Race-Way

This game was available in Replay or Regular models. Midway announced this pin game in The Cash Box, Oct-12-1963, page 50, as being in full production with sample shipments being delivered to their distributors. This game may have been influenced by the popularity of slot car racing in the 1960s in the USA. Southland Engineering had issued the previous June their 2-player �Speedway�, an auto-racing game which also counted laps on the backglass for each player. The playfield of 'Speedway', however, was an actual figure-8 slot car track with two cars, each controlled by a steering wheel operated by a player. The backglass on Race-Way is silkscreened to show the words GAME OVER under each player�s score but is not silkscreened to show the word TILT anywhere. A tilt during play ends the game. For 2-player operation, however, games in this production run have been factory-wired with either of two player tilt configurations: One Tilt � If either player tilts, the game ends for both players. The backbox door has a single Game Over relay for both players and no Tilt relay. The schematic indicates both players immediately show GAME OVER on the backglass. Two Tilt � The game ends only for the player who tilted and only that player shows GAME OVER while the other player can continue play. The backbox door has a Tilt relay and two Game Over relays, one for each player. If no tilt occurs, GAME OVER will not light for 1st Player until it lights for 2nd Player. The schematic diagram we have for this game, dated October 1963, appears to support the �One Tilt� design. We don�t know if a 'Race-Way' schematic exists to reflect the factory �Two Tilt� design. Certain images in this listing have been marked as either "One Tilt" or "Two Tilt". From a player�s perspective, ending the game for both players because of the tilt of only one player is unfair. We assume that the �One Tilt� design was a mistake and that the �Two Tilt� design followed it as a correction made during production, although we don�t know what happened. Soon after, however, Midway came out with the 2-player �Champ� which had the same playfield and nearly identical backbox. This game had a Tilt relay and two Game Over relays so that the game would not end for both players on a single tilt. Its schematic diagram dated 11-25-63 was clear to state on it the words �TWO TILT� underneath the name �CHAMP� as if to acknowledge operators� memories of the earlier game. We don't know how many Race-Way games left the factory with either tilt design. In retrospect, it looks like a problem was corrected. If so, perhaps Midway also quickly moved forward with the corrected version under a new name, Champ. A bat game having the same backbox animation is Midway's 1963 'Winner'. A pin game having the same backbox animation is Midway's 1964 'Flying Turns'.