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The allwin was ideal in the context of the British amusement scene in much the way the bandit was in more gambling tolerant America. In the German made Heureka, of 1900, a ball was fired around a short, closed spiral, vertically mounted track, towards central win-lose receptacles. This became the pattern for European allwins for a few years, until it was realized that dissecting the track allowed the ball to orbit briefly around the winning targets. This innovation provided the element of sustained suspense crucial to the game's success. Like the bandit after Fey, from this point, the game's evolution was one of added attractions and technical improvement. 1930s German allwins incorporated a rather generous three ball reserve. These elegant, efficient machines (minus the reserve) became the prototype for British designs. But the golden age of British allwins arrived when bright and brash plastic backflashes appeared as an antidote to post war drabness and a quest for novelty spawned many attractive variants, including jackpots, multi-balls and moving playfield features. |
Robustly built, rare but typically bold post-war allwin with striking motorcycle race graphics. A later version was made with automatic solenoid payout. |
Ostensibly a fairly standard five-win type, what makes the Wizard special is its unique auto-payout mechanism. The coins are stacked end to end in a vertical channel, and released one at a time when the ball falls into a winning hole. |
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A five-win in miniature, the Baby Bradwin was designed to do the job in half the space. What it lacked in size it made up for in glitz. With its top mounted coin slot and ultra compact oak cabinet, this eye-catching allwin was efficient and reliable. A very sweet little machine. E Anderson |
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"This Apparatus being a Patented Article has passed the Scrutiny of the CROWN OFFICIALS, and is in Conformity with the Law" reads the badge in the centre, referring to the 1911 Haydon and Catt electric shocker patent (number 8433) used to legitimise this allwin. Its gaming purpose was blurred by posing as a shock vending machine. The ploy seems to have worked for a while, judging by the number of games adopting it. Prior to conversion, the game probably originated from Germany. Electra Manufacturing Company, Circa 1912 T Weiss Click image to enlarge |
Early British games such as this lead to "Allwins" being adopted as a generic term for all wall machines with spiral runners. The unusually long track on this one, causes the ball to accelerate rapidly. Although the ten "win" positions present a fairly easy target, the prize is nothing more than your original stake British Manufacturing Company, Circa 1930
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