Bank Shot

The Lindstrom Tool and Toy Company's Bank Shot is a rare and enigmatic addition to early game history. Operating between 1932 and 1934, Lindstrom was among the earliest manufacturers in the burgeoning pin-game industry. Bank Shot is a Pure Mechanical (PM) bagatelle-style game — predating the flipper, which wasn't introduced to pinball until 1947, and the electromechanical era that would follow, relying on a spring plunger to launch the ball into a scoring layout rather than any player-controlled flippers.

Bank Shot was sold as part of the "Gold Chest of Games," a boxed set of three double-sided games that also included Gold Star/Backgammon and Lucky Strike/Horse Race, each panel measuring roughly 15 1/4" x 9 1/2". Two variants are known to exist — one with a lock on the box and one without — though no manufacture date appears printed on any of them.

While the specific rules and scoring targets of Bank Shot remain undocumented, its simple bagatelle mechanics reflect the tabletop amusement games popular in the early 1930s. Its status as part of a rare boxed set from one of the pioneering pin-game manufacturers makes it a noteworthy curiosity for collectors and historians studying the earliest roots of pinball.