King Kool

King Kool, released by D. Gottlieb & Co. in the late 1940s, represents a classic example of early post-war pinball design when the industry was experiencing significant growth. The machine exemplifies the era's aesthetic with its vibrant art package featuring cool, royal imagery - a theme that resonated with the emerging youth culture of the time.

The gameplay, typical of the electro-mechanical era, featured traditional pop bumpers, kick-out holes, and rollovers. What made King Kool notable was its implementation of the newly popularized flipper mechanism, which had only been introduced to pinball in 1947. The game's layout emphasized skill-based play rather than the chance-based designs that dominated pre-flipper era machines.

King Kool was produced during a pivotal period when pinball was fighting for legitimacy in many American cities, where the games were often banned due to their association with gambling. Machines like King Kool, with their clearly skill-based gameplay elements, helped demonstrate that pinball could be a legitimate form of entertainment rather than a gambling device.

While exact production numbers are not well documented, King Kool represents an important transition period in pinball history, bridging the gap between the simple mechanical games of the early 1940s and the more complex offerings that would emerge in the 1950s.