Fascination (redemption game)
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Fascination is a game commonly found in North American amusement parks, boardwalks and arcades. The game is a redemption game, in that prizes are often won for playing the game. The game dates to 1918, with the first location opening at Coney Island, NY.[1] It became popular during the 1920s and spread quickly from coast to coast, as evidenced in pictures of Chutes at the Beach in San Francisco, a park that operated from 1903 - 1928 (when it became Playland at the Beach). Over a century later, there are still a handful of locations that are in operation, mostly in the Northeastern US.
The game consists of a wooden table, roughly 1.3 metres (4 ft 3 in) long, 50 centimetres (20 in) wide and 1 metre (3 ft 3 in) high. The player sits at one narrow end of the table. At the other end of the table is a series of 25 holes, roughly 5 cm (2.0 in) in diameter, arranged in a five-by-five square matrix. The player rolls a rubber ball, similar to a racquetball or handball, toward the holes; the ball is only slightly smaller than the holes. As the ball falls through one of the holes, a light on a backboard behind the holes lights up, in a pattern corresponding to the hole the ball fell through. The ball then rolls back to the player on a slight incline slanted back from the holes. The process is repeated until a player lights five lights in a row, either across the matrix, in a vertical column, or on a diagonal, much like bingo—indeed, like bingo, the hole in the center of the matrix is a "free space." A glass plate over the front part of the table keeps players from reaching too far over the table to improve their aim.
Fascination tables are typically installed in groups from 20 to 50, but can be in as small as a system of two, up to any amount without limit, and are interlocked through an electromechanical, and/or electronic system. Players play against each other, with the first player to complete a row of five being the winner, with the interlocking system determining which was first and locking out all others. If two or more players tie, each is declared a winner. Games usually cost 10 to 50 cents each, normally placed on the glass plate where a game operator can collect it shortly after each game begins. Games usually last between 60 and 90 seconds, with a new game starting soon after the end of the previous one.
Winners receive a prize coupon or token, which can be redeemed for a small prize, or collected to redeem for bigger prizes later, or in some locations, coupons may be redeemed as cash to play more games. Bonus coupons or tokens can be won by winning with all spots lighted on a certain row marked by colored lights; usually, the top row on the board (the back row of holes) is red and wins three to five times the normal rate, and the fourth row from the top (the second row of holes from the front) is gold and wins double the normal rate. Some operators have additional bonuses for certain lines.
An announcer, sitting on an elevated platform, presides over the activities. The announcer starts each game by pressing a button which rings a bell and activates all machines. The winner is also announced when the bell rings again, which the machine does automatically when a win is detected. One or more assistants collect the fees and pay winners. Other employees run a prize booth, where winners redeem their coupons or tokens. The prizes range from cheap trinkets for one or two wins to appliances, radios, televisions, toys and more expensive items for large numbers of coupons or tokens, often numbering into the thousands for the best prizes.
