a pretty cool idea, especially on a game that has no moving numbers, no selections, no extra balls.
    7:37
    It gives you something to shoot for every single time you play the game, which is a little different than the random action on later six cards that can grant a super line on a particular card. So, your cabinet on Fun Spot 63 is red with a white swoosh that kind of goes all the way from the front top of the cabinet down to the bottom center and up into the back box.
    8:22
    You've got some blue triangular shapes which point, one of which points towards the front of the cabinet, and the other points down towards the bottom of the head.
    8:38
    Centered on the cab is a gold star with some blue triangular light shine coming off of it. And same for the head You got a couple other stars on either side of that one large main star centered on the cabinet And I happen to like this cabinet art I think it's pretty nice.
    9:11
    Now this brings us to the end of our discussion of Ohio Dime Games. This is the last one that they produced.
    9:22
    If you'll recall, all of the Ohio Dime games, the ones with fun in the title, had a carnival theme. And the carnival wouldn't be revisited until Big Wheel, which came in 1968, so much, much later.
    9:47
    Now, next episode would have been Golden Gate but we covered that back in episode 187 and so the next one would be Silver Sails but we covered that back in episode 190 those two sister games are some of the top magic screen games that were produced and so if you're unfamiliar with those games you should give those episodes a listen, because it talks about the very unique feature for those games.
    10:28
    And then there's Bounty, which was made in 1963, and that we talked about back on episode 181. That's another one that you should go back and listen to if you haven't heard it, because in that one I talk about the skill shot feature, which is unique to that machine, and it is fairly interesting and is something that I always play for. I always have an extra nickel for that feature because it is so much fun.
    11:00
    And so our next episode is actually going to bring us into the Mystic Lines era. And with that, we get our first 20-hole machine in chronological order. so I'm looking forward to talking about that tomorrow but for tonight thank you very much for listening my name again is Nick Baldridge you can reach me at 4amusementonlypodcast at gmail.com or you can call me on the bingos line that's 724-BINGOS1 724-246-4671 you can listen to us on iTunes Stitcher, Pocket Casts, via RSS on Facebook, on Twitter at bingopodcast you can follow me on Instagram also at bingo podcast or you can listen to us on our website which is forumusementonly.libsyn.com thank you very much for listening and i'll talk to you next time