Pins took too long to reset when knocked down, so they were eventually fixed to the table, and holes in the table's bed became the targets. In France, during the long 1643–1715 reign of Louis XIV, billiard tables were narrowed, with wooden pins or skittles at one end of the table, and players would shoot balls with a stick or cue from the other end, in a game inspired as much by bowling as billiards. It already has a spring mechanism to propel the ball, 100 years before Montague Redgrave's patent. Late 18th century: Spring launcher invented īillard japonais, Southern Germany/Alsace ca. The tabletop versions of these games became the ancestors of modern pinball. The evolution of outdoor games finally led to indoor versions that could be played on a table, such as billiards, or on the floor of a pub, like bowling and shuffleboard. Croquet, golf and pall-mall eventually derived from ground billiards variants. Games played outdoors by rolling balls or stones on a grass course, such as bocce or bowls, eventually evolved into various local ground billiards games played by hitting the balls with sticks and propelling them at targets, often around obstacles. The origins of pinball are intertwined with the history of many other games. History Pre-modern: Development of outdoor and tabletop ball games 1.8 1980s and 1990s: Pinball in the digital age.1.7 1970s: Solid-state electronics and digital displays introduced.1.5 1933: Electrification and active bumpers introduced.1.3 1869: Spring launchers become mainstream.1.2 Late 18th century: Spring launcher invented.1.1 Pre-modern: Development of outdoor and tabletop ball games.

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