South Seas

The South Seas pinball machine is an electro-mechanical (EM), flipperless, single-player game from United Manufacturing Company, produced in November 1945 as a conversion of Exhibit's 1941 'Knockout.' It carries a world-places theme typical of the era.

Gameplay on South Seas is characterized by its 12 passive bumpers, providing a challenging and unpredictable experience for players, since scoring depends on where the ball naturally falls among the bumpers rather than any flipper-based aiming. The presence of a single kick-out hole adds a further element of chance to each play.

The design and art on South Seas likely feature a stylized depiction of tropical islands and exotic locales typical of flipperless EM machines of the 1940s, though specific details of its cabinet artwork are not well-documented. As a conversion of an earlier flipperless game, South Seas offers a glimpse into how manufacturers repurposed existing hardware during and just after World War II.