Skee Ball Table
Everything you ever needed to know aboutskee ball
Skee ball has been a staple for most Americans for the past 100 years and remains incredibly popular even today. Go to any arcade, game room, bowling alley or pizza place with an arcade and you'll probably see one. But what exactly are they?
First, a little history of Skee ball: Skee ball was invented in 1909 by a man named J.D. Estes in Philadelphia, PA. The first tables were a world different then what we see today. They required large halls or outdoor venues to play, as when distribution started of these tables in 1914, the tables measured a whopping 36 feet long and required considerable strength to play. In 1928, the idea came to shorten the skee ball table to 14 feet, which increased it's popularity among women and children who could now play without possibly dislocating their shoulders. It became so popular that in 1932, there was the first ever national Skee ball tournament in Atlantic City, NJ. Currently, they have a standard length of either 10 or 13 feet. The table also comes with a safety net and sensors to detect if someone's trying to cheat by throwing the balls in or deflecting them intentionally. They're usually made of slick hardwood, and allow the ball to maintain its speed until it hits the incline.
In 1935, the Wurlitzer Company bought the rights to Skee ball and they were sold to the Philadelphia Toboggan Company ten years later. They still manufacture the tables to this day -- In 1977, they formed the company referred to as "Skee-Ball Inc.".
Skee ball is a game of skill, similar to bowling but the scoring is easier to understand. It's played on a lane, usually with between six and twelve balls given to the player in a turn, with the standard number being nine. The objective is simply to roll the balls up a lane that is inclined near the end, into various circles, which are marked 10, 20, 30, 40 or 50 points. Some machines have 100 point holes on either side of the 50 point hole. The higher scoring numbers are not only higher and harder to get, but also smaller. The ball itself can also land in what many people refer to as the "gutter" and score nothing. Usually, the 10 point ring is so large that it is almost impossible to do this, however.
Only a really skilled skee ball player can score perfect or near perfect. What do you get for scoring high? Women, sex and fame and fortune? Nah, it's all about the tickets! Some places give out small, medium or large prizes for winning, but most give tickets that you can redeem for prizes if you collect them long enough. A low score may not get any award at all.
The balls are usually about the size of a baseball and they are either made of polished hardwood composites or plastic, usually weighing between five and seven ounces and most machines will have five or six in the machine itself. You get more balls by throwing the ones you have and then the machine keeps count and after it reaches the number, it stops any further ones from rolling out.
In conclusion, for the past century, Americans of all ages have enjoyed the wonderful game of Skee ball and it is a staple in most game rooms, and if you want to roll out some fun, a Skee ball game is a great way to pass time and look cool, whether you're 8 or 80.
