Bone Head

The Bone Head is a genuinely rare find for any serious pinball collection: Genco's own production data shows that only 89 units were made, in a run lasting less than two weeks in November 1948. Manufactured by Genco Manufacturing Company of Chicago, this electro-mechanical (EM) game dates from the earliest years of flipper pinball, and its designer, Steve Kordek, would go on to become one of the most celebrated pinball designers in history.

Bone Head features two flippers, the then-new control innovation that had only recently transformed the game. Players navigate the ball through the playfield while trying to maximize their score, experiencing flipper pinball in its formative period.

An intriguing footnote: the game that immediately preceded Bone Head on Genco's production line, the 1948 'Puddin' Head', appears to be the same game with a name change, though it is not known whether there are mechanical differences between the two. Between its minuscule production run and its place at the very start of Kordek's career, Bone Head is an important little piece of pinball history.