Thomas T. Goldsmith Jr. and Estle Ray Mann constructed the game from analog electronics and filed for a patent in 1947, which was issued the following year.

The curved path is produced by the CRT, which is not of conventional design, deflecting the beam of electrons as the spot moves across the screen.

[2] The player was recommended to make the trajectory far removed from a straight line "so as to require an increased amount of skill and care".

[1][4] Goldsmith, who had received a Ph.D. in physics from Cornell University in 1936 with a focus on oscilloscope design, was at the time of the device's invention the director of research for DuMont Laboratories.

[8][9] Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers historian Alex Magoun has speculated that Goldsmith did not make the prototype with the intent for it to be the basis of any future production, but only designed the device as a demonstration of the kind of commercial opportunities DuMont could pursue.

[3] Video game historian Alexander Smith has also speculated that DuMont's ongoing financial issues prevented any investment into a new product.

[4] Goldsmith did not work on games after the invention of the device; he was promoted to vice president in 1953 and left DuMont—by then split up and sold to other firms—to become a professor of physics at Furman University in 1966.