Abstract: A pinball game has game play determined primarily by time rather than the number of ball plays. A specifiable amount of game play time is originally accorded to a given player. The game play time is reduced at an instantaneous rate which changes according to how actively he plays and scores. The more active the ball play, the slower the game play time is reduced. In another feature, the pinball game machine is controlled by a digital processor which also participates as a contestant against the human player. As another feature, upon certain playfield achievements, a given player is entitled to operate a mechanism which alters the playfield conditions of another player. Yet another feature includes the provision of multiple independent playfield areas on a common playfield. Each playfield area is self-contained, having its own captured ball, flipper mechanism, and scoring targets. Preferably, the areas having the captured balls are enabled for ball play only for specified periods of time.