Awesome Pinball

Multimorphic has created a modern pinball platform that combines a digital playfield with mechanical flippers, bumpers, ramps, and other goodies. Its swappable game kits allow one cabinet to play different games. After announcing a licensed game based on The Princess Bride, they’re showing off this awesome table inspired by the Portal franchise.

The minds behind Arcade1Up are working an 80%-size pinball machine priced under $1000. Developed by Wonderland Amusements, the Alice in Wonderland-themed table will have ramps, slingshots, bumpers, flippers, and an animated color scoreboard. Note the final machine will have painted parts. Sign up on Kickstarter to be notified when it launchs.

There’s something so satisfying about making old, tattered objects as good as new. MW Restoration did an amazing job taking a distressed early pinball game and bringing it back to life. The restoration of the basketball-themed table included a full disassembly, sandblasting, rust removal, a fresh coat of paint, and a brand new playfield graphic and hoop.

This tabletop pinball table combines two arcade classics in one. It has graphics and sound effects from Pac-Man and big machine features like mechanical bumpers, directional saucers, three flippers, and LED lighting. It automatically keeps scores and stores high scores. Evil Genius Entertainment has a full review. You can also find it on Amazon.

This upcoming VR game from Velan Studios (Knockout City) turns players into flippers in a giant virtual pinball machine. Use your hands to bounce fast-flying pinballs into immersive 3D tables filled with loops, ramps, and other obstacles while keeping the ball from getting past you. Tables also include high-energy minigames. Coming to Meta Quest fall 2024.

Scott Sloan builds 1:6-scale digital pinball machines that are fully playable. The 3D-printed systems can play many games using Visual Pinball X and are powered by a GMK 5105 mini-computer. They have a 7″ playfield and a 5″ backglass display. Want one? Contact Scott on Facebook. Glen’s Retro Show has a demo video here. Images courtesy of Scott Sloan.

Play all your favorite pinball games on one cabinet with a virtual pinball machine from The Pinball King. Their premium models have a 43-inch 4K playfield, an HD backglass, an analog plunger, a shaker motor, haptic feedback, a real DMD (dot-matrix display), and more. They also make a 32″ model. Save $300 on any Kings Choice system with the code “awesomer”.

Ten years ago, we visited Stern Pinball in a small suburban Chicago factory that made up to 100 pinball machines a day. Since then, interest in pinball has grown substantially, and they’ve moved twice. Between the two buildings of their new factory, they now have almost 250,000 square feet of space and are the largest pinball factory in the world.

There’s a good reason that pinball machines are so expensive. These hand-assembled games incorporate multiple circuit boards, complicated wiring harnesses, and hundreds of parts. Technology Connections starts with a brief look at a 1990s pinball machine, then dives in deep to explain the amazing engineering of a vintage electromechanical machine.

AtGames teamed up with developer Zen Studios to create a home pinball machine with a 32″ 4K playfield, a 24″ digital backglass, and an 8″ scoreboard. It’s got a plunger, tilt and nudge sensor, and optional SSF. The Addams Family machine drops first, with 15 games and access to a download store. Pre-orders start 9.22.23 with a deep early-bird discount.

Robotime’s wood kit gives you everything you need to build your own working mini-pinball machine. Its 482 pieces come together to form a circus-themed machine with a plunger, bumpers, and flippers. The playfield and backbox have built-in lighting, and it also plays sounds. Save $40 for a limited time with code PINBALL40.

This movie dramatizes the story of Roger Sharpe, an NYC journalist who escapes from his stress by playing pinball, only to realize that the game is still illegal in the city. In 1976, he helped mount a campaign to overturn the 34-year ban and prove that pinball is a game of skill, not a game of chance. In theaters 3.17.23.

A modern pinball machine needs computer circuits, electromechanical components, and a power supply to work. Magnet Tricks shows how it’s possible to build a playable mini pinball machine using only magnets and pyrolytic graphite. It takes advantage of the repulsive forces between the two to bounce a washer around its playfield.

Modern pinball machines have hundreds of electronic components and complex wiring harnesses. But back in the day, pinball relied on gravity and simple obstacles made from nails and bent metal. Old Things Never Die got their hands on a time-worn 1930s pinball table and painstakingly restored it to like-new condition.

We’ve seen how pinball machines are made. Now, thanks to Gavin of The Slow Mo Guys, we can see exactly how they work as they kick steel balls around. He spent some quality time with Jersey Jack’s tricked-out Willy Wonka pinball machine to observe how its electro-mechanical playfield components work.

The makers of Skee-Ball present a uniquely-styled digital pinball machine. It’s not cheap, but it does come ready to play with 96 pinball machines, powered by Zen Studios’ Pinball FX3, and has a 55″ full HD playfield, arcade-quality sound, authentic launch and flipper buttons, haptic feedback, and undercabinet LED lighting.