Medal Game Wikipedia

An example of an amusement arcade in Japan dedicated to medal games

Galileo Factory, a SEGA-built medal gameMedal 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[edit]
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.[citation needed]

Pusher game type[edit]
Western Dream, one example of a push medal game. If a player manages to get all red lights on, lights flash and a train stops at his/her side. The train tilts its tender full of coins, dumping them into the player’s platform.

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[edit]
Pachin Slot, a medal game similar to a slot machine.

GameManufacturerTypeYearHarness Racing[3]SegaHarness racing1974EVR Race[3]NintendoRacing1975The Derby Vφ[3]AruzeHorse racing1975World BingoSegaCasino1986World DerbyHorse racing1988Bingo CircusCasinoKamen RacingBanprestoRacing1991Tsuriko PentaKonamiTimingRoyal AscotSegaHorse racingImo Hori PentaKonamiTiming1992Caribbean RouleSegaCasinoBingo PartyKung Fu KidKonamiFighting1993Shuriken BoyTimingFusen PentaWai Wai PokerCasinoSuper Dice CrapsSegaCasino1994Spiral FallNamcoCoin pusherDum Dum BoyKonamiTimingButtobi StrikerBingo Party MulticardSegaCasinoGI ClassicKonamiHorse racing1995Tsukande Toru ChitchiTimingPitto Nako ZaorusGI Classic WindsHorse racing1996Space PokanTimingDobo ChanPac EightNamcoCasinoPac CarnivelPac SlotBingo Party PhoenixSegaCasinoBingo FantasyTekken Card WorldNamcoPoker1997Bingo PlanetSegaCasinoRoyal AscotHorse racingRoyal Ascot 2Korokoro Pen KaiKonamiTimingKureyon Shin Chan No Daruma Otoshi DazoBanprestoSlot simulation1998The Bingo ShowNamcoBingoG1 Classic EXKonamiHorse racingG1 Classic EX WindsBobble RouletteTaitoCasinoTreasure RokomoSammyTiming1999G1 Leading SireKonamiHorse racingShate KizzuSammyTimingDokidoki Goldfish SukuiTobikose Jump ManNamcoAnimal CatcherSammyTiming2000Itazura MonkeyOtoshi Cha OttottoSugoroku Adventure NotoNamcoCasinoStar HorseSegaHorse racingHana PuKonamiTimingTaiho De DobonSammyPai Nage TakaiBubble No KuruKuru Jump!TaitoPikkari Chansu!KonamiFan CubeNamcoCasinoRun Run Puppy!KonamiTimingMuscle Ranking Kick TargetKonami2001Neko ShotNamcoStar Horse 2001SegaHorse racingNeratte Don DonKonamiTimingPakkun RestaurantNamcoFortune OrbKonamiCoin PusherOten Kiten ChanNamcoTiming2002Karate ManSammyStar Horse 2002SegaHorse racingNigaoe PittankoNamcoTimingBingo Party SplashSegaCasinoBun Bun BoomerangNamcoTimingKan RanshaG1 Turf WildKonamiHorse racing2003Star Horse ProgressSegaHorse racingFortune Orb 2 LegendKonamiCasinoG1 Turf Wild 2KonamiHorse racing2004Bingo Party Splash SPSegaCasinoPac-Man BallNamcoCoin pusherG1 Turf Wild 3SegaHorse Racing2005G1 Horse ParkKonamiStar Horse 2SegaRockman EXE: The Medal OperationCapcomTimingG1 Horse Park EXKonamiOnline horse racing2006Star Horse 2 Second FusionSegaFortune Orb 3 Gem KingdomCoin pusherShibukuruAtlusCasino2007Sibu DinosaursAlien LegendsCapcomCoin pusherMedal Mahjong Mokari BanchoCaveMahjongEternal KnightsKonamiRPGSpin FeverKonamiCoin pusherTwinkle DropCasinoPanic PiratesEuro QueenSega Network Casino ClubSegaOnline casinoClub MajestyCasinoStar Horse 2 Third EvolutionOnline horse racingTo Ami-GyoTimingBingo GalaxyCasinoBingo Party PiratesFantasy ArenaMirage WorldMedalinkDyno MaxTaitoCoin pusherCrayon Shin-Chan gameNamco BandaiTaiko no Tatsujin gameKinnikuman gameBanprestoCasinoCrayon Shin-Chan gameLupin III gameKinnikuman gameChibi Maruko-chan gameCapcomCoin pusher2008Mario Party Fushigi no Korokoro CatcherEternal Knights 2KonamiOnline RPGGrand CrossOnline coin pusherFantastic FeverCastlevania gameCasinoMeteor SparkCoin pusherMotor XRacingAscot GardenSegaHorse racingGalileo FactoryCoin pusherKizzu Yatai Mura KingyosukuiTimingClub Majesty: Where is Wally?CasinoClub Majesty: Gatling PokerStar Horse 2: Fourth AmbitionOnline horse RacingSega Network Casino Club Ver. 2Online casinoBlack Jack Nailed AceCasinoMedalink – UNO gameMonopoly gameInfinity RingsKonamiOnline Casino2009Kizzu Yatai-Mura ShatekiSegaTimingGalileo Factory 2SegaCoin pusherGalaxy World Panic HunterKonamiCasinoGrand Cross PremiumCoin PusherSpin FeverG1 Horse Park GXHorse RacingStar Horse: Fifth ExpansionSegaStar Horse: Progress ReturnsSega Network Casino Club Ver. 2CasinoFantasy ColiseumTaitoCoin PusherSee also[edit]
References[edit]