Games · 1947
1947: Dawn of Electronic and Arcade Gaming
In 1947, post-war technical innovation sparked the earliest foundations of interactive entertainment. From the filing of the first cathode-ray tube game patent to the game-changing invention of pinball flippers, coin-operated and electronic hardware took historic leaps forward.
- Jan 1947 | Hardware Prototype | USA
Cathode-Ray Tube Amusement Device
Inventors Thomas T. Goldsmith Jr. and Estle Ray Mann filed a patent for a CRT missile game, creating the world's first interactive electronic game device.
- Oct 1947 | Pinball | Gottlieb
Humpty Dumpty
Designed by Harry Mabs, this legendary pinball machine introduced player-controlled electro-mechanical flippers, forever revolutionizing arcade gameplay.
- 1947 | Theoretical Code | UK
Turochamp Chess Algorithm
British mathematician Alan Turing began writing Turochamp, the world's first computer algorithm intended to play a full game of chess.
- 1947 | EM Arcade Game | Chicago Coin
Basketball Champ
Chicago Coin released a hugely popular electro-mechanical arcade cabinet where players controlled miniature basketball players to shoot hoops.
- 1947 | EM Arcade Game | Mutoscope
Atomic Bomber
International Mutoscope released an immersive electro-mechanical cabinet letting arcade goers look through a bomb sight to target moving ground objectives.
- Jun 1947 | Pinball | Gottlieb
Maisie
Gottlieb released this top-selling pinball cabinet shortly before inventing flippers, marking the absolute high point of pure passive-bumper pinball design.
- Oct 1947 | Pinball | Bally
Bally Nudgy
Bally introduced an innovative spring-loaded playfield lever, letting players mechanically shake and tilt the pinball playfield to control ball direction.
- Oct 1947 | Pinball | Williams
Torchy
Williams Manufacturing produced this vibrant post-war pinball table featuring high-scoring rollover buttons and dynamic multi-light scoring playfields.
Enjoyed your trip back in time?