Damon, I think you actually have 2 topics here.  The card readers are
later arcade machines about which I know very little.  However the
"little magic dolls" sound to me like the early, clockwork automatons
of Jaquet-Droz which are animated by complex clockwork, cams, and so
forth.  Jaquet-Droz made 3 of them: The Writer, The Draughtsman, and
The Musician.  I have a lovely Jaquet-Droz book I bought about 15 years
ago which gives great detail in text & photos of these automatons, and
includes a 7" record of the Musician playing.  It's neat stuff, and I
wish I had the time and money to play with this facet of our hobby
more!  I hope this helps answer some of your questions.

Cheers,¶
Rob DeLand¶
(deland_robert@macmail1.csg.mot.com)