Target Skill

Target Skill is a flipperless electro-mechanical pinball machine produced by Baker Novelty and Manufacturing Company in May 1941, during the very early years of coin-operated pinball. It's a single-player game built around a straightforward sports-themed target-practice concept.

Gameplay centers on 13 scoring bumpers spread across the playfield, with players aiming to rack up points as the ball bounces among them. A notable feature is its replay projection unit housed in the backbox, an unusual mechanical touch for a game of this vintage.

The machine reflects the simple, direct design typical of pre-war pinball, before the introduction of flippers reshaped the game later in the decade. Little else is documented about its designer or specific production numbers, but its age and flipperless, bumper-driven gameplay make Target Skill a notable artifact of pinball's earliest commercial era.