VPX Flipperless Recreation Skill Cards (Giepen Associates Inc., 1957) v1.1a

[druadic]

Skill Cards, 1957 by Giepen has now been updated to VERSION 1.1 for VPX.

Read table info for further information on the changes.

VPX - Flipperless - Recreation - Skill Cards (Giepen Associates Inc., 1957)

Skill Cards (Giepen Associates Inc., 1957) VPX v1.1a IPD No. 4022 Another new and never released pin machine for Visual Pinball originally drawn but never made for VP until now. Play "poker" or "21". Choose one of four table slopes. Turn the...

pinballnirvana.com

 

[Isaac Sauvage]

Nice, Will!

(I took the liberty of adding the download link in your post above, and linking this thread as the resource's official 'discussion' thread)

What blew me away just now is that I noticed the game was being sold c. '57 - 61. Without really paying attention, I'd figured it was another game from the 30's or so! Of course when you take a look at the formica cabinet, it's immediately obvious that the game is much more modern.

How cool though to see this kind of progression, where a generation-and-a-half later, almost the same arcade game is being enjoyed by customers. Sort of like ski-ball, that sort of thing.

I wonder if the relatively modern date had something to do with gambling laws still being enforced in places like NYC, such that operators and customers would keep finding ways to circumvent that? Edit: Oh, okay. The words "trade stimulator" would strongly suggest that, no?


@JonPurpleHaze,
Something strange I just noticed about this resource entry-- when Will added the update, it looks like the overview resource entry lost its screenshot. You have to jump to the update to actually see the (new) screenshot.

To remedy that, I tried adding a cab and flyer to the entry so that people would have something to immediately look at, but the system told me that I needed to add a version number. However, I was offered no field in which to do so. (I wouldn't really have wanted to anyway, since I don't want to mess with the existing version numbering)

 

[druadic]

Thanks guys. I TRIED putting up a new image but that add a version popped up. I haven't felt good all day so I just ignored it. Thanks for noticing it though!

Hope you like the update. It's so much more fun than it was!

-ALL card holes open and close and now look 3D.
-FREE play hole is now a REAL HOLE. Get the ball just right at the edges and watch it circle the hole!
-Fixed the scoring mess ups.
-Shooter lane and plunger are now the right size and width.
-Plunger is the proper black color.
-I redrew two layers and separated them; the table is now THREE layers for maximum realism around curves and edges.
-Added REAL ball drop sounds when the table is reset.

You can read the table info for much more information.

Ike, I always love the "history" you seem to post for many of these tables. Please DO NOT stop posting this relative info for us all!

PS: Amazingly, this is one of the ONLY tables I wish to have acquired before I die. Seriously, I would LOVE to have this machine in ANY condition to play with.

 

[Isaac Sauvage]

Ike, I always love the "history" you seem to post for many of these tables. Please DO NOT stop posting this relative info for us all!

Nice work on the update, Druadic!

Sadly or unsadly, I spend almost all my pinball-related time doing site-work these days, but I hope to check out the update, soon.

But yeah, I'm a bit of an antiquarian and student of history, and I love admiring the art, details of manufacture, and context of this stuff. Historical pieces like this help me imagine what life was like those days, both c.1960 and c.1930.

PS: Amazingly, this is one of the ONLY tables I wish to have acquired before I die. Seriously, I would LOVE to have this machine in ANY condition to play with.

I did a quick search just now, and it looks like one sold on ebay within recent memory. But also, it's labelled "rare" and I get the sense it cost a pretty penny indeed. I'm almost afraid to ask.

If I was younger and healthier, I'd almost want to help you build a replica of this.

Indeed, I still really miss working on my EM's in the mid-90's, having to make a bunch of custom replacements by hand via whatever I had laying around. Fun times. But now the tools and information are that much better, and 3D printers are obviously a huge game-changer upon all this stuff.

I guess the toughest thing to replicate for this game would be the various cast-steel pieces. Although for the coin-mechanism (outside and internal) I would guess some 'near-enough' replacements could be used. The truly important stuff is happening on the painted wooden PF, after all...

 

[druadic]

Ike,

You know I love history and what it shows that even by today's standards it's more relevant than what todays history will have to offer.

Just because something is "rare" doesn't mean it is worth more unless you're a collector which in that case it's understood.

Technology has come a LONG way but there are some things that should NOT be changed from the past. I assume most folks 40 and over can relate to this statement as we cherish past things and always find a use for them in our lives. We don't need new "crap" to sustain us.

Just to think all the inner workings of these "pre war pinball" machines show us just how basic a machine can be to function perfectly and on a brighter note, just about anyone can use these mechanical things to make things work - not just for work but also for fun.

One thing I have noticed in many pre war pinballs is the usage of "pot metal" for most metals in these machines. I can imagine many of the machines that forged these items were quite the thing to see back in the day. <SIGH>. The forges would had been the sight to see.

People have now been so innovative that they have their own machines that make parts for rarer machines. You just need to know where to look. It shows to me that even the "old ways" are still being utilized to make things from the past to the present. Amazing.

If I had the room I would build one of these machines but I don't. An apartment isn't the best place to make a machine and the sawdust would get all over the place. Anyway, I will wait and bide my time for the right moment to get a basic table top pre war machine. With patience I may just have one.

I used to own a 1932 Prosper-I-Ti Special and a 1932 Midget Hi Ball. I sold both to a museum for around $1000 and since I knew he was the real deal I knew they were in good hands. But, the past is past.

 

[druadic]

xenonph updated Skill Cards (Giepen Associates Inc., 1957) VPX with a new update entry:

Skill Cards (Giepen Associates Inc., 1957)

Added LUT selection toggled with Buy-In Key (2 Key)

View attachment 37862

Read the rest of this update entry...