Baffle-Card

The Baffle-Card, designed by Harry Mabs and produced by D. Gottlieb & Company in October 1946, is an intriguing example of immediate-postwar electro-mechanical pinball design. Released just before the flipper revolutionized the industry - fittingly, at the hands of the very same Harry Mabs, who would introduce flippers on Gottlieb's Humpty Dumpty the following year - Baffle-Card is a flipperless game in the classic style.

Gameplay offers five balls per game across a playfield populated by 14 passive bumpers and two trap holes, challenging players to place their shots skillfully from the plunger since there was no way to influence the ball once it was in play. A confirmed 1,860 units were produced.

The game's artwork was created by Roy Parker, Gottlieb's celebrated house artist of the era. As one of the last gasps of the flipperless age and a product of the team that was about to change pinball forever, the Baffle-Card remains a fascinating piece for enthusiasts seeking to understand the roots of the modern game.