Pachinko

Pachinko (Japaneseパチンコ) is a mix of slot machine and vertical Bagatelle game that is very popular in Japan. The often colorful design pachinko parlors with dozens, sometimes hundreds of machines are now found everywhere in Japan. The noise level through the slots, through music and announcements ( big profits, promotions ) is usually very high.

Operation

The player purchases a number (usually hundreds to thousands ) small metal balls, fills it into the device and can then be determined with a lever, how fast they are shot on the field. The stream of balls falling through a maze of pins, channels and flaps down. Most spheres disappear as rivets, but always also a fall in one of the special holes, which has one of the following effects:

• There is a certain amount of output to new balls
• The maze is reconfigured for a short time, so open up greater odds
• It is triggered in the middle of the game built-in, a gaming machine similar mechanism, then a different sized pours profits ( in the form of new balls )

Pachinko machines functioned initially purely electromechanical and had no money slot machines part. The latter came first again in the form of the classic three-pulley system to be but nowadays by the widespread use of computer technology becoming more complex and dominated the game outright. Instead of mechanical ads prevail LCDs, where small stories are told with mascot and a wide variety of symbols that end with success (gain) or loss.

Profit opportunities

Since in Japan - with the exception of the state lottery and the state-controlled betting system - a general prohibition for money gains exists, there is no prize money at pachinko. The Winnings, made ​​of metal beads may be exchanged only in property prices with a respective value of less than 10,000 yen, such as lighters or perfume bottles. Among the prizes but also includes fine gold bars each having a single value under 10,000 yen. Of these may be issued any number corresponding to the profit.

In the immediate vicinity of most Pachinkospielhallen there are stalls who buy these prizes (especially the fine gold bullion ) for cash (the seller and get Ankäufer often mutually not see because of a visual screen ). This makes the prohibition of monetary prizes will be bypassed.

Alternatively, the match balls can be paid to an account of the playing hall operator and later lifted for a sequel to the game again.

Economic Importance

As in Japan, no casinos are allowed and bets are only allowed on horse, bike and boat races, the legal pachinko game very popular. 16 million Japanese are looking for pachinko halls on a regular basis. You spend annually about 250 billion euros from the pachinko game. In Japan, there are about 16,000 pachinko halls and an estimated 34,000 professional players, some per month of which will win up to 6000 €, others pretend to have earned more than 100,000 euros. With Pachinko TV there is also a private TV channel that broadcasts daily programs with information and reports about pachinko.

Obtain foreign currency for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea

About 70 % of all pachinko halls in Japan are led by native Koreans, and about 3,000 are under the direct influence of Ch'ongryŏn, a pronordkoreanischen Association. It is estimated that out of the Pachinkogeschäft annually up to 200 billion yen ( 1.2 billion euros ) could flow to North Korea.

Computer Games

With " Visual Pinball " there is the possibility to replay many replica of users originals on the PC.