Description

An example of the family oriented, large-box dexterity games of the 60s & 70s, the object of Impact is to knock a steel ball off a rail by swinging a weighted pendulum across the ball’s path, thereby knocking the ball into scoring compartments.

The box includes: Plastic playing base; Metal rail; Score-markers; lower legs w/arch support; Upper arm; Upper arm swivel; Chain w/weight; steel ball

An arcing metal rail sits atop a tray of numbered compartments which serve as the score area. Each player is given 10 plastic score-markers for tallying. A player sets the steel ball at one end of the rail and releases it. Timing a swing of the pendulum, the other player attempts to knock the ball off the rail and into one of the scoring areas marked 100, 200, 500. If the player misses, the other player attempts to catch the pendulum and, if successful, can take a shot at scoring as well.

Play continues until someone scores, in which case the scoring player sets the ball in action again, or until the ball stops rolling, in which case the original “roller” sets the ball on its path again.

The game is over when either player has placed all 10 markers and the scores are tallied.

Impact was released in 1971. Interestingly, the game Balanko http://www.boardgames.com/game/23728 , winner of the “Family Fun” award in 2007, appears to be a direct “descendant” of this game, with the designer claiming to have invented the game in his garage. A quote from his site states, with irony that may be intentional or not: “Upon tinkering around in the garage one day with his son, Jamie began to build a game without any knowing of how this game would one day strongly impact his life.”