Broncho

The 1937 Broncho is an electro-mechanical (EM) payout machine from the Exhibit Supply Company of Chicago (trade name ESCO), released in October 1937. Exhibit, which operated from 1932 to 1957, was a prolific coin machine manufacturer, and Broncho belongs to the payout genre, games that dispensed awards directly to the player, popular in the years before such machines faced widespread legal restrictions.

As a single-player game from the pre-flipper era, Broncho offered no player-controlled flippers; the appeal of payout machines of this period lay in the chance-based thrill of where the balls would land and what the machine would pay. Unfortunately, specific details about its playfield features, artwork, and theme are scarce due to a lack of surviving documentation.

While much about Broncho remains undocumented, its age and its place in the payout machine era make it an interesting artifact for enthusiasts of pre-war coin-op history.