Rally play Company

Rally was a French pinball manufacturer founded in 1961 in Nice, France, as an offshoot of a local electronics firm called Radio Laboratoire Jaubert. The diversification into amusement machines led to the creation of Rally Play, which quickly gained recognition in a market largely dominated by American manufacturers. While it was active only until 1969, Rally earned a place in pinball history by incorporating advanced electronics and distinctive cabinet designs into its games, setting them apart from their contemporaries. Many of its early machines, such as Bowling Flipper (1961) and Beach Games (1962), displayed vibrant artwork and utilized a hybrid electro-mechanical approach that would soon distinguish the company as a technological pioneer.

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A major milestone occurred in 1966 with the introduction of Rally Girl, the first pinball machine to feature digital scoring with illuminated numeric display tubes, predating the solid-state era by nearly a decade. Known as the Flip-Tronic system, this technological innovation enabled higher scoring capacities and demonstrated Rally’s forward-thinking approach. The company continued to produce games that integrated both advanced features and playful themes until its final machine, Flower’s Child, in 1969. After this period, pinball production at Rally ceased, partly due to a corporate merger that refocused resources on industrial and military electronics. Despite its relatively brief existence, Rally remains highly regarded by enthusiasts for its creative designs and pioneering electronic features, marking it as a notable French challenger in the mid-20th century pinball landscape.