What was the most popular pinball game ever? You may think it’s Addams Family or Medieval Madness, but truth is it wasn’t even a real machine. It was the 3D Space Cadet Pinball table that was included with Windows for quite a while starting in the late 90’s. Not everyone had access to a pinball machine to play, but almost everyone had access to a Windows PC and played Solitaire, Minesweeper, and the 3D Space Cadet Pinball game.
Who made it?
I remember thinking at the time it was really random to have a digital pinball game included with Windows. I remember playing it a lot though, as there weren’t a lot around. It was a table from the Full Tilt! Pinball package and was made by Cinematronics and published by Maxis.
There were three tables in the package, but only one of them was included with Windows. The included Windows version had some minor differences than the full version but nothing major, mainly things like resolution.
Don’t remember exactly what it looked like? This video might jog your memory:
Why did it stop coming with Windows?
According to wikipedia, when Windows shifted to 64 bit they found out that the table was no longer compatible with Windows Vista. That forced the removal of it from Windows. They actually tried to get it brought back in later but found that they no longer had the license to do it unfortunately.
How can I get it now?
Well, that’s kind of a harder question. The original software cd’s aren’t compatible with the current versions of Windows. But someone actually has a Guide to getting 3d Space Cadet Pinball working. You can use this guide to get it working on your Windows 10 PC. The harder part is actually finding the game, it isn’t available on Steam or usual digital sellers.
The other two tables look pretty good as well, but I’ve never been able to play them. Just looking at this one makes me think it would be pretty awesome:
