In 1942, New York City Mayor Fiorello Henry LaGuardia tried to stop it but couldn't.
In 1969, The Who centered their rock opera around it and succeeded in glorifying it.Today, its popularity swells with the latest technology and innovative advance, including massive popularity in the personal computer gaming market and tips from the Internet.
Pinball, much like rock 'n' roll, will never die, it seems.
And the game that began in 1931 with a crude, coin-operated version that looked a lot like Pachinko is carving new niches well into the next 100 years.
Now much more than just a passing fancy or an excuse to hoard quarters, pinball is reliving its glory years - and forging new ones - on the Internet, where newsgroups, web pages and resources for fans, collectors and novices abound.
Names like Bally, Gottlieb and Genco forged the way in early years while Williams and Data East have taken the charge to come up with exciting and challenging ways to move that little silver ball around.
As far as the cyber century goes, companies like Interplay, Philips and Maxis are leading the charge in CD-ROM technology. Luckily, you won't have to spend all your time in the arcade to enjoy these three fantastic digital pinball games - you'll just need a computer.
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One of the most imaginative and challenging pinball games out there, 3-D Ultra Pinball takes digital pinball action and combines it with the challenge of space-age development, where the ultimate goal is to build a space colony. Add several levels of goals and challenges and you get a great play.
Among the features are blowing up bulldozers, taking the ball on a hang-gliding ride and taking out comets with a laser. Although it is intriguing and enterprising, purists will probably shun the game because of its bells and whistles.
But try the multi-table challenges, where 3-D Ultra Pinball puts three playing fields on the screen at once. Get past the barriers to the right or left table and play multiball on all three tables. Also, as many as four players can compete at any one time.
Minimum requirements - PC: 486SX/33, Windows 3.1; Mac: 68030, System 7.0; Both platforms require 8MB RAM, 10 MB disk space, CD-ROM and VGA monitor. Suggested price: $45. Ages: 9 and up. Contact: Sierra On-Line, (800) 757-7707; P.O. Box 85006, Bellevue, WA 98015-8506; or on the World Wide Web (http://www.sierra.com).
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Purists, rejoice. This game is for you. All the metal, glass and electricity of the real machines is here inside Full Tilt! Pinball. With three separate tables - Space Cadet, Skullduggery and Dragon's Keep - the game creates the fantasy of the old machines in a slick digital domain with each table showcasing its own theme and technique.
Dragon's Keep, on the chivalrous vein of saving maidens and slaying dragons, features a lighted dot-matrix display that mimics the feedback from a real pinball table. Other elements of all three games, including special bonuses, multiball play and tilt control, are also presented. And as many as four players can compete in a game.
Sound effects lend a level of realism that other computer pinball games can't match, including the realistic click and kachunk as the ball rebounds from bumpers or drops a target. Flippers are quick and accurate, and the rendering of the silver ball is as lifelike as you'll find anywhere.
Minimum requirements - PC: 486DX/33, Windows 3.1; Mac: Quadra 650, System 7.0; Both platforms require 8MB of RAM, 23MB disk space, 2X CD-ROM and VGA monitor. Suggested price: $29.95. Ages: 9 and up. Contact: Maxis, (800) 52-MAXIS; 2121 N. California Blvd., Walnut Creek, CA 94596-3572; or on the World Wide Web (http://www.maxis.com).
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Bright moments of Saturday-morning cartoons and a car-ni-val-esque atmosphere bring this digital machine to vibrant life with four tables of targets, bumpers, spinners, ramps and chutes. Psycho Pinball also provides incredible detail, filling an entire screen; problem is, it only shows about one-third of a table at any one time. But the realistic pinball motion and ultra smooth scrolling make up for it.
From the main Psycho Table, you can transport yourself to any of the other three theme tables by activating the gateways with special targets and morphing to the next table.
One of the tables, Wild West, is a frontier-flavored game with ricocheting bullets, exploding barrels of dynamite, and card game attractions. The undersea adventure, called the Abyss, features volcanoes, a shipwreck and assorted watery targets. Trick or Treat is a spooky mix of ghosts, goblins, broom rides, and other things that go bump in the night.
As many as four players can shoot in any one game.
Great sound effects complement the imagination and challenge in this game and it's a perfect introduction to the wonderful world of pinball for the uninitiated.
Minimum requirements - PC: 386DX/33, DOS 5.0, Windows 3.1, 4MB of RAM, 14MB disk space, CD-ROM and VGA monitor. Mac: Unavailable. Suggested price: $29.95. Ages: 9 and up. Contact: Philips Media, (800) 340-7888; 10960 Wil-shire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90024; or on the Web (http://www.philipsmedia.com/media/games).