Sink or Swim

Sink or Swim, produced by G. M. Laboratories in May 1935, is an early example of the electro-mechanical pinball machines that began appearing in the mid-1930s. As a flipperless, single-player naval-themed game, it predates the invention of the flipper by more than a decade, so gameplay relied on the ball's path through the playfield rather than direct player control.

One notable feature is its use of translucent electric playfield lights, an early lighting effect that stood out from the purely mechanical designs common at the time. Interestingly, period advertising shows the ball shooter knob and ball lift knob combined into a single unit, while surviving examples of the game have them as two separate knobs.

Little else is documented about Sink or Swim's designer or specific gameplay rules, which is typical for games from this early period. Its Naval theme and lighting innovation make it a notable, if obscure, piece of 1930s pinball history.