One of the biggest upheavals when switching from 16-bit computers to 32-bit PCs was the lack of familiarity. The other was having to assemble a brand-new collection of games. Fortunately, when I built my first PC, Windows XP was soon around the corner, and with it, Space Cadet Pinball.
As a fan of pinball games on the Amiga (such as Pinball Dreams), it made the transition easier. I’m pleased to say that Space Cadet Pinball is now back, and you can get it on Android phones for free right now.
Install: Space Cadet Pinball on Android from Google Play
Now, I was slightly dubious picking this up. How do you translate a keyboard-controlled game to mobile? I was expecting to use side buttons, but no, it’s a nice touchscreen affair — press down on the screen to release the ball, and tap the left and right sides of the display for the flippers.
I made this video of some gameplay:
(Yes, I’m out of practice!)
Windows XP pinball porter explains
Space Cadet Pinball was reverse engineered and uploaded to GitHub in 2021. Here’s the porter shared it on Reddit:
I’m particularly impressed with the lack of ads, of course, as this makes it one of the best ad-free gaming experiences on Android. But the killer for me is support for the Google Play Leaderboard — genius move! Better still, this adds to the collection of classic PC games on Android.
Other ports of the game include Windows, macOS, and Linux, as well as PS2, Dreamcast, PS Vita, and Nintendo Wii.
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Christian Cawley is a writer and editor who covers consumer electronics, IT, and entertainment media. He has written for publications such as Computer Weekly, Linux Format, MakeUseOf.com, and Tech Radar.
He also produces podcasts, has a cigar box guitar, and of course, loves retro gaming.