Pinball
Flippers, bumpers, multiball: three balls on a star chart table.
A pinball table made for a phone held upright, on dark lacquered wood painted with a star chart. Pull the plunger, then keep the ball alive with the two flippers: three pop bumpers, two slingshots, four S T A R lanes at the top, a bank of four drop targets and a spinner in the left orbit. Light all four lanes to raise the multiplier, up to 5x. Drop the whole bank to start a multiball, with every score doubled while two or three balls are in play. Three balls, a ball save after every launch, and three tables: easy (closed outlanes, a long ball save), medium and hard (a faster table), plus a Daily table that plays the same for everyone.
- Category
- Arcade
- Modes
- Easy · Medium · Hard · Daily
- Controls
- Touch · Mouse · Keyboard
Loading…
How to play
Hold anywhere on the table to pull the plunger back, and let go to launch: the longer you hold, the harder the shot. Then touch the left half of the screen for the left flipper and the right half for the right one; hold a flipper up to catch the ball and aim. On a keyboard: Z or the left arrow for the left flipper, M or the right arrow for the right one, Space or Enter for the plunger. Roll through the four lanes at the top to light S T A R: all four raise the multiplier (up to 5x), and every flipper press slides the lit lanes along. Knock down all four drop targets on the right to start a multiball; scores count double while two or more balls are out. A ball that drains in the first seconds after a launch is saved and fired again. Lose a ball and the multiplier goes back to 1x. The game ends when the third ball drains.
What is Pinball?
Pinball is the arcade classic of the steel ball and the two flippers: a sloping table full of bumpers, rubbers and targets, and a ball that keeps rolling down toward the drain unless you send it back up. Every bounce scores, and the skill lies in catching the ball, aiming it and keeping it alive.
This table is an original one, made for a phone held upright: dark lacquered wood painted with a star chart, brass rails and a chrome ball. Three tables are on offer, from an easy one with closed outlanes and a long ball save to a hard one that plays faster, and every day brings a Daily table that plays the same for everyone.
How to play Pinball
- Launch. Hold anywhere on the table to pull the plunger back and let go to fire. The longer you hold, the harder the shot: a soft one drops into the lanes, a full one goes round the top of the table.
- Flippers. Touch the left half of the screen for the left flipper and the right half for the right one. Hold a flipper up to catch the ball, then let it roll and flip to aim. On a keyboard, Z or the left arrow and M or the right arrow work the flippers, Space or Enter the plunger.
- S T A R lanes. Roll through the four lanes at the top to light their letters. All four lit raise the multiplier by one, up to 5x. Each flipper press slides the lit letters one lane along, so you can move a gap under the ball.
- Drop targets. Knock down all four targets on the right to start a multiball: a second ball is fired, a third if you drop the bank again. While two or more balls are in play, every score counts double. One target in each bank is gold and worth three times as much.
- Orbit and spinner. A shot up the left orbit turns the spinner and, if it makes it round the top, scores an orbit.
- Ball save. A ball that drains in the first seconds after you launch it is saved and fired again: 15 seconds on the easy table, 8 on medium, 4 on hard.
- Balls. You have three. Losing one puts the multiplier back to 1x. The game ends when the third ball drains.
Scoring
- Slingshot: 10
- Pop bumper: 100
- Lane (already lit): 250 (50)
- All four S T A R lanes: 5,000
- Drop target (gold): 500 (1,500)
- Whole bank down: 2,500
- Orbit: 1,000
- Spinner: 20 a turn
Every score is multiplied by the S T A R multiplier, and doubled again during a multiball.
Tips and strategy
- Catch before you shoot. Hold a flipper up as the ball comes down and let it settle against the guide. A ball at rest is a ball you can aim.
- Flip late for the far side. The ball leaves a flipper at an angle that depends on where it is struck: near the tip it goes across the table, near the base it climbs the near side.
- Do not flip both at once. A panicked double flip leaves the middle open. Use the flipper the ball is on.
- Build the multiplier first. Four completed S T A R sets take the multiplier to 5x, so every later score is five times bigger, and a multiball doubles that again.
- Mind the outlanes. On the medium and hard tables the narrow lanes beside the flippers lead straight to the drain. A ball heading there is usually lost; a slingshot kick is your best friend.
Frequently asked questions
Is Pinball free?
Yes. Like every game on Play, it runs free in your browser, with no download and no account.
What changes between the three tables?
The easy table closes the outlanes beside the flippers, runs a little slower and saves a drained ball for 15 seconds after each launch. The medium table opens the outlanes and saves for 8 seconds. The hard table runs faster and saves for only 4 seconds.
What is the Daily table?
Every day everyone plays the medium table with the same gold targets and the same automatic launches, so the scores compare directly on the leaderboard.
Is there a tilt?
No. Nudging and tilting are left out: the flippers and your timing are the whole game.
How long can a game last?
As long as you keep the ball alive, up to half an hour. Then the table closes and your score stands.
