PAPA video tutorials : Pinball :: Nintendo Power game guides(w/ fold out level maps!) : 8bit Generation
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Handy if you’re going for points.
Corvette appeared in the A Division qualifying and finals at PAPA 12, and is a fast-paced shooting game with plenty of options and strategy. So how do you play this thing?
Before you play: Ask others how the game is playing! For Corvette, critical information is the return from the bumpers (through the spinner down the middle? mostly back through the loop to the upper flipper?), the return from the left loop to the right flipper, and the strength of the flippers. On some Corvettes, it is very difficult to shoot the side ramp; on others, it is difficult to shoot the right ramp; in both cases this can change strategy significantly. Ask about “3/4 ramp” returns, how the ball behaves when a ramp shot isn’t strong enough and screams back down. If possible, watch another player on the game, to judge tilt sensitivity and how players are “missing” shots. The left loop and left ramp are important shots early in the game, so watch those especially. Check to see if the kickback is on at the beginning of the game, but seriously, this is PAPA: it’s not.
On kickbacks: Corvette has an easily-relit kickback, a touch target on the right side. This is a critical shot at the start of a ball, since kickbacks are essentially extra balls. If the kickback is unlit, go get it immediately with one exception: the kickback lights itself for free at the start of multiball. If you think you can get multiball going quickly, do that instead. I have found generally that aiming for the right side of the target is safer and less likely to lead to a right outlane drain. The kickback can only be relit after it has “timed out”, so don’t shoot for this target immediately after earning a kickback.
Know the sucker shots: If you think the ball may drain from a successful shot, don’t shoot that unless it is absolutely critical to success. There are very few sucker shots in Corvette, since it is generally a ramp-and-loop game. I feel the “Pit In” shot is somewhat sucker-y, since if you miss you are in immediate trouble. But there are times where this shot is valuable. There is a second type of sucker shot in Corvette though: shots that just aren’t worth much. Specifically, the left loop is useful for lighting lock and that’s about it. Some players shoot the left loop repeatedly since it counts loops toward a “World Speed Record”. That record gets your initials on the dot matrix but isn’t worth any good points. Don’t bother.
COMBOS ARE KING: This strategy note mostly applies to A Division. In my opinion, the best way to huge points on Corvette is combos. Combos are cumulative throughout a ball, with each new combo scoring while adding its value to the next one. For example, if you shoot 3 combos worth “10 million”, they score 10 million, 20 million, and 30 million, and the next combo will be worth at least 36 million. The combo value caps at 99 million, and it isn’t unusual to get there during a good ball.
These are the combos and how much they add to the current total (thanks Cameron and Keefer):
In practice I find I get Robeling Road most often, and Mid-Ohio after that. Shooting the side loop tends to be difficult from a fast-moving ball.
Here’s the kicker though: combos count in multiball! You’re far more likely to make random combos in multiball, and they all count and add their value to the total. Getting combos going big during multiball can make shots worth a ton of points, enough to dominate any scoring strategy. Oh, and combos count during any multiball, not just the regular one. So during Race Today multiball, where ramps are worth 15 million jackpots? You might rather shoot 99 million a combo perhaps?
Getting started: Multiball is easy to get to on Corvette and worth a lot of points — especially when combos are brought in. When in doubt, shoot the left loop to light lock, then the left ramp to lock the ball. The lock shot times out on later multiballs, so if lock is lit, concentrate exclusively on scoring the lock. The lock shot times out quickly, after which you must reshoot the left loop to light lock.
During multiball, the upper flipper loop and ramp shots are the jackpots. Shooting both jackpots relights them; shooting both jackpots in a combo (loop to ramp) scores a double jackpot for the ramp. When the first ball kicks out, try for the combo right away; in general I try for the loop first: it’s an easier shot from a slow-moving ball when Corvette is set up to be difficult, gives the ball momentum for the ramp shot and super, and scores a big combo.
Feeding the upper flipper can be challenging, since the ball screams around the Lock ramp. Try backhanding it, which is more likely to fall into the kicker. Also, use the kickback! If you see a ball head for the kickback, get ready to shoot jackpots. That means you should concentrate hard on relighting the kickback during multiball; this is one of the best shots in multiball for a ball on the lower left flipper.
For intermediate players, a critical piece of success in Corvette is focusing your attention on upper flipper opportunities, even at the expense of balls down by the flippers. Try flailing a bit with balls at the bottom so you can concentrate on the jackpot shots.
Other multiballs: There are three other multiballs that are fairly easy to attain. First is “Race Today”, which lights after a certain number of “Spark Plugs” (aka “shots”) and should be cashed in immediately when lit. This is a brief “shift gears” round which is almost impossible to lose, and if you win, a junk 2-ball multiball starts. When you get this, play for combos (99 million!) and ignore the pitifully-valued jackpots (15 million). Warning: it is possible to lose the drag race. Watch someone play or practice this round if you aren’t sure what to do, since it is a very costly thing to lose.
Second is “Catch Me”, which is awarded at 2 and 10 right ramps. This is a tough round, requiring (in this order) the right orbit, side ramp, Lock, and Pit In. The faster you finish, the more points it’s worth. Play this round! Not only will this award a combo or two, but finishing it starts another junk 2-ball multiball where you can play for more combos.
Third is “Pit In” which is awarded at 6 right ramps. It’s a Pit In hurryup. Play this round! If you complete the shot, you get… wait for it… another junk 2-ball multiball where you can play for more combos. During this multiball, you may be tempted to shoot Pit In again for an award, but don’t be fooled — combos are worth more!
If your combo value is high, obviously these multiballs become even more valuable than normal. Go get them!
What about cars: Whatever with cars. Go for cars if you are trying for the #1 qualifying score on the game. If you want a good, consistent score, ignore the cars. 9 cars lights the “Future Car” multiball round where you can… wait for it… play for more combos! If you happen to enter a “Corvette Challenge” (by shooting Pit In), ignore it and play your normal strategy. Making shots will win the round, so there is no need to vary what you would be doing.
What about Super Skill Shot? Whatever with Super Skill. The regular skill shot adds up fast: 5m, 10m, 15m,… with no apparent upper limit, and it’s easy as pie. If you miss even one Super Skill Shot during the game, you will get less points than if you took the regular skill shot each time, and bonus multipliers are worth enough points to make it more valuable even if you make all Super Skill Shots. The only reason to take Super Skill is safety: insta-drains through the bumpers are avoided. I don’t find this happens often enough to worry about, but if you want to, you can activate Super Skill by hitting LLRLL before plunging, and deactivate with RRLRR.
Where should I shoot?: If you have no idea what to do, keep doing this until you are declared the winner:
The loop pass: Handling the left loop return in Corvette is critical. Ideally you can flip early and send the ball into the lock, but often these flips just go around the loop again. If you’re going to play this game multiple times, try holding the flipper up once and see where it goes — it might be an easy bounce. A good way to handle the PAPA 12 Corvette was the “loop pass”, which plays like a drop catch except that the ball moves to the other flipper. This is a tough play to trust, but not that hard to execute, and Corvette is one of the best games on which to learn this move. I do not recommend learning this move during a tournament but it can really help…
Score targets: If you need this many points… try…
At PAPA 12, Corvette was in A Division qualifying, with one player over 5 billion (Donavan Stepp), 7 players over 2 billion, and 36 players over 1 billion: the 84th place score was 470 million. Oddly, it was also in the finals, with two players scoring the #4 and #5 games of the tournament (almost 3 billion each) and one player scoring only 60 million. Surprising to me is that the only other appearance of Corvette at PAPA was at PAPA 6 in Las Vegas, where it was used in C Division qualifying: only 6 scores came in over 1 billion with the median score around 300 million and one score under 10 million!
I hope this helps. What’s next?
- Bowen, perennial PAPA final and semifinal loser
As requested, here is a summary of how to play Williams’ World Cup (1978).
If the ball is on the left flipper: Cradle the ball. It will go into the “T” kicker and probably into the Corner Kick hole on the right for a goal.
If the ball is on the right flipper: Shoot the left lane to the top to try and complete S-T-A-R. After completing S-T-A-R three times, consider cradling the ball when goal is lit at the Corner Kick hole on the left.
Continue doing these fascinating things until you have maxed out the bonus: 18 goals and 5x multiplier (from 3 S-T-A-R completions). After that… um, yeah. I guess after that, shoot the left lane for 4000 a shot? Seriously though, you max out the bonus, you win, and it’s worth a ridiculous amount (180,000) compared to anything else that can be done on the game.
Do not tilt: Bonus carries over ball-to-ball, so if you max out the goals on Ball 1, your job on Balls 2 and 3 is to get S-T-A-R three times and do a dance of joy. But if you tilt, goals reset! How nasty is that?
And that’s really about all there is to say.
As recently pointed out, World Cup Soccer was found in all four qualifying banks at PAPA 12: A, B, C, and Juniors/Seniors. Hey, even an earlier World Cup showed up in Classics. World Cup Soccer is generally well-known, but the strategy decisions you make can be surprising. World Cup Soccer is a shotmaking game in general, so this is a good chance to talk about shot efficiency.
Before you play: Ask other players how the game is playing! Seriously, we’ll tell you! For World Cup, the most critical information is the feed from the City spinner: is it safe? incredibly deadly? This has a serious impact on strategy. Ask about “3/4 ramp” returns, how the ball behaves when a left or right ramp shot isn’t strong enough and screams back toward you. If possible, watch another player on the game. Specifically, watch for tilt sensitivity, how much the spinner spins, and how other players are “missing” shots. The left ramp is a really important shot to nail quickly, so watch what happens on players’ first shot to the left ramp. Note settings: ball saver? kickback on? goal lit? free Lock spot? All of these can have effects on strategy.
On kickbacks: World Cup Soccer has a kickback for its gaping left outlane. If the kickback is unlit, lighting kickback should be a priority unless you have multiball lit. To get a chance to light the kickback, shoot the goal or the Striker hole. In general, kickbacks are extra balls, and you’d shoot for an extra ball, right? Don’t shoot for cities unless you have a lit kickback, unless you’re absolutely sure the return is safe. And usually, it isn’t. When you drain a ball down the left outlane of World Cup, think about the value (points-wise) of aiming for the kickback earlier in the ball. Kickbacks are almost always worth going for, except on games with difficult relight rules (such as No Fear and Scared Stiff).
Know the sucker shots: Each game has shots that are valuable but lead to drains. In arcade play, these are worth going for, but in tournaments, they are death. If you think the ball may drain from a successful shot, don’t shoot that unless it is absolutely critical to success. For World Cup Soccer, the sucker shots are the spinner loop (when lit for cities), the right ramp, and Final Draw. Do not shoot these shots without a good reason. I would especially recommend not shooting the right ramp until your first multiball. Do not shoot Final Draw unless it’s lit for multiball; the risk is too great. Because there are lots of drain opportunities, slapping a ball in a random direction is a bad idea. If the ball is out of control, catch it, or things will get worse. From the slings, try directing the ball higher into either the kickback target or, even better, the Free Kick saucers.
Getting started: Multiball is generally the best starting strategy on this game when playing in competition. Here is my recommendation for working through to the first multiball:
A quick scoring note: the “rank” for your first multiball is 11, and drops by 1 for every 2 goals you score before starting the multiball. Ideally you want 2 or even 4 goals before starting the first multiball, and this is worth trying for as its value is basically 5 million per jackpot you collect and gives you a better chance of reaching Germany and Victory Laps.
Help! Final Draw is too hard!: Try banking it in off the kickback target, or backhanding it. Both can work and are sometimes easier than the regular shot. Ask other players what worked and didn’t work for them, and you’ll be prepared.
During multiball: World Cup’s multiball is built for two balls, so don’t sweat too much when you drop from 3 to 2. Trapping and carefully timed shots pay off very well. The rhythm of this multiball is goal … ramp … goal … ramp. The ideal situation is one ball trapped on each flipper. If you have this and goal is lit, shoot the goal from the right and keep the left ball trapped. When the first ball returns, use it to shoot the left ramp, then backhand the left ball into the goal when the goalie begins moving. This ball may even return to the right flipper before the ball you used to shoot the ramp.
Flailing will get you nowhere fast in this multiball. Make your shots count and trap balls when you can. Try to keep track of is the goalie’s position, since it can help you avoid a “great save”. Either count internally or watch the goalie every so often to know which side of the goal to shoot for.
World Cup’s multiball also has a feature called Special Challenge that can be used once per multiball: hit the Extra Ball button, and jackpot is relit! Use this wisely, by which I mean always. The best time to use it is while a ball is heading toward the goal. Note that this feature may be switched off at PAPA, since it’s a bit unfair to those who don’t know about it. Be polite and tell your friends and enemies…
After multiball: Since the next multiball will be worth more than the one you just finished… and it’s not really much harder to get to… why not go for that? This strategy really never gets stale. You should know these rules about what lights can advance toward Lock:
About goals: Goals are good. A goal on Ball 1 is worth a minimum of 30 million: 10 million for the shot itself, 15 million in bonus (5 million x 3 balls), and 5 million in Ultra bonus. Cashing in the Ultra is worth another 35 million. Goals are good, but consider their value compared to multiball. How many shots does it take to start multiball? No more than 7. How many points is a multiball worth? Only you can decide this one, but if the answer is “over 200 million” then multiball is a more valuable scoring target than goals — per shot, advancing and starting multiball is worth more than shooting a lit goal. This is not to say you shouldn’t go for goals, but I wouldn’t go exclusively for goals unless you are planning to make a ton of them. Oh, and don’t tilt this game — bonus is generally worth a lot, especially with Ultras.
About cities: Cities score about the same as goals, except there’s no Ultra. So cities are bad. The only reason to go for cities is if you intend to go all the way to Los Angeles (9 cities). If you’ve got the cities all lit, you might as well try for it: the 10 shots (9 cities + Final Draw) is likely to net you almost 1.5 billion, but it’s all or nothing: if you don’t make all 10 shots, you get only a fraction of the points. If the feed from the city loop is challenging, this is not a viable strategy unless you already have a strong score and are trying to shoot the lights out.
Striker Awards: There are seven Striker awards, and they are given out in a specific order in tournament play:
TV Awards: Do not shoot for TV Awards, and do not change your strategy when playing a TV Award. Many players dive into Big Goal Round for its average of 20 million per shot, but ignore the lit Goal on Ball 1… which is worth 30 million. Play your normal strategy during TV Awards. The only exception is Extra Ball Round, because the Striker hole is worth 50 million per shot as well as the Lock advance. But I still think this doesn’t change strategy — you should be shooting for the Striker hole frequently anyway since the Lock advance is so valuable. Hit the Goalie and Where’s Striker are risky and do not score nearly enough to be worth playing in competition.
The Magnet: What? There’s a magnet? The Magna-Goal button is a source of credit dots on many World Cups, since it is rarely used. Dude, use it! It’s there for a reason, and it really works. There are two situations where it is easily used:
Why not use it in these situations? It’s not like you’re saving the use of that button for something else, and you don’t get points for not using it. Try it, you’ll like it! Don’t do something that might lead you to say “Oh right, the magnet button…”
Score targets: If you need this many points… try…
At PAPA 12, a very difficult World Cup was featured in A Division with lightning (Fish Tales / Dracula) flippers and very hard settings. Only six players scored over 1 billion, with 250 million being the score to earn points. With a tough game, shot efficiency becomes even more important, and basically anyone making multiball was certain of scoring something from their game. In B Division, the game was a little easier, but still only 8 players scored 1 billion, with 350 million being the score to earn points, and another 8 players scoring 1 billion between the C, Juniors, and Seniors divisions. These results suggest that going for cities is very weak: you don’t need Los Angeles to succeed, and you’re very unlikely to get there if you try.
I hope this helps and let me know what you’d like to see next.
- Bowen, very former PAPA champion
Hey, here’s another of those “how to play this game” overviews. As before, one of my goals for this series is to describe how and why playing competition games differs from playing normal games. This time it’s Jackbot, a game used in PAPA A qualifying and B finals in 2009. Jackbot is a game with multiple scoring strategies, with varying degrees of risk and reward.
Before you play: Ask other players how the game is playing! They’ll actually tell you! For Jackbot, critical information includes the feeds from the Game Saucer, the eyeball saucers, and the bumpers, the likelihood of a ramp shot rejection, and whether or not the eyeball saucers are holding shots cleanly. The Game Saucer return is of particular importance, since if its feed is difficult or drainy, it can significantly impact strategy. If possible, watch another player on the game. Specifically, find out if a ball saver is active or not, watch for tilt sensitivity, and get a sense for how the other player is “missing” their shots. Does this player keep missing the Game Saucer, hitting the post on the left? Now that you know, you won’t… well, not as often anyway. Also, watch another player to determine the Visor settings: how many locks for the first multiball? the second? These settings can change strategy significantly.
Know the sucker shots: Each game has shots that are valuable but lead to drains. In arcade play, these are worth going for — they’re fun, they score points, you can save the ball with a shake, and if you drain, you can earn an extra ball. In tournaments, sucker shots are death. Outlanes are wider. Tilts are tighter. Reaction time is faster. Extra balls are off. If you think the ball may drain from a successful shot, don’t shoot that unless it is absolutely critical to success. For Jackbot, this is the Visor. Do not shoot for the Visor willy-nilly. See comments below about how to shoot the Visor, but in general, the more you avoid the Visor, the better you will do in tournament Jackbot.
Getting started: One key when playing a game for the first time is to make a few shots, and ideally get to multiball. In multiball, the penalty for mistakes is the end of multiball, and not the end of the ball in play. One reasonable goal in Jackbot is to get to the regular multiball as quickly as possible. But… that means shooting the Visor, and didn’t I just say not to shoot for that? See below.
On center posts: Do not trust the center post on Jackbot!! Only on an absolutely dead-center drain will Jackbot’s center post save you. It is probably better to play as though the post is not there. Frequently, the ball caroms off the center post in an odd way, so be prepared to use a flipper immediately to save the ball off the post. Also, watch out, since PAPA games sometimes have their center posts removed, and others have their center post rubber removed, which is even worse.
The Visor: A critical play in Jackbot is instantly opening the Visor. Pinbot had the same feature: at the start of a new Visor, the rows and columns will strobe, and if your first shot to the Visor hits the right one, the whole Visor is cleared immediately. One shot to replace up to 25! That means this shot is the most important shot in the game, but can easily be screwed up by a bad bounce, especially out of the bumpers and into the wrong part of the Visor. So here is what to do:
In later phases of the game you may find the Visor open when you don’t want it to be, but the strobing is still happening. Don’t shoot for the row targets! Get the ball into the Game Saucer or up the ramp and the Visor will close. Do not shoot for the Visor willy-nilly or you will lose. If you find yourself with an empty Visor and a desire to shoot it anyway, stop and reconsider, but if you must, aim for the row targets. They carom frequently to get 2, 3, or more hits, and are less likely to send the ball screaming down the center or sides.
During multiball: Four shots score in multiball: under the left ramp (try backhanding! works great!), the two eyeball locks (known as Left Eye and T-Boz), and the Hit Me target on the right. Important is the “Super Jackbot” earned by locking a ball in both locks simultaneously. This awards the next three values in an increasing chain of points, so this is really worth going for. The easiest way to do this is to trap one ball on each flipper then “backhand” each of the locks. Backhand shots are less likely to be rejected by the locks, and the shots seem easier (to me) as backhands. Don’t forget about the Game Saucer, which relights all shots and holds the ball for a few seconds. This is a good way of earning more when the Hit Me target is the only thing lit.
After multiball: There are two strategies worth going for on Jackbot. Continued multiballs, and Casino Run. I recommend playing two multiballs before going toward Casino Run, since the second multiball is more valuable (and 3 balls instead of 2) and can still be earned by shooting the “complete visor” shot described above. If you miss a Visor shot you might consider abandoning the Visor and going for Casino Run.
Game Saucer / Cheating: Note that the left flipper controls the next game, so you can choose the game you want to play. Here are some comments on the games:
In all games other than Slot Machine, a “Double or Nothing” offer appears. Shoot under the ramp to collect. Always take this offer unless you need exactly that number of points. On the first run through the games, collecting Double or Nothing (on a fairly generous timer) also relights the next Game Saucer! Since you would need the ramp shot anyway, why not take an easier shot plus a side of bonus points? If it is the last game, the Game Saucer will award the Double or Nothing and then start…
Casino Run: This is one of the greatest single-ball modes in all of pinball, and in tournament play there are a lot of decisions to make. First, use the Cheat button at every opportunity. In general, Casino Run will let you get away with one “bomb” by cheating it away (the normal cheat rules do not seem to apply here). A generally safe strategy is to “continue” until you hit your first bomb, then get out. If you pick up the “no bomb” option, you can generally survive two bombs before having to give up.
Another thing to keep in mind is that extra balls and specials may be awarded by Casino Run. An extra ball is worth 200 million, and a special is worth 500 million, and these will not be awarded if you bomb out. They are not reflected in the visible Casino Run total, but still count as points!
I am cautious about continuing in Casino Run in tournament, because all the points count. In qualifying, pushing an average score into the top 20-25% is more important than going for a runaway score. In finals, use your opponents’ scores to judge what you should do, but collecting puts more pressure on them to either get their own Casino Run or play a strong multiball.
Other advice: Try not to lose control of the ball, since slingshot -> outlane drains are common. The inlanes are narrower on Jackbot than on most games, so be especially careful. If the inlane posts have been removed, the best save is off the divider, off the side wall, and over to the inlane.
Nudging is not very significant on Jackbot except on slings. The higher you push the ball off the top of the slings, the less likely it is to get into danger. You want the sling to send the ball into Hit Me or into the drop targets. By the way, both those shots are pretty useless otherwise, and so is the ramp for anything other than relighting Game Saucer. “Cashier” mode is worth a good amount from the ramp, but it doesn’t happen that often.
The left flipper on Jackbot gets very little attention, because there is so little of value to shoot from it. If you have a ball trapped on the left flipper, consider using a post transfer to the right, then shoot either the ramp or Game Saucer. Do not shoot for the Visor willy-nilly!
Score targets: If you need this many points… try…
At PAPA 12, 2 billion was good for 14th place overall in A Division qualifying, and no one in B Division finals scored over 1.1 billion. This suggests to play it safe — take the easy early multiballs, if there are any, and play Game Saucer for Casino Run. Casino Run only takes 9 shots to start, so if you go for it, it’s pretty likely to happen.
I hope this helps and let me know in comments what questions you have or what other games you’d like to see profiled.
- Bowen, long-ago PAPA champion
On December 1, Greg Dunlap gave a 5-minute talk about pinball at Ignite Seattle, based on 15 years of competitive play. It’s a great video to pass along to casual players or people who have never played pinball!
http://www.igniteseattle.com/2010/02/how-to-not-suck-at-pinball-greg-dunlap
When playing pinball in a tournament, the only goal is points. In match play, of course, you just want more points than your opponent(s). In qualifying, formats vary — some tournaments only reward the top 8 or 12 scores, so a high score is necessary. At PAPA, you can earn points for as low as 87th place on a game, but you qualify by playing well on all the games in one “run”. In PAPA qualifying, consistency is rewarded far more than a single high score.
A good tournament game has multiple strategies, so there are ways for players to “go for broke” or “play it safe”. Unfortunately, some games (even very popular and successful games) are terrible in tournaments because they reward a single strategy far more than any other. Then, of course, everyone just plays that one strategy… it’s boring to watch, boring to play, and the winner is the one willing to lather, rinse, and repeat more than their bored opponents.
Here are a few games where a single strategy can dominate, and what you should do to crush anyone who doesn’t do the exact same thing. I hope some of these are a little surprising.
Star Wars (Data East): Probably the most obvious one-hit wonder, Star Wars has a center ramp that scores 3 million at 3 ramps… then 8 million at 8 ramps… uh, then 33 million at 33 ramps. Even if the ramp didn’t also spot progress toward other game objectives, it’s an easy shot and hittable from either flipper. Don’t do anything else, except when multiball is lit for free on Ball 3. Many games fall into this “one shot all day” trap, such as Police Force and Hurricane.
Junkyard: The classic example of a one-hit wonder from PAPA qualifying. Players realized at PAPA 6 that the game’s video mode was repeatable, and worth an increasing number of points each time (500k… 1m… 1.5m… 2m… 20m…). In the end, this strategy dominated play on Junkyard, and the game dominated the qualifying table for the tournament’s A Division. Several players qualified for the finals entirely on their Junkyard score. Judge Dredd has a similar exploit, with its left ramp worth the same scores, but there is enough points in the rest of the game that “left ramp all day” doesn’t really pay off without making 30 or 40 ramps.
Earthshaker: The center ramp is worth 50k to 100k per shot, plus 2 miles — no big deal, except at 99 miles every further ramp shot is 200k. If this ramp is easy enough, there’s no sense in playing for anything else. (Whirlwind has the same ramp points, but plenty more points available in its modes and multiballs, so the ramp strategy doesn’t dominate there.)
Theater of Magic: Many players don’t play its one-hit strategy: the left loop! Loop shots lead to bonus multipliers, and loop shots are part of the bonus! This can make each loop shot, by itself, worth 4 million per ball in bonus. Every 7 loops lights a 50m Hurry-Up at the trunk, but some players ignore it, especially if the loop shots are continuous, scoring COMBO points of 2m, 4m, 6m, 8m… with no limit until you miss. This strategy makes end-of-ball bonus overwhelming, so don’t tilt.
Revenge From Mars: A surprising strategy can dominate all others on this game: shoot the lock! Six shots start multiball, with three of them going to the bonus multiplier lanes. Then, during multiball… shoot the lock! Revenge’s multiball allows you to shoot any major shot, as long as you’re willing to wait for the saucer to reappear. So keep shooting the lock. It returns safely to the flipper for another lock shot, and you’re getting bonus multipliers (typically 1 million each, more on a long ball). Then when the Super Jackpot is lit… hm, maybe shoot the lock! This strategy works partially because multiball never gets any more difficult to start.
Cue Ball Wizard: Many games, including Cue Ball Wizard, have a set of modes with a “big mode” at the end. If the next mode lights up automatically when one ends, consider “timing out” the modes (trapping the ball and waiting) in order to get to the “big mode” more safely. In this game, it’s a 3-ball multiball where every target is 5 million. Would you rather advance toward that, or shoot that Rowdy Ramp for 2 million? Your choice! No Fear also falls deeply into this category, with 5 modes followed by 3 “big modes”, as does Roller Coaster Tycoon. These “timeout” games are especially boring to play in tournaments, but points is points.
Some other quick hits from recent PAPA qualifying:
I’m sure I’ve missed many good examples, so feel free to add your comments. The best tournament games don’t have single, exploitable strategies like these, and it’s one reason why you keep seeing the same rotation of games at PAPA.
- Bowen
Hey, what’s up. This is the first of a quasi-irregular series on how to play Game X in a tournament. One of my goals is to describe how and why playing a competition game is different from playing a normal game. I’ve picked Attack From Mars, a well-known game where I feel tournament strategy is significantly different from arcade strategy.
Before you play: If possible, ask another player how the game is playing! For Attack From Mars, critical information includes the feed from the Stroke of Luck, the feed from the right loop (and whether the ball hits or activates the sling), and the return from a botched lock ramp shot — this return sometimes sends the ball directly to the right outlane, and sometimes straight down the middle. Also, if possible, watch another player on the game. Specifically, find out if a ball saver is active or not, watch for tilt warnings, and try to get a sense for how the other player is “missing” their shots. Does this player keep missing the lock ramp to the right? That’s good information to improve your own play.
Know the sucker shots: Each game has shots that are valuable but lead to drains. In arcade play, these are worth going for — they’re fun, they score points, and if the ball drains, no big deal, you can earn an extra ball. In tournaments, these shots are death. Outlanes are usually wider. Tilts are tighter. Required reaction time is faster. Basically, if you think the ball may drain from a successful shot to something, don’t shoot it unless it is absolutely critical to success. For Attack From Mars, this is the saucer. Do not shoot for the saucer unless the ball saver is on, you are in multiball, the drop target is down, or you need exactly that many points to win a head-to-head match. AFM doesn’t have other significant drain shots, but by the same argument, you should never shoot for the MARTIAN targets, even if there is only one left. The reward does not justify the risk.
Getting started: A key concept when playing a game for the first time is to have some success with shotmaking, and ideally get to multiball. In multiball, mistakes are penalized a lot less severely — unless you “double drain” the worst that can happen is you’re back in regular play. So, my target when playing AFM is to get to the regular multiball as quickly as possible. On plunges, if ball save is active, I go for Super Skill Shot (hold down left flipper) to try and open the saucer, otherwise make a regular plunge — bonus multipliers are actually pretty valuable on AFM, at least 5 million each. Then, shoot only for the lock and possibly the right orbit (a wide, safe shot to the bumpers) with the goal of getting the ball fed to the right flipper for a lock shot. By shooting consistently for the lock, confidence and accuracy on that shot increase quickly, and the lock shot is always very valuable on AFM. Find out early, too, if you can “hop” the ball from the left flipper to the right from a lock feed, as this decreases the number of shots you need to make to get to multiball.
During multiball: Multiball is a time to get used to other shot locations — specifically, the right ramp, which tends to be very difficult to get used to, and punishes a missed shot. I aim for the right ramp immediately, until it’s hit or until ball save shuts off. Beyond that, play the normal strategy of trying for a Super Jackpot. It’s not worth aiming for the saucer; probably a ball or two will bounce in there anyway. Ideally you should get at least one Super Jackpot, since that will raise the value of the next multiball immensely.
After multiball: There are really only two strategies worth trying for on AFM in tournament: multiball and Total Annihilation. Multiball is easier to get to (4 or 6 shots instead of 12) and awards about the same number of points. If you got a Super Jackpot in your first multiball, I suggest continuing to play for the regular multiball for the rest of the game: the first cycle of jackpots and Super is worth 650 million, but the second cycle is worth 1,150 million, the third is 1,650 million, and the fourth and beyond are 2 billion each. This is a lot of points! If you are good at multiball this is really the way to go, I feel, especially if the “hop” is working.
If instead you are a better single-ball player I suggest going for Annihilation, specifically the 1 billion bonus for Hurry Ups. To do this, shoot each of the four shots exactly twice before starting any Hurry-Up. Additionally, do not shoot an Annihilation shot as Super Skill Shot unless it is the last one, since you are forfeiting the chance of going for the 1 billion bonus. During Annihilation, shoot the orbits as much as possible. It is only necessary to shoot the lock ramp once to collect the building Annihilation Jackpot, which has no maximum value. So, ignore the lock ramp until there are two balls left in play, or unless the value is so large it can’t be ignored. Shooting the orbits frequently doubles the value of the actual Annihilation shot through bumper and multiplier points, and Super Jets (3 million per bumper) almost always begins during an Annihilation. Balls shot into the jets don’t come back for a while, which is a key strategy for multiball known as “parking a ball”.
Other advice: AFM is a game where you can easily lose track of your strategy, since all shots score decent points. Success in tournaments is often about efficiency — you will miss shots, and you will drain. So, you want every shot you take to be as valuable as possible. A “Fleeing Bonus” of 10 million is not that shot. A shot to the saucer is definitely not that shot. Get control, and advance toward multiball or Annihilation.
Nudging is not as significant on AFM as on some other games, but there are a few things to consider. One, the feed from the right orbit to the flippers often goes into the sling. If this is happening, consider bumping the side of the machine high on the right side of the cabinet, which pushes the ball off the railing. Frequently this stops the ball from going into the sling. Outlane saves on AFM are pretty difficult, and often involve banking the ball off the side wall. Saving a ball off the side wall takes practice, but basically involves a quick shove toward the side wall as the ball hits the inlane/outlane divider. This doesn’t come easy but can be a very satisfying save.
Score targets: If you need this many points… try…
Don’t panic, and remember that the T in MARTIAN is not a jackpot! I hope you found this helpful and let me know in comments what questions you have or what other games you’d like to see profiled.
- Bowen, former PAPA champion