What is the difference between a real pinball machine and a tabletop or DIY pinball kit?

Full mechanical or digital pinball cabinets (often $1,000 and up) deliver real flippers, scoring, and haptics, while tabletop units like the New Era pinball game are smaller electronic toys aimed at kids and casual play. DIY wooden kits such as the ROKR and ROBOTIME models are build-it-yourself puzzles that produce a functional miniature pinball, not a full-size arcade experience. Buyers should match expectations to price and footprint.