COMPUTER based games may be king of the amusement arcade at the moment, but fashions change and within a few years some other novelty will be all the rage.

It was the age of electronics and the advent of computers which ousted the traditional amusement machine, which had reigned supreme from the late Victorian period right through to the 1960s.

Coin in the slot machines were becoming popular in the late 1880s and 1890s.

They ranged from weighing machines and chocolate machines and of course "What the Butler Saw" machines.

But then someone had the idea of gaming machines, giving prizes, and the idea really took off.

But it was really the 1920s and 30s that amusement machines really took hold and machines like the one illustrating this article were commonplace in fairgrounds and amusement arcades all over the country.

Sometimes they gave cigarettes and sweets as prizes and sometimes a small amount of cash was returned.

Over the years, their locations spread from the amusement arcade into pubs and by the 1950s into wine bars and restaurants.

By the 1960s they were making an appearance in shopping precincts.

Today there is a strong collecting following for old amusement machines, particularly the pre-electric versions, which were entirely mechanical in operation.

Once pushed aside by electrified versions, the old machines were frequently scrapped, so surviving examples are quite sought after and values are normally at least £300 or so with many examples topping £500.

And it's surprising how many there are still around, lurking in garden sheds or cellars.

One of the most common names to appear on an old amusement machine is that of Allwin, which was a Nottingham based company turning out a wide variety of different machines.

Most of these wall-mounted machines were made of wood and metal, with a glass front.

Once you put a coin in, and pulled the lever, a ball bearing would hurtle around some sort of track, and depending where it ended up, determined what sort of prize, if any, you won. Some had sporting themes such as horse racing or football, and prizes would vary from a packet of fruit gums to a pack of cigarettes.

From the 1960s onwards, electronics began to take over and the pin-ball machine and the one armed bandit became king, and all have their own collecting following.

But it's really the pre-war mechanical examples that collectors seek and are prepared to pay quite high prices to acquire.