Modern Artifacts – The Pinball Machine’s New Life

When we talk about works of art, we tend to think first of historical paintings, jewellery and sculptures. Visits to the world’s major museums occupy a special place in our memories. We follow exhibitions in Hungarian collections and sometimes queue to see a temporary exhibition devoted to a celebrated artist.

Yet objects worthy of preservation are not created only in the distant past. Everyday objects from our own time can also leave their familiar surroundings and find their way into a museum.

Vintage model trains, beloved childhood dolls and their accessories can now command remarkable prices on online marketplaces. What was once an ordinary object can, over time, become a reminder of an era or even a treasured collector’s item.

If we look around our homes, we may discover old objects in cupboards, drawers or boxes full of odds and ends that could form the basis of a small local collection.

One such object is the pinball machine, which was once part of everyday life and entertainment for many people.

The word pinball immediately brings to mind a colourful machine decorated with flashing lights and painted backdrops. Amid the clatter of the ball, the electronic sounds and the cascade of lights, one thing matters most: the score display. The rapidly changing numbers showed how the game was going, and every new record brought a fresh sense of achievement.

If we failed to keep the ball in play, we were ready to try again. We launched another ball and set out to beat our previous score.

The history of pinball stretches back more than a century. Early mechanical games gradually evolved into the machines we recognise today. A major turning point came in 1947, when the Humpty Dumpty machine introduced player-operated flippers. From then on, reflexes and skill played an increasingly important role alongside luck.

For many years, pinball was one of the most popular forms of arcade entertainment. Its appeal lay in the combination of chance, quick reactions and persistence. It kept players on edge, encouraged them to try again and offered the satisfaction of beating their own records.

Today, pinball is more than a reminder of a bygone form of entertainment. Vintage machines are also documents of the history of technology, design and the entertainment industry. Each machine can preserve something of the period in which it was made and of the people who spent hours playing it.

Budapest offers visitors the chance to rediscover this world at the Budapest Pinball Museum.

The collection brings together machines from different eras. Originally, pinball machines operated on a coin-operated basis, as running them was a business. At the museum, however, the machines are set to free play: once visitors have paid the admission fee, they can try as many machines as they wish, again and again.

Arranged side by side, the machines create an almost futuristic spectacle. Their colours, flashing lights and distinctive sounds quickly draw visitors in. The urge to play returns, and before long, we find ourselves wanting to try just one more machine.

Today, we often hear complaints that younger generations spend too much time playing digital games. Yet it is worth taking them to a place like this. Pinball offers a different kind of experience: we can directly sense the movement of the ball, the action of the flippers and every twist and turn of the game. No screen is required, nor is a lengthy explanation. All it takes is a ball, and the game begins.

Digital games may not disappear into the background, of course, but a visit like this can show that older technologies still have their own distinctive magic.

On the way home, we may hear a question that is one of the best signs of a successful shared experience:

When are we coming back?

By: Viktor Szentkiralyi

English translation: Galatea – an LLM-based digital assistant.