Pinball FX is back and more modern than ever, you can check out our full review soon, but with 86 tables available at launch, it would cost a small fortune to own them all, so we’ve had had our hands on every single table and awarded each table and bundle a score out of 10 to give you an instant idea of what tables we enjoyed the most and clicking the price will take you to the relevant bundle on xbox.com.
There’s also the Pinball Pass which gives access to over 70 tables for a limited time, with 1 month costing 150 pinball coins (£12.49) and an entire year costing 1200 Pinball Coins (£83.49), but that’s an expensive way to be left without any extra tables when your subscription ends.
With the introduction over, it’s time to release that plunger and take a look at every table available at launch of Pinball FX 2023.
Zen Originals Collection (£13.24) (9/10)
The originals collection pack is available for the handsome price of £13.24, that’s a pretty good deal for 7 tables giving an average of less than £2 per table.
Best of all there’s a great selection of tables with plenty of variety, making this my top choice from all of the available bundles.
Son of Zeus (9/10)
Son of Zeus is a small closed table that’s relatively easy to play, there’s only one obstacle on the right that can be annoying, but concentrating on keeping the ball left will quickly rack up some decent scores. there’s some great animations, audio is great and overall it’s one of the most fun to play tables.
Adventure Land (7.5/10)
Adventure land is packed with detail, at first glance it looks impressive but slightly convoluted with 8-9 lanes at the top which means their narrow width leaves plenty of balls bouncing back off the joining walls. With a little practice, you’ll soon get used to it, but there is a learning curve with this one, work beyond that and it’s ultimately a fun and rewarding table.
Castle Storm (7/10)
Castle storm is an impressive looking table that’s not quite as impressive to play, it’s decent enough but with some funny angles on otherwise well-placed ramps, I spent far too much time unsure of where the ball was going, rather than being able to judge its movement towards, or even away from the flippers.
there’s a fun side-table mini-game, and some easy to hit Jackpots, but it’s not quite as fun as other tables in this bundle.
BioLab (7.5/10)
BioLab looks a little confusing at first, but straight away you’ll find targets easy to hit, and everything from bonuses, objectives and the skill shot all easy to understand, meaning you’ll be hitting multi-balls in no time at all, there’s a nice learning curve as the better jackpots will take some practice (as they should) but overall BioLab is a fantastic table, which plays far better than it initially looks.
Pasha (7/10)
Another table that feels fun to play, but the angle of two of the main ramps make them difficult to consistently hit, when you have a good run, you’ll start to get a few jackpots and an impressive 3-ball multi-ball, but I found the ball bouncing off those ramps more than up them a little too often to enjoy this table consistently.
Rome (7.5/10)
Rome is another one of those tables where the ball always seems to go somewhere, great lane placement means you’re constantly hitting lanes and orbits, but many of the challenges and jackpots require a little more finesse, making this a great game for all skill levels.
Secrets of the Deep (7/10)
Certainly not a bad table, but the lane layout just feels a little unnatural and you’ll find the ball bouncing back towards the flippers without a score a little too often, there’s a mini-table top right which will works well, but a little too much emphasis is placed in this area, which requires a camera angle change to use most effectively.
Zen Originals: Secrets & Shadows (£12.49) (8/10)
Secrets & Shadows reverts to the usual price of about £4 per table, thankfully the overall bundle is great quality with Curse of the Mummy and Sky Pirates comfortably among my favourite tables, making this bundle well worth considering
Curse of the Mummy (9/10)
Curse of the Mummy is one of my favourite tables, a large open lower area, two small mini-tables at the top, and lots of open lanes make this fun to play, with plenty of high-scores, jackpots and minigames to enjoy, there’s also some great animations and effects which make this easy to recommend.
Pinball Noir (7.5/10)
Another good table with a large spinning target which becomes the centre of play and allows for fairly easy multi-ball chances, sound and animations aren’t quite on par with Curse of the Mummy or Sky Pirates, but it’s still a fun table to play.
Sky Pirates: treasures of the clouds (8/10)
First impressions of Sky Pirates weren’t the best but after a few attempts, multi-balls and jackpots where flying like the pirates, there’s also some good animations and mini-games which make this another great table.
Other Zen Classics
The following 3 Zen Classics are available separately…
Grimm Tales (£4.19) (8.5/10)
Grim Tales is another fun table that’s easy to play and rewarding for a good run, it has a nice open lower area and plenty of clear and easy to hit lines and targets, I managed to hit multi-balls with ease, racking up jackpots and scores in the tens of millions, helps by some great narration and effects, it’s definitely one of the better tables I’ve encountered.
Wrath of the Elder Gods (£4.19) (6.5/10)
Wrath of the Elder Gods looks great, has some easy to hit lines, and makes multi-ball and special bonus games, relatively easy to achieve, sounds good animations are great, but it’s let down by a few lines dispatching the ball at a really awkward angle to control and the far left gutter killing off your ball far too often to feel fair.
Wild West Rampage (Free) (9/10)
As you might expect with Pinball FX’s free table, it’s high quality, easy to play with great animations and sounds, giving players plenty of enjoyment without unfair ball losses, or an over reliance on multi-balls or jackpots, while still giving enough of both for the more advanced players.
If only every table was of the same quality.
Dreamworks Pinball (£12.49) (6.5/10)
Another triple pack, this time filled with three popular franchises from Dreamworks, unfortunately, unlike Zen Classics and the Secrets and shadows bundles, there’s just not enough quality here to justify over £4 per table, if this bundle was £9, it’d be easier to recommend, but at £12.49 its a bundle you should only consider after you’ve got some of the better ones.
How to Train Your Dragon (6.5/10)
How to Train Your Dragon, looks like a good table, but I just couldn’t get to grips with it, lines where difficult to hit with any consistency making the unique spinning area at the top barely touched, and bonus features few and far between, a few unfair ball losses, and annoying sound clips made it not worth the torture to learn the table effectively enough to find those jackpots.
Trolls (7/10)
Trolls instantly reminded me of Garfield with quite an open play area, and plenty of clearly marked lines, fortunately they’re equally easy to hit, leading to some decent scores without too much trouble, I didn’t have any major issues with balls getting loss due to the table (and not my error) so it’s easy to recommend, but the glitter filled sparkly Trolls might not be to everyone’s liking.
Kung Fu Panda: (7/10)
Kung-Fu Panda is a colourful table, with clearly marked lines and plenty of opportunit to hit multi-balls and jackpots, the downside is the two ramps are hard to hit consistently and balls got unfairly lost down the sides a little too often, making Kung-Fu Panda a fun table when in full flow, but frustrating far too often.
Gearbox Pinball (£12.49) (7/10)
Another licensed bundle of three maps, with the average price of just over £4 per map, this time popular Gearbox franchises arrive on Pinball FX. While it’s a high quality bundle, I just didn’t enjoy these tables as much as many, so while you probably wouldn’t regret adding these to your roster, you may wish you’d looked elsewhere first.
Homeworld (7/10)
Homeworld is a pretty unique table, with plenty of achievable mini-games, decent effects and animations with a high skill ceiling, meaning you’re likely to enjoy it more the longer you spend with it. I wasn’t great at it, but at 42 my reactions aren’t what they used to be.
Brothers in Arms (7.5/10)
Another table that got better the more time I spent with it, the defence Multi-ball bonus was fairly easy to achieve and with some great effects and animations it was a fun and enjoyable map. A few of the lanes were a little tough to hit and a couple of good runs stopped short because of unfair losses down the side.
Borderlands (7/10)
A fun table with plenty to please anyone who’s ever played a Borderlands game, there’s a nice flow to play, but it’s mostly centralised around the central area knocking down enemies and collecting loot. Great audio and presentation with some good animations, but a few too many lost balls down the sides stop this being a higher score.
Hasbro Pinball
My Little Pony (£4.59) (7/10)
It’s almost a shame that this table has bright pink ponies and high pitch narration, because it will put a lot of people off. But as a pinball table it’s pretty fun to play, with some great bonuses and effects. There was a few unfair ball losses, but it was mostly enjoyable.
Marvel Pinball Collection (£19.99) (7/10)
It’s hard to argue with the value of 11 tables for £19.99, that’s less than £2 per table, sadly there’s some inconsistent tables, and while Fantastic Four and Blade really stood out for me, there were a few too many that didn’t make the mark..
X-Men (7/10)
X-Men looks like a great table and has good presentation and a nice variation of characters and bonus runs, but with steep ramps, some awkward angled lines and a few too many losses down the sides, the table struggled to really flow, but it’s still well worth consideration for the overall presentation and bonus access.
Doctor Strange (6.5/10)
Not a bad table, but it felt very inconsistent, one minute I was struggling to get anywhere, missing every shot possible, then I was hitting a few bonus games, making some shots and still ending up with less points than a bad run. Animation and sound is decent, but a few too many lost balls out of my control hurt the overall enjoyment.
Fantastic Four (9/10)
Fantastic Four is fantastic table, that remains fun and consistent for all skill levels, it only took a few attempts and I was running parallel bonuses with 4 balls flying around simultaneously, and thanks to some great lane placement, those multi-balls last longer than usually allowing you to build some impressive scores, best of all it’s a fair table with very few ball losses out of your control
Ghost Rider (7/10)
Ghost Rider is an impressive looking table, with some easy to hit lines and achievable bonuses, unfortunately a few too many losses were out of my control, and the table can be quite distracting. It’s not a bad table, but it’s not the best.
Captain America (6/10)
A table that struggles to flow due to the mostly used central area doing little other than frustrating you, most lines are along the sides which prove difficult to hit consistently, and while there’s some nice presentation, it’s just not a table I enjoyed playing.
Blade (8.5/10)
Blade is another table I thoroughly enjoyed, good all-round presentation, easy to hit lines and plenty of bonuses to work towards. There was a handful of unavoidable ball losses, but that doesn’t prevent Blade from being a great all-round table
Moon Knight (7.5/10)
Moon Knight is another fun table that is let down a little by the distracting colour scheme and a few hard to hit lines, otherwise it’s well presented with a decent flow. I do feel with patience and practice this would be even more enjoyable as you got used to the 4 main quests..
Spider-man: (7/10)
Spiderman is its own worst enemy, trying too hard to be an action-packed table, it feels a bit of a convoluted mix or good and bad. You’ll have a few good runs which are fun and will bring you back for more, but you’re just as likely to lose the ball down the side or miss a shot with so many distractions on screen.
Thor: (7/10)
Another table I enjoyed playing, but struggled with a few consistency issues, one central ramp is at an awkward angle to hit consistently well, and a few losses where uncontrollable, it’s definitely a playable table, but could have been much better.
Wolverine: (7/10)
Wolverine feels different to most other tables in this pack as it’s got quite a basic and dated feel, that’s certainly not a bad thing and with easy to hit lanes, you’ll find yourself building up scores quite nicely, sadly a few unavoidable side losses, prevent Wolverine from a higher score.
The Invincible Iron Man (6/10)
Iron Man is a table that started off feeling quite similar to Wolverine, but with a few distracting animations, and the ball spending far too much time bouncing around mid-table without any real purpose, it ends up feeling like one of the least enjoyable tables in this bundle
Paramount Pinball
World War Z (£4.59) (7.5/10)
Another quality table that’s a little tough to get to grips with, but has plenty of fun minigames and bonuses, and a nice mixture of easy and more difficult lanes.
Not quite as high in presentation as some tables, but still among the better tables available.
Peanuts Pinball
Snoopy (£4.59) (6/10)
Snoopy shares a lot of similarities with the Garfield table, with plenty of clearly marked lanes and a mostly open lower area, so fans of the Garfield table are likely to enjoy this one.
For me, I found Snoopy a little less enjoyable, and in a choice between the two, Charlie Brown and his dog would take second place.
Star Wars Pinball Collection 1 (£19.99) (7.5/10)
Another high-value bundle with 10 tables included for £20, at £2 per table it’s great value, with a good selection of good tables, without many really great ones.
Star Wars fans will be pleased with the selection, sure there’s no real stand out performer, but there’s also nothing bad either, making this a worthwhile bundle to consider.
Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (7/10)
A decent table that suits the Star-Wars theme perfectly with some good animations and great sound, with lots of easy to hit lines it can be fun, but it’s let down by some awkward play in the centre which is unpredictable, and a few too many balls getting lost down the left side.
Darth Vadar (7/10)
A mixed table with plenty of easy-to-access lines. You’re likely to have one game where every shot hits a line perfectly, but unfortunately you’re just as likely to have one where you’re constantly bouncing off a wall between lines, certainly not a bad table, just a few awkwardly placed obstacles stop it flowing better.
Starfighter Assault (6.5/10)
Starfighter Assault is quite a unique table which has a long open central area with lines off to each side, unfortunately it’s let down by too much emphasis on this centre space, and not enough free-flowing scores. For the first time after trying dozens of tables, the background music was really distracting on this table.
Han solo: (6/10)
Not a bad table, but a centre-right ramp causes more troubles than it’s worth and constantly breaks the flow of the game, add to this the mos Cantina music gets a little grating after a few attempts, and what starts as an accurate nod to Han Solo soon becomes mildy frustrating.
Droids: (7/10)
Droids offered plenty of accessible lines with two left orbits that kept the ball flowing well, decent animations and sound where all positives, but one centre-right section proved a hinderance and stopped me wanting to spend too much time with an otherwise fun machine.
Episode IV – A new Hope: (7.5/10)
A basic looking table that gets better the more you play, good animations and attention to detail, and a fun 4-ball multi-ball was soon followed by jackpots, but I just didn’t get the fluidity found in other tables.
Masters of the Force (7/10)
Another enjoyable table, that flows quite well with lots of easy to hit lines, but the offset layout can be a little disorientating. While I wasn’t very good at this table, it was still quite fun to play, but wouldn’t be near many of the better tables I’ve played.
The Clone Wars (7.5/10)
Clone Wars wasn’t a table that immediately grabbed me with fancy visuals, but once you start playing it’s a fun fluent table with lots of easy to access lines and only a few unfair lost prevent it from being among the better tables I’ve played.
Boba Fett (8/10)
Boba Fett is a fun table where the ball always seems to hit a line, I found the overall feel and presentation a little clunky, but beneath the convoluted exterior there was a fun, fluent table with plenty of opportunity to rack up the millions.
Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (7.5)
Another fun table that has some good missions and the large central area might feel annoying at first, but proves to be a easy way to access various quests and bonuses, certainly not my favorite table, but it’s one of the better offerings in this bundle
Star Wars: Pinball Collection 2 (£19.99) (8.5/10)
Another massive Star Wars collection, this time offering 9 tables, You might be forgiven for thinking this isn’t as good value as Collection 1 giving 10 tables for the same price, but Star Wars Collection 2 isn’t just the best Star Wars Bundle,
The Force Awakens (7/10)
Force Awakens is a fairly fun table, with some easy to open bonus missions, overall very good presentation with accurate details, music and sound effects, the central unit can be a little annoying but once you get to grips with it, you’ll be unlocking those missions in no time at all.
The downside is, far too often, balls wher elost because of the table (sides) and not my own lack of reactions.
Might of the First order (8.5/10)
I thoroughly enjoyed playing Might of the First Order, the overall presentation is great, there’s a nice mix of easy targets and more difficult ramps and the table holds a nice consistency with very few balls lost to the sides meaning I only had my own aging reactions to blame.
Definitely one of my favourite Star Wars tables.
The Last Jedi (8/10)
Another very impressive table, which feels quite closed, with a strong central play area, but as you get used to opening the bonus scenes and exploring the top of the map and two mini-tables, you’ll like this table the more you play. Once again more high-quality presentation and minimal unfair losses make this another great table
Anch-To Island (7/10)
Anch-To is a confusing table with promise, when you first play you’ll find most of the play around the central spinning disk at the top of the table, with a couple of hard-to-hit ramps either side, at first it’s pretty infuriating, but once you get used to utilising the extra flippers, you’ll be able to access a few bonuses which makes the table more enjoyable, Anch-To is unlikely to leave a smile on your face for the first few games, but as you learn the table, there’s a nice steady challenge.
Solo (6.5/10)
Solo isn’t a bad table, it’s consistent without many infair ball losses, has decent animations and you’ll usually be able to hit a few bonuses, but the over emphasis on the central area with a figure of eight merging two lanes either side of the ship-centrepiece, just leaves the table feeling a little dull and repetitive.
Calrissian Chronicles (8.5/10)
At first glance Calrissian Chronicles isn’t going to be winning any awards for best looking theme or fancy animations, but as soon as you start to play it’s a different story, every shot seems to hit a line, there’s a great mixture of loops and targets and the table flows really well, it’s also easy to get a second ball active and even a fantastic 4 ball multi-ball only took me a few attempts, it’s also incredibly consistent and it took me over half-a-dozen games before I finally lost a ball for any reason other than my own stupid fault.
Battle of Mimban (7/10)
Mimban is another table that starts off poorly but get’s better as you progress, thankfully the great animations and effects help hold your attention. the initially Awkard obstacles soon make way for some fun multi-ball action, but it’s just a challenge of patience getting to that point everytime so balls aren’t bouncing back all the time,
Rogue One (9/10)
Rogue One is a well-designed, good looking and fun table that offers a main centre-piece that changes as you progress, it does a great job of making the table feel mundane and provides a rewarding and achievable challenge before you even get to the main missions.
Easy to recommend even for players who aren’t a big fan of Star Wars.
Star Wars Rebels (5.5/10)
Rebels is a table I just didn’t enjoy from start to finish, awkward hard to accurately hit ramps on the left mean most of the gameplay centralises around two bland central targets and watching the ball regularly drop down the sides. While it’s relatively easy to build up a multi-ball, or open one of the special bonus missions, as fun as these parts might be, it just doesn’t make up for an otherwise bland and infuriating table.
Star Wars: Thrill of the Hunt (£8.39) (6/10)
The third Star wars bundle bumps the price to over £4 per table, While Madalorian isn’t terrible, Classic Collectables just wasn’t for me, which at £8.39 for only two tables, it makes this bundle hard to recommend.
The Mandalorian (7/10)
The Mandalorian is a decent open map with some great animations, but a few lanes are tough to access making gameplay feel a little frustrating overall, with a little practice you’ll get much more from the table, but it does take more getting used to than many tables.
Classic Collectables: (5.5/10)
Sadly while Classic Collectables are extremely unique, you’ll find it’s more of an advanced table, requiring perfect precision on narrow-angle shots, which for most players, isn’t enjoyable.
It’s easier to miss a lane than hit it thanks to large surrounding guards and while you can have a good flurry, more often than not you’re left frustrated with the layout of the table.
Universal Classics Pinball (£8.39) (7.5)
Another triple pack of licensed franchises, this time from Univeral, at a lower price than some of the above bundles, giving an average price of £2.80 per table, but let’s take a closer look at what they are.
The Universal Classics bundle is a nice mixture of tables. The well know franchises are likely to help with enjoyment, but with a range of table styles, and varied challenges across all three tables, this is probably one of the better bundles you could buy.
Back to the Future (8/10)
Back to the future is a fairly welcoming table that’s easy to get the hang of.
The main lanes are fairly easy to hit which means you’ll soon be scoring in the millions. there’s a good variation of animations, sounds aren’t bad (just a few repetitive soundbites) and you’ll find yourself achieving multi-balls and jackpots without too much practice, the downside is, it’s quite a closed table, so don’t expect those multi-balls to last too long.
Jaws (6.5/10)
Jaws is quite different to Back to the future, it’s an open table, but targets are a little harder to hit accurately, which means achieving a multi-ball or jackpot is going to take you longer, with early scores likely to be in the low millions, there’s still some impressive sections such as night’ when you have a spotlight for guidance, possibly the least fun of the three tables, but thats mostly down to it being the most challenging.
ET (7.5/10)
The third table in the Universal Classics pack is E.T, like Jaws, this table is quite open, but in contract most of the lanes and targets are easy to hit, especially the main central ramp and the spacecraft on the right that opens up a number of extras such as guiding your pinball through a cornfield to collect tokens. It’s fun and easy to get to grips with giving you a solid sense of achievement within your first few attempts.
Jurassic World Pinball (£8.39) (6.5/10)
Universal maintain the value triple packs, this time with three tables from the Jurassic Park/World movies. Not quite as appealing as having three well know franchises, but fans of Jurassic Park will find plenty to sink their prehistoric teeth into.
The Jurassic World Pinball bundle certainly isn’t the worst addition to Pinball FX, but other choices will provide more enjoyment.
The main Jurassic World table was by far my favorite, and it’s just a shame that none of the other two were as fun or accessible as that one.
Jurassic world (7.5/10)
Jurassic World is a great start to the bundle with a detailed table, packed with lanes to aim for on the right and a more closed section on the left, targets where easy to hit, and while I wasn’t racking up noticeable jackpots or multi-balls, I was getting decent scores frequently.
Jurassic Park (6.5/10)
Jurassic Park Pinball is a decent themed table with some nice animations, but I just didn’t enjoy playing it as much, it’s quite closed table, targets and lanes are easy to hit, but scores just aren’t as generous even after a really good patch. It’s not a bad table, but in both fun and presentation it’s not a patch on Jurassic World.
Jurassic Park – pinball Mayhem (6.5/10)
Jurassic Park: Pinball Mayhem shares a little in common with the other Jurassic Park table, it’s not as rewarding to play at Jurassic World, and while I’d put Mayhem 2nd place ahead of Jurassic Park, there’s still quite a gap, you’re likely to hit a few bonuses and rack up 10-20m within a few attempts, but there’s some annoying sections such as a large panel on the left, and the ball popping up right next to your bumpers, with kill the enjoyment.
Williams Pinball Collection 1 (£19.99) (8/10)
Another high value bundle, with the Willaims Collection 1 offering an impressive 9 tables…
As with most bundles, there’s some strong tables and some not so great, but with fantastic additions such as Medieval Madness, Attack from Mars and Theatre of Magic this bundle still proves a great value bundle.
The Getaway – High Speed II (7.5/10)
Getaway is a nice authentic table, with some easy to hit lanes, opening up the chance to hit multiple bonuses and jackpots with relative ease, as with most of the authentic tables, Getaway tips a little more to pinball than just video game, but it’s one table that is still fun for newcomers.
Junk Yard (6.5/10)
Just Yard is quite an open table, with a lot of lines at the very far end, when flowing well, it’s a fun enough table, where you’re tasked with collecting junk to boost your bonus, but I found a few too many balls dropping between the flippers, I’m not sure if it was the awkward angle the ball picked up high up the table, or the distraction of the centre table being dark with lights around the edges, but I just couldn’t enjoy Junk Yard.
Medieval Madness: (9/10)
Medieval Madness answered every criticism I have about authentic tables, The view allowed good judgement over the entire table, which was packed with detail but not too crammed with lights and obstacles the ball losses didn’t feel unfair, animations and effects were impressive, and lines where easy to hit with rewarding scores and bonuses time after time. There’s no surprise that Medieval Madness is classed as one of the greatest pinball tables of all time by pinball enthusiasts.
Black Rose (5.5/10)
Black Rose is an older Pinball machine from 1992, and sadly it’s pretty apparent, a few fancy animations and effects don’t stop the dated layout and poor sound from ruining what’s otherwise quite a unique table.
As with all authentic tables, there could be a sentimental reason if you’ve enjoyed the table in real life, but if you’re just a Pinball FX gamer, looking for some nice tables, this is one you can safely avoid.
Attack from Mars (8/10)
Attack from Mars has a similar flow to Medieval Madness, where you’ll be concentrating mostly on a central target, the presentation and overall feel of the table wasn’t quite as fluent as Medieval Madness, but it’s still a thoroughly enjoyable table .
The Party Zone (6/10)
Another table from the early 90’s Party Zone isn’t a bad table, but in an attempt to modernise it, there’s an annoying animated guy riding a rocket that does nothing more than cause an unwanted distraction, I also found more balls lost to the sides than usual, making Party Zone tough to recommend.
Theatre of Magic (8/10)
Theatre of Magic from the mid 90’s makes a nice addition to Pinball FX, modern effects don’t detract from the authenticity of the table and bonuses are easy to hit thanks to some well-placed lines and an overall nice flow to the machine, there was a few lost balls down the sides, but it was mostly a fun and consistent table.
Safe Cracker (7/10)
When it flows well, Safe Cracker is a fun and rewarding table, but unfortunately due to the central obstacle, far too many balls dropped perfectly central and the shorter than normal flippers where little help in my aging hands, Still not a bad experience and I was consistently able to hit some decent bonuses including the fun safe mini-game, but it could have been so much better.
Champion Pub (7.5/10)
Champion Pub from the late 90’s is a fun table, with plenty of bonuses and easy to hit lanes, it doesn’t need flashy special effects and modern animations, making this a great authentic table that’s fun to play,
I wasn’t very good at it, but you’ll find accessing the fights (bonuses) are relatively straight forward, making this a good all-round table regardless of your skill level.
The following three tables (White Water, Red & Ted’s Road Show and Hurrican, are listed as being in this bundle on the xbox.com listing, however in game they are marked as Colelciton 2
Williams Pinball Collection 2 (£19.99) (7/10)
It’s not a bad bundle at all, but I feel the overall value of Collection 1 is much better, with some real high quality machines. Tales of Arabian Nights and No Good Gofers are great machines, but those two alone don’t quite justify £20 for the pack.
White Water: (6/10)
White Water has great a nice layout, but I found the lanes consistently hard to hit, when you got a nice flow things started to look up, but you’d soon be bouncing off joining sections and losing the ball unfairly, which made it ultimately a disappointing table.
Red & Ted’s Road Show (7/10)
Red & Ted’s Road Show mostly plays really well, with some great lines at the top and regular bonuses, I found the attempt at modernisation adding an animated JCS on the right was more of a distraction and a few too many balls would fall dead centre out of reach of the flippers, but with a little more practice, Red & Ted could easily offer hours of enjoyable gameplay.
Hurricane (5.5/10)
Unfortunately, I really didn’t enjoy Hurricane, while there was an occasionally nice flow to play, all too often the ball was bouncing back or failing to make it up a ramp and the few times you did get a steady flow, the ball would end up falling down the side unfairly ending play.
Cirqus Voltaire (7/10)
Cirqus Voltaire is a fun table that has a nice open area with a lot of play at the top of the table, but a lot of annoying losses right between the flippers, stopped me from enjoying the table as much as I should with some fun and fairly easy to access bonuses and mini-games.
Tales of the Arabian Nights (8/10)
Arabian Nights is a fun table that’s easy to play and offered up plenty of bonuses without too many troubles, the modernisation mostly works well, but there’s a few special effects that can be a little distracting, but it’s a fun table, that offers enough instant success for newcomers and enough challenge for the more experienced.
No Good Gofers (8/10)
No Good Gofers is a fun, colourful table with a few modernisations which aren’t distracting at all, thanks to the large central target, it’s easy to work through a couple of bonuses, and there’s nice flow to gameplay on what’s mostly a consistent table.
Like many of these authentic tables, balls seem to get lost down the centre, but that’s as much my own reactions than a problem with the table.
Fun House (6.5/10)
Fun House isn’t a terrible table, but I really struggled to find any flow, due to it playing quite quickly and bonuses seem pretty random and balls were constantly lost down the middle.
With a little practice, it could improve, but I just didn’t enjoy it enough to want to put that extra time into it.
Space Station (6/10)
Space Station is a 1987 Pinball machine which obviously feels as dated as it sounds, great for nostalgia, but not the best for gamers looking for fun and exciting tables.
There’s a large open area, minimal lines and ramps and a central angled obstacle that constantly disrupts any flow and when you do get the ball around the top of the table, you can’t see what’s happening.
Dr Dude & his Excellent Ray (7/10)
Dr Dude is a fun table with great visuals for a 1990 table, there’s lots of potential, but I found the flow broken by a central target that seemed to get hit every other shot, what’s worst is more often than not the ball would drop very centrally making it awkward to keep alive.
Universal Monsters Pack (£5.79) (8/10)
For fans of authentic machines, the Universal Monster Pack doesn’t quite offer the same value as the above Williams Collections, but you’re still getting two tables for less than £6 and both are high quality and enjoyable additions.
Monster Bash (8/10)
Monster Bash is an open, high-speed table that takes a little getting used to, but once you get the hang of the ball routes, you’ll soon move from scoring 1-2 million up to 10-20m with relative ease.
it’s a fun table, with some nice animations, made even more enjoyable by the overall bundle value.
The Creature from the Black Lagoon (7.5/10)
Another fun table, doesn’t quite match Monster Bash for overall enjoyment, lanes are well placed and can be hit consistently, making this a nice table that’s likely to provide plenty of entertainment,
Other Williams Tables
The Willaims tables are authentic recreations of real-life machines, and while they’re appealing to hardcore pinball users, most “gamers” aren’t as bothered and will be just as happy with a digital creation that’s more fun and accessible.
the real downside is some of these single tables, cost more than bundles of 2-3, so tread with care.
Swords of Fury (£4.59) (6.5/10)
As for presentation Swords of Fury might not meet the layout, colours or clarity of Bride of Pinbot, World Cup Soccer, Adams Family or Indiana Jones and audio sounds non-existent at times. However as a fun pinball table, Swords of Fury sits beside World Cup Soccer as one of the most enjoyable to play from this section. You won’t be smashing tens of millions every other game, but when you get into a good flow, with a few multi-balls active you’ll soon see yourself climbing the leaderboards.
The Machine – Bride of Pinbot (£4.59) (6/10)
Bride of Pinbot is one machine I was looking forward to playing the most, after the original NES game Pin Bot was the first digital pinball game to really grab my attention.
Over 30 years later the nostalgia isn’t quite strong enough to make the Bride of Pin Bot quite as memorable, there’s often a nice flow to play with orbits keeping the ball in a nice rhythm, If you’re after an authentic table for less than £5, then it might be worth your time, but there’s more enjoyable tables available.
World Cup Soccer (£8.39) (6.5/10)
One of three tables costing more than £5 for a single table, World Cup Soccer is the table based on the 1994 World Cup in the USA, It’s quite a fun table, which held my attention well but it gets a full point docked for the poor value, with 86 tables in total, there’s really no reason to spend £8+ on a single table.
The Addams Family (£8.39) (6.5/10)
Adam’s family might just have an argument for the £8 price tag, as it’s the best selling pinball table of all time, but it still gets a full point docked when there’s so many great tables available at a much more reasonable price, and being completely honest, I just didn’t enjoy Adams Family as much as many other tables.
Indiana Jones (£12.49) (5/10)
Indianna Jones might be regarded as a great pinball tables in real-life, but the digital recreation just didn’t do it for me. It felt inconsistent and unfair and lanes weren’t easy to hit regularly.
Add to this the £12+ price-tag, and there’s no way I could recommend this table.
If you’re a fant of Authentic tables, check out the Williams Collections where you’ll find some better tables, and plenty of others at a lower price than picking up Indiana Jones & Adams Family.
Nickelodeon Pinball
Garfield (£4.59) (6.5/10)
Garfield is a fairly simple table with lots of clearly marked and open lanes to aim for, they’re quite narrow, but thanks to an easy bumper bonus which awards increasing points on any-lit target, you’ll soon be racking up the millions, unfortunately though it all felt a little too relaxed and the balls seem to fall down the gutter or out of reach of the flippers a little too often.
That concludes our round-up of every table in Pinball FX 2023, at launch.
Anyone looking to add a few tables without the Pinball Pass, our top picks are…
- Zen Originals Collection (£13.24) (9/10)
A great selection of 7 tables which offer a great variety of themes and styles. - Star Wars: Pinball Collection 2 (£19.99) (8.5/10)
Another fantastic bundle, offering 9 tables, more likely to appeal to Star Wars fans, but you’ll find a great selection of tables, with only 1I really didn’t enjoy. - Williams Pinball Collection 1 (£19.99) (8/10)
A variety of authentic tables, including the fantastic Medieval Madness
About Author
1 thought on “Pinball FX 2023: First Impressions of Every Table”
Comments are closed.