The topic about dozers in Indiana possibly being outlawed, got me thinking about other games that I don't see anymore. Though I think some of these just went away on their own for other reasons. And some of these I am going to mention, maybe haven't gone away at all, maybe I just don't get exposed to them anymore...
Ping-Pong Ball toss into glass goblets...It's had to be more than 20 years since I've seen one of these. Simply explained, you just tossed a ping-pong ball and if it landed in the goblet, you won that goblet. Goblets were arranged in a square and sometimes had more than a few rows stacked on. Sometimes a specially painted goblet would win an additional prize, a plush. Saw many people walk away with a box full of goblets. It wasn't a Fair for us until we went home with one or several. Those glass goblets must have been really cheap back in the day. I can still find them, or ones just like them in yard sales all of the time.
Coin pitch into glassware...just like the previous game, probably been that long since I've seen one of these too. I think dimes were pitched, and if it landed on a dish, ash tray, glass, etc., you won that prize. Many times the glassware was just stacked in a certain pattern, with others being on turntables that made it a little more of a challenge.
Coin pitch to hit the red spot...again I think this may have been a dime game, but may have been a quarter. Coins were tossed on a very shiny wooden board, that was just above ground level, that had spaced out red spots all over that were just a little bigger than the coin you were pitching. I think at least in one instance the red dot was encircled by a black ring, and if the coin ended up inside the black ring but not entirely inside the red dot, you won a smaller plush. If your coin ended up inside the red dot, you won a large plush.
Ring toss for a bottle of soda pop...Just like it sounds, back when soda pop came in glass bottles, ring a bottle, win that soda pop. I thought as a kid I had had a really good night if I went home with a bottle or two of pop (which was a treat for me back then) and a goblet to drink it from.[:)]
Derby Race...Race game against others, where you played a game that looked like a pinball machine except all you did was shoot the silver pinball with the plunger and it depending on where it settled, in one of 3 or 4 channels, advanced your horse on a lighted board the associated spots. Each Horse had its own name. This was one of those games that was fun just to watch, without even playing.
And my favorite...
The Pill Game...simple game, 50 cent buy-in, marks stood around a table top that had several rows of recessed numbered spots at one end. Pills were distributed, one to a person, by the "dealer" out of a bottle after being shaken. One person was given the rubber ball to bounce off of one end where it would roll down to the other end and settle in one of the numbered slots. If you had that number, you won the pot. If the number was not held by one of the players, the house would count up until a winner was determined. The house kept one of the 50 cent pieces each game (hey, they had to make their money some way). There was a spot on the table marked "house wins", but Arkie (the man who always brought this game to our town) always left the money in the pot, and everybody would ante up again, and they played another game for that much more. Arkie would always say, "House won it, house don't want it". He was a true Showman. As a player would leave the game, he would always say "See you in church". I would stand and watch this game endlessly, as I was too young to play. Last saw Arkie in '79. This, I will always remember.
I'm sure that I will probably remember some more, but this is a start.
Anyone know if any of these games are still around?
If not, what happened to them? Stock get to pricy? Or they did they get legislated away?
What are some other games that are no longer around?
I've never been "with it", just been an interested observer of carnivals for more than 50 years.
Johnny's United Shows..."A Family Tradition" and "All for Fun, Fun for All".
The carnival of my youth, which had roots that originated in my hometown.