Play Midnight Magic Online

Midnight Magic came out for the Atari 2600 in 1984, published by Atari themselves. It was one of the later releases for the system, a time when developers were still finding clever ways to stretch the hardware. This one was their take on pinball, a solid effort in an era when arcade translations were often hit or miss.

You control the flippers at the bottom of the screen, trying to keep the ball in play as long as possible. The main goal is just to score points by hitting bumpers, targets, and spinners, but the game has a few tricks. There's a set of drop targets at the top that, when you knock them all down, award a bonus and reset. The table is compact but thoughtfully laid out, with a good sense of flow. It's not an easy game; the ball has a quick, weighty feel and drains can happen fast. Playing it feels like a genuine, focused game of pinball, just condensed into a few inches of screen.