Where better than the fair can to show how good a marksman you are? Shooting galleries are popular attractions everywhere.
People love to show and test their skill at the fair. For some, bumper cars are for bumping. For others the skill lies in avoiding collisions. In shooting galleries people can show off their skill as marksmen. Special skills are also needed to handle the grabs when trying to win lighters or watches. The try-your-strength machine is a classic attraction around the world.
Shooting gallery at the Fair for Seniors in Oirschot (the Netherlands).
Bingo!
A father and his daughter in a dodgem at the fair in Carpi (Modena, Italy) in 1948
A German cock-shy. Three strikes yielded a price.
At this cock-shy balls had to be thrown the ‘Russian way’: the target was the inescapable mother-in-law. When the ball hit her, she toppled over.
A cock-shy at Milan Fair in the 1950s.
An old German gambling house.
Der Glückstöpfer was a tombola-like game of chance. It was invented in Italy and reached Germany in the 15th century. Glückstöpfe means ‘pots of luck’. The Italian tombola used a wheel of fortune to determine the winning number. In Germany the number was taken out of a pot. In the 16th century the Glückstöpfer were successful attractions at every big fair. One couldn’t win money. The prizes consisted of clothes, furniture, jewellery, paintings and tableware. No junk indeed!
“More to the right!”
At the fair children have always loved an opportunity to put their skill to the test.
This is where you step in a bumper car for.