Rocker67

It’s been a long time gang and I can’t believe we’re talking about it once again. UK Mike did a phenomenal job on this book. I could not put it down this weekend. If you want to know the full story on the dreaded Coleco Chamaeleon this is it. Yours truly is in the book, along with the usual suspects and many more. There were so many things I learned while reading the book, stuff that no one was talking about. Wonderful job UK Mike unpacking this crazy tale. Do yourself a favor and buy this book. 
https://gumroad.com/l/smokemirrors

 

Video Pinball was available in 1980.  It's one of the first games my family purchased. 

Funny how a game from nearly a half-decade after the system launched is considered an “early release”. It really is a testament to how long the VCS lasted and how successful it was.

Yes.  It's all about the nudge.  For an early Atari release, this game has amazing physics on that nudge.  Master it and focus on those two bonus channels on the top of the board. 
I will set up a camera and video a play session before this is over, and you'll see...

204,180

Don't tilt ! You'll lose your extra ball as well as ball in play :'(

360,061

30,024
Played live on IG using Retron77, Hyperkin Ranger controller and original cart

 

Only have 1 word for this challenge......
 
YES

I think I actually like it more. MM just seems a little... barren to me. Just my opinion, though.

 
23,433. Wow! I had no idea that those holes would make the game this much harder. Those little guys are from satan.

Man oh man this game is challenging. Even though it doesn't match up to Midnight Magic on the 2600 in terms of graphics, I enjoy it just as much. Here's my first score:
My High Score: 51,727

14,029

There are many skills in physical pinball to develop, nudging skills is one of them, in many cases you're trying to transfer energy to the ball to manipulate it's trajectory. timing the "bump" on the machine with your hand when the ball is in contact with a post or a rail is key. you can "bump" the lockdown bar forward on either side or even downward (helps with ball rattle I think), you can even nudge the side of the cabinet halfway up the side to make the ball move out slightly towards the center of the table to miss the top of a sling-shot so you can catch it on the flipper. nudging works not just to keep your ball from danger of the outlanes, you can what I call "work the top lanes" to get the ball in the desired top lane if not controlled by the flipper.
It is best to learn these skills on a machine properly setup with a relatively tight (but fair) tilt-bob also best if the machine is on "free-play"
I never tried to play "Video Pinball" on difficulty "a". those open holes are death !!!! Reminds me of Bally's "Future Spa"                 We call that hole to the lower right "the spa hole"

Practice makes perfect! The key to this game is mastering the nudge to get extra balls and multipliers.

145,846. 
@nosweargamer is right...rolling the score is going to be a problem on this one.  I'm going to fiddle with setting up a tripod with my camera (in video mode). 
This was my first try.  Read the manual -- pay attention to the scoring. 

PS - I'm playing on my "PlusCart" because I'm too lazy to go into the attic and find a loose copy.  And PlusCart has a "Recently Played ROMS" choice that makes it a lot easier than Harmony.
 

10,932
Man, this game is tough. It took me three or four tries to break 10k. I don't think I need to worry about rolling the score anytime soon 🤣 Just like in real life, I suck at pinball although I love them. Video Pinball feels a bit like I'm playing a pachinko machine just watching the ball bounce around on its own most of the time. I'm trying to learn when to use nudge the table.
Neat game! It's another 2600 game that I've never played before.

I’ll start.
17,880 points on... wait a minute...

THIS IS NOT AN ENTRY
FYI - The scores rolls over at a million and there is no on screen indicators that you rolled the score. So if you get close, you'll need video recording of some sorts  to document your high score. Good luck everyone!
 

Aw, yeah! Good ol' Vidpin.BIN (as I grew up playing it)! I suggested this one!
Love this game to death. I'm not sure what is considered a "good score" on this one, but I can keep the ball in play for quite a while in most cases.
According to my ever-so-handy High Score Notebook, my top score was 129,366 on difficulty 1 B/B. I don't think I've ever tried 3 A/A. I'll consult my manual to see what that setting does. I know that A on the switches adds those gaps.

@nosweargamer has an excellent review of Video Pinball. It's a great place to start if you're new to the game!
 
 

Video Pinball
Atari 2600
Controller: JOYSTICK / KEYBOARD / PLAYER'S CHOICE
Difficulty Level: Game 3, Difficulty A
Play on: Real Hardware / Dedicated Console / Emulation OK! ✔
Squad Challenge ends 11:59 pm PST January 14, 2021
 
 
Objective
Play for the highest possible score using the difficulty settings defined in the challenge. Post a photo or YouTube video of your score in this thread. Scores must be achieved between January 1st through January 14th, 2021. Screen captures are not allowed as they are more easily manipulated for falsified scores. Multiple submissions are permitted. The player with the highest score at the end of the competition is the victor!
 
Eligibility
Anyone can join in. All players are welcome!
 
Play Rules
Games may be played on real hardware, Flashback / Mini console, or emulation, using any controller or keyboard, following all rules and game settings defined in the challenge. Choosing between real hardware or emulation, and choosing which controller to play on is part of formulating your strategy. Enhancements, rewinds and hacked versions of this game are not allowed.
 
Difficulty Level
Game 3, Difficulty A. This is the most challenging configuration. These settings allow for nudging and applying body English on the ball, TILT, bumper values are reset with each new ball, and two extra drain holes are added at the bottom of the playfield.
 
Fair Play
Your integrity is everything. Players should play fairly, be honest, and have fun! Falsified scores will result in your immediate removal from the site. It goes without saying that we will not allow cheats, hacks, cartridge frying, enhancements, rewinds, deceitful photo manipulation, subterfuge, or any other unfair advantage. Everybody hates a cheater.
 
More
To review detailed rules on how to play, please visit the High Score Squad page here: 
 
 
Message
HAPPY NEW YEAR SQUAD! Welcome to our 95th Squad Challenge! We're ringing in the new year right, starting back at the beginning with an early game for the Atari 2600. What more can you say about Video Pinball? It's a fun pinball game that brought a lot of fun to early Atari Video Computer System players. Although it's more rudimentary than later games such as Midnight Magic on the 2600, and Pinball on the NES, Video Pinball is one of my favorite early VCS games and it has a lot of that early Atari charm. The bumpers, the sounds, the artwork, it's all there. It's a great game for a Squad Challenge. As @nosweargamer says, Video Pinball is very simple with square bumpers and a square ball and targets that look like they were poured out of a box of Chex cereal! This game is widely available as loose original cartridges on the 2600, the ROM is available, and you can go out today and buy this game on a Flashback console at almost any Walmart, Sam's Club, Costco or Target, so everybody should be able to join in. Do you love Pinball games? ROM and Instructions are provided below. Good luck to everybody participating!
 
NOTE: We have TONS of great exciting Squad Challenges coming for the 2021 season! Don't miss a thing!
 
 

 
 
Video_Pinball.bin Video_Pinball.pdf

Really? I thought it was 1981. Wasn't that when the picture labels were introduced?
If we're going by the timeline laid out by Kevin Bunch of Atari Archive, who has already finished his chronology of the Atari-published VCS games of 1980, than it must have come out later. According to the copyright date on the cartridge itself, it also says 1981.
I do know that this was one of the earlier picture label games, though. It's got the lowercase letters.
I'm fairly certain that this was 1981. I'll do a little digging in some old 1980 catalogs and see which one of us is right. You've brought up an interesting topic, @RickR. 
And by the way, dude-- you're really good at this! @chas10e as well, but he's a pinball wizard so that's kind of expected! This is one of your games for sure. According to "legend", my dad and his cousin were quite good at this game as well, though nowadays he kind of sucks. That may be chalked up to damn near forty years of rust, but he may just be stretching the truth.
I personally won't have to worry about rolling over the score; I suck!

I fully expect someone to show up with a rolled score and make mine look pretty low.  But thank you.  I played this a lot as a kid, and it's funny how it all comes back to me so quickly. 

My personal experience:  my family got the Atari VCS (and Space Invaders) Christmas 1980.  So everything available then is "early" to me.  It was Space Invaders that made me beg for the Atari.  The first games that we purchased in 81 were Adventure, Pinball, Circus Atari, Indy 500, and Basketball. 

Happy New Year all! As I crawl my way back into the content creating/game playing scene, what a HSS challenge to come back to! YES!!!! I'll be trying to get my scores in soon! I'm pumped!

Along with nudging skills , there are also plunging skills, took a tip from @nosweargamer actually & go for the extra ball right away just a little more than a half -plunge will get it in the fuji-lane
After getting the extra ball, if you can get it back in the shooter-lane a full plunge will get mebbe a couple of the 3 top roll-overs to increase the pops. with an extra ball the value is held 😉
Then constant nudging throughout the game trying to work the bonus-lane and keep it from draining
I'm usually just "ape-flipping", can't really do a "slap-save" but I suppose it's possible.

I got both lower case & upper case , think I was playing the lower case , I imagine the tilt is a little looser :P