Medal game

Medal games (メダルゲーム, medaru gēmu) are a type of game commonly found in arcades and casinos, especially within 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.

Example of an amusement arcade in Japan dedicated to medal games
GAlilEO FACTORY, a SEGA-built medal game

There are many types of medal games, but the two most popular are the gambling type and the pusher game type.

Gambling type

The gambling type of medal games has two types of games, those that simulate a Las Vegas style casino (Electronic/Mechanical roulette tables, video poker, video blackjack, slot machines, are all very common).

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 very 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.

Pusher game type
A pusher game in the UK, with both coins (in this case, two pence pieces) and small prizes available to win

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 very 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
Pachin Slot, a medal game similar to a slot machine.
Game Manufacturer Type Year
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

References
  1. https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/for-the-public/Safer-gambling/Consumer-guides/Quick-guide-fairs-and-fairgrounds.aspx
  2. A game where a player drops a chip through a sloped series of pegs. This game is commonly played on The Price Is Right
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