Soccer pinball: Futbol Pinball

What is Futbol Pinball?

Futbol Pinball is football (soccer) played on a pinball table. The goal is at the top with a goalkeeper who moves along the line, a defensive wall stands in front of it, and defenders come out to block.

A match on the table lasts three minutes, shown as 90 on the clock. The full-time whistle does not end your run: it pays a bonus, raises the level and kicks off the next match. The run ends only when your last ball is lost.

How to play Futbol Pinball

On a phone or tablet

• Hold the phone upright. The Left and Right keys at the bottom work the two flippers.
• At the start of each ball the middle key is Launch: hold it to charge and let go. During play it becomes Nudge, a small shake of the table.

On a computer

• A or the left arrow is the left flipper; D or the right arrow is the right flipper.
• Space launches the ball (hold to charge) and nudges the table during play. Escape or P pauses.

The rules

• The left flipper is your left foot and the right flipper is your right foot; the table uses yellow and blue to show which side a target belongs to.
• Knock down the wall to light the goal for a short time, then shoot past the goalkeeper.
• A saved shot is still alive: follow it in for a REBOUND GOAL.
• Lit lanes and targets build missions with football names, such as Build Up, and a short coaching line explains each one.
• A ball that drains between the flippers is lost. A ball saver protects a new ball for its first seconds.

What it teaches

Pinball is a game of angles, and so is passing off a wall or a team-mate. The ball leaves a flipper at a different angle depending on when you press, which is the same lesson as striking a ball early or late across your body.

The table also names real ideas as you meet them. A goalkeeper who spills a shot gives a striker a second chance, which is why forwards are told to follow every shot. A defender who steps out leaves a gap behind.

Read and practise the same idea

• Wall passing drillPass against a wall and control the rebound
• Follow the shot drillScore from rebounds like a striker
• Give-and-go (soccer term)Pass, move and get the ball back: the wall pass
• Goalkeeper in soccerHow a keeper covers the goal
• Striker in soccerThe player who finishes chances

Tips to score higher

1. Do not flip both flippers at once. Let the ball roll along the flipper, then press: the moment you press changes the angle, so try early and late and watch where the ball goes.
2. Break the wall first. Shooting at a covered goal mostly gives the ball back to the defenders.
3. Watch the goalkeeper and shoot at the side he has just left.
4. Stay ready after a save: rebound goals count.
5. Save the nudge for a ball heading down the side or straight between the flippers.

How the difficulty grows

• Level 1 is the gentle table: one defender, the goalkeeper at his slowest and a free saver at the goal line.
• Each full-time whistle raises the level: the whole table runs a few percent faster, the goalkeeper moves quicker and reaches further, and more defenders start on the pitch.
• Timed targets stay lit for less time, the ball-save window shortens, and in later levels the flippers get slightly shorter, which widens the gap between them.

For parents and coaches

• Free, with no ads, no account and no open chat. The high-score board takes a few arcade-style letters, never a full name or a message.
• Skill: timing, reading angles and rebounds, and the idea of following a shot. The coaching lines are one short sentence each.
• Session length: a match is three minutes, and a run lasts for as many matches as a child can keep a ball in play.

Questions about Futbol Pinball

• Is Futbol Pinball free?

  Yes. There is nothing to buy, no advert and no account to create. Every play is free, like every game in the arcade. Playing earns island coins: they are earned by playing and learning on Futbol Island and are never sold for real money.

• Does Futbol Pinball work on a phone or a school Chromebook?

  It runs in a web browser with nothing to install, and it is built for phones first. It also works on tablets and on computers, so a Chromebook is fine as long as the school’s filter allows futbolisland.app. On a computer the flippers are the A and D keys or the left and right arrows.

• How do you play soccer pinball?

  Launch the ball, then use the left and right flippers to keep it on the table and send it up the pitch. Knock down the wall, then shoot past the goalkeeper to score. If the ball drains between the flippers you lose it, and the run ends when the last ball is lost.

• What age is Futbol Pinball for?

  Futbol Island is made for children aged 7 to 12. Two buttons are enough to play, so it is one of the easiest of the six games to start.

• Do I need to download anything to play?

  No. Futbol Pinball runs in the web browser on futbolisland.app. There is no app to install and no plug-in.

More free soccer games

• Kit Rush: soccer swipe gameSwipe your team’s kit, leave theirs, dodge the whistle
• Squad Snake: soccer snake gameSnake with a squad: collect eleven players and build a formation
• Breakaway Run: soccer runner gameEndless dribbling runner: beat the tackle, find the goal
• Futbol Tennis: soccer tennis gameFootball tennis: first touch and shot choice over a net
• Pass Puzzles: soccer passing puzzle gameDraw the pass through the defence: space, lanes and offside
• All six free soccer gamesSix free browser games, each teaching one football idea