Windows classic 3D Space Cadet Pinball is being built as a real physical table

Hobbyist CNCDan is building what pinball fans have talked about for years — a real, physical table based on 3D Pinball for Windows - Space Cadet, the beloved freebie bundled with Microsoft's operating systems through Windows XP. He's documenting the whole process on video.

The build already includes 3D-printed mechanical flippers, pop bumpers with embedded LEDs, slingshots, and a raised playfield, all designed to replicate the look and feel of the original Windows game. Space Cadet itself was never based on a real table — it was part of the Full Tilt! Pinball software collection sold by Maxis starting in 1995 before Microsoft bundled it into Windows.

This isn't the first time someone has tried to make Space Cadet physical. Deeproot Pinball developed a reskinned prototype based on the table's layout for a planned 2021 release, but the company collapsed under fraud allegations before anything shipped.

CNCDan is still early in the process, but he's already further along than any hobbyist attempt before him. Whether the full table gets finished remains to be seen.