During the 1950s and 1960s you would see loads of these on any fairground.
Blackpool Pleasure Beach used to have them on the sideshow stalls amongst the darts and the hoop-la stalls. There would be a row of these pierrot figures.
Having paid your 3d or 6d the operator would release half a dozen ping pong balls which came out of the bottom slot and you fed them into the pierrot's mouth. They then came out of the shute below and bounced about, finally settling in one of a row of columns with a number indicating the score. The object was to get a high enough score to get a decent prize.
It was made more exciting as the head of the pierrot (and therefore the shute) turned from side to side so you had to time the release of the ball hoping to get the top score. Easier said than done and it was normally "Any prize off the bottom shelf!" so you walked away with a comb or a small screwdriver or a pencil.
Variations were ducks and clowns.
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