A new world record has been set! We’ve teamed up with JustDustin to build the world’s largest Plinko board. Yes, really…
In this video, JustDustin built us a record-breaking board. Standing at over 16 feet tall and 16 feet wide, it’s officially the biggest Plinko board ever!
The Build
Building a Plinko board might sound easier than it seems. As seen in the video, Dustin started by creating a smaller-sized board, but he quickly ran into a problem – the puck was not randomly bouncing as it should have. Instead, the puck was falling straight into the pocket directly below the drop zone.
It didn’t take long for Dustin to figure it out though, and, after moving some of the pegs around, the board worked as intended.
Playing Plinko
Now that Dustin and his crew had built the board, they played five unpredictable rounds, taking turns climbing to the top of the towering board and dropping oversized pucks into the pockets. But this isn’t your average game-show setup…
Each pocket came with a twist: $100 cash prizes, wild punishments, and destructive weapons. Land in the right spot, and you walk away richer. Hit the wrong zone, and you’re getting soaked in ketchup or handed a weapon to destroy part of the board itself.
If you’re old enough to remember The Price is Right, you probably fooled your mom into a couple of sick days. Once you watched host Bob Barker introduce those lucky contestants, there was one game we guarantee kept you glued to the screen: Plinko.
It looked simple but exciting and had a great RTP (return to player), paying up to $10,000 just for dropping some pucks on a big board.
Years later, it is still attracting plenty of attention, especially after JustDustin broke the world record by officially creating the world’s biggest board ever.
Why does it continue to be so popular? Let’s check its history, what captivated the audience, and how it became an icon in the digital world as well.
The Enduring Appeal of a Popular Game Show Icon
Plinko has captivated the globe because it does what any good action movie does: Keeps things simple, provides plenty of suspense, and has a great visual payoff.
It was born on January 3, 1983, after The Price is Right producer Frank Wayne was inspired by the game Pachinko, a vertical pinball machine popular in Japanese arcades to this day. Wayne wanted to capture the elements of random chance and excitement in Pachinko. He made minor tweaks to the game: adding chips/pucks instead of small metal balls, and using a large vertical board instead of Pachinko’s slot-machine-sized housing.
Wayne then added the “Price” element to it by allowing contestants to grab up to five pucks by correctly choosing the right price between two household items. It started with prizes ranging from $0 to $5,000 and later increased to a maximum of $10,000 per puck (now up to $20,000). As for the name itself, it comes from the sound you hear when you drop the puck down the vertical board.
Once featured on The Price Is Right, the towering board, suspense-building plinking noises, and the screams of joy–or agony–when the puck landed home, made it one of the most popular games on show. And why not? It’s like spinning the Wheel of Fortune, but you don’t have to solve a puzzle to get paid.
And while The Price Is Right changed producers, hosts, and even some of its original games since 1983, it remains the most popular game on the show.
If you want to innovate or break world records using a time-honored game, we couldn’t think of a better candidate.
What Is Plinko?
It is a game of chance, involving dropping a flat disc (sometimes a puck, ball, or chip), down a large vertical board filled with rows of offset pegs. As the puck falls, it bounces in a 50/50 direction off the pegs, eventually landing in one of several slots/pockets at the bottom of the board— usually associated with a prize or outcome.
The Transition to Digital Platforms
As the world began to jump online, it was only a matter of time before the game made its way into the digital world. Online gaming platforms recognized the exciting blend of luck and excitement and recreated it in digital form, maintaining the essence that made it special.
The shift brought a game meant for daytime TV into the mainstream. Even streaming influencers on Twitch and YouTube can now display the game to their audiences. You can even buy a home version on Amazon, or, if you’re flat-out insane, break a world record with it.
Bovada Innovations
So, how were the game’s main features translated online? Obviously, you couldn’t bring the “price-tagging” elements into an online casino game.
Well, Bovada has introduced innovations and added features to ensure that all the best parts remain, while bringing a new twist to the classic game.
In Bovada’s “Classic” Plinko, you choose a risk level, select between eight and 16 horizontal rows, and drop a ball that lands in a multiplier slot at the bottom of the board. More rows increase the potential for larger prizes but also add more volatility to each drop.
Plinko Games at Bovada
We didn’t stick with one version of the game. Instead, expanded with multiple versions offering multiple bonus features:
- Neon Plinko: Offers a Neon arcade aesthetic and a Multiplier Buy feature in which multipliers activate not just at the bottom of the board but in the middle of the ball’s path.
- Plinko Blitz: Offers Blitz Mode, a high-stakes feature that delivers faster gameplay and larger payouts.
- Plinko Rush: Offers simultaneous multi-ball drops to ensure you can get multiple payouts quickly!
- Plinko X: Offers the highest payout potential with a max multiplier of 10,000x. It also features color-coded balls that add their own multipliers: the Pink Ball is 1x, the Yellow Ball is 5x, and the Red Ball is 10x.
- Wild Plinko: Offers a higher bet range ($1-$100) and a Wild Plinko pyramid that has an adjustable width.
- Egg Hunt Plinko: A great Easter version of the game with a similar essence to Classic Plinko. However, it offers a higher risk amount (minimum $1) and eggs instead of a traditional ball.
- Olympus Plinko: Offers a mythological theme with a prize wheel. You can drop up to 100 balls per round, and if one of them drops into the “Spin Slots,” you’ll trigger a prize wheel that spins and awards a bonus multiplier. Also, if you drop 1,700 balls, you automatically unlock an extra spin on the Prize Wheel.
Where Can I Play Plinko Online?
You can now play a variety of Plinko games online at Bovada Casino. Each game offers ‘Demo Mode‘, so you can experience the gameplay mechanics, features, and visuals —perfect for getting comfortable before betting real money.
Sign up to Bovada today