Pinball machines

Ryan Jones wants you to flip off your video games and get a taste for real, spinning, rattling orbs of steel

NB: You can’t really play by sense of smell

e spooky twist Twilight Zone

‘ is is the dimension of imagination’ is certainly true of this pinball machine, based on the old sci-fi show. Like the series, this game has mysterious forces at play, which influence the ball’s movement. Sceptics say that’s just magnets, but we know better than to question the Twilight Zone. £6997 / gamesroomcompany.com

e all-in-one Multipin Virtual

With around 300 different games on offer and a titchy price compared to most other machines here, you may wonder what the catch is. Any pinball snob will happily tell you it’s in the word ‘Virtual’: those flippers are just a bunch of pixels. Still, games like e Addams Family look convincingly real. £3495 / libertygames.co.uk

e city slicker Dialed In!

Most modern pinball machines are too busy celebrating the good ol’ days to offer anything new. Not so with Dialed In!, which lets you control the flippers with your smartphone and has an in-built camera to capture your beaming grin when you finally beat your kid’s high score. £7995 / pinball.co.uk

e knight shift Medieval Madness

How do you kill a dragon? Forget about swords and magic spells – it turns out a whack from a little ball is the best method of downing those fire-breathing lizards. In fact, with the Medieval Madness machine at your disposal, not even castles and trolls are safe from your catapulting high score. £8995 / libertygames.co.uk

e ball blaster Total Nuclear Annihilation

e threat of a nuclear holocaust doesn’t exactly sound ‘fun’, yet that’s the theme with this machine: the end of the world, but with a funky cyberpunk vibe. It may be a simple game, but that propulsive scoring system will have you sweating like Kennedy during the Cuban Missile Crisis. £tba / spookypinball.com

e horror show Monster Bash

While most people turn to bowls and chess for their retirement, Dracula, Wolfman and e Mummy instead decided to form a band. It’s your job, as pinball wizard, to collect their instruments, assemble the band and get this monster rock show on the road. £6497 / homeleisuredirect.com

e DIY project Makerball

Not a fan of the flashy machines on this list? Go and make your own, then. No, seriously. Makerball sends you a wooden frame and a kit of obstacles all the way from Switzerland to start off your pinball creation. Buy a microcontroller too and you can keep score on a smartphone app. CHF349 (approx £268) / makerball.org

e speed demon Full rottle

With 16 million colours lighting up the board and a number of motorbike races on offer, this machine should come with a heart attack warning. e best feature, though, is the ability to swap out components with ease – in case you took the ‘full throttle’ mentality too far and broke a flipper. £6999 / homeleisuredirect.com