Santa Fe

The Santa Fe pinball machine, manufactured by United Manufacturing Company in September 1943, is a flipperless, single-player EM game produced during World War II. It was in fact a wartime conversion of Exhibit's 1941 game 'West Wind,' a common practice at the time as manufacturers repurposed existing cabinets and mechanisms amid wartime material shortages.

Gameplay on the Santa Fe features 14 passive bumpers and a single kick-out hole. Without flippers, players relied on plunger skill and the angle of the shot to guide the ball toward scoring positions -- a hallmark of pre-flipper pinball design (flippers wouldn't be introduced industry-wide until 1947). The American Places theme suggests artwork depicting the American Southwest or other iconic U.S. locations, fitting for a game named after the historic New Mexico city and railway.

Little specific information survives about the designer or additional features of Santa Fe, but as a wartime conversion it offers an interesting window into how manufacturers adapted during a period of material rationing.