Blondie

Blondie, manufactured by Genco of Chicago in March 1940, is a charming pre-war electro-mechanical pinball machine. Built in the flipperless style of its day - flippers would not arrive in pinball until 1947 - this single-player game invites players to launch balls into a playfield of bumpers and skill lanes with a breezy theme of beaches, boating, swimming, and recreation.

Gameplay on Blondie is built around 20 passive bumpers, one of which is a progressive scoring bumper, and the machine offers a remarkable five different ways to win. Players can earn free games by lighting models from 7 to 10, by passing through the 1,000-point skill lanes twice when lit (which lights the Green Bumpers for free games), by sending the ball through the Special Skill Lane when lit, by hitting a lit Red Bumper while the Green Bumpers are lit (awarding free games for each illuminated model on the back rack), or simply by achieving a high score. This layered award scheme was a notable dose of complexity and variety for 1940.

With its sunny, good-times theme rendered in the bold aesthetic of the era, Blondie offers a delightful glimpse into pinball design in the years just before World War II, when manufacturers like Genco competed on inventive scoring gimmicks rather than flippers and ramps.