Pinball Action

Back in the 80s the real pinball machines had their own corner of the arcade, all flashing lights and TILT warnings, but not every pizza place had room for one. Pinball Action took a shortcut: put the whole table on a video screen, flippers, ramps and bonuses included.

It isn't in the UsuArcade arcade yet, but it's on our wishlist. If it brings back memories, cast your vote to help bring it in sooner.

History

Tehkan released Pinball Action in 1985, not long after Bomb Jack, and the company would later rename itself Tecmo. It was one of several attempts at the time to bring pinball to the standard upright video cabinet.

It never got the fame of Tehkan's bigger hits, but the people who played it remember the odd, addictive feeling of working flippers with arcade buttons instead of the sides of a real table.

How to play

Just like real pinball, you work the left and right flippers to keep the ball alive and send it toward targets, lanes and bonus areas. Let the ball slip down the middle or the outlanes and it's gone.

It's all about aim: flip a little early or a little late to change the angle, and chain targets together to rack up the multipliers. Players took turns, so two friends traded balls and fought over the high score.

Fun facts

• Tehkan, the company behind it, changed its name to Tecmo in the late 80s.
• It's one of the few video pinball games of its day built for a regular upright arcade cabinet.

In the arcade

Pinball Action is coming soon to UsuArcade. It's on the arcade wishlist and you can vote for it with the “I want to play it” button; the most-wanted games move up the line.

Until then, the arcade has Side Pocket for more ball-and-angle precision, Arkanoid if endless bouncing is your thing, and Bomb Jack, another Tehkan classic. They all run in your browser with chat, spectators and arcade high scores.

FAQ