What popular arcade game was once outlawed in New York City?

If there’s one thing that’s as true today as it has been throughout human history, it’s that if kids are doing something, it’s probably bad.

But don’t just take our word for it, here are some of the things that have rotted children’s minds so much that adults wanted to legally ban them: rock and roll music, Dungeons & Dragons, video games, comic books — need we go on? I didn’t think so. Back in the neolithic times, some kid probably accidentally poked their arm with a stick, and sticks became outlawed from the tribe.

But even the most overly concerned adults may be surprised to learn that one of the most commonly found games in arcades was once thought to be so illicit that New York City outright banned it. Which game was it?

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The answer is: Pinball. The mayor of New York City, Fiorello La Guardia, really was not a fan of pinball, declaring it illegal in the city in early 1942. He even ordered police raids on establishments thought to be harboring pinball machines and would stage press conferences where police would smash the machines to bits.He claimed they were run by the mob (not totally untrue) and were simply robbing innocent people of their hard-earned money — also not entirely untrue, as in those days people would often gamble on the games and the machines didn’t really even have flippers most of the time, making it a game of chance.Other cities soon followed, and it wasn’t until the mid-1970s when flippers became common and pinball wizard Roger Sharpe played in front of the New York City Council to prove it was a game of skill that the ban was finally lifted.Source

What popular arcade game was once outlawed in New York City?

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