When it comes to the most iconic pinball machines of all time, who’s on the high score table? Any fan will tell you, pinball machines aren’t just games, they’re pieces of art that have defined generations of arcade enthusiasts. From the mechanical wonders of the past to the digital marvels of today, pinball machines have evolved dramatically over the years.
So place your finger on the flipper button and ready a combo shot as we take on deciding the top pinball machines of all time.
What Is The Most Popular Pinball Machine?
When it comes to pinball, beauty is in the eye of the beholder—or, perhaps more accurately, in the hands of the player. Selecting the best pinball machine games is no small feat, given the vast array of machines that have captivated players over the years. Our selection criteria focused on a combination of factors that contribute to a pinball machine’s iconic status, gameplay experience, and lasting appeal.
- Historical Significance: How the machine impacted the world of pinball, introducing new technologies (such as dot-matrix display), or gameplay innovations.
- Gameplay & Mechanics: The creativity of the playfield design, the flow of the ball, the tilt mechanism, and the balance between challenge and fun.
- Cabinet Art & Aesthetics: Visual and thematic appeal, including the backglass, playfield art, and cabinet design.
- Popularity & Commercial Success: Units sold, longevity in arcades, and continued demand in the collector’s market.
- Cultural Impact: The machine’s presence in popular culture, including movies, television, and other media.
- Player Reviews & Testimonials: Feedback from the pinball community, including amateur players, professionals, and collectors.
10 Top Most Entertaining Pinball Machines Of All Time
With these guidelines in mind, let’s flip our way through the annals of pinball history to celebrate the top 10 pinball machines of all time.
1. Tales Of The Arabian Knights
Tales of the Arabian Nights is a 1996 pinball machine from Williams. Players can experience 7 Tales of the Arabian Nights which includes a travel around the ancient city of Baghdad, flying with the magic carpet, and battling the evil genie. Rubbing the magic lamp conjures good genies that help to rescue the princess.
The game uses a vertical magnet diverter that grabs the ball and hurls it back at you for more suspense as an industry first. The game also includes spikes that rise up and save the ball when the shooting stars are summoned.
2. Theater Of Magic
Theatre of Magic is a pinball machine from March 1995. Manufactured by Bally Manufacturing Co., this game was designed by John Popadiuk and features many of his design staples such as magnets, a bash toy, and elaborate ramps. Based on an unlicensed magic theme, your goal on this table is to perform eight different magic tricks and then complete a rather simple wizard mode.
There are numerous side goals such as spelling “Theatre” and advancing the clock to Midnight Madness (not to be confused with the midnight madness featured in some other Bally/WMS games), as well as a video mode featuring a virtual pinball game.
Notable Features
- The prominent bash toy, dubbed “The Magic Trunk”, which starts game modes as well as multiball and plays a role in many of the aforementioned modes.
- A machine-controlled magna-save feature placed over each inlane, as well as a magnetic ring that picks up the ball and moves it from one ramp to another.
- A hidden scoop that pops up from the playfield like the trolls in Medieval Madness, which releases balls shot into the crate and locked balls for multiball, as well as giving a mystery award during normal gameplay.
3. White Water
White Water is a non-licensed pinball machine with a primary objective of moving your raft down the river to “Wet Willy’s” to get the “Vacation Jackpot.” You move your raft down the river by shooting the flashing “Hazard” shots, each with a unique rafting theme name. Each time you complete a raft, the number of “Hazard” shots you must hit successfully to complete the next raft increases. It takes eight completed rafts to advance to “Wet Willy’s.”
Successfully completing “Wet Willy’s” enables you to attempt the collection of the “Vacation Jackpot.” There are subsequent objectives in the game, which include:
- Multiball: To start multiball, light the lock ball shot by hitting the “Lite” and “Lock” targets and then successfully shoot the ball in the ball lock, also called the “No Way Out” Hazard. Doing this 3 times will start multiball.
- Whirlpool: Completing the “Whirlpool” shot will activate one of six awards or modes, which is determined by what is lit when the “Whirlpool” shot is hit. To light the “Whirlpool”, thus making the shot active, successfully hit the “Insanity Falls” shot. After hitting the “Insanity Falls” shot, you will know the “Whirlpool” is active when the red light above the shot is lit. One of the six awards or modes starts when the Whirlpool shot, also called “Bigfoot Bluff”, is successfully competed.
- Big Foot Hotfoot: There are two “Hotfoot” targets in the middle of the playfield. Hitting both targets comprises a complete “Hotfoot”, and the “Hotfoot” targets are reset. Depending on the machine settings, successfully completing the specified number of “Hotfoot” targets starts the “Bigfoot Hotfoot” mode which allows you to get successive “Bigfoot Jackpots.”
- Lost Mine: Hitting the ball in the “Lost Mine” shot awards an item needed to start the “Gold Rush” multiball. Three items that must be collected to start this multiball, a flashlight, a map, and a key. These items can be collected through either the “Lost Mine” or the “Bigfoot Hotfoot.” Once all three items have been collected, successfully hitting the “Lost Mine” shot starts the “Gold Rush” multiball.
4. Medieval Madness
Released by Williams in 1997, Medieval Madness is a journey back to a time of knights, castles, and relentless fun. Renowned for its comedic take on the Middle Ages, excellent voice acting, clever gameplay mechanics (like attacking and destroying castles), and a deeply engaging ruleset, Medieval Madness is often cited as one of the greatest pinball machines ever made. Its popularity and demand were so high that a remastered version was released, allowing a new generation of players to enjoy this classic.
5. Jaws
JAWS transports players to the fictional locale of Amity Island, located off the coast of Long Island, New York. Stern’s JAWS pinball games will have you grabbing your harpoons and playing as Quint, Hooper, and Brody to save Amity Island’s residents and the Fourth of July. As these grizzled fishermen, you’ll tackle the most dangerous ocean creatures on the planet.
- Tension mounts as you see “blood in the water” from animated lighting effects.
- Fire pinballs at the motorized “Shark Fin” target swimming across the playfield.
- Anticipation builds as you navigate the “Orca Boat” upper playfield, featuring a “Lookout Tower” ramp, a ship’s wheel horizontal spinner on the deck, and a “Radio” stand-up target to call for help.
- Lookout! A motorized custom sculpted “Great White Shark” bash toy comes crashing through the bottom of a fishing boat.
6. Foo Fighters
Stern’s Foo Fighters pinball machines bring the Foo Fighters concert experience home as players are immersed in an epic pinball adventure featuring 15 iconic songs spanning the band’s expansive catalog, including All My Life, Best of You, Breakout, Everlong, Holding Poison, I’ll Stick Around, Learn to Fly, Monkey Wrench, My Hero, Run, Something from Nothing, The Pretender, This is a Call, Times Like These, and Walk.
- More than two years in the making and with creative input from the band’s own Dave Grohl, Nate Mendel, Pat Smear, Chris Shiflett, Rami Jaffee, and the late, great Taylor Hawkins, Stern’s Foo Fighters is a top-shelf pinball machine – and so much more.
- An entire new universe has been developed with jaw-dropping hand-drawn artwork and custom animations including “Foo Fighters Saturday Morning Action Time!” – a fictional TV series chronicling the band’s quest to save rock and roll… AND THE WORLD!
- You join Foo Fighters on this rescue mission to thwart the evil, mysterious alien Overlord and his army of bots. Search the Area 51 upper playfield to break into and unleash pinball chaos. Jump in the van for a righteous tour of duty to save humanity from extinction and let rock rule!
- Foo Fighters pinball machines include Stern’s award-winning Insider Connected™ system, which enables players to interact with the game and a global network of players to track progress, earn new game-specific achievements, engage with the player community, and participate in promotions and Challenge Quests.
7. Iron Maiden
The iconic Iron Maiden pinball machine aims to reflect the same excitement, energy, and experience of a live Iron Maiden concert. You are immersed in an interactive Iron Maiden universe transforming into various forms of Eddie, the band’s legendary mascot. As Eddie, you will embark on a quest to defeat the Beast and his minions across the Legacy of the Beast mobile game and comic book world.
Iron Maiden pinball entertains with an amazing array of modern and classic features, making it suitable for all skill levels.
8. Halloween Pinball
The Halloween horror films and pinball table primarily focus on Michael Myers, who was committed to a sanitarium as a child for the murder of his sister, Judith Myers. Fifteen years later, he escapes to stalk and kill the people of the fictional town of Haddonfield, Illinois. Michael’s killings occur on the holiday of Halloween, on which all of the films primarily take place. Halloween pinball machines capture that excitement perfectly.
9. Elvira’s House Of Horrors
The taunting is over and the haunting begins in this third and campiest installment of the Elvira pinball trilogy. Trying to sell her mansion through “Alternate Realty”, Elvira’s house is haunted by the movie characters from her past. These ghouls, ghosts, monsters, and a strange assortment of vintage characters with horrific acting skills seek revenge on Elvira while she and the player confront them, sending them back to the “film” from which they came!
Elvira’s House of Horrors pinball immerses you in a fun, campy, B-movie universe filled with all of the humor expected from the Mistress of the Dark including custom speech and, in a pinball first, exclusive filming of Elvira for custom video scenes featured throughout the game.
10. You Decide
At Billiards N More in Las Vegas, NV, we’re always thinking about the clinking of quarters, the glow of neon lights, and the thrilling sound of a silver ball ricocheting off bumpers. So, we’re leaving an honorary spot on our list of the most popular pinball machines of all time open for you to explore.
Your Las Vegas Shop For Pinball Machines
Whether you’re a seasoned pinball wizard or new to the click and clack of those silver balls, exploring these top machines is an adventure. From popular, new-in-box machines to meticulously refurbished classics, At Billiards N More we carry scores of popular pinball machines and game room furniture in our two Las Vegas locations. While all our games may vary in theme and design, they all share the power to bring people together, sparking joy, competition, and sometimes, a bit of fun frustration.
