The Dream
I've wanted a virtual pinball cabinet ever since I first saw one at a friend's house about five years ago. The idea of having hundreds of pinball tables in a single machine? Sign me up.
Choosing the Hardware
The heart of the build is a 43" 4K TV for the playfield, mounted vertically inside a custom-built cabinet. For the backglass, I went with a 27" monitor. The PC running it all is a Ryzen 7 with an RTX 4060 — more than enough horsepower for Visual Pinball X at full settings.
The Cabinet Build
I started with 3/4" MDF for the main body. The dimensions are modeled after a standard Williams widebody — roughly 52" long and 24" wide. I used a table saw for the main cuts and a jigsaw for the curves near the front.
Key measurements:
Solenoids & Haptic Feedback
This is where it gets really fun. I installed contactors (solenoids) under the cabinet that fire when bumpers, slingshots, and flippers activate in-game. The result? You feel every hit. It transforms the experience from "playing a video game" to "playing pinball."
I used a Pinscape controller board to interface between the PC and the solenoids. Wiring was the most tedious part — about 20 hours of soldering and crimping connectors.
Software Setup
Visual Pinball X (VPX) is the main platform. I paired it with PinUp Popper as the frontend for table selection. The community has recreated hundreds of real pinball tables with incredible accuracy.
My top tables so far:
Final Thoughts
This project took about 6 months from first sketch to first flip. Was it worth it? Absolutely. Every time I walk into the game room and fire it up, it feels like stepping into an arcade. The satisfying thunk of the solenoids, the glow of the backglass — it's the real deal.
Next up: I'm planning a second cab with a wider body and a real plunger mechanism. Stay tuned.