Best Classic Pinball Game Apps

Play Pinball Like It's 1992

Overview

People enjoyed the game of pinball for many years before iDevices were invented. Relive a great classic game on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch with this AppGuide.

Essential Apps

• $2.99

  Slayer Pinball Rocks HD

  by Sony Music Entertainment

  The ultimate pinball game for the ultimate metal thrashers! If you enjoy fantastic pinball games on the iPad or iPhone and/or you love Slayer, you must try this thing out! Slayer Pinball Rocks HD features a pinball board from hell, mini games, music from the new album, and voice recordings from the man himself, Tom Araya. The makers of Pinball HD coproduced this game, so that should give you a small hint as to how great it plays. The iPad version includes portrait and landscape mode support. This is currently one of the best pinball games in the app store.

• $0.99

  Pinball HD

  by OOO Gameprom

  This pinball app combines the games Wild Wild West Pinball, The Deep Pinball, and Jungle Style Pinball into one brilliantly fluid game called Pinball HD. However, you can still buy all three games separately if you choose. The game features the ability to play in landscape and portrait mode, realistic physics, built-in help for each table, local and global high scores, cool music, and stereoscopic imaging option (which requires anaglyph eyeglasses). This is as good as it gets on the iPad.

• $0.99

  Monster Pinball

  by Matmi

  Monster Pinball is a set of tables that are interconnected to one another. If you shoot the ball through the top portion of the current table it takes you to an entirely different table with different physics, monsters, challenges, etc., all at 60fps. A total of six linked tables in all, Monster Pinball is a fresh, wonderfully realized, pinball maniac’s dream complete with multiple flippers, stallballs, freeballs, rebounds, tilt, and boosts that will have you playing for hours. This is for the iPhone and iPod Touch, but plays and looks great on the iPad at 2X.

• $0.99

  Multiball Pinball

  by Matmi

  Yet another app from Matmi in this Essential list is Multiball Pinball, which focuses on, well, multi-balls. You can have up to three balls on the table at once, which ups the action factor three-fold. You can expect the same great mechanics as the other Matmi pinball games, plus lots of balls!

• $1.99

  Ice Road Pinball

  by Matmi

  In the same class as Monster Pinball and Multiball Pinball, Matmi scores another hit with Ice Road Pinball, a fluid, multi-table pinball game that features 60fps, accelerometer tilt function, superb animations and graphics, sound effects in stereo, and so much more. This is one of the better tables in the app store. It also plays great on the iPad at 2X.

Notable Apps

• $2.99

  Freeballin' - 5 Pinball Tables

  by IUGO Mobile Entertainment Inc.

  From the makers of such classic iPhone games as Toy Bot Diaries and Zombie Attack comes Freeballin’, a feature-rich pinball app that hits you with five cool tables and over a half dozen play fields. Also included are boss battles, sweet powerups, tilt, auto save, and three game modes including Score Attack, Time Attack, and Adventure Challenge.

• $0.99

  B.I.T.S Pinball

  by Blue Bear Studio

  B.I.T.S. Pinball’s main goal is to roll over all of the “bits” on the table, opening up cool powerups including the hologram and ball cloner. Once you complete all five B.I.T.S. levels you’ll enter Multi-Ball Mayhem mode, which lets you play with up to 20 balls at once (one ball spawns each second for twenty seconds). B.I.T.S. Pinball also features OpenFeint support.

• Free

  Retro Pinball

  by Fuse Powered Inc.

  Retro Pinball is a step back from other modern, feature rich pinball apps available on iOS, which can be a good thing in this case. Since Retro Pinball is based on the classic pinball feel, this app can bring nostalgia to any long-time player. With three classic boards to choose from with “retro” sound effects, this pinball game will take you back in time, and while simple, I can recommend this app to both old and new pinball players.

• $1.99

  Star Pinball

  by Nate Games

  Star Pinball gives you a heaping helping of cutesy graphics, cartoon sound effects, and lots of colors. If you don’t care so much about real pinball physics and just like to have a lot of fun, then give this a go. Star Pinball features two themes and five bonus stages.

• $2.99

  ESPN Pinball on iPad

  by ESPN

  I’m not sure why this game is getting so much hate on the app store but I really like it, so I have included it in the notable section. There are tons of features, it has a retro 80’s feel including sound effects, multiple balls, and three tables to boot. You don’t have to be a sports fan to like this game. The ball could be a little heavier, as it seems really light and not quite powerful enough.

Decent Apps

• $1.99

  Pinball Dreaming: Pinball Dreams

  by Cowboy Rodeo

  Pinball Dreaming–along with its popular sequel Pinball Fantasies–came out for the iPhone way back in 2009, and they were originally released before the dawn of time back in 1992 for the Amiga. Since then we have seen some killer pinball games for the iPhone and iPad, which makes these two games seem quite dated in comparison. However, for those seeking some retro pinball action, these games are the perfect choice. The graphics have been overhauled and now run at 60fps in both portrait and landscape modes. Each game features 4 tables and includes everything you loved about them in 1992.

• $4.99

  ZEN Pinball: Rollercoaster

  by Publisher X

  Zen Pinball: Rollercoaster and its sibling Zen Pinball: Inferno are two basic pinball games with two separate themes that have everything you would expect from a decent game of pinball including bumpers, ramps, towers, and run lanes. For the price, however, there are better and less expensive choices out there, including just about every pinball game in this guide.

• $0.99

  The Jerky Boys Pinball

  by Inner Four, Inc.

  Fans of The Jerky Boys will definitely want to give this a shot. With all of your favorite characters and a few different tables, you’ll at least have a good laugh from the voice overs and sound effects, plus a decent game of pinball to boot.

• Free

  Smallball Pinball, Cars

  by SmallBall

  Smallball Pinball, Cars could be a great game. Instead the whole thing just feels like a demo. It a has some great elements like linked tables, goals, and polished graphics, but the game ends too soon and the ball bounces around like a beach ball instead of a pinball. Also, in its current state, it’s just plain boring. With some work this could be a fantastic pinball game. The game is free, so you’re not missing out on anything to give it a try. Try the Smallball Pinball, Grand Canyon table too, also free.

• $2.99

  Undead Attack! Pinball

  by Lucas Mendes Menge

  Here is a pinball game for zombie fans. You have a choice of a few different tables and multiple flippers per table. You flip the ball and try to strike the undead zombie characters that are strolling down your table to attack your “gate.” You have special weapons to use if they get that far to wipe out any attacking zombies. It’s a great concept and works for the most part, but I could use some updated graphics (iPad version?) and a choice of more tables. Plus, the lumbering zombie cartoon characters are bizarrely animated and look awkward.

Other Apps