Secret pinball game? Sign us up!

The iPhone arguably has the best mobile games of any platform in the world. Games are such an important part of the iPhone ecosystem, Apple gives the category its own dedicated tab in the App Store.

But few people know there is now a SECRET game you can access if you have an iPhone. However, what is so surprising about this game is that it’s made by Google, not Apple.

Google is a company that has a history of hiding clever and fun mini. Games in webpages and other apps. And it’s in the main Google app for iOS where the mini-game can be found.

Secret iPhone Pinball Game: The Google App

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If you want to access the secret iPhone pinball game you’ll need to download the Google app first, which you can find here.

The Google app for iPhone is one of the longest-running iPhone apps Google has made. It lets users access most of Google services from one app. The Google app allows you to quickly search Google, use Google Assistant, and even place Google widgets on your iOS 14 home screen (and iOS 15 if you already have it).

Other benefits of the Google app include access to Google Lens, which allows you to search using the iPhone’s camera and even translate printed languages in real-time. The personalized updates in the Discover section of the app are also really cool.

Then, of course, there is that secret pinball game….

Secret iPhone Pinball Game: How To Get It

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OK, are you ready to play that secret iPhone pinball game? First, make sure you’ve downloaded the Google app (see above) and then do the following:

1. Open the Google app.
2. Tap the Tabs app in the Google app.
3. Close any and all open tabs in the Google app so the screen reads “You don’t have any open tabs.”
4. Wait a few moments and you’ll see some shapes float up onto the screen. These shapes will be the colors of Google’s branding.
5. Once the shapes appear, swipe up on them. As you do, you’ll see the full pinball game appear!

Secret iPhone Pinball Game: How To Play

While the secret iPhone game is essentially pinball, it actually combines pinball and “ball breaking” games. That is, when your paddle sends the pinball flying, it will hit the floating shapes and break them up.

The game itself even has levels, which get more complex as you advance through them. The bumpers also change as you advance through the levels.

And believe it or not, the game also offers lives and power ups – Google really seems to have thought of everything! Here’s what the power-ups do:

• Yellow star: the pinball grows larger and is thus easier to hit with the bumper paddle.
• Blue star: the pinball splits in two, which gives you twice the pinballs to split the random shapes with.
• Heart: gives you an extra life.

What’s really cool is that this secret iPhone pinball game is built into the Google app itself. It is not running on a server somewhere. This means that you can play it without an internet connection – great if you find yourself trapped somewhere without a signal and nothing to do!

Michael Grothaus

Apple expert and novelist, Michael Grothaus has been covering tech on KnowYourMobile for the best part of 10 years. Prior to this, he worked at Apple. And before that, he was a film journalist. Michael is a published author; his book Epiphany Jones was voted as one of the best novels about Hollywood by Entertainment Weekly. Michael is also a writer at other publications including VICE and Fast Company.