The television game Plinko in India is a modern form of entertainment that emerged from the era of loud sounds and flashy shows. It was popularized by The Price is Right, which is how most people learned about Plinko. The essence of the game is that there is a board with pins, and a ball that bounces off them. Ultimately, the ball falls into a slot with a random prize. The noise and energy of the audience make the relatively simple gameplay spectacular, but the mechanics behind Plinko are not a 20th-century invention. At the time it was invented, no one could even imagine the existence of television.
The predecessor of Plinko is considered to be a game that was popular in France and Great Britain during the 18th century. Despite being called “billiards japonais,” this game had no direct connection to Japan. It was a mechanical novelty, and its exotic name attracted maximum attention. It was an inclined board on which players “sent mechanical balls on a journey.” Metal pins were placed on the board, and when the ball collided with them, it changed direction. At the same time, the holes and cells into which it fell had different values. The game’s main appeal was its unpredictability, which generated excitement and laughter.
Strangely enough, such boards were used not only for gaming purposes, but also for mystical ones. In the early 19th century, boards called “predictive” were very popular in some European salons. A ball was used as a divination element—it was rolled across the board, and people watched where it would land. In terms of style, they were similar to boards used for séances. In an era when people were fascinated by both mechanics and the occult sciences, such boards were quite fashionable.
A similar mechanism can be found in a Japanese game called “pachinko.” In the 20th century, this adaptation of Western mechanical games gained immense popularity in Japan, known as the Land of the Rising Sun. It was used not only in entertainment venues but also in semi-legal establishments. The board with nails and balls bouncing off it is reminiscent of Plinko. In Japan, pachinko is a mass craze, and it still is today. It is played everywhere, and there are even pachinko halls that rival casinos in scale.
At the beginning of the 20th century, a similar principle was used in the United States. The game was called “Corinthian Table” and was classified as a form of home entertainment. The tabletop device also consisted of a board on which balls were rolled. The mechanics were the same as in Plinko, with the cells into which the ball fell having different point values. In the 1920s, these games became particularly popular, as mass production enabled most families to afford one for themselves. After that, the game evolved into a game of chance, incorporating elements of randomness, including simple pinball analogues.
In the Austrian and German museums of mechanics, you can see another interesting trace of such a game. Most often, these are mathematical models used to demonstrate the application of probability theory. These are, for example, educational devices such as “Galton’s triangles.” The primary purpose of such devices is scientific entertainment, which is why they effectively capture the attention of visitors. Children are particularly interested in such models due to their natural curiosity.
The Plinko game is thus not merely an evolution of a well-known television entertainment. It is part of occult culture, educational tools, and mechanical entertainment. Over the centuries, the game has evolved to suit different eras and undergone significant transformation.
Nowadays, modern digital versions of Plinko game in India are very popular, which have retained their principles and are popular with viewers. The mystical popularity of the game can be easily explained by man’s desire to conquer chance.
