Pinball 247 - How to Play Pinball

The popularity of pinball has endured through the years. It has probably been played for close to a hundred years, if not even longer. And now there's no need to find an arcade or bar with its own pinball machine. It's as easy as anything to play online whenever you want.

But if you want to play pinball, you first need to know how to play. The basic concept definitely isn't hard to understand. Use the flippers to keep the ball in the playing field and score as many points as possible before the ball is lost. You don't need any complicated moves – just the ability to move both the left and right flippers.

If you're new to pinball (or just new to playing it online), this guide will show you how to play and what you can do to keep improving your high score.

What Is Pinball?

Pinball is an arcade game traditionally played on a table, but which has been available as a computerized or online game for many years too. The playing field features a series of obstacles for the ball to bounce off. The ball is launched into the playing field, and the player has to use the two flippers at the bottom to keep the ball from falling out of the area while scoring points by hitting the obstacles and the sides of the playing field.

Usually, the player gets one ball per turn. Once the ball is lost, their turn is over.

A Brief History of Pinball

There are lots of theories about how old pinball is and where it came from. Some historians trace the origins of the game all the way back to the 16th century, while others say it's from the 19th century or was developed much later in the 1930s.

One theory is that pinball developed from an English tabletop game called Bagatelle. This game began as a cross between billiards and bowling, where billiards tables were made smaller and pins were placed at one end to be knocked down. Eventually, the pins were fixed to the table so they wouldn't have to be reset, and holes between them became the targets. In 1871, the British inventor Montague Redgrave filed a US patent for a game called Improvements in Bagatelle, which was something like a pinball machine, featuring a spring launcher for the ball.

What we do know is that pinball machines as they're known today were definitely around before the Second World War. The 1930s saw the introduction of technology including coin operation, electrification, and active bumpers. But it wasn't until 1947 that the iconic flippers were added to a game of pinball.

In the 1970s, the technology of pinball machines was developed further. Digital displays and solid-state electronics made the games even more exciting and flashy, allowing for sound effects, more complex games, and other features that attracted an increased number of players.

When video games experienced a boom in the 1980s, it signaled a decline for pinball. But computer technology allowed for pinball to be more complicated than ever, and it had made a comeback by the early 1990s. However, this didn't last long and most manufacturers were closing by the end of the decade. The pinball story wasn't over yet, though. In the 2000s, independent manufacturers began to offer new machines and the game experienced something of a revival.

On top of pinball machines, the option of playing on a computer or online makes pinball available to everyone. You don't have to find a machine or own one yourself. Simply get online and play a game like those offered by 24/7 Pinball.

How Is Online Pinball Different From Playing Arcade Machines?

Online pinball is so convenient for anyone who loves the game but doesn't own a pinball machine. There's no need to find a machine in an arcade or bar. Just find your favorite site or app and start playing.

If you're playing pinball online, the gameplay is basically the same. You're still tasked with using the flippers to hit the targets and keep the ball from dropping.

In online pinball, you're more likely to have multiple balls to play with. If you lose your first one, keep going until you run out. In contrast, you can find that you only get one ball at a time when playing on an arcade machine. Not only that, but you could have a line of people behind you waiting for their turn. There's no need for that when you play online. You're the only one playing, so you can keep going until you're done.

The Basics of Playing Pinball

The basic idea of pinball is simple. Launch your ball, then use the left and right flippers to keep flipping it up into the air and hitting targets to score points. When you lose your ball, launch the next one and keep going until the game is over.

You can use your keyboard or mouse to play online pinball. If you use your keyboard, use your left and right arrow keys to control the corresponding flippers, or use the A and D keys instead. Press the spacebar to nudge the table. Nudging is what it sounds like – giving the table a shake to get the ball to go where you want it to. The spacebar also launches the ball when you hold it down.

If you choose to use your mouse, left-click for the left flipper and right-click for the right flipper. You can use the mouse wheel to nudge the table. Hold down the left mouse button to launch the ball.

Don't worry if you miss the ball the first time without hitting it. It will be counted as a miss-launch and you'll get to try again without it affecting the number of balls you have.

Pinball can help you build a few skills, including your reflexes and hand-eye coordination. The more you play, the more you can improve your speed and play for longer without letting the ball drop. Once the game is over, you can see your final score and try to beat your high score the next time you play.

As you play, you'll collect points by hitting the various obstacles. You can also get other rewards such as extra balls or bumper points by completing certain actions or missions.

Choose Your Difficulty Levels

At 24/7 Pinball, you can choose your difficulty level to play online pinball in a way that suits you. If you're just a beginner, start on Easy and get used to the controls and the way the game works. Progress to Medium, Hard, and finally Expert as you build your skills and get better at playing the game.

The difference between the difficulty levels is how fast the ball moves. The harder the level, the faster the ball will go. Some might find it easier to try out the harder levels first. Reacting at the right time to a slower ball can sometimes be more challenging than doing so with a fast ball!

Multiply Your Score with Missions

Make your game more exciting by completing missions and bumping up your high score. When you complete a set, the playing field resets and your score gets a multiplier (2x, 3x, etc.) to give it a boost. You can find your score and its multiplier in the bottom right corner. You can try for five different missions in 24/5 Pinball games.

Hold 'Em Showdown

Reveal a community card every time you hit the Texas Hold 'Em ramp. The playfield will light up each time. You only need to hit it three times to complete your poker hand, which means you can have a try at the Spin and Win Slot Machine.

Spin and Win

Get your ball underneath the slot machine to complete the spin and win the mission. When the ball moves under the machine, you'll see a light. Do this four times and the slot machine will light up and tell you to "chip up" with the casino cashier with a flashing arrow to tell you where to go.

Roll a Hot Streak

After you've landed in the cashier scoop, the next mission is to roll a hot streak. It starts with a flashing light, and a multi-ball session begins. The aim is to keep hitting the red dice ramp until you've run out of balls, maintaining your hot streak. Once all your balls are lost, you get your original ball back and you can move on to the next stage.

Lucky Sevens Jackpot

Hit the Lucky Seven drop targets (six of them in total) to complete this mission. Each time you hit a target, a light will shine. After you've knocked over all six, a flashing arrow will tell you to go to the casino cashier.

Cash Out

Finally, here's your chance to cash out on your points. When you land in the cashier scoop, it will start another multi-ball session. You'll see a light in front of the cash out button so you know what to aim for. Hit the button as many times as you can and your winnings will come raining down. Keep going until you've used up all your multi-play balls, and you will then get your original ball back from the cashier scoop. The playfield will reset and you get a multiplier added to your score.

Play the Daily Challenge

Looking for ways to keep your skills sharp? The Daily Challenge gives you a chance to keep honing your skills and see where you rank among other players. Shoot your shot each day and see if you can beat other players and rank as one of the best.

Seasonal Pinball Games

Try a different take on pinball with a seasonal or themed game. At 24/7 Pinball, we have a fun Christmas Pinball that's perfect for the festive season. Combine the classic game with holiday fun with new graphics and missions to complete. Of course, it doesn't have to be Christmas for you to enjoy it!

The Christmas version of the game features the missions Light the Christmas Tree, Decorate the Cookies, Deliver the Presents, Ready the Reindeer, and Let It Snow. Like the classic game, you have the chance to complete each mission one by one and collect a multiplier for your high score.

Tips and Tricks to Improve Your Play

Want to get better at online pinball and grow your high score? There are plenty of tips and tricks you could use to keep becoming a better player. Try these ideas to push yourself and help your high score climb a little higher every time you play.

Start as a Beginner

It's tempting to give yourself a challenge when you first start playing a new game. But starting with the easiest levels in pinball gives you a chance to build your skills. The ball moves more slowly, so you have time to learn how to control it and work out how it moves. If you're finding the East level too easy or slow, move up to the next level and see if you prefer it. As your skills improve, you can keep moving to the Hard and Expert levels.

Experiment with Different Actions

Play around with the flippers and the ball to see what results you get from different actions. What happens when you flip the ball from the very end of the flipper? What happens if the ball is in the middle of the flipper when you flip it up? See what angles you can use and where you can send the ball based on the movements of your flippers. The controls might be very simple, but there's a lot you can do with them.

Get a good feel for the flippers and the different things they can do. As a simple rule, the closer the ball is to the end of the flipper, the more it will go to the opposite side.

Make Use of Nudging

Nudging the table (either with your spacebar or mouse wheel) gives the playing field a little shake. You can use this to your advantage by nudging the ball a little so it goes where you want it to. This might help you prevent a ball from dropping straight between the flippers or can help you ensure you hit your target if the ball's trajectory isn't quite right.

Trapping

Trapping is the practice of using the flipper to hold the ball in place. Instead of quickly moving the flipper up and down again, hold it in its upward position so that the ball sits in the angle it makes. You then have control over the ball, whether you want to keep it in place while you think or control how it rolls down the flipper and when you want to give it a good flick so it gets some air.

Get a Feel for the Unique Game

There are certain basic rules you can follow but, whether you're playing online or playing on an arcade machine, every game can be different too. Different playing fields offer different obstacles and can be balanced in varying ways. As much as it's important to work out the general mechanics of pinball, you also need to spend time getting a feel for individual games.

When you're playing online, this includes understanding how the difficulty levels might differ from each other. The mechanics of the ball can work differently when it moves slower or faster, so you can find that moving up or down a difficulty level means you need to adjust how you're playing. Eventually, you can start to get an instinct for what you should do next.

Play Pinball in "Real Life"

Another way to practice your game is to seek out a real pinball machine. It's definitely not essential, but it's a fun way to play the game more. You can find that playing on an arcade machine helps improve your online playing, and vice versa. Try searching for arcades, bars, or other locations that might offer a machine for you to try. Some might be better maintained than others, and some could be more popular than others too. If it's a busy place, be prepared to wait your turn.

Set Yourself Goals

You can just go into a pinball game with no real direction. Focusing on just hitting the ball and seeing what happens might help you get comfortable with how it works. But, eventually, if you want to improve your skills, you should be more purposeful in your actions. Instead of just trying to keep the ball in the air, try to aim to hit certain targets and get specific results.

The missions on our online pinball games are excellent for this. They give you goals to aim for so that you can build your score with multipliers. Complete each mission one by one to collect achievements. Remember you can pause the game by clicking on the home icon, giving you a chance to remind yourself of the different missions.

Start Playing Online Pinball

The best way to start playing online pinball is to just jump into a game. Choose your difficulty level and start playing.

The object of pinball is to use the flippers to try and score as many points as possible before losing the ball. Each pinball feature contains a different point value that adds to your total.

Please Note: After a ball is launched into the playfield, a “shoot again” light will flash between the flippers. If the current ball is lost while the “shoot again” light is visible, a new ball will automatically be launched from the plunger without affecting the balls remaining. Enjoy pinball, today!

Complete all five 24/7 Pinball missions listed below. Each time the set is completed, all features on the playfield will reset and a multiplier will be added to the player’s score — 2x, 3x, 4x, etc. The player’s current multiplier will be shown, in the right bottom corner, next to the score.

Missions

1. Hold ‘em Showdown
   Each time the Texas Hold ‘em ramp is hit, a light on the playfield shines and another community card will be revealed. Hit the Hold ‘em ramp 3 times to fully construct your five-card poker hand and advance to the Spin and Win Slot Machine.
2. Spin And Win
   Shoot the ball underneath the slot machine to spin and win. A light on the playfield will shine each time the ball passes under the slot machine. 4 successful shots will fully light up the slot machine and prompt you to head to the casino cashier to “chip up” — indicated by a flashing arrow.
3. Roll A Hot Streak
   Upon landing in the cashier scoop, you will be ready to roll a hot streak. A flashing light on the playfield will activate and a multi-ball session will begin. Keep your hot streak going as long as possible by hitting the red dice ramp until all of the multi-balls are lost. Upon losing the last multi-ball, your original ball will release from the cashier scoop and you’ll head to the Lucky Sevens Jackpot.
4. Lucky Sevens Jackpot
   Hit each of the 6 Lucky Seven drop targets before visiting the casino cashier. A light on the playfield will shine in front of each target after it has been hit. Upon knocking down all 6 targets, a flashing arrow will prompt you to head to the casino cashier.
5. Cash Out
   Upon landing in the cashier scoop, a multi-ball session will begin. A light on the playfield will shine in front of the cash out button. Hit the cash out button as many times as possible to let your winnings rain down. Once all of the multi-balls are lost, the ball will release from the cashier scoop, the playfield will be reset, and a multiplier will be added to your score.

DISCLAIMER: The games on this website are using PLAY (fake) money. No payouts will be awarded, there are no "winnings", as all games represented by 247 Games LLC are free to play. Play strictly for fun.