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Pinball is fun and so are arcade games, so why not mix the two together?
It's an idea that plenty of people have had throughout the decades, leading to some one-of-a-kind experiences. We're not talking about pinball video games, like 1984's Pinball on the Nintendo Entertainment System, but rather hybrid machines that marry the world of arcade and pinball into one machine.
Unfortunately, these games often failed to meet expectations or were commercial failures. As such, the already limited number of machines are that much more rare, making it hard to check these games out in real life. So, we've whipped up a list of the coolest and rarest pinball arcade hybrids in an attempt to keep them from fading further into obscurity. Listed in no particular order, let's check out the most notable pinball arcade hybrids from years past.
Though several games tinkered with the concept beforehand, Caveman was the first true pinball/arcade hybrid machine and established the formula that other manufacturers would replicate moving forward. Featuring a chunky CRT chilling at the top of the playfield, the game has a cartoony prehistoric theme, along with 4 flippers for extra flailing power. When you start a game, you start by playing the pinball portion, racking up bonus by bashing drop targets and rolling through lanes.
Shooting the ball into one of the dead-end shots starts up the video game portion, which plays a lot like Pac-Man, but you're bashing dinosaurs instead of eating ghosts. For the first stab at a pinball/arcade hybrid, Caveman is a bit simplistic but it's still pretty entertaining, proving that the concept is valid at the very least.
When people talk about pinball arcade hybrids, they're usually talking about Baby Pac-Man. Created by Bally/Midway and released just a few months after Caveman, Baby Pac-Man follows a similar formula, but with a distinct visual difference. Instead of the standard pinball machine form factor, Baby Pac-Man is housed in a smaller, stand-up style cabinet, with the video display contained at head level in the back box. Starting the game up puts you directly into the video game portion, which is just Pac-Man but a bit more challenging, and exiting the virtual maze puts you into the pinball portion. The playfield is exceptionally basic, with just a few drop targets and loops, and bashing the ball around earns you upgrades for the video game portion. Neither the video game nor pinball elements are exemplary, but as far as arcade pinball hybrids go, it's arguably the most successful and memorable. At the end of the day, it's just another form of Pac-Man, and anyone with good taste in arcade games can appreciate that.
One year after their pinball arcade hybrid debut, Bally/Midway followed it up with Granny and the Gators, a hybrid that improves on Baby Pac-Man in almost every way. The cabinet and physical design are the same as Baby Pac-Man, but both the video game and playfield are unique and arguably more exciting. This time, the video game portion sees you paddling down a river in a canoe, dodging gators and earning points.
During your trek, you can navigate through exits marked “pinball”, launching your ball onto the playfield to earn bonuses. In the pinball portion, there's actually quite a bit to do, with several stand-up targets, banks of drops, a saucer, and a few loops. Compared to Baby Pac-Man, Granny and the Gators is more challenging and enjoyable, making it the clear winner of the Bally/Midway pinball arcade hybrid pair.
By the early 1990s, pinball arcade hybrids were already well out of season, but Spanish manufacturer Inder took a shot at things from a different perspective. Whereas previous hybrids married the video game and pinball playfield into one experience, Inder's Flip-VI was more of a “two-in-one” cabinet. This game is exceedingly rare and information is hard to come by, but judging from reports and advertisement fliers, it seems like Flip-VI is a clone of Inder's soccer-themed pin, Mundial 90, but the head has been modified to fit an arcade monitor. The machine features a set of flippers and a plunger, as well as two sets of joysticks with three accompanying buttons each, the latter controlling the fighting video game on the monitor. After putting in some cash, players can reportedly choose either the video game or pinball game to play, saving floor space without losing any functionality. Like other hybrid machines, Flip-VI didn't make a meaningful mark on the industry, but it's a clever product and an example of how Inder always tried to innovate where possible.
Super Flipper is one of the most unique pinball arcade hybrids, and is much more than meets the eye. At first glance, it appears as an average full-sized pinball machine, complete with flipper buttons, a plunger, and an illuminated head. However, Super Flipper is not a pinball machine at all, but rather a PONG-style arcade game that uses pinball controls. The Internet Pinball Database calls it a “video game disguised as a pinball machine”, which is an apt description for this eyebrow-raiser. Instead of a playfield, the game contains a big monitor with an overlay, where you control paddles to deflect a bouncing ball and earn points. It's an admittedly cool novelty, but in practice, Super Flipper lacks any strategy and is only entertaining for a few moments.
If we're going to count Super Flipper as a pinball arcade hybrid, it's only fair to include Atari's Video Pinball as well. Oddly enough, this machine is based on the Atari “Video Pinball” brand of home video game consoles, which were released in 1977. Unlike Super Flipper, Video Pinball actually contains a playfield, though it's mounted inside the upright cabinet and reflected into view with a mirror. Though controlled with standard flipper buttons, the flippers and ball are virtual, making for an interesting visual combination. The physics of the ball are surprisingly smooth and it's fun to smack the ball around as you peer into the darkened cabinet, but don't expect much in the way of strategy. There's a certain retro charm to Video Pinball that makes it oddly nostalgic to play, even if it's more video game than pinball.
The stark opposite of Super Flipper, Varkon is a pinball machine that's disguised as an arcade game, with very few digital elements in the play experience. This exceptionally rare game was made by Williams and released in 1982, but only 90 were produced, and far fewer remain functional today. Similar to Baby Pac-Man and Video Pinball, Varkon is housed in an upright arcade cabinet, but retains all the physical elements you'd expect from a pinball machine.
However, instead of flipper buttons, Varkon retains its arcade disguise by having you use joysticks instead. The aim of the game is the same as any other pinball machine: hit the ball around and earn points. The playfield lacks much of note and the physics are a bit wonky due to how the playfield is positioned in the cabinet, but it's a nifty experiment and is worth a play for the novelty alone.
Sea Hunt and Spooksville are two games created by Allied Leisure in the early days of the company's history, and they earn their spot on this list due to both the non-traditional cabinet and unorthodox method of control. Advertised as “shakerball” games, Sea Hunt and Spooksville are controlled using joysticks with buttons on top, but the joysticks also allow you to physically jostle the playfield.
Even the start of the game is wildly unexpected, as the ball ejects from a trough at the top of the playfield like a pachinko machine, rather than a traditional shooter lane. If you're skilled in the art of nudging, Sea Hunt and Spooksville can be wildly entertaining, though the joysticks are restricted to up and down movement. Crazier yet, these are electro-mechanical games, which is likely why they're so prone to issues. That said, if you can find a Sea Hunt or a Spooksville, they're absolutely worth the play and are a nudger's dream.
Matt Owen is a lifelong gamer and overall media fiend. He can often be found playing endless hours of games or watching an absurd amount of movies and television: action, horror, mystery, and sci-fi in particular. When he's not bingeing entertainment media, Matt enjoys reading and writing fiction, playing pinball, broadcasting, and attempting to cook.
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