Bermuda

Bermuda, manufactured by Chicago Coin Machine Manufacturing Company in November 1947, holds a genuine place in pinball history: it was the first flipper machine made by Chicago Coin, arriving in the industry-changing year when flippers first appeared. According to the Encyclopedia of Pinball Vol. 1, designer Jerry Koci believed Chicago Coin could have invented the EM flipper before Gottlieb -- while working on a baseball game in the summer of 1947, he had asked that a bat be put on a pinball machine, but the company declined, a decision that allowed Gottlieb to be first. Koci nevertheless pursued a patent on his EM flipper: Patent #2,520,283, 'Pivotal Ball Return Means for Pin Games', filed January 30, 1948 and granted August 29, 1950.

The gameplay is characteristic of the first flipper generation: five balls for five cents, two flippers to manipulate the ball's trajectory, eleven passive bumpers providing scoring opportunities, and two kick-out holes adding challenge and unpredictability. A confirmed 2,500 units were produced.

Bermuda's World Places theme is rendered in artwork by Roy Parker. As Chicago Coin's first flipper game -- followed the next year by Bermuda Roll Down -- it offers a fascinating glimpse into the moment pinball became the skill game we know today, making it a valuable addition to any collection or study of early flipper machines.