Medal games (メダルゲーム, medaru gēmu) are a type of arcade game commonly found in amusement arcades and casinos, especially in Japan. In order to play a medal game, a customer must first exchange their cash into medals (metal coins, much like an arcade token). The rate of medals versus cash varies from arcade to arcade, but usually the cheapest range is from ¥300 all the way up to ¥10,000.
While many of the medal games simulate gambling, the medals cannot be traded back into cash, but only used to play more games, or exchanged (via paper tickets) for prizes.
There are many types of medal games, but the two most popular are the gambling type and the pusher game type.
Gambling type
editThe gambling type of medal games includes two types of games. The first are games that are similar to a casino; electro-mechanical roulette tables, video poker, video blackjack, and slot machines are all common examples).
The other type is video horse racing. These are often set up in a quite lavish lounge set up, each player has a personal screen, often with a padded chair, an ashtray and cup holders. All of these personal seats are in front of a large screen displaying the virtual horse race.
In the Philippines, video horse racing is also known as "video karera". These games are often raided by police as some proprietors try to evade taxes.[citation needed]
Pusher game type
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These games are characterized by multiple levels filled with medals or coins. Behind these platforms are mechanical "brooms" that push the coins forward. When a coin is dropped in, it falls onto one of the platforms and has the chance of pushing other coins (and possibly prizes placed on top of the coins) off the edge and being awarded to the player, unless they fall in the left and right 'lose' side of the edge. Timing in dropping the coin is a skill factor in the game.
In the United Kingdom, pusher games — often called "penny falls"[1] — are popular in arcades, and can often be found at tourist attractions such as theme parks and bowling alleys. Often, these machines use real coins rather than tokens (usually a low denomination such as the 2p or 10p), but otherwise behave in the same way as games that operate with medals or tokens.
Variations on the pusher game can be much more complex. They often involve a Plinko-style[2] chute that causes the coin to drop in which there are different slots the dropped medal can fall into, causing various in game effects. Some slots may have the machine drop in more coins, others may initiate a video slot machine built into the machine. From the video slot machine more coins and other bonuses can be awarded.
Many pusher games are connected to one another, some even with shared platforms, to form mega jackpots, sometimes as many as 100,000 medals. Sometimes a video mini game can be activated, in which coins must be dropped or rolled to hit specific targets, or buttons on the machine must be pressed in order to play. For example, a mini game could involve pressing a star shaped button to make Mario jump and hit coin blocks, which could give coins.
Another aspect of the pusher games is that they are often themed on things targeted towards children, such as video game and cartoon characters.
List of games
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| Game | Manufacturer | Type | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harness Racing[3] | Sega | Harness racing | 1974 |
| EVR Race[3] | Nintendo | Racing | 1975 |
| The Derby Vφ[3] | Aruze | Horse racing | 1975 |
| World Bingo | Sega | Casino | 1986 |
| World Derby | Horse racing | 1988 | |
| Bingo Circus | Casino | ||
| Kamen Racing | Banpresto | Racing | 1991 |
| Tsuriko Penta | Konami | Timing | |
| Royal Ascot | Sega | Horse racing | |
| Imo Hori Penta | Konami | Timing | 1992 |
| Caribbean Roule | Sega | Casino | |
| Bingo Party | |||
| Kung Fu Kid | Konami | Fighting | 1993 |
| Shuriken Boy | Timing | ||
| Fusen Penta | |||
| Wai Wai Poker | Casino | ||
| Super Dice Craps | Sega | Casino | 1994 |
| Spiral Fall | Namco | Coin pusher | |
| Dum Dum Boy | Konami | Timing | |
| Buttobi Striker | |||
| Bingo Party Multicard | Sega | Casino | |
| GI Classic | Konami | Horse racing | 1995 |
| Tsukande Toru Chitchi | Timing | ||
| Pitto Nako Zaorus | |||
| GI Classic Winds | Horse racing | 1996 | |
| Space Pokan | Timing | ||
| Dobo Chan | |||
| Pac Eight | Namco | Casino | |
| Pac Carnivel | |||
| Pac Slot | |||
| Bingo Party Phoenix | Sega | Casino | |
| Bingo Fantasy | |||
| Tekken Card World | Namco | Poker | 1997 |
| Bingo Planet | Sega | Casino | |
| Royal Ascot | Horse racing | ||
| Royal Ascot 2 | |||
| Korokoro Pen Kai | Konami | Timing | |
| Kureyon Shin Chan No Daruma Otoshi Dazo | Banpresto | Slot simulation | 1998 |
| The Bingo Show | Namco | Bingo | |
| G1 Classic EX | Konami | Horse racing | |
| G1 Classic EX Winds | |||
| Bobble Roulette | Taito | Casino | |
| Treasure Rokomo | Sammy | Timing | 1999 |
| G1 Leading Sire | Konami | Horse racing | |
| Shate Kizzu | Sammy | Timing | |
| Dokidoki Goldfish Sukui | |||
| Tobikose Jump Man | Namco | ||
| Animal Catcher | Sammy | Timing | 2000 |
| Itazura Monkey | |||
| Otoshi Cha Ottotto | |||
| Sugoroku Adventure Noto | Namco | Casino | |
| Star Horse | Sega | Horse racing | |
| Hana Pu | Konami | Timing | |
| Taiho De Dobon | Sammy | ||
| Pai Nage Takai | |||
| Bubble No KuruKuru Jump! | Taito | ||
| Pikkari Chansu! | Konami | ||
| Fan Cube | Namco | Casino | |
| Run Run Puppy! | Konami | Timing | |
| Muscle Ranking Kick Target | Konami | 2001 | |
| Neko Shot | Namco | ||
| Star Horse 2001 | Sega | Horse racing | |
| Neratte Don Don | Konami | Timing | |
| Pakkun Restaurant | Namco | ||
| Fortune Orb | Konami | Coin Pusher | |
| Oten Kiten Chan | Namco | Timing | 2002 |
| Karate Man | Sammy | ||
| Star Horse 2002 | Sega | Horse racing | |
| Nigaoe Pittanko | Namco | Timing | |
| Bingo Party Splash | Sega | Casino | |
| Bun Bun Boomerang | Namco | Timing | |
| Kan Ransha | |||
| G1 Turf Wild | Konami | Horse racing | 2003 |
| Star Horse Progress | Sega | Horse racing | |
| Fortune Orb 2 Legend | Konami | Casino | |
| G1 Turf Wild 2 | Konami | Horse racing | 2004 |
| Bingo Party Splash SP | Sega | Casino | |
| Pac-Man Ball | Namco | Coin pusher | |
| G1 Turf Wild 3 | Sega | Horse Racing | 2005 |
| G1 Horse Park | Konami | ||
| Star Horse 2 | Sega | ||
| Rockman EXE: The Medal Operation | Capcom | Timing | |
| G1 Horse Park EX | Konami | Online horse racing | 2006 |
| Star Horse 2 Second Fusion | Sega | ||
| Fortune Orb 3 Gem Kingdom | Coin pusher | ||
| Shibukuru | Atlus | Casino | 2007 |
| Sibu Dinosaurs | |||
| Alien Legends | Capcom | Coin pusher | |
| Medal Mahjong Mokari Bancho | Cave | Mahjong | |
| Eternal Knights | Konami | RPG | |
| Spin Fever | Konami | Coin pusher | |
| Twinkle Drop | Casino | ||
| Panic Pirates | |||
| Euro Queen | |||
| Sega Network Casino Club | Sega | Online casino | |
| Club Majesty | Casino | ||
| Star Horse 2 Third Evolution | Online horse racing | ||
| To Ami-Gyo | Timing | ||
| Bingo Galaxy | Casino | ||
| Bingo Party Pirates | |||
| Fantasy Arena | |||
| Mirage World | |||
| Medalink | |||
| Dyno Max | Taito | Coin pusher | |
| Crayon Shin-Chan game | Namco Bandai | ||
| Taiko no Tatsujin game | |||
| Kinnikuman game | Banpresto | Casino | |
| Crayon Shin-Chan game | |||
| Lupin III game | |||
| Kinnikuman game | |||
| Chibi Maruko-chan game | Capcom | Coin pusher | 2008 |
| Mario Party Fushigi no Korokoro Catcher | |||
| Eternal Knights 2 | Konami | Online RPG | |
| Grand Cross | Online coin pusher | ||
| Fantastic Fever | |||
| Castlevania game | Casino | ||
| Meteor Spark | Coin pusher | ||
| Motor X | Racing | ||
| Ascot Garden | Sega | Horse racing | |
| Galileo Factory | Coin pusher | ||
| Kizzu Yatai Mura Kingyosukui | Timing | ||
| Club Majesty: Where is Wally? | Casino | ||
| Club Majesty: Gatling Poker | |||
| Star Horse 2: Fourth Ambition | Online horse Racing | ||
| Sega Network Casino Club Ver. 2 | Online casino | ||
| Black Jack Nailed Ace | Casino | ||
| Medalink - UNO game | |||
| Monopoly game | |||
| Infinity Rings | Konami | Online Casino | 2009 |
| Kizzu Yatai-Mura Shateki | Sega | Timing | |
| Galileo Factory 2 | Sega | Coin pusher | |
| Galaxy World Panic Hunter | Konami | Casino | |
| Grand Cross Premium | Coin Pusher | ||
| Spin Fever | |||
| G1 Horse Park GX | Horse Racing | ||
| Star Horse: Fifth Expansion | Sega | ||
| Star Horse: Progress Returns | |||
| Sega Network Casino Club Ver. 2 | Casino | ||
| Fantasy Coliseum | Taito | Coin Pusher |
See also
edit
- Pachinko
- Redemption game
- Tipping Point, a UK game show based around a giant pusher machine
References
edit- ^ "Gambling Commission website".
- ^ A game where a player drops a chip through a sloped series of pegs. This game is commonly played on the American game show The Price Is Right
- ^ a b c "70s Amusement Machine History" (PDF). Japan Amusement Machine and Marketing Association (JAMMA) (in Japanese). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-09-11. Retrieved 14 May 2021.