If you want to pick up some of the better tables in Farsight’s The Pinball Arcade, you might have to hurry. Even virtual arcades are getting shut down these days, it seems.

The Pinball Arcade (G)
Available for: Android, iOS, macOS, Windows, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Wii U, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita
Nintendo Switch version available but does not have Bally/Williams tables
Copy purchased (free download on some platforms, additional tables cost extra)

There is something unique about pinball. Maybe it’s the feedback you get from moving and working a physical machine and the loud ‘crack’ of the solenoid when you earn a free game or extra ball, or (perhaps more likely in my case) the frustration of watching yet another $1 worth of balls drain straight down the middle because you can’t quite make that ramp shot.

The problem with pinball- other than me being terrible- is that it’s an expensive hobby if you want to actually own a machine. Not only do you have to pay out the nose for the machine in the first place (a quick glance on eBay shows working Twilight Zone machines hovering around the $13,000 mark) but you also have to be able to maintain it as older parts wear out and break down. While this is no doubt rewarding it’s a bit beyond my patience (and budget), and so for the last few years I’ve settled for the next best thing: The Pinball Arcade.

Farsight Studios has been working on reproductions of pinball machines for around a decade- there were Wii releases of their earlier compilations of Gottlieb and Williams machines- and there are around 90 tables available for TPA depending on what platform you prefer to play on. There are machines predating the digital age, with purely mechanical scoring and ball movement; at the newer end of the scale are machines with digital displays, bass-boosted sound, six-ball multiball and movie licences.

TPA’s reproductions aren’t entirely perfect, as some pinball aficionados will rue the more reliable mechanics of the simulation compared to the wear and tear and slight imperfections on real tables. There are also some interface bugs on different versions; I found on the Switch version that I couldn’t enter my initials on the high score table on Frankenstein because the on-screen prompt had disappeared, and periodically the iOS version resets its high scores and makes me redownload tables. This is particularly annoying if I want to play on a flight and don’t have access to the internet to get my purchased tables back, but if I’m prepared I can enjoy getting Lost In The Zone from row 72 in Economy Class.

Unfortunately, Farsight’s licence with Bally/Williams is about to expire; from 1 July 2018 they can no longer sell tables from the Bally/Williams back catalogue, and so if you want to buy them you’ll need to pick them up this week. (They should be available for re-download if you need to delete them at some point or need to move to a new computer, but no new sales will be allowed.) It’s a possibility that they may become available at a later date, but don’t hold your breath; Bally/Williams’ parent company is more interested in using the brand name to manufacture pokies, and even if the manufacturer was on board a lot of these tables also have other licencees (like movie studios) to deal with.

It could be a crippling blow for The Pinball Arcade going forward- all of the top ten player-rated titles on the Internet Pinball Database are Williams or Bally releases- but Farsight is continuing to release new tables from the Gottlieb back catalogue, and have a deal with Stern to release digital versions of their new releases like Ghostbusters and AC/DC.  (Dream suggestion: dig into the Data East archive for The Who’s Tommy: a pinball machine, about a rock opera, about a pinball machine. Pin-ception. The theme music in TPA is a cover version of Pinball Wizard from that show.)

But for now there’s still a brief window in which to purchase and enjoy some of the best machines of the last 30 years- without any risk of the flippers malfunctioning, or the machine eating your $1 coin. I’ve made sure to buy up my favourite tables:

The Addams Family: There was some doubt in the first place as to whether the Pinball Arcade version of The Addams Family would ever be made. In addition to doing deals with Paramount, CBS Television (who own the famous theme music), and Bally, Farsight also had to secure likeness rights to use Anjelica Huston (as Morticia) and Raul Julia (Gomez) in the game. The latter was long believed to be the major sticking point, as Julia’s estate was apparently very reluctant to licence his image or voice for further use after he passed away in 1994. And one could hardly have an Addams game without Gomez. As it was, they still had to do without Christopher Lloyd’s Uncle Fester; his beloved electric chair is in the game but unoccupied.

In the end, and with the support of fans on Kickstarter, the game did indeed get a Pinball Arcade recreation, and knowing what Farsight went through to get the title made it is an absolute tragedy that The Addams Family is being removed from sale. I know the circumstances are beyond their control, but that doesn’t make it any easier.

From a historian’s perspective, it’s important; TAF was the biggest-selling physical pinball table in the genre’s history and is highly-regarded by critics (currently considered the seventh-best solid-state pinball machine of all time according to users at the Internet Pinball Database). From a player’s point of view, it’s just a great game with loads of hidden features, including lines from Gomez when you do things that shouldn’t be done (“Dirty pool, old man… I like it!”)

It even ‘snaps its fingers’- flips the flippers- in time with the theme music. What’s not to like?

Twilight Zone: Addams might be the best seller, but Twilight Zone has a special place in my heart and in pinball history (it’s the top player-rated title on IPDB). Designed by Pat Lawlor (who also designed Addams), TZ is Addams turned up to eleven, with in-jokes from other pinball machines, a deep rule set with lots of secrets, and a secondary play field with invisible (magnetic) flippers. Its coolest feature is probably the Powerball- a ceramic ball that moves more quickly and doesn’t react to the table’s magnets, but triggers bonuses and increased jackpots if it’s in play. Farsight’s digital version of the table has somehow managed to recreate the physical version’s contempt for my play- but get in the zone, if you’ll pardon the pun, and it’s intensely rewarding.

Star Trek: The Next Generation: Another deep table with lots of variety, ST:TNG is entirely worth it for being able to cut off lengthy criticisms and analysis of your lost ball by hitting the flipper buttons; Captain Picard will then snap, “Thank you, Mr Data.” You even get points for it.

World Championship Soccer: I’m a little surprised this one came out at all. Originally released as World Cup Soccer and licenced as a tie-in with the 1994 FIFA World Cup, one would think this title would also have been in legal purgatory; however, the dog mascot character Striker was available for licencing. Thus, with a new title, some minor artwork changes and one speech sample being removed from the code, WCS got a release.

Of note: the voice of WCS is also the voice of NBA Jam, Tim “Boomshakalaka!” Kitzrow. He also stood in for the late Rod Serling to provide speech samples for Twilight Zone.

Medieval Madness: I debated whether to round out a top five with this or Theatre of Magic; I chose Medieval Madness because I don’t remember seeing an MM machine in the wild over here, whereas ToM did make it across the Pacific. MM has a neat scoring system with the ability to have multiple multiball modes going at the same time (hence “Madness”). Also, it steals shamelessly from Monty Python and The Holy Grail in some of its voice and character work, so there’s that.

There are a few other titles of note in the Bally/Williams back catalogue.

Terminator 2: Judgment Day was also a Kickstarted title when Farsight brought it over; it was the first pinball machine designed with a dot matrix score display (although Gilligan’s Island was first to market). It’s otherwise not terribly notable but Farsight had the chance to get the licence cheaply before the marketing for Terminator: Genisys kicked into gear, so they launched the crowdfunding campaign to capitalise.

Tales of the Arabian Nights is the free table you get for downloading the game on some platforms at the moment; presumably this will change after the deal expires. (The Nintendo Switch version allows you to play the Sega Pinball title Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein as its free download.) It’s also pretty good for a freebie, and you can play some fairly lengthy games on it with a bit of practice. The princess/hero dialogue is a bit creepy in a post-#MeToo world, though.

The Bally Doctor Who table is not that interesting; Farsight also has their own updated one with Peter Capaldi as the Doctor and Michelle Gomez providing the voice of the Master. The Bally table only has seven Doctors, too- it’s not terribly recent. Farsight’s table came out in 2016 and will probably remain on sale, but is quite sparse and also not terribly interesting unless you’re a Doctor Who completist.

Tables are generally sold in ‘seasons’, although more expensive licences like The Addams Family are sold separately; there is a retail release of TPA on the PlayStation 4 that includes every table from season 1, but which seems to be out of print. A second PS4 release containing season 2 didn’t get an Australian release but the disc is not region-locked.

Williams/Bally releases set to be removed from sale from 1 July 2018:

Season 1 and retail releases: Theatre of Magic, Cirqus Voltaire, Creature From The Black Lagoon, Elvira and The Party Monsters, Scared Stiff, Twilight Zone*, Attack From Mars, Tales of the Arabian Nights (free on mobile versions), The Machine: Bride of Pin-Bot, Medieval Madness, FunHouse, Gorgar, Monster Bash, Black Knight, Taxi, No Good Gofers, Star Trek: The Next Generation*

Season 2: Dr Dude and His Excellent Ray, Cactus Canyon, Centaur, The Champion Pub, Firepower, Space Shuttle, White Water, PIN-BOT, Whirlwind, Terminator 2: Judgment Day*

Season 3: Black Rose, WHO Dunnit, Black Knight 2000, High Speed, Junk Yard, Diner, Bram Stoker’s Dracula

Season 4: The Party Zone, The Addams Family*, Xenon, Safe Cracker, Earthshaker!, Cyclone, Jack-Bot, Red & Ted’s Road Show

Season 5: Judge Dredd, Fireball, The Getaway: High Speed II, F-14 Tomcat, No Fear: Dangerous Sports, Hurricane,

Season 6: Indianapolis 500, Eight Ball Deluxe, Doctor Who*, Swords of Fury

Season 7: Paragon, World Champion Soccer (World Cup USA ’94), Fathom, Firepower II, Spanish Eyes, Wild Card, Sorcerer, Banzai Run

* An asterisk denotes Kickstarter-funded titles.

No Bally/Williams tables are available on the Nintendo Switch. Tables from Seasons 4, 5, 6 and 7 are not available on Xbox 360.