These Are Our Favorite Pinball Games, Ranked

For decades we’ve been absolutely mad for pinball games — but only 50 can be "the best" out there.

As a certain fictional deaf, dumb and blind boy (about whom we’ll learn more shortly) knows, you have to play a whole lot of pinball games to be crowned the “wizard” of them all. The same is true for the game itself, which has been around since at least 1930. Those Depression-era cabinets were rather rudimentary and far from the whiz-boom-bang arcade games we know and love today.

Because pinball has been with us for nearly a century, there have been a great many games — good and bad, but always noisy and fun. To select the best 50 pinball games ever, we’ve made some of our own choices as well as relied on expert sources such as the Internet Pinball Database — yep, it actually exists — to rank the cream of the crop, from the “classic” era right up to today.

So get your flipper fingers and your stacks of quarters ready for some serious pinball action.

50. Heat Wave

Vintage Pinball / YouTube

Release date: July 13, 1964

Manufacturer: Williams

Designer: Steve Kordek

Production run: 1,800 units

Bottom line: We’re old enough to remember when heat waves didn’t regularly happen in February and November, but thanks to evermore carbon dioxide being belched into the atmosphere, summer is now, as the movie said, “endless.”

In the far more “laid-back” era of the summer of ’64, you could head to the beach boardwalk and try your hand at “Heat Wave,” in which a rather surly-looking sun kept an eye on your rising score.

Oh, for such innocent times.

49. Outer Space

Vintage Pinball / YouTube

Release date: January 1972

Manufacturer: Gottlieb

Designer: Ed Krynski

Production run: 2,350 units

Bottom line: Its design was deceptively simple but, nonetheless, was meant to trick you into buying into the illusion that you weren’t actually playing “Outer Space” on terra firma. Players with bell-bottoms lined up en masse in 1972 to make an extraterrestrial excursion and take a trip to another dimension.

By today’s standards, the game board is pretty simplistic, but c’mon, you have to at least give the designers from Gottlieb mad props for that wacky cabinet design scheme of pointy sideways triangles.

48. Centigrade 37

Bill Heatherly / YouTube

Release date: August 1977

Manufacturer: Gottlieb

Designers: Allen Edwall

Production run: 1,600 units

Bottom line: It was a hot time to be alive when “Centigrade 37” came to boardwalks and arcades in the summer of 1977. The cabinet featured tons of fun, happy teen characters who looked like they jumped right out of the comics.

Oh, and in case you’re wondering, 37 degrees Centigrade equates to, you guessed it, 98.7 Fahrenheit, the temperature at which our bodies run, winter, spring, summer or fall.

Ergo, you could have tons of fun with this pinball machine the whole calendar through.

47. Jet Spin

Joe’s Classic Video Games / YouTube

Release date: August 1977

Manufacturer: Gottlieb

Designer: Ed Krynski

Production run: 4,761 units

Bottom line: “Jet Spin” might not have been as memorable as some other games on this list, but its design was insanely cool. Coming along as it did in the late 1970s, the pinball challenger took advantage of surfing’s popularity — thanks largely to its California habitue, combined with its rather unique patois of terms like “radical” and “tubular.”

You could pretend to catch the perfect wave while dropping in coins and tapping those flippers to earn a most bodacious score.

Hang loose, brah.

46. Super Spin

VP Forums

Release date: September 1977

Manufacturer: Gottlieb

Designer: Ed Krynski

Production run: 1,352 units

Bottom line: Those of us who started playing pinball machines in the 1980s — what with all of their flashy graphics and snazzy sound effects — might look at “simpler” machines from the ’70s with a jaundiced eye, but we dare you to not get hooked on 1977’s “Super Spin.”

Whereas “Jet Spin” took the action to the beaches, “Super Spin” one-upped the ante by showcasing characters who rode jet boards.

45. Gorgar

VP Forums

Release date: December 1979

Manufacturer: Williams

Designer: Barry Oursler

Production run: 14,000 units

Bottom line: Nowadays, we take it for granted that in addition to the bips and bops and flashy lights, our pinball games also talk to us — whether in a computerized voice or thanks to a celebrity lending his or her vocal talents.

Someone had to be first, and it was “Gorgar,” the first mass-produced pinball game that spoke. It probably sounds incredibly silly compared to our modern, TikTok-abused eardrums, but just try to imagine you’re in 1979 and the beastly title creature wants to have a word with you.

Hopefully, saying something like, “You win!”

44. The Lost World

VP Forums

Release date: August 1978

Manufacturer: Bally

Designer: Gary Gayton

Production run: 10,330 units

Bottom line: We know you’re thinking of the “Jurassic Park” sequel, but long before Steven Spielberg’s genetically engineered dinosaurs broke through their pen fencing, game designer Gary Gayton fashioned a different type of “lost” world, in which humans and mythical creatures lived side by side (wait, that is the same thing).

Gayton’s pinball game board featured a broadsword-wielding, bat-winged man-creature (not a “bat man,” DC lawyers!) rising from flames, along with the requisite scantily clad female drawings.

And all this long before anyone knew what “woke” meant.

43. Kiss

VP Forums

Release date: June 1979

Manufacturer: Bally

Designer: Jim Patla

Production run: 17,000 units

Bottom line: Kiss fans are known to plunk down their money for just about any merchandise connected to their favorite band, so why not a pinball machine?

And as with everything else the clown makeup-wearing rock quartet has ever done, their pinball game is also loud, bright and very over-the-top.

This is precisely what Ace, Paul, Gene and Peter would have wanted, so long as you kept pumping in the quarters to rock ‘n’ roll all night — and maybe, just maybe, party ev-er-y day.

42. Beatles

Stern Pinball

Release date: November 2018

Manufacturer: Stern Pinball, Incorporated

Designer: Joe Kaminkow

Production run: 1,614 units

Bottom line: Don’t worry, you can be forgiven for wondering if the release date of this Fab Four-centric pinball game is a misprint. It, in fact, only debuted a few years ago and not during the heights of Beatlemania.

The rights for their musical catalog are notoriously complicated, but visionary Joe Kaminkow wasn’t taking no for an answer in his quest to get everyone’s favorite mop-topped Liverpudlians into pinball action.

You have so much fun singing along with the Beatles that you sometimes forget to click the flippers.

41. The Munsters Limited Edition

The Munsters Limited Edition pinball machine

Stern PInball

Release date: February 2019

Manufacturer: Stern

Designer: John Borg

Production run: 600 units

Bottom line: When it’s the spooky season, why not drop some quarters into the limited edition of “The Munsters” pinball game — if you can find it.

There weren’t too many produced, but the game got the quirky tone of the old black-and-white TV show just right, what with its morbid humor combined with the flashing lights and spooky sound effects that you’d expect from the residents of 1313 Mockingbird Lane.

Because so few were produced, each one came with a certification of authenticity, which is something you can take to your grave … er, basement.

40. Metallica Master of Puppets (Limited Edition)

iCollector

Release date: 2013

Manufacturer: Stern

Designer: John Borg

Production run: 500 units

Bottom line: James, Lars, Kirk and Robert, in all of their cartoon-esque glory, invite you to “ride the lightning” on their 2013 pinball machine, appropriately named for their blockbuster 1986 album “Master of Puppets.”

Not surprisingly, the game even features a toothy fellow in an electric chair, a callback to 1984’s “Ride the Lightning.” All the while, you could rock out to some of Metallica’s most awesome tune-skis.

And if you really, really want one for your man cave, they only cost around, oh, $8,000.

39. AC/DC

VP Forums

Release date: March 2012

Manufacturer: Stern Pinball

Designer: Steve Ritchie

Production run: 200 to 300 (exact number disputed)

Bottom line: What’s better than rocking out to AC/DC? How’s about doing so while banging some flippers to send the silver ball bouncing around a veritable funhouse of rock ‘n’ roll awesomeness?

Those Aussie rockers have always been known for their rambunctious ways, so little surprise their pinball machine is about as raucous and seizure-inducing as their concerts (remember those?).

There were several surprises to unlock, including “Hells Bells” mode, named of course for the song — one of many licensed for the game. For those about to rock the pinball (fire), we salute you.

38. GoldenEye

VP Forums

Release date: March 1996

Manufacturer: Sega

Designer: Ward Pemberton

Production run: 2,200 units

Bottom line: The first of Pierce Brosnan’s outings as James Bond was the critically and commercially successful “GoldenEye,” which was quickly translated into a silver-ball-bouncing arcade adventure. The game had an incredible five “quests” you could knock off with your license to kill. Familiar characters Xenia Onatopp and Bond pal Q even showed up for the fun.

Oh, and after being delayed for well over a year thanks to the coronavirus, 007 finally was back in theaters in “No Time to Die” (check out our favorite Bond villains).

37. Iron Maiden: Legacy of the Beast

Iron Maiden: Legacy of the Beast pinball game

Stern Pinball

Release date: April 2018

Manufacturer: Stern Pinball

Designer: Keith Elwin

Production run: 1,200 units

Bottom line: Right about the time that jukebox musicals were becoming hot on Broadway, some of the baddest (read: best) bands out there were licensing their songs for “jukebox pinball” machines. Case in point: Iron Maiden.

They not only allowed their songs to be used in “Legacy of the Beast,” but also their long-running character, Eddie, whose likeness appears in several manifestations on the cabinet, including a truly creepy one of Eddie in cyborg form.

You actually “play” as Eddie in his quest to undo the Beast himself. All while rocking out to killer Maiden tunes.

36. Rick and Morty

Pinball News

Release date: January 2020

Manufacturer: Spooky Pinball

Designer: Scott Danesi

Production run: 750

Bottom line: Some of the coolest pinball games are rather new on the scene, including the ball-bouncing adventures of the dysfunctional animated duo Rick and Morty. Actor Justin Roiland, who voices both, even provided new voiceover work for the game.

While Roiland’s voice is making you laugh, try not to lose focus as you activate “anti-gravity” gizmos and portal guns that could (in theory at least … it’s animation, c’mon) send the rolling ball into another dimension.

35. Back to the Future

VP Forums

Release date: June 1990

Manufacturer: Data East

Designers: Ed Cebula, Joe Kaminkow

Production run: 3,000 units

Bottom line: Great Scott, this pinball machine came out in the summer of 1990, right about the time Doc Brown and Marty McFly concluded their cinematic adventures through time in “Part III.”

Iconic imagery from the trilogy of temporal-tripping flicks was included in the game design, from the 1955 Hill Valley clock tower to Marty and Doc’s “futuristic” outfits in 2015 in “Part II” and their Old West duds from “Part III.”

Remember in “Part I” when Doc told Marty he gave the terrorists a “bomb” filled with pinball machine parts? “Back to the Future” has come full circle.

34. The Who’s Tommy Pinball Wizard

The Who's Tommy Pinball Wizard pinball machine

Data East / Facebook

Release date: January 1994

Manufacturer: Data East

Designer: Joe Kaminkow, Ed Cebula, Lonnie D. Ropp, Lyman F. Sheats Jr.

Production run: 4,700

Bottom line: The Who’s rock opera “Tommy” — about a blind, dumb and deaf boy who was an absolute rock star at pinball — came out in 1969, yet it somehow took another 25 years to make Tommy’s pinball dreams into gaming reality.

Players “from Soho down to Brighton” anxiously stepped up to become Tommy himself, with the silver ball rolling around amongst Union Jacks and the player scoring points as he or she spelled out our hero’s name in big stage lights.

However, if you’re really awesome, you could play blindfolded and with headphones on, pretending you’re Tommy. Now, let’s see who’s cool.

33. The Simpsons

VP Forums

Release date: September 1990

Manufacturer: Data East Pinball

Designer: Joe Kaminkow, Ed Cebula

Production run: 5,502 units

Bottom line: Springfield’s most infamous family had their own pinball adventure? Ay, caramba.

The designers really paid attention to the fictitious Springfield when it was game time: There’s Bart with his trademark slingshot right by the flippers. Various bumpers are shaped like the nuclear power plant where Homer works, and there are even several bowling-pin barriers that can be knocked over in line with Homer’s favorite sport.

Granted, the Simpsons family drawings look a bit crude now, but this was right when the show first aired, remember.

32. Twilight Zone

VP Forums

Release date: April 1993

Manufacturer: Midway

Designers: Pat Lawlor, Larry DeMar, Ted Estes

Production run: 15,235

Bottom line: You’re traveling through another dimension, one where the rules of physics are obeyed but pinball history is to be made. You are entering: the Twilight Zone pinball machine.

Actor Tim Kitzrow provided the voice of TV show creator Rod Serling, who beckoned players to embark on an odyssey into “a dimension of mind.” The better your score, the more trippy lights go off on the gameboard, upping the fun.

Oh, and keep your ears peeled for the song “Twilight Zone” by Golden Earring, which was licensed for the game.

31. Addams Family

Games on VHS / YouTube

Release date: March 2012

Manufacturer: Midway

Designer: Steve Ritchie

Production run: 20,270

Bottom line: The ball is bouncy and it’s kooky, the game is super duper, with our favorite spooky ookies, the Addams Family (snap snap).

The family we loved being scared with had a suitably fun pinball adventure, which included the disembodied hand-creature Thing stretching out his knuckles to grab the ball when you weren’t looking (don’t you hate that?).

And talk about a blockbuster — not just a movie but a game. The Addamses were in just about every arcade parlor, with more than 20,000 units floating around out there in gameland.

30. Star Wars Trilogy

VP Forums

Release date: March 1997

Manufacturer: Sega Pinball

Designer: Joe Kaminkow, Joe Balcer

Production run: 2,250

Bottom line: The original “Star Wars” trilogy was back in theaters in 1997, with rockin’ new effects and changes fans either loved or loathed. Luke, Leia, Han, et al. were also translated to pinball format, where the player could use one of several “modes” that went along with a specific character.

Oh, and to really take things to the next level, the game also had a 3D component, if you wore those oh-so-cool glasses. If you find it in the arcades now, may the (pinball) Force be with you.

29. Lord of the Rings

VP Forums

Release date: October 2003

Manufacturer: Stern Pinball

Designer: George Gomez, Keith P. Johnson, Chris Granner

Production run: 5,817 units

Bottom line: Peter Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings” trilogy picked up 17 Oscars, $3 billion at the box office and earned J.R.R. Tolkien a new generation of fans. You could even team up with Frodo Baggins in the pinball realm, helping the Hobbit and his pals in their quest to rid the world of the evil Sauron and the One Ring.

Much like Tolkien’s epic, the game followed various quests, in which you had to pick up various allies and destroy enemies along the way.

And always protect the “precious,” er, silver ball.

28. Indiana Jones: The Pinball Adventure

Indiana Jones: The Pinball Adventure pinball machine

VP Forums

Release date: August 1993

Manufacturer: Williams

Designer: Mark Ritchie, Doug Watson

Production run: 12,716

Bottom line: It had been four years since “The Last Crusade,” and Indy fans everywhere were busy wondering when he would again hit the big screen (spoiler alert: it wouldn’t be until 2008).

Perhaps to slake the thirst of fans of the fedora-sporting archeologist, George Lucas agreed to license Indy to the pinball-verse, and thus, in 1993, this incredibly cool game was, well, whipped into arcades everywhere.

Though Harrison Ford’s voice was conspicuously absent, Indy’s pal Sallah (John Rhys-Davies) was “on hand” to encourage button-pressers.

27. The Sopranos

VP Forums

Release date: February 2005

Manufacturer: Stern

Designer: George Gomez

Production run: 3,500

Bottom line: If there are pinball games based on HBO TV shows, then who is the champ? Eh, fuggetaboutit. Mafia family boss Tony Soprano and the rest of his New Jersey cronies got into the pinball “business” in 2005 during the final seasons of the show’s tremendously successful run.

Little nuggets from the show include the talking fish (which Tony saw in a dream), dancers from the Bada Bing! strip club (clothed, of course) and several characters who got “whacked.”

Welcome to the family.

26. Theater of Magic

GramatonBlog / YouTube

Release date: March 28, 1995

Manufacturer: Midway

Designer: John Popadiuk

Production run: 6,600 units

Bottom line: For the amateur magician out there especially fond of pinball, may we conjure “Theater of Magic,” a game whose motif features several puzzles perhaps familiar from shows by professional prestidigitators? These included a spinning mystery box, a levitating woman and the old presto-chango.

In other words, there was quite a lot to keep your eyes on as you racked up points — and did your best to keep the silver ball in play by constantly flicking those flippers.

25. Medieval Madness

The Pinball Company

Release date: June 1997

Manufacturer: Williams

Designer: Brian Eddy

Production run: 4,016 units

Bottom line: One has to assume that pinball machines were one of, nay, the most popular pastime of the middle ages. With 4,016 units, the Medieval Madness machine is a pretty rare pick.

Not only did this unit feature an animated castle, but it had a moving portcullis and drawbridge. Players had to destroy six castles and drop the drawbridge all while trying to defeat two trolls (also mainstays in traditional medieval times).

OK, so the craziest thing about this pinball machine is that the voices were provided by Tina Fey and Scott Adsit. Yes, Tina Fey and Scott Adsit from “30 Rock.” Want to hear Liz Lemon encouraging you to bash down a portcullis in a Valley Girl accent? Now you can.

24. Monster Bash

Release date: July 1998

Manufacturer: Williams

Designer: George Gomez

Production run: 3,361

Bottom line: It was a Monster Bash. And, one has to presume, also a Graveyard Smash. The Monster Bash pinball machine featured a number of other monsters: Dracula, the Bride of Frankenstein, The Mummy, the Creature from the Black Lagoon, and The Wolf Man.

It’s a bit whimsical to think they would all sort of hang out in their off-time, isn’t it? Or that the Bride of Frankenstein would be included, but Frankenstein himself. Well, he prefers to play poker with his other friends. Or maybe it’s a book club.

This exciting pinball machine has you collecting the “instruments” of each monster, so you have to play six game modes, including the “Drac Attack.”

23. Deadpool

Stern Pinball

Release date: August 2018

Manufacturer: Stern Pinball

Designer: George Gomez

Production run: In Production

Bottom line: If you don’t like Deadpool, this isn’t the game for you. One of many Marvel-inspired pinball machines released, this game includes mainstays such as Dazzle, Domino, Wolverine, and Colossus. While you can’t experience much fourth wall breaking, you will be treated to Nolan North hamming it up as Deadpool throughout.

Experience all the fun and excitement of bashing a metal ball against ninjas, vampires, chimichangas, and everything your 13-year-old-self loved to your heart’s content.

22. Elvira’s House of Horrors

Stern Pinball

Release date: September 2019

Manufacturer: Stern Pinball

Designer: Dennis Nordman

Production run: In Production

Bottom line: The third pinball machine in the Elvira line, Elvira’s House of Horrors includes a total of 26 characters that have invaded Elvira’s House. And Elvira needs them gone so she can sell the property.

How often do you get to blend a horrific haunting with, well, the equally horrifying modern-day real estate market? This game is perfect for nostalgic fans of the originals, and it has quite a few modern game conceits: spinning turrets, jumping targets, three-stage locks and ball captures.

Only 400 units of the limited edition have been confirmed.

21. Avengers: Infinity Quest

Stern Pinball

Release date: August 2018

Manufacturer: Stern Pinball

Designer: Keith Elwin

Production run: In Production

Bottom line: The Avengers aren’t new. They’ve been in vogue since they were first released in 1963. But for whatever reason, they’ve rarely been the focus on the world of pinball.

In Avengers: Infinity Quest, Dr. Strange spins a kinetic sling ring disc, which must then guide the Avengers to their targets.

The impressive game features all the characters you’ve come to know and love from the Marvel movies, as well as some slick gameplay and computer grid awards.

20. Guardians of the Galaxy

Stern Pinball

Release date: October 2017

Manufacturer: Stern Pinball

Designer: John Borg

Production run: In Production

Bottom line: “I Am Groot!” Alright, if you’re already tired of that one-off joke, then this probably isn’t the pinball machine for you.

The Guardians of the Galaxy pinball machine could have been incredibly boring, but it’s actually pretty entrancing — largely because of the immense Groot figure emerging from the panel.

In this pinball game, the Guardians of the Galaxy are fighting Ronin. And while he was a somewhat immediately forgettable villain from the first film, he’s a pretty compelling villain in the world of pinball.

19. Scared Stiff

Pinside Forum

Release date: September 1996

Manufacturer: Bally

Designer: Dennis Nordman

Production run: 4,000

Bottom line: 1996 doesn’t really feel as long ago as it was, does it? Every time we think “1996,” we think “oh, yeah, 10 years ago.” Well, nope.

Elvira’s Scared Stiff was released 30 years ago and remains a fan favorite for its campy gameplay and effects. Players go through Six Tales of Terror and level up the Stiff-o-Meter throughout.

Initially, the game featured a little dancing figure, but production woes canceled it. Today, hobbyists have been re-adding the figure through the magic of 3D printing.

18. White Water

Pinball Arcade / YouTube

Release date: January 1993

Manufacturer: Williams

Designer: Dennis Nordman

Production run: 7,008

Bottom line: “Go With the Flow.” Wouldn’t that be nice? White Water is one of the few totally unlicensed pinball machines out there, brought back from a simpler time.

Designed to simulate the experience of white water rafting (assuming that you are rafting on a lightning-fast, metal ball ricocheting from surface to surface), White Water has you moving your raft down a river from Wet Willy’s to Vacation Jackpot.

White Water became popular just because, like a lot of Nordman games, the mechanics were slick and fun. And it goes to show you don’t always need an expensive IP.

17. Godzilla

Straight Down the Middle / YouTube

Release date: January 1998

Manufacturer: Sega Pinball Inc

Designer: Sega

Production run: 516

Bottom line: Only 516 of these pinball machines were ever made. In terms of gameplay, it’s unimpressive. You just need to get the ball where it needs to be. But what added a certain something to the Godzilla machine was the stomping of the eponymous lizard.

On the dot matrix, you could see Godzilla absolutely trashing a city. Are you trying to stop Godzilla? Are you, yourself, the monster?

Like most things produced in the 90s, it’s unclear.

16. Creature from the Black Lagoon

Creature from the Black Lagoon pinball machine

The Pinball Company

Release date: December 1992

Manufacturer: Midway

Designer: John Trudeau

Production run: 7,841

Bottom line: Look. It’s kind of hard to explain the “Creature from the Black Lagoon” hype now. But you’d better believe when this game came out in the 1990s (complete with holographic backing), it was popular.

The Creature from the Black Lagoon is actually less about the creature itself (which was actually still hard to explain in the ’90s) but the aesthetic of a 1950s drive-in theater. While playing the game, the creature is able to holographically swipe at the player. Which again, was very cool back then.

During the game, the player collects the four letters (FILM) to save the damsel in distress. Meanwhile, upbeat 1950s songs play in the background.

15. Cactus Canyon

Pinside Forums

Release date: October 1998

Manufacturer: Bally

Designer: Matt Coriale / Tom Kopera

Production run: 903

Bottom line: Cactus Canyon was a cowboy-themed pinball machine that’s now known for being the last “traditional” machine manufactured by Bally. If you want to own a slice of history, this machine has been remade as of 2021.

The original 1998 version is one of the most highly sought-after, rarest pinball machines, in part because there were so few made.

14. FunHouse

Wikimedia Commons

Release date: November 1990

Manufacturer: Williams

Designer: Pat Lawyer

Production run: 10,750

Bottom line: Are you terrified of ventriloquist dummies? Is anyone not terrified of ventriloquist dummies? One must presume the ventriloquist themselves, but this could be a sort of Stockholm syndrome situation.

FunHouse is an absolutely terrifying game that features the disembodied head of a ventriloquist dummy, and while it was incredibly popular (with a production run of over 10,000 units), let’s just say we wouldn’t want to be locked in a dark arcade with it.

Please note that the image above this description is called “Rudy Sleeping.“

13. Spider-Man

The Pinball Company

Release date: June 2007

Manufacturer: Stern Pinball

Designer: Steve Richie

Production run: 3,760

Bottom line: Sling some webs with everyone’s favorite neighborhood Spider-Man. Spider-Man has seen quite the resurgence of interest lately, but he’s always been a favorite comic character. He’s just a guy with money troubles and a good heart.

The Spider-Man pinball machine features magnetic holds and some of Spider-Man’s most iconic villains: Doc Ock, Green Goblin, Venom, and Sandman. Take a trip through some childhood nostalgia with this modern Stern game.

12. Demolition Man

Pinside Forums

Release date: February 1994

Manufacturer: Williams

Designer: Dennis Nordman

Production run: 7,019

Bottom line: Admittedly, this is probably one of the weirder tie-ins out there, although you can’t argue with 7,000-plus produced.

In the Demolition Man pinball machine, players must complete four multiballs: Fortress, Museum, Wasteland, and Cryoprison. A mechanical device (the Cryo Claw) makes this game ultra-fun.

Even better, while you play, the voices of Sylvester Stallone and Wesley Snipes will encourage and taunt you. Who doesn’t want that?

11. Centaur

Arcades At home

Release date: October 1981

Manufacturer: Bally

Designer: Jim Patla

Production run: 3,700

Bottom line: What does a half-horse half-man have to do with pinball? Nothing, actually, because Centaur (and its follow up, Centaur II) actually has to do with a horrifying half-motorcycle half-man. Why? Because the ’80s were weird, and no one can adequately explain them.

Still, people loved Centaur because it was fun to play. It was challenging and achievable and (let’s face it) had an incredible theme.

10. Space Mission

Pinside Forums

Release date: January 1976

Manufacturer: Williams

Designer: Steve Richie

Production run: 11,652

Bottom line: Another of the most classic arcade games, Space Mission calls back to a simpler time. Its Jetsons-like theme still paints the perfect picture of the future imagined by the past.

A four-player machine, Space Mission featured three- or five-ball adjustable play — and collection bonuses and matching.

While it may seem quaint now, it was incredibly advanced for the time, which is why it was able to sell over 11,000 copies.

9. Black Rose

Tatty Adams / YouTube

Release date: July 1992

Manufacturer: Bally

Designer: John Trudeau

Production run: 3,746

Bottom line: An exciting pirate-themed pinball machine, Black Rose tasks the player with ship-sinking. A rotating canyon is used to aim the ball at targets, eventually spelling out SINK SHIP.

Once you’ve spelled out the magic phrase, you’ve won. And destroyed all those ships.

You monster.

8. Stargate

Pinside Forums

Release date: March 1995

Manufacturer: D. Gottlieb & Co

Designer: Jon Norris / Ray Tanzer

Production run: 3,600

Bottom line: Based on the movie “Stargate,” this 1995 pinball machine is replete with references to ancient Egyptian mythology, including having a pyramid smack dab in the center.

Once again, we must all confront our own mortality. Stargate was released 30 years ago, and this game features the voice of James Spader during a time when James Spader was young.

7. Swords of Fury

Pinside Forums

Release date: June 1998

Manufacturer: Williams

Designer: Doug Watson / Steve Kirk / Tony Kraemer

Production run: 2,705

Bottom line: In 1998, Swords of Fury was “on the cutting edge of pinball design.” It remains an extremely popular collectible.

Swords of Fury is known for its tight theme (medieval fantasy) and its slick play. It’s basically everything that you wanted a pinball machine to be in 1998.

Players must work their way through a Magical Arena, the Ogres Alley, and even Free the Titans on their way to “Unleash the Fury.”

6. Black Knight

Pinside Forums

Release date: November 1980

Manufacturer: Williams

Designer: Steve Richie

Production run: 13,075

Bottom line: The Black Knight was considered a turning point for pinball machines. Just look at how many were produced.

What was unique about Black Knight was not only that it was the first pinball machine to introduce what we now consider to be “modern features,” but it also was the first game to feature two levels of play. In the 1980s, that was incredible.

Players couldn’t get enough of the large, swooping track and complex gameplay. And the theme was more or less an afterthought.

5. Jurassic Park

VP Forums

Release date: June 1993

Manufacturer: Data East

Designer: Ed Cebula, Neil Falconer, Joe Kaminkow

Production run: 9,008

Bottom line: How many times did you see “Jurassic Park” in theaters in the summer of 1993? It’s best not to adjust for inflation, but it was probably a lot more affordable to spend time with digital dinos on Data East’s pinball thriller, which featured rumbling, roaring lizard sounds as the ball moved about the board.

Around this time, pinball machines were starting to get “smart,” offering “missions” you could unlock depending on how well you played.

Just don’t turn off the raptor cage fence.

4. Attack From Mars

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Release date: December 1995

Manufacturer: Midway

Designer: Brian Eddy

Production run: 3,450

Bottom line: What’s the next best thing to blasting video game aliens into smithereens? Taking charge of that little silver ball in a truly trippy, out-of-this-world arcade adventure.

Your “quest” was to somehow repel those little green-eyed goons from the Red Planet next door from taking over Earth and making off with our women (the game’s artwork ain’t exactly kid-friendly). And what better way to do so than smacking the ball with bumpers? Makes perfect sense, right?

And in those non-PC mid-’90s, the game would occasionally spout such lines as “Get your hands off me. All four of them.”

3. Terminator 2: Judgment Day

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Release date: July 1991

Manufacturer: Williams

Designer: Steve Ritchie

Production run: 15,202 units

Bottom line: The summer and fall of 1991 were positively ruled by everything Terminator, whether it was the blockbuster film, the Guns N’ Roses music video or the various games spawned by the futuristic sequel.

The first-person arcade shooter is legendary, but the T-800’s pinball escapade was almost as cool. For one, you “fired” the ball rather from a gun rather than the usual lever launch, and Arnold Schwarzenegger even lent his voice to the fun.

Say hasta la vista to your quarters, baby.

2. Star Trek: The Next Generation

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Release date: November 1993

Manufacturer: Williams

Designers: Steve Ritchie, Dwight Sullivan, Greg Freres

Production run: 11,728 units

Bottom line: The rumors that the 1993-94 season of “TNG” would be the last turned out to be true, but thanks to Williams’ pinball game, we’re still setting our fingers on warp factor 10 nearly three decades later.

Patrick Stewart, Michael Dorn, LeVar Burton (who recently guest-hosted “Jeopardy!”) and the rest of the TNG cast lent their voices to the silver ball-rolling adventures of the Enterprise-D in cabinet form.

As Captain Picard himself might say: “No. 1, engage.”

1. Cyclone

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Release date: Feb. 24, 1988

Manufacturer: Williams

Designer: Barry Oursler

Production run: 9,408 units

Bottom line: The carnival-themed “Cyclone” pinball machine was about as much fun as, well, being at an amusement park. There was an actual Ferris wheel that could scoop up the ball if you aimed it just right, and a carnival barker was heard constantly exhorting you to “Hurry, hurry, step right up!”

“Cyclone” was more or less tailor-made for those of us with severe ADHD, what with all the blinking lights, spinning thingamajigs and constant noise. Such distractions made the game rather difficult but insanely fun at the same time.

You never wanted to stop playing.