Bonanza

Bonanza is a rare electro-mechanical (EM) bingo machine from Bally Manufacturing Corporation, designed by Don Hooker with a Western TV-show theme. Unlike standard flipper pinball, Bonanza is a bingo-style game built around 25 trap holes and odds-based scoring rather than flippers.

One of the most fascinating aspects of Bonanza is its "Magic Squares" feature: for an additional purchase, players can press buttons to rearrange numbers on a card displayed in the backglass before or after shooting the fourth and fifth balls, adding a layer of strategy to the game. Two backbox trim variants are known to exist - an earlier version with yellow-painted wood trim, and a later varnished woodgrain version nicknamed "Bonanza 2," reportedly created to help market the game as a "woodrail" style machine to overseas (notably Belgian) distributors.

The game's Western theme, executed in the bold, colorful style typical of Bally's art of the era, and its historical role documenting a transitional period in Bally's backbox trim design (games before Bonanza used side-lock trim, those after used top-lock trim) make it an interesting piece for collectors and bingo-machine historians alike.