<p>In the same way that Nuremberg was a center for toy and game companies due to the manufacturing resources of the town, Chicago was the home for many of the largest and most influential pinball companies, an industry born and bred there. The coin operated game as we know it began to surface in 1930 with Gottlieb's Baffle Ball and the Pinball went through ups and down during World War II (due to material and manufacturing shortages) and came roaring back afterwards, only to lose its market in the end to the digital upstarts, the video game cabinets. Today only one major pinball manufacturer, Stern, remains. The game itself has begun to see a rise in interest in the last decade as nostalgia themed parlors, bars and restaurants have begun appearing in cities around the country. </p>
<p>The home and portable video game consoles, and most recently, mobile "smart phones" and tablets have all eaten into the markets for toys, dolls and tabletop games; though there's been a significant revival of interest in board games in the past 10-15 years as new styles and types of board game design have emerged from Europe and taken hold by designers, manufacturers and players world-wide.</p>
<p>The home and portable video game consoles, and most recently, mobile "smart phones" and tablets have all eaten into the markets for toys, dolls and tabletop games; though there's been a significant revival of interest in board games in the past 10-15 years as new styles and types of board game design have emerged from Europe and taken hold by designers, manufacturers and players world-wide. If you are interested in contributing to the Jewish Play Project you can reach us at Jewish + Play + Project (at) magic dot rit dot edu.</p>