The storyline for KISS Pinball revolves around the band battling the Dark Lord and claiming the "Kissneth" as their own. Your objectives include getting past security to snag an autograph, lighting "PASS" to access backstage, collecting weapons, shooting a spinner to upgrade record sales, hitting the Statue of Liberty repeatedly to reveal the Destroyer Skull to start 3-ball, spelling "MAYHEM" to light video mode, collecting lost souls, discovering hidden power-ups, locking balls with Gene's tongue and much more.

Your perspective is directly above each table. You can see approximately one-third of the playfield at a time with the screen scrolling to follow the course of the ball. Each table has the standard two-flipper layout, with the ability to nudge the table up, left, and right to influence ball movement. But be careful not to "tilt" the machine!