Jerry Whorebach wrote:

Nowadays you can play pinball on your PC, as every Windows XP machine comes packaged with a video-game version. The difference between this digital pinball and its mechanical predecessor is, at root, aesthetic. The rules of the game are the same, just as the rules and gameplay of computer solitaire and chess are identical to those of their analog forebears. (Beyond the translation of playing cards and chess pieces into pixels, there are some key differences, of course. For one thing, the computer doesn’t let you cheat—or, in pinball, “tilt.”)

No wonder he thinks video games stifle innovation. He hasn't found the "nudge" keys yet!

("x" or "." in Pinball for Windows will see you on a magical voyage of discovery)

Jesper Juul, a Danish video-game theorist, defines games such as pinball, solitaire, and chess as “emergence” games, by which he means that the gameplay emerges from a relatively simple set of rules. Football and basketball—whether played online or off—are also emergence games