ProjectTable Pinball

1. Windows and Projector Alignment

• Connect your projector to your PC and power it on.
• In Windows, open Display settings and select the projector display.
• Set Display orientation to Portrait or Portrait flipped.
• Position the projector so the playfield runs longways down the table toward the player.
• If Pinball FX opens on the wrong display, press Windows + Shift + Right Arrow to move the game window to your projector display.

2. Install Steam First

• Steam is the PC game launcher/store where you install and run Pinball FX.
• If you do not already have Steam, download it from store.steampowered.com/about.
• Install Steam, sign in (or create a free account), and let it fully update before continuing.

3. Pair and Combine Joy-Cons

• Open Windows Bluetooth settings and click Add device if Bluetooth is not already on.
• Press and hold the small Sync button on Joy-Con (L) until the LEDs start moving, then pair it as a Bluetooth device.
• Repeat the same process for Joy-Con (R) so both controllers appear separately in Windows.
• You should see both Joy-Cons listed in Windows Bluetooth devices before you open Steam.
• Open Steam, then go to Settings > Controller.
• Enable Steam Input for Nintendo Switch controllers.
• In Advanced Settings, turn on Combine Joy-Con Pairs so Steam treats the two halves as one controller.
• Completely close Steam from the system tray and reopen it so the new controller settings take effect.

4. Install Pinball FX and Force Steam Input

• Open the Steam Store and search for Pinball FX.
• Select Play Game and install it.
• The base game is free-to-play with rotating tables.
• In Steam Library, open Pinball FX.
• Click Gear Icon > Properties > Controller.
• Set Override for Pinball FX from Use default settings to Enable Steam Input.

5. Enable Cabinet Mode

• Launch Pinball FX and open Settings or Cabinet Mode.
• Turn Cabinet Mode on.
• Set Orientation to 90 degrees or 270 degrees until upright on the projected table.
• Minimize or hide Dot Matrix Window and Backglass layers for a clean table projection.

Original Prototype Build

Before the current setup, this project was first tested on a foldable table with dedicated arcade buttons. That original build proved the core concept before moving to the current projector-focused table workflow.

• Table surface started as a foldable prototype table
• Physical arcade buttons were used for cabinet-style input
• Concept validation happened before full pool-table integration

Original Setup Photos

Photos from the original foldable-table + arcade-button prototype build.