Carolina

Carolina, manufactured by United Manufacturing Company in March 1949, is a notable early flipper-era addition to any pinball collection. Its most significant distinction is that it was the first game from United to feature pop bumpers, marking the company's adoption of one of pinball's defining mechanisms. The Carolina is often overlooked by enthusiasts, but this milestone makes it an interesting find for collectors of United's output.

The game features two flippers, three pop bumpers, four passive bumpers, and five kick-out holes, providing a varied and engaging experience for players at the standard nickel-per-play pricing of the era. Unusually, the flippers are located above the #9 and #10 bumpers rather than in the now-familiar bottom position, a reminder of how experimental flipper placement still was in 1949.

Carolina's theme, "American Places," is a departure from the fantasy and adventure themes that would become prevalent in later pinball games, and it gives the machine a distinctive period character among United's late-1940s lineup.