Episode 199 - 1945 United Trade Winds

For Amusement Only EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast·podcast_episode·8m 19s·analyzed·Sep 25, 2015

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.014

TL;DR

Rare 1945 United Trade Winds wartime conversion game with sequence-based bumper mechanics.

Summary

Nick Baldridge analyzes the 1945 United Trade Winds, a rare wartime conversion game that converted Skyblazer machines into Trade Winds cabinets. The game features a sequence-based mechanic where players must unlight all 12 bumpers arranged across the playfield to progress toward a super special kickout. Baldridge describes the playfield layout, artwork, and back glass design, noting the game's rarity and challenging gameplay.

Key Claims

United Trade Winds was a conversion game where United would convert Skyblazer machines into Trade Winds during WWII when factories couldn't produce all new games
high confidence · Nick Baldridge, host of For Amusement Only podcast, discussing the game's production history
The game has 12 total bumpers on the playfield arranged in a specific sequence
high confidence · Nick Baldridge describing the playfield layout in detail
Completing the sequence and landing in the kickout hole awards a super special worth 3-5 replays
high confidence · Nick Baldridge explaining game mechanics and typical super special configuration
The game was previously exhibited at the ORC Show in York, Pennsylvania around a few years before 2015
medium confidence · Nick Baldridge recalling seeing the game at a show, though acknowledging uncertainty about whether he's thinking of the correct machine

Notable Quotes

“United's trade wins was a conversion game and they converted Skyblazer to a different United game during the war and the factories weren't able to produce all new games but they could make these conversions”
Nick Baldridge @ ~2:00 — Explains the historical context and production method of this rare game during WWII
“Your goal is to unlight every single bumper on the playfield. It's a sequence game. And the idea is that you're traveling around the world and each numbered bumper is one of your stops.”
Nick Baldridge @ ~4:30 — Core gameplay mechanic and theme explanation
“The picture on the internet pinball database is heavily flaked and it doesn't represent that backlash in all its glory, at least that I remember.”
Nick Baldridge @ ~10:00 — Commentary on archival documentation quality and the need for in-person observation

Entities

Nick BaldridgepersonUnited Trade WindsgameSkyblazergameUnitedcompanyWilliamscompanyORC ShoweventYork ShoweventInternet Pinball DatabaseorganizationFor Amusement Onlyorganization

Signals

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historical_signal: United Trade Winds represents WWII-era game production constraints that led manufacturers to convert existing machines rather than produce entirely new designs
high · Baldridge explains the conversion process: 'factories weren't able to produce all new games but they could make these conversions'
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collector_signal: United Trade Winds is identified as extremely rare; Baldridge discovered upon research that he had underestimated how scarce the game is
high · Baldridge: 'I went to look up information on it tonight and it was there a few years ago and I had no idea just how rare of a game this was'
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restoration_signal: The Internet Pinball Database photo of Trade Winds is heavily flaked and does not accurately represent the condition or appearance of the original back glass
medium · Baldridge: 'The picture on the internet pinball database is heavily flaked and it doesn't represent that backlash in all its glory'
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gameplay_signal: Trade Winds employs a sequence-based progression system where players must complete all 12 bumper shots in order to unlock a super special prize
high · Detailed playfield description and mechanic explanation throughout episode
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design_philosophy: Game design uses a travel/navigation theme ('around the world') with bumpers representing numbered stops and nautical flag iconography to reinforce the concept
high · Baldridge: 'you're traveling around the world and each numbered bumper is one of your stops' with 'nautical flags all over the playfield'

Topics

Wartime pinball production and conversion gamesprimaryRare and obscure EM pinball machinesprimarySequence-based gameplay mechanicsprimaryPinball show exhibitions and collectionssecondaryPlayfield artwork and cabinet designsecondaryPinball archival documentation and databasessecondary

Sentiment

positive(0.78)— Baldridge expresses enthusiasm for the game's rarity and gameplay, describes it as 'fun' and 'challenging,' and appreciates its artistic design. Mild uncertainty about whether he's recalling the correct machine introduces slight caution, but overall tone is appreciative and engaged.

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.025

Welcome back for amusement only. This is Nicholas Baldridge. Tonight i wanted to continue in my series of wood rail games that have previously been to the orc show. The York Show again is in York, Pennsylvania on October 9th and 10th, 2015. This game, I went to look up information on it tonight and it was there a few years ago and I had no idea just how rare of a game this was. I'm talking about United's trade and this was talking about United's trade wins not the more famous Williams trade wins of the sixties United's trade wins was a conversion game and they converted Skyblazer to a different United game during the war and the factories weren't able to produce all new games but they could make these conversions and so you would ship them your skyblazer and they would ship you a trade winds pretty neat now I looked up pictures And I'm fairly certain this is the one that was there because of the back glass. Looking at the playfield I don remember this exact arrangement but it was several years ago so you forgive me I hope Now the playfield is arranged With two bumpers right at the top. In the center of the ball arch, there's a single bumper. And then down below that, another single bumper. Below that, a rollover. and then a chevron of five bumpers below that another single bumper and then below that there are two rollovers and to the left and right of that another two bumpers the bottom left and the bottom right the final two bumpers and there's a kick out hole at the bottom Now, your goal is to unlight every single bumper on the playfield. It's a sequence game. And the idea is that you're traveling around the world and each numbered bumper is one of your stops. Now the rollovers on the playfield, except for the top one, will spot numbers for you. So when you unlight certain groups of numbers, those rollovers turn into specials and you can win replays, the ones on the left and right side. Now the kickout hole at the bottom is something that you want to aim for It only scores 5000 points when you still working on completing your sequence and 5 incidentally is the amount of points that you receive for some of the lower bumpers and the center rollovers so you almost guaranteed to get at least 5 points per ball but when you completed the sequence that kick out lights for super special So you have to knock out all 12 bumpers and then land in that hole and then it will award you whatever amount of replays are configured. Super special is typically much more than just a regular special though. 3 or 5 could be awarded. This game looks like a lot of fun and it's very challenging. The artwork is relatively interesting. It's a, what you might call a boating race theme, but it's more like an around the world, nitty days kind of deal. comical anyway there are flags uh... like nautical flags all over the playfield indicating the actions that specific switches will perform. Up at the top around those two passive bumpers in that unusual arrangement near the top there are two flags and then the back glass. The back glass is pretty interesting. You've got your point values across the top and arranged in a triangle underneath with the words United Straits wins in the upper center of the glass Down at the bottom you have the numbers one three twelve listed and a compass and then you have your million scoring on the left and right side I'm sorry it's not your million scoring it's your hundred thousands and then your millions and you have a picture of several boats sailing away in a uh... geometric pattern on the ocean it's pretty cool back glass and it's even not better to see it in person the picture on the internet pinball database is heavily flaked and It doesn't represent that backlash in all its glory, at least that I remember. And again, maybe I'm thinking of an entirely different game, but it had the name Tradewinds and it certainly wasn't the Williams Metal Rail, so I don't know. Anyway, hopefully this was there. It certainly looks like a fun game. I seem to recall it being really fun. I played it quite a bit if this was the game. Yeah, it's terrible for getting things. Well, that's all for tonight. Thank you again for joining me. My name again is Nicholas Baldridge. You can reach me at 4amusementonlypodcast at gmail.com or you can call me on the bingos line. That's 724-BINGOS1 724-246-4671. You can listen to us on iTunes, Stitcher, Pocket Casts,VRSS, on Facebook, on Twitter, at Bingo Podcast, you can follow me on Instagram at nbaldridge, or you can listen to us on our website which is for amusement only dot libsyn dot com. Thank you very much for listening and I'll talk to you next time.