Bingo Bango

Bingo Bango, produced by Nate Schneller Incorporated (trade name Nasco) in March 1951, is an unusual piece of pinball history: it was not an original design but a conversion of Gottlieb's 1950 game 'Just 21'. Conversion games like this one, in which a small company reworked an existing machine into a new title, offer a fascinating look at the economics of the coin-op business in the early 1950s. According to The Billboard of March 17, 1951, production had just begun with first deliveries scheduled for March 12.

The electro-mechanical game features two flippers and two pop bumpers, with five balls per play. Hitting playfield bumpers and rollover buttons lights the words "Bingo Bango" in the backglass to award Specials, and the upper target Special scores five replays - a generous reward that gave players plenty of incentive to aim high.

The machine carries an Adventure theme, and its playful name echoes the era's popular culture: the song "Civilization (Bingo Bango Bongo, I don't want to leave the Congo)" had been on the musical Hit Parade in 1947. With only limited information available about this short-lived manufacturer, Bingo Bango remains an intriguing curiosity for pinball enthusiasts and historians alike.