El Sapo the Toad

This old time gambler was said to be common in California back in the Gold Rush! Gamblers would toss either coins or other disks at the various targets to gamble on who would get high score.

The best reference for this machine can be found in a book called The Gamblers from Time Warner's The Old West series. On page 82 is shown a picture of a game very similar to this and called El Sapo (or the toad, for you Gringos). It mentions that Californians adopted this game from the Spanish as a gambling device.

I have been told that frog castings like this one are still seen in Mexico today - long lost relics from the gold rush days or more modern reproductions, who can say? One thing is certain - El Sapo would make a fun and interesting addition to your gameroom!