Winner

Winner, a 1971 release from Sega Enterprises, Ltd. of Tokyo, Japan, is a single-player, horse racing-themed electro-mechanical (EM) pinball machine. IPDB's records note that the game was previously believed to date from 1972, but an inspection sticker on the pictured example is dated 1971.

The game's layout includes two flippers, three pop bumpers, two slingshots, three standup targets, a kick-out hole, a right outlane ball return gate, and an up-post between the flippers. Scoring is handled by score reels beneath the playfield, and a relay tester built into the lower cabinet aided troubleshooting - a nod to the growing mechanical and electrical complexity of EM machines by the early 1970s. The maximum displayed score is 99,990 points, with a replay wheel maximum of 25, and sound is provided by a bell and knocker.

As one of Sega's early pinball releases from its Tokyo-based manufacturing operation in the early 1970s, Winner offers an interesting window into the Japanese EM pinball market of the period.