Pinball Dreams

The click of a spring, a ball launched into the playfield and a cacophony of lights and bumpers – Pinball Dreams brought the illusion of a real pinball table straight to your screen, with a realism that earned enthusiastic praise when it first appeared. On the Amstrad CPC, this pinball simulation is a reminder of how addictive well-executed ball physics can be.

The magic of the game lies in the fact that it doesn't simulate fantastical nonsense but behaves like a genuine pinball machine: the ball reacts to the tilt of the table, bounces off bumpers, slips between the flippers, and you try to keep it in play as long as possible while racking up as many points as you can. This fidelity to physics was what set the Pinball Dreams series apart and made it famous.

Each table has its own theme, its own set of targets and ramps, and its own rules for triggering bonuses and multiball. Learning a table's layout, discovering where to aim and how to chain points together, is addictive fun that keeps you coming back for another go – exactly in the spirit of real arcade pinball machines.

Pinball Dreams made its name above all on the Amiga, where it set the bar for pinball games, and its acclaim spread to other platforms as well. Bringing this experience to eight-bit hardware was an ambitious feat, because smooth ball movement and faithful physics placed considerable demands on the machine.

Today it's the ideal title when you want to lose track of time for a few minutes and focus on nothing but the ball, the flippers and your own high score. Pinball is a timeless principle, and Pinball Dreams honours it with due respect.

Why play: For a faithfully crafted pinball simulation that gives you the addictive feel of a real table and an endless chase after a higher score.