The zen of playing Nintendo 'Pinball'

Sometimes, it’s the simple games that are the most enjoyable.

Think about “Tetris” for a moment. The game is perhaps the perfect video game because of its simplicity and how only player’s skill determines its difficulty curve. “Tetris” is a game that will be enjoyed for generations to come.

Another game that hits that same skill and difficulty point is Nintendo’s “Pinball.” It was recently released as part of the Nintendo Switch’s Nintendo Entertainment System game library last week, which is how it caught my attention. The game was originally released in 1984 for Nintendo’s Famicom in Japan and was a North American launch title for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1985. There have been many other video games based on pinball over the years, almost all of them better at replicating the pinball experience or merging the concepts of video games and pinball, but the simple charm “Pinball” has makes it worth playing a few rounds today. The game features one table divided into two screens, as well as a bonus game starting when the ball enters a specific hole. There are a couple of ramps on the upper screen that give score bonuses and activate an animation of two seals juggling balls or a target that tasks a player with matching either threes, sevens or penguins for an additional bonus.

On the lower screen, there are some bumpers, a series of five cards that are overturned when the ball passes through a chute that eventually reveal a royal flush and some eggs that when hatched, create bumpers to keep the ball in play if it falls into one of the far gutters. The bonus game features Mario holding a platform used to hit targets and cut away at a bridge holding Pauline (the woman Mario rescues in “Donkey Kong”). Catching Pauline after she falls awards a bonus while failing to do so ends the bonus game immediately.

That’s all there is to it. The game is incredibly easy to learn as the controls only involve the flippers and moving Mario left and right. That’s the joy of a simple game, it really is as easy to pick up and play as an actual pinball machine and that is what has kept me coming back for a few quick rounds here and there over the last week. I don’t have to focus on learning a whole control scheme, just focus on timing and curse the moments when I wasn’t fast enough to catch the ball with a flipper.

It really is a nice change of pace when you’re looking to enjoy a simple game for a short round or two.