Starflip

by scriptorium

Two pinball tables in one cabinet, each built from real period art: The Headless Horseman, new for Halloween, and Starflip, an Art Deco table on a star atlas from 1824. No AI art here. The Headless Horseman uses Arthur Rackham's illustrations of 1928; Starflip's cards and backglass are engravings from Urania's Mirror (London, 1824). Join the Discord to post your best score, report a bug and follow what comes next for the tables: discord.gg/QUu23Cwbgu The Headless Horseman (new for Halloween) A night in the Hollow, after Washington Irving's tale. The game starts at midnight, and every tale told by the fire moves the clock on an hour. At six the cock is about to crow: send the Horseman back to his grave before daybreak. Tell six tales at the Fireside: follow the Woman in White's cry, strike Major André's tree, knock down the risen tombstones, ride with old Brouwer, race Brom Bones, then run for the church bridge with the Horseman closing in. Light his sabre, his horseshoe and the cannonball, then strike his hooves: he hurls his head. The burning pumpkin comes into play and doubles everything it touches. Knock down R-E-S-T to open the church door. Lock two balls and the dead rise: jackpots on the bridge, a million at the bell. A great spider's web spans the table and the hall, and lights with the night: blood red as the Horseman closes in, pale green while the dead are out. Survive the night: Daybreak, four balls under a sky turning to dawn. Strike the bell twelve times, serve five dishes from the Van Tassels' table, let old Gunpowder kick the ball back: the night keeps a few secrets. Starflip A pinball table built inside a 1930s planetarium. Eight star cards of 1824 are your missions: shoot the Observatory to start one, and its stars light up on the card as you play. Send the captive Moon into the Sun with the upper flipper until the eclipse is total. Ride the Ecliptic, a brass wire ramp that loops round Jupiter and its four moons. Lock two balls for the Meteor Shower multiball, light the twelve signs of the zodiac, line up the five planets to light Urania, the muse of astronomy. Leaderboards and achievements Each table keeps its own register: your rank, and the points you need to pass the next name. 41 achievements: 24 on Starflip, 16 on The Headless Horseman, and Double Feature for a game finished on both. When a game ends, the card suggests the one thing to try next. Controls Shift or the arrow keys: flippers. Space: hold to pull the plunger, let go to launch. Up: nudge the cabinet, gently, or it tilts. A gamepad works too: triggers for the flippers, A to launch, Y to nudge. Between games, the flipper buttons change machine. Three balls, free play. Art of The Headless Horseman from Arthur Rackham's illustrations for Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (Harrap, London, 1928), public domain, via Wikimedia Commons and Maastricht University Library. Star charts and box lid from Urania's Mirror (Sidney Hall, London, 1824), public domain, via Wikimedia Commons and the Library of Congress. Music and sounds made for the game, with nods to Saint-Saëns, Grieg, Bach and Chopin.