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This is a copy of an article written some years ago by Russ
Jensen, whom was kind enough to contact me and pass it along so I could proudly share it
here with you. Although these machines are not Bingos, it looks like their
whole purpose was to transport bingo parts across
state lines after the Bingos became illegal, in order to service those
machines........ THE 'QUEENS' GAMES
In the early 1950s a law called the "Johnson Act"
was passed in the USA which made it illegal to ship gambling equipment from
one state to another unless the state to which it was shipped allowed such equipment
under it's laws. It was not until several years later, however, that the
Supreme Court declared that bingo pinballs were considered gambling equipment
and hence subject to the Johnson Act. This law not only applied to complete
machines but also to spare parts and documentation connected with the
machines. It was therefore illegal to ship bingo parts, schematics or manuals
for that matter, into states in which bingos were illegal. So Bally created a
series of similar games, most with the word "Queens" in the name,
such as BEAUTY CONTEST, BEACH QUEENS, ISLAND QUEENS, TROPIC QUEENS, BEAUTY
QUEENS. The story goes that Bally created these "Queens games"
using bingo parts, and since these games did not fall under the gambling
equipment definition of the Johnson Act, the parts could also be shipped and
the operator could use them to fix bingos which they were still operation
even though they were illegal in that area. So I have been told by Russ Jensen, the renowned American
pinball collector and historian, in his last letter; interesting indeed! I
decided it was time for a closer look at my BEAUTY CONTEST (1960 Bally, game
number 641) and to share my knowledge with others. After all, it seems I'm
one of the few lucky people to own one of these games! Luckily enough, I
obtained some time ago, a copy of the schematic and manual from Dennis Dodel
(former editor of the "Pinball Trader"- thanks, Dennis!) Now let's
look at the game. The cabinet is different from those normally used in pinballs;
almost all of the mechanisms are in the back cabinet, accessible by a
swinging door, just like the one used in bingos. Inside, although much more
empty, it looks like a bingo; all the parts used are the same as you find
inside those gambling games! Even the coin door is of the bingo type. There is only one red
button on it which is used to play the credits (apart from the one used for
slug rejection). The front wooden moulding (which is removed to pull out the
playfield glass) is of the more conventional type and has no button. But,
wait a minute! There's another door which is smaller than the coin door on
the left side! And what is that coin unit inside the cabinet which is
otherwise empty, except for the usual tilt assemblies to the right of the main
switch? A quick look at the diagram uncovers this mystery. The operator can
choose a percentage of coins which, through a solenoid-operated diverter
placed in the coin chute, (called "Auto-Mission coin-divider" in
the flyer), fall inside an extra cash-box inside the left door. This
percentage may vary from one coin for every two inserted, up to one for every
six inserted. The backglass shows a modern (by 60s standards) looking hotel,
with the windows showing the scores from 1,000 to 9,000 and from 10,000 to
90,000. The scores are back-lighted, as is usual in the games from that era.
There are 11 girls wearing swimsuits in the backglass, standing by a swimming
pool placed in front of the hotel. Two palm-trees are in the background. A bingo-type, three digit replay counter is also present. The
backglass is completed by the usual "Tilt" light but there are no
match numbers or ball-to-play indications. The "Game Over" lamp is
linked to a light on the right of the playfield bottom arch which says
"Deposit Coin". Otherwise, if you have at least one credit, another
label says "Push Red Button to Play Replays". The playfield graphics are very nice, reflecting the
backglass, showing a closer look at that swimming pool with three girls
taking a dip with an inflatable sea-horse. There are no flippers, one thumper
bumper, nine "dead" bumpers (numbered one to nine). Also, there are two strange slingshots which use two coils
instead of one. They work in this way: the main coil (115 volts) is energized
through the usual playfield switches, providing the slingshot action and
remaining latched; but quickly the other coil unlatches the first. These
slingshot assemblies are more powerful than the normal ones we usually find
in a flipper-type pinball. They are capable of shooting the ball to the upper
zone of the playfield. Not bad, in a game without flippers! An eject-hole is
present in the center which is the type usually found in Bally games built
some years later, with automatic ball-return. Yes, this game actually HAS automatic
ball return! And not a motorized ball lift like on Bingos, there is a normal
ball-return eject hole, identical to the one described above! Hitting any of the numbered bumpers lights the corresponding
girl on the backglass. A close look at the inside wiring discovers that girls
10 and 11 are tied together (kinky, eh!) so in truth, there are only ten
girls to be lit. These two figures (10 and 11) can only be spotted by
entering the eject hole in the middle of the playfield. In fact, this eject
hole can spot any two of the 11 girls. You can change the current "girl
to be spotted" by hitting any contact on the playfield. Only trouble is
the eject hole is aimed directly at the out-hole and, as you have only one
ball per play, this is something to beware of! Now for a look at the scoring. Four rubber rebounds score
1,000 as does the thumper bumper. The dead bumper and the eject hole score
5,000. These points can be useful for competitions, but no award is baséd on
the scoring. What you really need to do is to spot the girls. At the end of
the game, a minimum of six girls lit, awards two replays. If you have seven
lit you get four replays, eight awards eight replays, nine girls awards 20
replays and all 11 girls lit awards 100 to 180 replays!! Replays can only be played. It's not possible, like on bingos,
to buy extra balls, change the odds, etc. Note that turning off the machine
resets all the remaining credits. Considering that usually no one would have
the will to play something like 180 games, this is obviously provided for the
benefit of the operator, to permit him to pay to the player the value of the
remaining credits and then subtract them from the machine. The left side door can be very useful in this context. The
owner can give the operator keys to the left door only, to permit payment of
credits with coins taken from this secondary cash box without having to give
access to the main cash box and the inner mechanisms. Considering the whole game, it plays very fast, due to the
fact that there is only one ball per play and no flippers. I don't think
Bally built it only for providing spare parts for bingos: BEAUTY CONTEST is
very well thought out. It is a real gambling machine, very different from the
usual bingos or slot machines. I believe it was only by chance that these
kind of games were permitted in countries where other gambling machines were
not allowed. These games were built, mainly with bingo parts, to allow the
operator to indirectly order replacement parts for their unauthorized
machines by ordering spares for the "queens" games. If Bally really
wanted to send forbidden spares (or complete games) to other countries, I
believe they could have found a more efficient way. First of all, a game built with this in mind should have had
many more parts inside of the same type used in bingos. There should be more
motors, for example, like the motorized ball lift on bingos. Along this line
there should not be two eject holes, a device that wasn't even installed in
normal pinball machines. Another system Bally could have used is the one used
today by Tecnoplay (Republic of San Marino, inside Italy). In 1988 they sold
a pinball called SPACE TEAM. If you notice, there are more buttons on the
cabinet then are found on simple pinball games. In fact, by simply changing
the backglass and making some minor adjustments the game could become a real
bingo, forbidden to be sold in Italy! My final argument in favor of my thesis is that I found my
BEAUTY CONTEST here in Italy, where it was normally distributed as a gambling
machine. Okay, in 1960 in Italy, every gambling machine was theoretically
forbidden (as they are today), and even normal pinballs were fighting for
survival. (Later only no-replay games were allowed). But it was possible, if
necessary, to order any spare parts needed. So why send a game here, only to
allow access to Hforbidden" spare parts, parts which were only outlawed
in a few states of the USA? ~
~
January 26th, 1960 _ Well Roger tried to find some Help _ rec.games.pinball
› Talking of
Bally Beauty Contest.... What were the rules?? 1 post by 1
author rogerdodger
8/15/10 As I said in
a previous post, I remember playing this as a kid. I know that
the idea was to hit as many or all of the bumpers but how do you win
replays and how many replays do you get? I see a 3 digit replay
counter (same as bingos) so it appears that you could win lots of replays
but I never figured out how to win them and, more importantly,
how you win lots of them! Unlike
bingos, I don't see advancing
odds so am curious as to how you win big. Roger. <<<Associated Links>>> http://danny.cdyn.com/bcontesta.htm http://danny.cdyn.com/queens1.htm http://danny.cdyn.com/queens2.htm http://danny.cdyn.com/queens3.htm http://danny.cdyn.com/queenpa.htm ~ |
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Does She Or Doesn't She - By
Federico Croci - Bolonga, Italy - 
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Of course I started looking around and ended up stumbling across this little
– It’s a flyer from Italy for Italy ~
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