1965 · Bally
Aces High
Known for Upper right mushroom bumper, Upper left mushroom bumper and Royal flush. Blue sky with white clouds and a small white ball, painted grandstand or stadium seating in blue and green, green baize card table and painted deck and landscape behind the seated figures.
- Year
- 1965
- Maker
- Bally
- Type
- Electro-mechanical
- Display
- Score reels
- Players
- 1
Known for
- Bumper
Upper right mushroom bumper
- Bumper
Upper left mushroom bumper
- Goal
Royal flush
2 games under this title
-
Standard 1965 -
Aces Top 1965
On the playfield
Bumpers 6
- Upper right mushroom bumper
- Upper left mushroom bumper
- Lower left mushroom bumper
- Lower right mushroom bumper
- Center mushroom bumper
- Red pop bumpers
Lanes 2
- Side lanes
- Left out lane
On the backglass
Who and what
- woman Left foreground, short red hair, yellow dress, holding a fan of playing cards
- man Left of centre, blue jacket over shirt, brown hair, seated holding cards
- man Centre, brown shirt, dark hair, leaning in with cards
- man Centre-right, blue shirt, dark hair, seated with fanned cards
- woman Centre, tall piled blonde beehive hair, red top, seated at table
- woman Behind table, dark hair, red top, standing
Setting
- Blue sky with white clouds and a small white ball
- Painted grandstand or stadium seating in blue and green
- Green baize card table
- Painted deck and landscape behind the seated figures
Text on it
- Bally
- ACES
- HIGH
- 1 PLAYER
- 2 PLAYER
- 3 PLAYER
- 4 PLAYER
- BALL IN PLAY
- 1-2-3-4 CAN PLAY
- IT'S MORE FUN TO COMPETE
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
How it plays
-
Goals 2
- Royal flush
- Ricochet shot
Made by
- Design
- Ted Zale
- Art
- Art Stenholm
Reference
Linked terms
- Upper right mushroom bumper also called Aces
- Upper left mushroom bumper also called Kings
- Lower left mushroom bumper also called Queens
- Lower right mushroom bumper also called Jacks
Backglass vision analysis
Written by a machine from the photos, so details may be off.
Backglass Standard
- blue
- red
- yellow
- green
Fingerprint: ACES over HIGH in red slab-serif, black cursive Bally above, four player stations with crossed-racket pictograms and reel windows, eight young adults at green card table holding fanned card hands and drinks, red-haired woman yellow dress, men and women bright clothing, red-jacketed man pouring from bottle, seaside backdrop, mid-century social illustration
The signature is a card-playing party at a green baize table rather than an action scene: eight young people in saturated red, blue and yellow mid-century clothes holding fanned hands of cards and drinking glasses, with a blond man in a red jacket at the right pouring a drink. Four identical yellow-and-red scroll score windows with numbered wreaths, one per player position, flank the central stacked red title. The punchline lettering 'IT'S MORE FUN TO COMPETE' sits in the bottom-right border cartouche opposite '1-2-3-4 CAN PLAY' on the left, separated by a blank yellow oval medallion. Hearts and spades are the only card suits used in the four card fans. The word 'Bally' appears in flowing black cursive script directly above the title rather than in a logo block.
Setting
- Blue sky with white clouds and a small white ball
- Painted grandstand or stadium seating in blue and green
- Green baize card table
- Painted deck and landscape behind the seated figures
Symbols
- Four playing-card fans (hearts and spades)
- Numbered yellow discs 1-4 in white wreaths
- Crossed rackets flanking each player banner
- White cue ball in the sky
- Stars on player-1 card
- Playing-card suits
Lettering
- Large red slab-serif capitals with white outline and dark drop shadow for the title; black flowing cursive script above it; white sans-serif capitals on red scroll banners and red border cartouches
Themes
- Playing cards
- Poker night
- Party
- Competition
- Multiplayer
- Card playing
- Social party
Title on it
- Aces high
Text on it
- Bally
- ACES
- HIGH
- 1 PLAYER
- 2 PLAYER
- 3 PLAYER
- 4 PLAYER
- BALL IN PLAY
- 1-2-3-4 CAN PLAY
- IT'S MORE FUN TO COMPETE
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
| Kind | Description |
|---|---|
| Woman | Left foreground, short red hair, yellow dress, holding a fan of playing cards |
| Man | Left of centre, blue jacket over shirt, brown hair, seated holding cards |
| Man | Centre, brown shirt, dark hair, leaning in with cards |
| Man | Centre-right, blue shirt, dark hair, seated with fanned cards |
| Woman | Centre, tall piled blonde beehive hair, red top, seated at table |
| Woman | Behind table, dark hair, red top, standing |
| Man | Right of centre, brown/tan shirt, dark hair, standing behind table |
| Man | Far right, blond hair, bright red jacket, pouring a drink from a bottle |
A four-player electro-mechanical backglass, hand-painted in a mid-century illustrative style. Centre column: black cursive 'Bally' signature above a large two-line red slab-serif title 'ACES' over 'HIGH', both words outlined in white with dark shadow, set on a blue sky with white clouds and a small white ball. Four player stations, two per side, each headed by a red scroll banner with white lettering ('1 PLAYER', '2 PLAYER', '3 PLAYER', '4 PLAYER') flanked by small crossed-racket pictograms, with a yellow-gold mechanical score reel window showing black digits, and a fan of three playing cards beneath (hearts and spades visible). Above each banner sits a numbered yellow disc in a white wreath — 1, 2, 3, 4. Lower half: a crowded card table scene with eight young adults in bright clothing — a red-haired woman in a yellow dress, blonde and red-haired women in red and blue tops, men in blue, brown and red shirts — all holding fanned cards and drinks, a green baize table with cards and glasses, a red-jacketed blond man at right pouring from a bottle, and a painted seaside/deck backdrop in blue and green. A white box at lower left reads 'BALL IN PLAY' in red. Bottom red banner: '1-2-3-4 CAN PLAY' in a white-outlined cartouche, a blank yellow oval medallion, and 'IT'S MORE FUN TO COMPETE' in white.
Backglass Aces Top
- red
- blue
- white
- yellow
Fingerprint: aces top, seaside card table with eight players hunched over green felt, red-haired woman in scarlet dress at right, pale blue shirt man at front, sky-blue field with red script title ACES TOP, four player score panels each with yellow medallion red ribbon fanned playing cards, white sailing boats
A crowded seaside card game: eight people in 1960s clothes hunched over a green felt table on a harbour promenade, with a red-haired woman in a scarlet dress at the right edge and a man in a pale blue shirt at front right. The title is two stacked words, ACES over TOP, in slanted red script with a heavy white drop shadow on a sky-blue field. Four separate player score panels, each with its own yellow numbered medallion, red ribbon banner and fan of three playing cards, fill the left and right thirds. The setting is a sailing harbour with three white boats at anchor and a crowd of standing onlookers behind the table. Card-suit motifs (hearts, diamonds, clubs, spades) run across the top border and down the side cabinets.
Setting
- Seaside harbour bay with moored sailing boats
- Distant green headland and blue sea
- Promenade or quayside where the card game is being played
- Pale blue sky behind the crowd
Symbols
- Playing-card suits in the top border (hearts, diamonds, clubs, spades)
- Three playing cards fanned under each player score window
- Elaborate red and blue iron scrollwork (rococo filigree) framing the panels
- Yellow numbered discs 1 to 4
- White sailing boats with masts at anchor
- A green card table with scattered playing cards
Lettering
- Slanted red brush script for the title with a thick white drop shadow; a smaller red script maker word above; score banners in white sans-serif capitals on red ribbons; bottom captions in white sans-serif capitals inside red and yellow rounded cartouches
Themes
- Card game
- Crown
- Seaside holiday
- Sailing
- Carnival or pier amusements
- Playing cards
Title on it
- Aces top
Text on it
- Bally
- ACES
- TOP
- 1
- 1ST PLAYER
- 2
- 2ND PLAYER
- 3
- 3RD PLAYER
- 4
- 4TH PLAYER
- BALL IN PLAY
- 1 2 3 4 CAN PLAY
- IT'S MORE FUN TO COMPETE
| Kind | Description |
|---|---|
| Man | Front right, brown hair, pale blue/grey shirt, leaning in over the table holding cards, profile facing left |
| Woman | Bottom right corner, bright red/auburn bobbed hair, scarlet dress with dark trim, seated facing left toward the table |
| Woman | Left foreground, grey-white coiffed hair, magenta/pink cardigan, holding a fan of cards up in both hands |
| Man | Left edge, only head and shoulder visible, dark hair, turned away from the viewer |
| Woman | Centre, blonde hair, pink top, seated at the table looking down at her cards |
| Man | Centre-left, dark hair, seated opposite, partially hidden behind the blonde figure |
| Man | Centre, brown hair, leaning forward with elbows on the green felt table |
| Woman | Centre-right of the group, dark hair, seated with cards in hand |
| Man | Standing behind the table at left, straw hat, light shirt, watching the game |
| Woman | Standing behind the table, red hair, pale dress, watching |
| Man | Standing behind the table at right, light shirt, watching |
| Creature | A small dog-like pet head visible at the left side of the table, brown and white |
A tall rectangular backglass painted in a bright 1960s cartoon style. Down the left and right thirds are four ornate score panels, each headed by a yellow numbered disc and a red banner reading 1ST PLAYER, 2ND PLAYER, 3RD PLAYER and 4TH PLAYER, with a yellow number window beneath each banner showing 1 7 4, 1 7 5 3, 0 0 0 0 and 0 0 0 0. Three white playing cards (7, 4, 4 / 7, 4, 4 / 3, 4 / 2, 3) fan out under each window. The centre column is sky blue with a red script logo ACES TOP in two stacked words, white drop shadow, and a small red script word above it. Below the title is a seaside scene: a bay with moored white sailing boats, a distant green headland, and a promenade where a crowd of about eight seated players and three standing onlookers gather round a green card table. At the bottom left a white window reads BALL IN PLAY, and a red strip along the foot carries 1 2 3 4 CAN PLAY and IT'S MORE FUN TO COMPETE. The top border is a blue field scattered with card suits; the sides carry red, blue and white iron scrollwork.