Mobile developer SmallBall has released SmallBall Pinball, Grand Canyon [App Store], a free pinball game for the iPhone and iPod touch.

The first episode in a series of coming pinball releases, SmallBall Pinball is an easy-paced pinball game with a Grand Canyon graphical theme and, interestingly, a backstory.

In the first of many, SB Pinball: Grand Canyon is themed after American National parks and the petroglyphs of ancient man which tell a story: Over 2000 years ago the land was visited by 5 beings from another land. They came from the same place of the sun and moon and stood as tall as the biggest trees. Fear among the people kept them away from the 5, but they watched closely. The people learned that the 5 beings came to their land to take some animals with them. They seemed sad and in need of the animals. They didn't kill them for food, just took them. But because they took so many animals they did not have enough room for all 5 in their sky boat so one stayed behind. It said the one left behind hides deep inside the rock of the canyon waiting to guide the accent of the animals once again.

The game features low-gravity table (or canyon wall) physics and a fairly sparse collection of targets, spinners, and the like.  As such, the play experience is not what one would call the typical, frantic game of pinball.  A tap to the left or right side of the screen controls the corresponding flipper, and a tap to the middle of the screen triggers both flippers at once.

The game presents a rather unique table arrangement in which each table has an exit gate towards the top of the screen that provides access to the next table.  Most such gates must be unlocked by carrying out particular on-table sequences.  In all but the "bottom" table, if a ball passes down between the flippers, it returns to the table below it.  Any ball dropping out of the bottom table simply bounces back into play — you don't ever loose your ball.  "Save your quarters for the laundry," as SmallBall puts it.

SmallBall Pinball is certainly not the most white-knuckle game of pinball in the App Store.  It has only basic sound effects and no music.  There's not even a plunger.  But it does feature lovely backdrop scenery, an online leaderboard, and the unique table-to-table arrangement.  I enjoyed the relatively short time I've spent with the title and, for the price of admission — free — anyone who enjoys a nice game of pinball may as well give it a try.