Conquest

Conquest, produced by the Exhibit Supply Company (ESCO) of Chicago in November 1939, is a single-player, flipperless electro-mechanical game with an adventure and western travel theme. It arrived in the final years of the pre-flipper era, when pin games relied on plunger skill and the luck of the bounce.

Gameplay revolves around the playfield's eleven scoring bumpers, the defining feature of pinball design in the late 1930s: balls careen among the bumpers, ringing up points with each contact. It is a simple formula, but one that made bumper games the industry's mainstay until the flipper arrived in 1947.

Few details about Conquest's designer or production run are documented, though one physical detail survives: its backglass measures approximately 21 inches square and 3/16 of an inch thick. As a themed flipperless game from an established Chicago manufacturer, Conquest offers enthusiasts a snapshot of pinball on the eve of the Second World War.