Magik Carpet

The Magik Carpet is a rare and enigmatic electro-mechanical pinball machine from an unknown manufacturer. It began life as a flipperless game -- a conversion of United's 1947 'Hawaii' -- with two flippers and a pop bumper added to the original playfield, wired independently of the game's factory loom. Evidence such as the symmetrical placement of the flipper buttons suggests the conversion was done by a company specializing in such work rather than an individual operator; the shared scorecard style with 1949's Bazaar (converted by Nate Schneller, Inc.) makes Schneller the likely source of this conversion.

Gameplay on the Magik Carpet is built around its unique combination of two flippers, a single pop bumper, 11 passive bumpers, and four kick-out holes. While specific rules and objectives are undocumented, the addition of two independently wired flippers to an otherwise flipperless 1947 design would have significantly changed how the game was played compared to its Hawaii origins.

The Magik Carpet's design remains something of a mystery: its blue playfield areas appear to have been painted over the original artwork, and the backglass looks unfinished, with a large black background suggesting the conversion company never completed it. The cabinet has since been repainted, and the original design underneath is unknown. Its unusual history -- part original 1947 flipperless game, part later flipper conversion -- makes it an intriguing puzzle for collectors and historians.