S1E1: The Origin Story

Before the flippers. Before the arcades. Before anyone called it a classic — there was a wooden table, a cue stick, and a game played in the parlors of 18th century France.In our first episode, we trace pinball all the way back to its roots: the French game of Bagatelle, its journey across the Atlantic into American taverns, and the chaotic, coin-operated explosion of the 1930s that turned a parlor amusement into a Depression-era obsession. We'll meet the hustlers and manufacturers who built an industry almost overnight in Chicago, explore why cities across America began calling pinball a criminal enterprise, and end with the single invention that changed everything — and set up the battle that would define the next three decades.The silver ball didn't come from nowhere. This is where it all started.