Pinball is a one- or two-player pinball simulation published by Nintendo for the NES in 1984. One of the console’s earliest releases, it features two stacked tables — a lower playfield and an upper one accessible through a centre hole — plus a Breakout-style bonus stage that triggers when the ball drops through the bottom lane.
How to play
Press Enter to start and Shift to choose between one and two players before the game begins (two players alternate turns). B button (Z key) works the left flipper; A button (X key) works the right. Nudge the table with the arrow keys when the ball drifts toward a gutter — but nudge too many times in a row and you tilt, forfeiting the ball immediately.
The ball moves between tables through the centre hole: let it travel to the upper table to reach the denser bumper clusters, where scores climb faster. Hit the bonus lane at the base of the lower table to enter a brief Breakout stage — a character bats the ball upward into a wall of bricks; clear them all for a large point bonus before returning to the main table.
Tips
- Guide the ball into the centre hole deliberately — the upper table’s bumpers score higher than most targets on the lower field.
- Aim the right flipper (X key) toward the upper-right bumper cluster for the most consistent high-scoring runs.
- Save arrow-key nudges for genuine emergencies; an unnecessary tilt on a strong ball ends it immediately.
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