Zen Pinball - Thrilling & virtual pinball

Introducing Zen Pinball

Zen Pinball is a series of pinball machine video games developed and published by Zen Studios. It was originally released on iOS as two separate applications, each containing one table; Zen Pinball: Rollercoaster, released July 7, 2008, and Zen Pinball: Inferno, released October 31, 2008. Zen Pinball for the PlayStation 3 features four tables, plus an additional six tables as downloadable content. It was released on the PlayStation Network on May 14, 2009. It is the non-Microsoft counterpart to the Pinball FX series on the Xbox 360, and the first pinball game on the PlayStation 3. The game was also released on Android devices as Zen Pinball THD on December 1, 2011, and the Nintendo 3DS as Zen Pinball 3D via the Nintendo eShop on December 1, 2011 in Europe and January 12, 2012 in North America.

The game was well received by critics with an average score of 80.12% at GameRankings and 80/100 at Metacritic. It was the top selling PlayStation Network title in May 2009, was a top 10 seller in June 2009, and was the top selling title again in September 2010. Critics were impressed by the physics in the game, and also gave high marks in regards to the game's visuals. Some reviewers felt that four tables was too little for the game, and seven additional tables were later released for Zen Pinball via downloadable content. The first game is currently delisted from PSN like Pinball FX, with all content being imported to the sequel.

Discover Zen Pinball

Zen Pinball offers a variety of tables inspired by popular entertainment brands. Developed by Zen Studios, this digital space is the ultimate go-to for fulfilling all your pinball desires.

Zen Pinball, crafted by the innovators in the world of digital pinball, provides an exhilarating experience with its mix of original and exclusive tables based on renowned entertainment franchises. With intricate 3D models, cutting-edge ball physics, robust social features, and hot seat multiplayer options, this Android game upholds Zen Studios' legacy as the top player in pinball video games.

Setting a new benchmark for realistic ball physics and stunning graphics in the realm of pinball video games, Zen Pinball pairs state-of-the-art visuals, challenging tables, authentic ball and table physics, along with unique features that distinguish it from other titles in the genre.

Gameplay

Zen Pinball utilizes the same basic rules as a physical pinball machine, albeit in a virtual environment. As with a traditional pinball machine, the player fires a steel ball onto the playfield using a plunger. Once the ball is in play, the player controls the flippers and can nudge the machine to influence the path of the ball.[6] Each of the game's tables become more complex as the game advances, opening new paths and opportunities.[6]

In addition to traditional attempts to reach a high score, the game has specific missions tasked to the player.[7] Both local and online multiplayer are supported, along with leaderboards and tournament competitions.[8] Players will be able to activate a slow motion feature and can save game progress mid-game.[9]

Tables

At the time of release, the game featured four tables.[10] Seven more tables would later be released as downloadable content. The first table, Street Fighter II Tribute, was released August 20, 2009, and features characters and sounds from the Street Fighter franchise.[11] The Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 Tribute table was released on January 14, 2010, and features a setting based on Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2.[12] The third table, Earth Defense, was released on March 25, 2010 and features a 1950s sci-fi theme.[13] Excalibur, the fourth table, features a medieval theme focused around King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. It was released on April 15, 2010.[14] The fifth table, Mars, was released on July 21, 2010 in Europe and July 27, 2010 in the US.[15][16] The sixth table, Paranormal was released October 19, 2010.[17] The seventh table, Sorcerer's Lair, was released in April, 2011.[18]

Your Ultimate Pinball Junction

Zen Pinball boasts a diverse collection of tables, featuring both original creations developed by their team and others inspired by current popular entertainment properties. Expand your collection today!

Unlock the Sorcerer’s Lair Table for Free!

Upon downloading Zen Pinball, players receive complimentary access to the beloved Sorcerer's Lair table, adding one of the most thrilling tables into their gaming experience instantly.

Top Entertainment Brands

With tables based on iconic entertainment franchises like Marvel Comics, Star Wars, The Walking Dead, South Park, and more, Zen Pinball stands as the prime destination for satisfying all your pinball cravings.

Regular Release of New Tables!

Zen Pinball consistently introduces fresh and exciting tables, ensuring that players always have something new to explore. Keep an eye on the table menu for the latest releases from Zen Studios!

A-Force

"Look around! It seems like New York, but look at all those Soviet signs. When the Cosmic Cube shattered, did it rewrite reality?" - Black Widow

A-Force is one of the two Marvel pinball tables that are part of the Women of Power pack, released in the fall of 2016 and available for Zen Pinball 2, Pinball FX 2 and Pinball FX 3. Based on the 2015 comic book series of the same title, this table covers an original story in which Black Widow and Madame Masque accidentally end up in a different reality where the Soviet Union takes over the United States after a fight that destroys the Cosmic Cube. The two unlikely partners must put aside their differences to restore reality.

Table overview

The upper half of the table

At the back left corner of the table is a crossramp that curves across a rock face and away from the corner to eventually enter a diverter mechanism built inside a toy replica of the A-Force tower, which is also the same destination of a dueling, shorter crossramp at the opposite corner of the table. Balls that enter this structure from behind via either crossramp can be diverted into one of two exit habitrails: a left habitrail destined for the leftmost inlane, with a diverter near its terminus that takes the ball to Black Widow's wrist stinger blaster on the left rebound or a right exit habitrail leading to the right inlane with a diverter midway through its course, which can drop the ball to a right mini-flipper when activated.

The left crossramp curves over some sort of garage containing a jeep that Black Widow and Madame Masque must hijack to evade capture while in the new Soviet reality. Right next to it is a clear bumper area that is the terminus of the table's right ramp. Balls that enter it pass through rollovers that spell HELI and exit it through three holes to drop the ball at different places in the bumper area it is installed above: between the two left bumpers, between the frontmost and right bumpers, or behind the right bumper. The left drop hole places the ball into what is also the terminus of the table's leftmost lane. The middle hole puts the ball near a left mini-flipper used to access the right crossramp.

The bumper area gates the left entrance of a mini-orbit dedicated to Titanium Man, an enemy that Black Widow and Madame Masque must fight on their quest to restore reality. The right bumper is also itself a ball trap that spins the ball a random number of times, with a front-facing door that opens to lock the ball inside. Beside this bumper is a very short lane to a saucer that catches the ball, then diverts it around and behind the right bumper and back into the bumper area, before dropping into the left mini-flipper or down the left lane. Besides the entrance to this saucer is the other end of the Titanium Man mini-orbit. The entrances of all these lanes are diagonally staggered to allow the ball to hit the right crossramp at the other end of the table, which curves over buildings in the Soviet-dominated New York City and right under a toy water tower, before reaching the A-Force tower. A sinkhole is just to the left of this crossramp, between the crossramp and the right Titanium Man mini-orbit.

The left mini-flipper used to access the abovementioned right crossramp is installed directly in front of of the frontmost bumper, and a magnet is installed to the right of it to help the player use it. This flipper sits to the right of a sinkhole and the entrance of the left crossramp. Not far from this flipper, on the other side of the table, is a sinkhole enclosed in the helmet of Titanium Man, whose visor is a barrier target. Enough space is left on the right side of the helmet to allow the ball to reach the right end of Titanium Man's mini-orbit. Along the right table wall is a platform where a figure of Madame Masque, one of Black Widow's enemies, usually stands. This platform is inclined towards the front of the table to allow the ball to drop down a short exit habitrail leading to the right inlane.

The lower half of the table

In front of the entrance of the left crossramp is a short left ramp that curves left to merge into the left exit habitrail. Shots up this ramp may be diverted to the abovementioned stinger wrist blaster. The front corners of this ramp's entrance each contain a target shaped into Black Widow's symbol, To the left of this ramp is the table's leftmost ramp, which leads to the bumper area. To the right of this ramp, otherwise known as the stinger ramp, is a side-facing target bank that can be accessed with the right mini-flipper on the other side of the table, which is placed between the path to Titanium Man right mini-orbit and the bumper ramp's entrance. A third Black Widow target is installed in front of this other mini-flipper.

There are five return lanes, three on the left and two on the right. The left return lanes spell CAR and the right inlane is the kickback activation inlane. There are two rebounds, with the left one containing a toy replica of Black Widow's wrist-mounted stinger blaster, aimed at the platform on the back table wall, which can launch the ball there and drop it into an exit habitrail at the end leading to the right inlane. There are also two flippers, with lamps for score multipliers near them. The left apron contains a helicopter pad and the right apron contains a replica of a metro station in the new Soviet-ruled reality.

The plunger

The plunger is a spring-loaded mechanism, shaped into Madame Masque's pistol, that launches the ball up a short shaft that merges into the trajectory of the table's bumper ramp to take the ball there. The goal of the skill shot, in which Madame Masque must shoot a spotlight to avoid detection, is to shoot the ball to the bumper area with the proper force such that it drops into one of two lit middle HELI rollovers en route there, whose position can be switched between the 2nd and 3rd position via flipper operation. A successful skill shot scores 1 million points and opens up a time limited chance to shoot the right crossramp as the ball falls to the left mini-flipper for a super skill shot worth at least 2 million points. A successful super skill shot opens the chance to hit the other crossramp for a Marvelous Skill Shot worth at least 4 million points, via the other mini-flipper. The base skill shot value can be increased by 500,000 from one of the random awards.

Objective and missions

The goal of this table is to help Black Widow and Madame Masque put aside their differences and work together to undo a dangerous new reality where the Soviet Union won the Cold War and took over the United States of America through five missions. To start a mission, the player must shoot either crossramp three times to lock the ball in the A-Force tower, then choose which mission to play using the flippers. On the first wizard mode run of a session, the player is not required to beat the mission successfully, but on subsequent runs, the player must beat each mission successfully. Missions will fail prematurely when the ball is lost. Successful missions will score 15 million points in addition to any points scored from the mission; this value can be increased by 2 million by shooting the right sinkhole four times during normal play. The following missions must be started (or completed on subsequent wizard mode runs) to start the wizard mode:

Two Widows Sting: Black Widow is just getting used to her new surroundings when a doppleganger loyal to the Soviet Union threatens her. To gain the upper hand over her, the player must land three shots on her with the stinger, shifting between attack and defense roles, with the defense phase starting first. In the defense phase, the player must shoot the bumper ramp, right Titanium Man mini-orbit or bumper ramp within 10 seconds to dodge Soviet Black Widow's attack. After that, a 10-second attack phase will begin where the player must shoot the bumper ramp, stinger ramp or the left crossramp. The mission ends in success after 3 successful attacks against Soviet Black Widow, or in failure after 3 failed defense phases.

High Speed: Black Widow and Madame Masque must hijack a jeep and evade the pursuing Soviet forces. First, the player must shoot three combos, guided by lit lanes, to help Black Widow hot-wire the jeep to begin the escape within a time limit. Then, the player must help Black Widow and Madame Masque fend off pursuing jeeps by hitting small toy jeeps that advance down certain lanes until they are pushed back far enough to explode. If the player allows four jeeps to make it to the end of a lane before the same number are pushed back and destroyed, the mission will fail; otherwise, it will succeed.

Black Widow Comrade: With the Soviet Black Widow on their trail again, Madame Masque puts her powers to use to take down this doppleganger. The player must first stun the enemy by shooting the right side of the Titanium Man mini-orbit within 10 seconds, then follow through with a right crossramp or left ramp shot that feeds the stinger to attack. Three successful attacks will defeat Soviet Black Widow and finish the mission successfully; if the player takes too long to land a blow, she will hit Madame Masque. Three hits will end the mission in failure.

Prevent the Reinforcements: Black Widow and Madame Masque must stop the Soviets from delivering weapons to reinforcements. The player has 85 seconds to destroy 10 crates dropped by a helicopter across the playfield, taking off from the left apron. Helicopter Multiball locks are temporarily made inaccessible during this mission due to the helicopter dropping off reinforcements.

Titanium Man: During their quest to restore reality, Black Widow and Madame Masque face one other significant obstacle: Titanium Man. While maintaining a 2-ball multiball, the player must hit Titanium Man's visor, or the back of his helmet, enough times to reduce his health on the scoring display to zero; doing so clears the mission, while losing either ball fails the mission. Hits to the back of his helmet deal more damage, and progress towards Titanium Man Multiball will be disabled during this mission.

Once all five missions are started (or cleared on subsequent wizard mode runs), the wizard mode, Restore the Reality, will be ready to start the same way other missions were started. This is a final, timed 4-ball multiball mission where Black Widow and Madame Masque must battle the Soviet Madame Masque to recover the shattered Cosmic Cube, which she uses to create fake cubes that the two must discern, represented as the four balls. The player has 45 seconds to shoot 12 lit lanes to reveal and eliminate 1 fake cube (and ball) and this procedure must be repeated two more times, with 45 seconds allotted per procedure, to remove all fake cubes. Immediately before the mission begins, Titanium Man will disable the main flippers, so Black Widow and Madame Masque will have to use their weapons to propel the balls in the main flippers' absence. Once the fake cubes are eliminated, the player must lock the last ball, representing the true Cosmic Cube, into the stinger ramp to defeat Soviet Madame Masque and finally restore reality. The player is only allowed one attempt at this wizard mode and it will fail if the player takes too long to eliminate one fake cube, or drains the ball on the final shot.

Side modes

The following side modes can be activated during play:

Sharpshooter: Black Widow can master her stinger blaster to defeat enemies. If the player makes 5 shots to the stinger ramp, it will lock the ball into the stinger blaster on the left slingshot. The player must then use the flippers to aim the stinger blaster at the right table wall and hit a figure of Soviet Black Widow to attack Madame Masque, scoring 2 million for a successful shot. The side mode fails if the player misses or takes too long to shoot.

Patrol Car: Black Widow and Madame Masque must remain undetected in their dangerous mission, and their cover may be at risk of being blown when a patrol car is nearby. If the player spells CAR on the left return lanes (with their lit positions cycling with flipper operation), the player must race against time to shoot the left lane as many times as possible to push an advancing patrol car back to the bumper area for 2 million. Every time the mode has been completed, CAR must be spelled one more time to activate it.

Tower Defense: The A-Force tower, which somehow ended up in the Soviet-ruled reality, is besieged from all sides. This side mode begins after a certain number of bumper hits, in which the player must hit the crossramps as many times as possible in 30 seconds to claim a hurry-up value starting at 2.5 million points and decreasing to 100,000 points. If She-Hulk has been collected, the hurry-up will start at 5 million.

Titanium Man Bashing: Black Widow and Madame Masque can attack Titanium Man to make sure he doesn't interfere with their mission. If the player shoots the Titanium Man mini-orbits enough times, a hurry-up will start where the player must hit Titanium Man's visor as many times as possible to claim a hurry-up value starting at 2.5 million points and decreasing to 100,000 points. If She-Hulk has been collected, the hurry-up will start at 5 million. If both Titanium Man Bashing and Tower Defense are active, the display will show the current score pools for both.

Multiball

There are two optional multiball modes that can be activated:

Titanium Man Multiball: Titanium Man continues to be a persistent foe in Black Widow and Madame Masque's mission. After enough hits to Titanium Man's visor, the visor will open to reveal a saucer that the ball can be locked into for Titanium Man Multiball. After three balls are locked, multiball will begin and the player can score jackpots worth 1 million by shooting the Titanium Man mini-orbit. Hitting both sides of the mini-orbit will qualify a super jackpot worth 4 million that can be claimed by shooting the saucer in Titanium Man's helmet; collecting the super jackpot will light an extra ball. This mode will continue until the player drains down to a single ball.

Helicopter Multiball: The Soviets are distributing weapons to reinforcements to make Black Widow and Madame Masque's mission harder. If the player spells HELI on the bumper rollovers, the next shot into the central saucer right of the bumper area will lock one ball for Helicopter Multiball; locking three balls will start the mode, in which jackpots worth 100,000 points can be scored by destroying weapon crates placed throughout the table. Spelling HELI at any time during normal play while the lock is already lit or the Prevent the Reinforcements mission is active will add 25k to the base jackpot value.

Perks

The following perks can be activated during play:

Ball Saver: At the start of each ball and multiball mode, a 15-second ball saver will activate. Once it expires, it can only be reactivated with a random reward.

Kickbacks: Kickbacks can be activated by dropping the ball into the right inlane to start a time-limited chance to shoot the stinger ramp to progress towards activating one, with the left kickback taking priority over the right one. The number of ramp shots needed to activate a kickback starts at 1 per ball and increases every time the kickbacks are activated. Kickbacks persist across balls until they are used.

Bonus Multiplier: Hitting all 3 Black Widow targets will start a 15-second hurry up where the player can shoot any of five flashing lit lanes (the left lane, stinger ramp, both ends of the Titanium Man mini-orbit or the bumper ramp) to advance the bonus multiplier up to 10x. Each lane can only be used once per advancement, and the multiplier level is only good for the current ball unless a multiplier hold is earned from random awards. If the bonus multiplier is maxed, any of the five lanes above can be shot for score rewards of 1 million points during the hurry-up timer.

Random Awards: If the player hits all 3 targets of the random award target bank lining the right outer wall of the stinger ramp, the player can shoot the left sinkhole for a random award, including instant activation of kickbacks, reactivation of the ball saver, lighting an extra ball, increasing the skill shot value by 150,000, 5 million points, or a multiplier hold.

A-Force Members: Black Widow and Madame Masque are able to summon the aid of the A-Force to help their plight. The player can progress towards reaching a random A-Force member by first knocking down a target in the right bumper's ball trap, then shooting the ball inside to make it spin a random number of times. The scoring display shows how much distance needs to be traveled to find an A-Force member, and once it reaches zero after repeated shots into the ball trap (with the ball trap barrier resetting after each use of the trap), the player can then shoot the right sinkhole near the right crossramp to get a certain A-Force member. Members are scored in the following order:

She-Hulk: Increases the starting size of the score pool for Tower Defense and Titanium Man Bashing side modes.

Captain Marvel: Increases score rewards for shooting valid target lanes in mission modes.

Spider-Woman: Increases the time limits for missions.

Thor (Jane Foster): Increases the time limit for the wizard mode.

Wasp: Reduces the number of shots needed to remove a fake Cube/ball in the wizard mode.

Extra Ball: Extra balls can be lit by beating the wizard mode, earning a super jackpot in Titanium Man multiball, getting a particular random award, maxing out the bonus multiplier or finding all five A-Force members. All extra balls are claimed by shooting the central saucer.

Tips

It is essential to master cross-shots to excel at this table. It is not too difficult to pull them off, due to special table aids like a magnet or a special habitrail exit that will drop the ball conveniently to the mini-flippers you need to hit them. Conveniently, you can shoot the end of the Titanium Man miniloop that's opposite of the mini-flipper you want to access - this is the most reliable way to reach either one.

Recruit the A-Force members! Look especially for Thor (Jane Foster) and Wasp if you want an easier wizard mode; plus collect them all for an extra ball! Also, take advantage of table perks to earn kickbacks, ball savers and extra balls.

Use side modes and optional multiball modes to help you practice beating most of the missions and take advantage of how the latter can be activated during a mission to increase ball survivability.

Ant-Man

"Shrunken in scale but increased in strength - welcome to my world!" - Ant-Man

Ant-Man is one of the three Marvel pinball tables that are part of the Cinematic Pack, released in 2015 and available for Zen Pinball 2, Pinball FX 2 and Pinball FX 3. Based on the 2015 Marvel Cinematic Universe film Ant-Man, directed by Peyton Reed, this pinball table explores the efforts of scientist Hank Pym to recruit the crook Scott Lang to become the superhero Ant-Man and use his size-altering powers to stage a daring heist of the Yellowjacket, a weaponized, shrinking suit produced by Darren Cross' abuse of Pym's shrinking technology.

Table overview

The upper half of the table and Underfoot mini-playfield

An irregular large orbit wraps around the major lanes of this table; while shots to the left entrance exit out the right entrance, shots to the right entrance feed a winding habitrail ramp running along the left wall of the table leading to the left inlane. If combos are active, a pop-out diverter gate will activate that forces balls shot up the right entrance to continue down to the left entrance. Near the gate‘s location is an area with 2 rollover lanes above 3 bumpers, which can be entered with weak shots to the right orbit, and generally exits to the left flipper or left slingshot. To the right of the left orbit is a short turnaround ramp that instantly swerves the ball out of the left orbit, with a figure of Hank Pym standing above its entrance.

To the right of this turnaround ramp is an upper flipper used to make shots to a crossramp that loops the ball back around to the same flipper. Gating the left end of the mini-orbit along with the upper flipper is a spinner with four inserts in front of it indicating the current score per spin. This mini-orbit wraps around a central ramp spelling LAB and a circular area with two sets of target banks, with the upper one spelling PYM, right in front of the mini-orbit's apex. The former sends the ball down to the right inlane, but will feed the Underfoot mini-playfield described later or lock a ball if the lift towards the end of the ramp is raised. There is also a large, blue Pym Particle placed in front of the target banks. Behind the right end of the mini-orbit and the crossramp is a sinkhole that the right orbit wraps around, which can either be made with weak shots using the plunger or up the right orbit, or a magnet that forces the ball into the sinkhole once it goes up the right or left orbit.

Between the crossramp and the right orbit is a single standup target that can be hit to raise the Pym Multiball jackpot value. There are also two targets flanking the center ramp that can be hit to make the ramp divert the ball to the Underfoot mini-playfield underneath the center of the table. Hanging on the right wall of the table is a rotating containment pod for the Yellowjacket suit that contains a magnet that can capture the ball.

The mini-playfield is a circular underground area. There are five different targets on its back wall representing various dangers Scott Lang experienced when he first tries on the Ant-Man suit. Towards the bottom half are two wide slingshot bars that can be rotated with the flippers to bounce the ball towards the targets, with an outhole in between the bars where the ball eventually drains to exit the mini-playfield.

The lower half of the table and Cassie Save mini-playfield

A large scale model of the Ant-Man helmet is placed on the left side of the table, which turns around depending on where the ball is currently located on the playfield. Its mouthpiece can open up to capture balls traveling down the left habitrail before they drop into the left inlane. The helmet is a ball locker, and at the start of Army of Ants Multiball, the balls will be ejected from the helmet towards the right flipper. An elevator trap towards the end of the right habitrail can be accessed via completing the two targets flanking the ramp, and will send balls into the Underfoot playfield or lock balls for Yellowjacket Multiball if they were fed from the containment pod. A figure of Ant-Man stands next to this lift.

Near the helmet and elevator trap are single standup targets that activate one of the two different kickbacks guarding the outlanes of the table; the former activates Cassie Save for 3 attempts or adds 1 attempt if it is already lit, while the latter activates 25 seconds of Magna-Save or adds 25 seconds more if it is already lit. There are four evenly distributed return lanes, two slingshots and two flippers. (The four return lanes and the two bumper rollovers are all marked with an "X" symbol to indicate their multiplier rule.) The left outlane is guarded by a challenge-based subway kickback that must be reached through a mini-playfield game dedicated to Cassie, Scott's daughter, while the right outlane is guarded by a magnetic kickback. Near the latter is a pop-up jump ramp that can launch balls shot towards the right orbit up into Yellowjacket's containment pod, which feeds the elevator trap.

The left kickback is a mini-playfield in of itself with a picture of Cassie, Scott's daughter, embedded in the table's left apron. It is shaped into an upside-down triangle, with the actual subway kickback jutting right out of the right corner. A saucer is placed at the base of the mini-playfield, with a gobble hole right next to it that the ball will fall into upon running out of Cassie Save attempts. The walls of the mini-playfield are lined with rubber bands, and the mini-playfield is tilted with the flipper buttons to bounce the ball against the walls and up to the exit to save the ball.

The plunger

The plunger is a spring-loaded mechanism that fires the ball straight into the right orbit. The goal of the skill shot is to drop the ball into one of the two bumper rollover lanes, which is achieved by determining the correct amount of power to apply to the plunger to shoot the ball there. Skill shots score 100,000 points.

Alternatively, the player can execute a super skill shot by holding the left flipper and applying full force to the plunger to take the ball down to the left flipper for a chance to shoot the central Lab ramp for a base value of 2 million, increasing by 1 million for each super skill shot on the same ball. There is also a third, secret skill shot that can be scored by plunging the ball just short of the apex of the large orbit so that the ball falls into the sinkhole behind the crossramp. Along with scoring 1 million, the secret skill shot will score whatever is currently lit at the sinkhole.

Objective and missions

The goal of this table is to help Scott Lang master his abilities as Ant-Man to steal the Yellowjacket suit before its creator Darren Cross, a former colleague and protégé of Hank Pym, seeks to use it for destructive purposes, through seven missions - four single-ball missions, and three multiball modes.

Each mission has its own start method and must be completed successfully (or in the case of the mandatory multiballs, simply started) to progress to the wizard mode, The End. Draining the ball during a mission will result in failure of the mission, and missions can be repeated even after they are successfully completed to increase the jackpot values in the wizard mode by 1 million. Starting a mission after having completed it also increases the base scoring for the mission by 1 million.

Outside of Sparring with Hope which takes priority over normal play, all single-ball missions can be brought into Multiball modes and their timers will stop for as long as the Multiball is active.

The following missions must be completed successfully to reach the wizard mode:

Sparring with Hope: Hope Van Dyne, Hank's daughter, offers to train Scott and help him master his evasiveness as Ant-Man by shooting paintballs for him to dodge. If the player completely fills the yellow ring gauge marked SPARRING in the dead space above the flippers with shots to the spinner, the next shot up the left or right orbit will start a mission where the player assumes the role of Hope trying to track down and shoot Ant-Man with her paintball gun. Ant-Man shrinks and stands near a particular lane entrance, indicated by a red radar symbol, and the player must aim and fire the paintball gun at the lane where he's in front of five times to win. Only 3 shots are available at the beginning, with each successful hit adding 3 more and each hit to a post between the lanes removing a shot (although shots that do not hit a post will roll back into the outhole and can be reused). 30 seconds are given to make the necessary hits on Ant-Man before this mission ends in failure, which also occurs if all paintballs are destroyed from hitting posts; if the player finishes the mission, a bonus round will start where the player can use their remaining ammo to score a million per successful hit. The flippers are disabled during this mission, as their buttons instead control a turntable in the sparring ring meter that determines where the paintball gun will be aimed, with a yellow arrow indicating the direction it is aiming. The launch button operates the paintball gun's trigger.

Chase: Hank and Scott's operations are not exactly legal, and the police are quick to take notice and pursue them. If the player spells COPS by shooting either orbit 4 times, then shoots either orbit one more time, a hurry-up will begin where the player helps Scott evade the police by shooting the orbits four times, with each shot collecting a dwindling score on the scoring display that starts at 2 million and increases by 1 million after each successive shot, meaning better points are awarded for shots made sooner. After 4 orbit shots, a 20 second bonus round will begin where further orbit hits award the most recently collected value, before the mission ends successfully. It will fail if the player takes too long to make any of the 4 necessary orbit shots to win. Note that if a ball falls into the bumpers during this mode, the hurry-up will continue to decrease in value. Each hurry up lasts about 15 seconds.

The Crims: After being out of jail, Scott moves in with three other men he refers to as "The Crims": Luis, Kurt and Dave. The three eventually help him steal the Yellowjacket. If the player shoots the crossramp 4 times while a combo isn’t active, once for each of the three Crims and again to start the mode, a mission will start where the crossramp must be hit another 3 times in 30 seconds to collect 2, 4, and 6 million. The mission is completed after collecting all three values, and the player can continue to hit the crossramp as many times as possible for triple points until the 30 second bonus round time limit runs out. If the player takes too long to make any of the needed shots, the mission will fail.

Mischief: Becoming small and strong leads to a lot of trouble for Ant-Man, especially considering his willingness to use the suit for his personal gain. If the player hits the turnaround ramp 5 times, a hurry-up mode will start where both ends of the mini-orbit and all ramps outside of the crossramp (a total of 4 lanes) will start flashing. Each shot scores a value from a dwindling score pool starting at 1 million, and must be shot before time expires. Making all four flashing lanes successfully will start a 30 second bonus round where the same lanes can be hit again for the most recently scored value. Each hurry-up lasts about 15 seconds, and the mini-orbit shots will take priority over the timer resets until either have been made.

The following 3 multiball modes must also be started up to access the wizard mode. Pym Multiball can be started during either of the two other Multiball modes, but stacking is disabled otherwise:

Pym Multiball: The Pym Particles power the shrinking technology Hank has patented. The giant Pym Particle functions as a captive ball and it must be hit so that it is pushed against the top target bank to spell PYM. Once PYM is spelled, the particle will shrink in size, and it can be shrunken to the size of a pinball after PYM is spelled one more time with that shrunken particle. Once it is the same size as the ball, the Pym Particle will be released into play to start a 2-ball multiball. The lower target bank below the PYM target bank can be hit with the normal ball for jackpots starting at 2 million and increasing by 100,000 for each shot to the right standup target during normal play, which will then shrink the ball to a very tiny size for a chance to hit the target bank again for a super jackpot worth 10 times the normal jackpot value. A new jackpot can be made available by hitting the lower target bank with the particle ball. Once either ball is lost, the player can restore the Pym particle by shooting the particle ball towards the target banks within the mini-orbit. Draining back to single ball play with the normal ball will allow the player to make one more shot at scoring a jackpot / super jackpot before restoring the particle.

Army of Ants Multiball: True to his name, Ant-Man can also command an army of ants. The player can summon his ant army by locking 3 balls for a 3-ball multiball, with each ball locked by shooting both large orbits and the three ramps to gather each unique species of ant comprising Ant-Man's army on both large orbits and all ramps, then making a strong shot up the right orbit to take the ball down the winding left habitrail so that it's captured into the ball locker in the model of Ant-Man's helmet. Alternatively, 3 consecutive strong shots up the right orbit will score a fast lock, scoring a million once fast lock has been lit. Once 3 balls are locked into the helmet, the multiball will begin as 3 balls release from it. Four of the lit lanes (excluding the crossramp) score jackpots starting at 2 million, increasing by 100,000 with shots to the mini-orbit and multiplied by 10x by the "X" rollovers. After collecting all four normal jackpots, a strong shot up the right orbit will award a super jackpot worth 5 times the original jackpot value and reset the process of collecting jackpots to light the super jackpot. If the super jackpot has been collected once during the current Army of Ants Multiball session, subsequent shots to the crossramp will score Ant-Thony Jackpots (a name given to Ant-Man's flying ant) worth 3x the normal jackpot value for the rest of the Multiball.

Yellowjacket Multiball: Darren Cross seeks to use the Pym particle technology to create a powerful shrinking suit called the Yellowjacket, and as he suffers from insanity, he seeks to sell it to terrorists as well and fight off anyone who interferes with his plan. If the player spells LAB on the central ramp, a jump ramp will pop up in front of the right orbit and a ball can be shot up the ramp and into the containment pod on the right wall of the table, which will drop the ball down the right habitrail and into the elevator trap near Ant-Man to be locked. Locking 3 balls in this manner starts a 3-ball multiball depicting a battle between Ant-Man and Yellowjacket. For the first five seconds of the mode, the turnaround Mischief ramp will be lit for a one-time double jackpot, becoming a normal jackpot afterward. Once it's collected, a super jackpot worth 5x the normal jackpot value will be available on the jump ramp and is scored if the ball is shot up the ramp and into the containment pod again. After a super jackpot has been scored, the player must hit the lower target bank 4 times, increasing by 1 for each super jackpot scored, to light the next jackpot. The same jackpot value rules as described in Army of Ants Multiball apply here.

Once all 7 missions are completed, the wizard mode, The End, will be made available with one shot up the right orbit. This wizard mode depicts the final confrontation between Ant-Man and Yellowjacket, and it is fought automatically as a 4-ball victory multiball. Any lane awards a jackpot, worth a base value of 7 million + 1 million per successful mode completion for the current wizard mode run. A double jackpot can be earned by shooting the large orbit once to capture the ball then knocking it out with a second ball, while jackpots collected with the Pym Particle ball award a quadruple jackpot. Ant-Man will also attack Yellowjacket for every double jackpot collected. This victory multiball will continue until all but one ball is lost, and the table will reset.

Side modes

There is only one side mode on this table, and it is the Underfoot mini-game. It is available to start once the 2 targets at the central LAB ramp are hit, opening a time-limited chance to shoot that ramp to lock the ball into an elevator trap on the way down its habitrail, which will take the ball to the Underfoot mini-playfield. The player must then rotate the slingshot bars with the flipper buttons to bounce the balls at the slingshot targets at the back end of the mini-playfield as many times as possible before the ball drains from the mini-playfield. Each successful target hit scores 100,000 multiplied by the number of target hits made during the current Underfoot session. Making 20 target hits in a row will light an extra ball.

Multiball

There are no optional multiball modes; all multiball modes are mandatory and required to start the wizard mode.

Perks

The following perks can be earned during play:

Ball Saver: A 30-second ball saver is granted at the start of each ball and multiball mode. Once it expires, it cannot be reactivated again normally. A free short ball saver will activate if the player drains the ball through the outlane and raises the bonus multiplier at the same time by lighting all 6 multiplier rollovers.

Cassie Save: Scott does not want to disappoint his daughter Cassie and is determined to support her. If the player hits the left target near the Ant-Man helmet, the Cassie Save will activate as the left kickback, which is a mini-game that the player must win to successfully save the ball. The first target hit awards 3 tries for the Cassie Save mini-playfield in the left kickback, with subsequent hits adding an additional try. Once the ball drains down the left outlane, it will be diverted to the Cassie Save mini-playfield, where it will briefly rest on a saucer at its base, before popping up briefly to begin a try. The player must rapidly rock the mini-playfield such that the ball will bounce up the walls of the mini-playfield and make it to the sinkhole at the top of the mini-playfield, where a bonus will be scored based on the number of tries left over and the ball will return to play. If the ball lands back in the bottom saucer, the current try fails and is subtracted from the total number of tries available. Once all tries are used up, the ball will be dumped from the starting saucer into the gobble hole right next to it, and the ball will be drained immediately regardless of whether the ball saver was turned on. The "Danger" lamp will be lit if the player has only one try left. Cassie Save tries will persist between balls, and after one use of the Cassie Save, regardless of success or failure, the mini-playfield becomes inaccessible until the left target is hit again.

Magna-Save: If the player hits the target near the figure of Ant-Man, a magna-save will activate the right outlane for 25 seconds. Unlike the typical magna-save seen in Zen tables, this magna-save activates automatically if a ball is about to drain near the right outlane, and sends balls into the right inlane. The timer for magna-save will pause in between balls, and shots to the target while magna-save is already lit will add 25 seconds to the timer.

Bonus Multiplier: Lighting all 6 rollovers (the 2 at the bumper area and the 4 in the return lanes) will raise the bonus multiplier by +1x, which is only good for the current ball unless the multiplier hold is activated by completing Super Jets once. The 6 rollovers are all connected, meaning that when the flippers are operated, the positions of the lit rollovers will cycle across all 6 rollovers. Completing the 6 rollovers during a multiball mode will instead increase the jackpot multiplier by +10x.

Super Jets and Multiplier Hold: If the bumpers are hit 50 times with the same ball, Super Jets will activate, awarding 100,000 points per bumper hit. Hitting the bumpers another 50 times with Super Jets active (for a total of 100 hits) will hold the bonus multipliers for the next ball and end Super Jets. Completing Super Jets while the multipliers are held will light an extra ball.

Pym Capsules: Pym particles can be stored in capsules and are used to both power the Ant-Man suit and alter the size of objects. If the player hits all 5 targets on the lower target bank, a Pym Capsule is acquired. It can be used to score a lit shot in any of the 3 standard single-ball missions by tapping the launch button while any of those three missions are in progress. Pym Capsules can be stacked, and persist across balls.

Combos: Hitting the left orbit, the Mischief ramp, either mini-loop entrance, the crossramp, and the right orbit in any order - without repeating shots, and within 10 seconds of each other - scores combo values worth 1 million times the number of shots made in the combo (ie. 4 million for a 4-way combo). Scoring a 5-way combo increases the combo values by 1 million points for the rest of the session, and lights an extra ball the first time one is collected.

Extra Balls: Extra balls can be lit at the large orbit sinkhole by completing all 4 single-ball missions, achieving a high score of 20 or higher on the Underfoot minigame for the first time, maxing out the bonus multiplier at 10x, scoring a 5-way combo or completing Super Jets while the multiplier hold is already active. Each of the 5 unique extra ball methods can only be claimed once per ball.

Tips

The crossramp is a very difficult shot, as the only way to consistently shoot it is to make a slow shot up the mini-orbit so that the ball slowly rolls down to the left end for a chance to line up a cross-shot right into the crossramp. The crossramp is needed to light locks for the Army of Ants multiball, as well as start the main mission The Crims. If the crossramp shot is too difficult for you, practice the Army of Ants fast lock with 3 consecutive strong shots up the right orbit, and get 3 Pym Capsules that you can use to skip The Crims once you make the necessary 4 crossramp shots to start it up - just make sure you have the capsules before you start the mission.

Because the kickbacks are not reliable and the ball saver is impossible to reactivate after the beginning of balls or multiballs, focus on earning extra balls as backup to extend your session. The easiest one to earn requires performing a 5-way combo.

The Sparring mission can't be skipped with Pym Capsules. Use trial and error to determine which angles you need to shoot at to hit Ant-Man, and use the segments of the turntable's ring gauge as reference points to determine which segments can be used to shoot which lanes. This mission becomes easier with time, so determine the angles that work for you and you’ll be able to complete this mode consistently.

The End is the highest scoring mode on the table - as it should be, considering it's the final wizard mode - but the normal Multiball modes can also be very high scoring if you focus on completing the multiplier lanes to increase the jackpot value by 10x. Super jackpot values of over 200 million during Yellowjacket Multiball are very possible if you put in the effort.

References & Easter Eggs

The layout is similar to a mirrored version of the layout of Theatre of Magic, which was later recreated as part of the second volume of the Williams collection. Both tables have an orbit shot that either loops around or falls into the bumpers depending on the strength, and an upper loop that quickly sends the ball around the center area.

Like Black Rose before it, the table has a ball cannon; unlike that table, however, the cannon in Ant-Man consistently feeds and shoots balls. Coincidentally, the table was released in the same volume of the Williams collection as Theatre of Magic.

Other real-life tables that have a larger captive ball which can be hit with the flippers include Cirqus Voltaire's Menagerie ball and Cue Ball Wizard's 8-ball.

The smaller Pym particle ball behaves similarly to the rubber "Powerball" in Bally's 1993 Twilight Zone table. Both are balls made out of very different materials that cannot be magnetized like normal pinballs, but are used primarily in a single, high-scoring feature.

The Cassie Save feature is a tribute to a highly advanced nudging technique possible on real-life tables, where the player rapidly shakes the machine to get a ball to bounce right out of an outlane. This is very difficult to do in real-life and will likely trigger a tilt, but Ant-Man emulates this feature by having the mini-playfield move left and right, with highly elastic rubbers on both sides.

The sounds heard for each bumper hit during Super Jets are reminiscent of electro-mechanical chimes heard on very early pinball tables.

The Avengers

"There was an idea, to bring together a group of remarkable people, so that when we needed them, they could fight the battles that we couldn't." - Nick Fury

The Avengers is one of the four Marvel pinball tables that are part of the Avengers Chronicles Pack, released in 2012 and available for Zen Pinball 2, Pinball FX 2 and Pinball FX 3. Based on the blockbuster film The Avengers, this table involves uniting various Marvel superheroes under the leadership of SHIELD director Nick Fury to confront Loki and thwart his scheme to rule the world with an alien army.

Months after this table was released, Stern produced a physical pinball adaptation of the film with different designs, mechanics and behaviors than Zen's The Avengers table.

Table overview

The upper half of the table and gangway mini-playfield

The entire table is designed to resemble the innards of the SHIELD Helicarrier, in which the Avengers meet aboard to plan a mission to defeat Loki, as well as interrogate him while he is held prisoner aboard. At the back left corner of the table is a two-lane mini-playfield resembling the gangway used to board a Quinjet, in which a toy model of it is placed at its end. There are four trapdoors in the that open and close randomly arranged in rows of 2, with the first row in the middle of the playfield and the second row at its end. This gangway can be tilted sideways with the flippers to allow the ball to drop into a locker inside the Quinjet model, and becomes accessible once a robotic arm lowers the gangway so that it connects with a short, incomplete branch at the apex of Hawkeye's ramp, which is sealed off with a gate that would normally allow the ball to fully travel the entirety of the ramp.

Below the Quinjet is the table's left orbit, representing Thor, and it is gated by a flag resembling the head of Mjolnir, his enchanted hammer. Next to it is a hairpin ramp representing Black Widow that takes a sharp U-turn below the underbelly of the Quinjet, before traveling down into the table's looping leftmost return lane. A miniloop representing SHIELD goes under the Black Widow ramp's entrance as it rises, with its left end being part of Thor's left orbit.

Next to that miniloop, at the center of the table, is a crosslane that bypasses the left to take the ball down the right orbit or into a bumper area. The left corner of its entry also has a target marked with the SHIELD logo. Weak shots up the right orbit can cause the ball to travel down this crossline, which represents Iron Man and also briefly wraps around a platform where a figure of Loki stands. The platform has a cross-section that can rotate to expose various target banks to start different missions. The target banks obstruct a hidden sinkhole and can collapse to allow the ball to be locked inside it. To the right of this platform is the Captain America ramp, a right-curving, horseshoe-shaped ramp that drops the ball down the right orbit. To the right of this ramp is the abovementioned Hawkeye ramp, which makes a large arc from the right side of the table all the way to the left, with a branching ramp leading to the Quinjet gangway when it lowers as mentioned above.

The right orbit is right next to this ramp. This orbit wraps around a bumper area and contains three bumpers. Incomplete orbit shots will lead the ball to this bumper area, passing through one of three rollovers, and balls exit the bumper area by draining right down to the right orbit. There are six target posts that spell SHIELD placed in between the entrances to the table's major lanes. A mini-flipper is installed on the right side of the table, used to access Iron Man's crosslane.

The lower half of the table

Consoles, computers and control panels that are used to operate and manage the Helicarrier are seen near the bottom of the table. A figure of Thor stands on the left side of the table, near his orbit. Beside him is a twin target bank spelling ODIN, his father. On the other side of the table is a figure of Iron Man. Near him is a sinkhole representing SHIELD headquarters where the ball can potentially return to the plunger to change Avengers.

There are two rebounds, two flippers and five return lanes, 3 on the left and 2 on the right, that spell TRICK ARROW, Hawkeye's signature weapon, with two letters per lane. The leftmost return lane is a loop lane where balls returning from Black Widow's ramp travel down, then cross the adjacent left outlane and under the left rebound to go straight to the left flipper. Each outlane has a subway-jump kickback that can be activated to save the ball, which diverts the ball to a nearby VUK at the table apron that pops the ball back into play. In the dead space directly behind the flippers are eight lamps that spell ASSEMBLE.

The plunger

The plunger is a simple spring-loaded mechanism that launches the ball up a straight shaft under the platform of Iron Man's figure, and takes the ball up the right orbit. To perform a skill shot, the player must guess the correct amount of plunger power that will cause the ball to drop into a lit bumper rollover.

Hanging directly above the plunger is a ball rack containing six different balls, themed after the major Avengers who were called to battle Loki. A ball from this rack that the player chooses is dropped into the plunger at the start of each ball and whenever the ball is returned to the plunger via the headquarters sinkhole. The player will need to choose different balls at times strategically during a session to achieve high scores and make good progress on the modes.

Objective and missions

The goal of this table is to unite the Avengers, consisting of Iron Man, the Incredible Hulk, Black Widow, Thor, Captain America and Hawkeye, and lead them on a mission to stop Thor's brother, Loki, the god of mischief, in his scheme to rule the world with the Chitauri, under orders from Thanos, through six missions that each have a different start procedure. Each mission can only be attempted once before starting the wizard mode.

The following six missions must be attempted in order to access the wizard mode:

The Quinjet Multiball: The Quinjet is a useful aircraft that can quickly transport SHIELD personnel and members of the Avengers, while possessing great recon and combat capabilities. This mission solely consists of starting up the Quinjet Multiball as described later in this section; and an attempt to lock balls for it can be started by shooting the Hawkeye ramp 4 times, which will open a gate at its apex that diverts the ball to the Quinjet gangway, which will lower down to an accessible height once the four shots are made. After the ball is shot up that ramp a fifth time, the ball will enter the gangway and randomly go down one of two lanes on the gangway, and the player must carefully tilt its mini-playfield so that it avoids the opening trapdoors on it and rolls all the way down to the Quinjet cockpit. After 2 balls are locked in this manner, a 2-ball multiball will begin in which the player can shoot either Black Widow's ramp or Hawkeye's ramp for a chance to earn a jackpot by shooting either of 2 sinkholes at Loki's platform. After either ball is lost, the player is given a 30-second opportunity to shoot the Iron Man crosslane for a final jackpot to repair the Quinjet. This mission will be successfully completed once the multiball ends with either ball being lost, lighting up the letter A in the word ASSEMBLE.

Repair the Engines Multiball: Onboard the Helicarrier, while the Avengers are divided over what to do with Loki, help arrives for the villain when a few heroes he brainwashed, Hawkeye and some SHIELD agents, attack and damage the Helicarrier. In the ensuing chaos, the Avengers must put an end to their bickering and work together to avoid defeat. To start this mission, the player must shoot Iron Man's crosslane or Captain America's ramp so that the target bank cross-section of Loki's platform will rotate to expose a single red target with Iron Man's arc reactor icon on it, flanked by two sinkholes. Then, without shooting any other character lane, the player must lock 2 balls, one into each of these sinkholes. The two balls will then be launched back into play for a 2-ball multiball mission and the player must help Captain America and Iron Man repair the damaged engines during the attack by shooting both orbits and the Hawkeye ramp while juggling the two balls representing them. Every time each of these three lanes are shot, the player must quickly shoot Captain America's ramp within a 20 second time window (or 30 seconds if Captain America and Iron Man's balls are used for this mission). The player has a limited amount of time to make the six necessary shots to make most of the repairs, then can finish the mission by locking either ball back into the sinkholes flanking the Iron Man target in the rotating target bank to exit the engine room. One attempt of this mission will light the first S in the word ASSEMBLE.

Duplicates: One of Loki's powers is to clone himself to evade the Avengers, but the Hulk is ready to smash up Loki and call him a "puny god" once he can find him. To start this mission, the player must shoot the right orbit so that the target bank cross-section of Loki's platform rotates to expose a moving green target with a radiation symbol on it. Then, without shooting any other lanes, the player must hit it 6 times, two for each major position (left, center and right), to knock it down and open a sinkhole, which the ball must be brought into. Then two clones of Loki will spawn at the entrances to two major lanes, and they must be hit with the ball in order to be eliminated. The player must defeat 3 pairs of Loki clones in order to find the real one, who will be standing by himself on one random lane, which must be hit to knock him down and end the mission successfully. However, the player has only a limited amount of time to defeat each pair of clones, as well as defeat the real Loki. One attempt of this mission will light the second S in ASSEMBLE.

Thor vs. Loki: For Thor, Loki's evil plans are a personal matter as his stepbrother, and Thor resolves to reason with him shortly after Loki is captured in Germany. To start this mission, the player must shoot the left orbit so that the target bank cross-section of Loki's platform rotates to expose three target banks marked with a Mjolnir icon. Without shooting any other lane, the player must hit these targets 4 times to begin a showdown between the two brothers. To help Thor vanquish Loki, the player must give him a taste of Thor's fully charged Mjolnir, which is powered up by spinning the Mjolnir flag on the left orbit as many times as possible until a meter on the scoring display fills completely, then hit the Thor target bank at Loki's platform to hurl the hammer at him. However, Loki can attack Thor after a time limit is reached, so the player must help him avoid Loki's attack by shooting a ramp that is far away from where Thor is standing. A successful dodge will cause Thor to switch sides on the table, but he may interfere with the flippers while this is being done. The duel ends when either Thor or Loki are struck three times, resulting in the letter E being lit in ASSEMBLE.

Thor vs. Hulk: When the Helicarrier falls under attack, the chaos and stress of the situation causes Bruce Banner, the alter ego of the Hulk, to assume superhero form, but become too agitated to do anything heroic. Thor must use his powers to restrain Hulk before he reels out of control. To start this mission, the player can choose either to spin the Mjolnir flag in the left orbit to fill up Thor's name on the scoring display, or hit the bumpers near the right orbit to fill up Hulk's name on the scoring display. Once either name is completely filled, this mission will begin from the perspective of which name was filled up first. An on screen rage meter will appear, indicating how much of an advantage Hulk has over Thor. If the player started the mission on Thor's perspective, the goal of the mission is to reduce the meter, but if the player started the mission on Hulk's perspective, the meter must instead be completely filled. Regardless of perspective, the mission can be completed successfully by shooting lit lanes quickly before the rage meter moves away from the goal. After the battle ends, the letter M will be lit in ASSEMBLE.

Interrogation: After Captain America, Iron Man and Black Widow capture Loki in Germany and Thor agrees to allow him to be imprisoned onboard the Helicarrier, Black Widow decides to visit Loki in person and try to interrogate him. To progress through this mission, the player must shoot Black Widow's ramp so that the target bank cross-section of Loki's platform rotates to expose three target banks marked with Black Widow's symbol. The player must hit these targets without shooting any other lanes so that the center one collapses to reveal a sinkhole that the ball can be shot into to for a chance to get one of three pieces of crucial information from Loki in hopes of defeating his invasion. Once that occurs, Black Widow will ask Loki a question and the player must race against time to shoot a lit lane to make Loki give out its answer. This entire procedure must be repeated three times, one for each question and answer, to complete this mission and light each of the last 3 letters in the word ASSEMBLE.

Completing all 6 missions and spelling ASSEMBLE in the dead space above the flippers will immediately start the wizard mode, Avengers Assemble. This is a 4-ball victory multiball, involving 4 of the possible 6 Avengers characters at any given time, where all the Avengers will unite to finally confront and defeat Loki, stopping his invasion. Any lane will award a jackpot, but if the player shoots a particular character ball into its matching lane, a super jackpot will be awarded. Only 4 Avengers can be represented on the table at a time, but before the first ball is lost, the player can lock a chosen character ball into the SHIELD HQ sinkhole to swap it with a ball for one of two other Avengers at the ball rack above the plunger, selected at random. After the first ball is lost, shooting that same ball with one chosen ball will replace it with a random character ball. The multiball will continue until only 1 ball remains, and the table will then reset.

Perks

The following perks can be activated during play:

Captain America's Ball Saver: Captain America uses his trusty vibranium shield to deflect attacks as well as defeat enemies from afar. A 30-second ball saver is awarded at the start of each ball and multiball, and once it expires, it can be reactivated by shooting Captain America's ramp 4 times.

Trick Arrow Kickbacks: Hawkeye is well known for shooting trick arrows, including one that takes down Loki at the end of the battle over New York. If the player spells TRICK ARROW on the return lanes, the left kickback will light. This 10-letter phrase must then be spelled again to light the other kickback. Once activated, kickbacks stay on until they are used.

Iron Man's Tech Score Multiplier: Iron Man brings technical expertise to the table in the mission to defeat Loki. If the player shoots Iron Man's crosslane 4 times, the score multiplier will increase, up to a maximum of 20x. The multiplier is only good for the current ball and can also be increased 4 times every time a mission is completed successfully with the correct ball.

Odin's Blessing Double Scoring: Thor is also supported by his father, Odin, who can use the Odinforce to strengthen his son. If the player spells his name with 4 hits to his target banks with Thor's ball, all scoring will be doubled for 30 seconds.

Captain America's Combos: Being a super soldier, Captain America possesses great athleticism. The player can earn more points by shooting combos, but if the player is using Captain America's ball, the amount of time allotted for the next step in the combo will increase, and there will be a chance to earn an extra ball for an 8-way combo with his ball.

Black Widow's Mission Bonus: Black Widow is committed to completing whatever assignment she's given. Shooting her ramp 4 times will slightly raise the rewards for completing missions permanently.

Hawkeye's Marksmanship Skill Shot Reward: Hawkeye is well-known for his marksmanship. If the player lights all 3 bumper rollovers representing bullseye icons, the reward for skill shots will increase.

SHIELD Award: The Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division is committed to defend the world from threats, enlisting superheroes to keep the peace. If the player spells SHIELD on the target posts, then hits the SHIELD logo target with a cross-shot, a random award will be granted, which ranges from extra points to an extra ball.

Extra Balls: Extra balls are awarded by earning one from the SHIELD award, executing an 8-way combo with Captain America's ball or collecting all Super Jackpots in Avengers Assemble. All earned extra balls must be claimed by shooting the SHIELD HQ sinkhole.

Avenger balls

To reflect each Avenger's unique strengths and personalities, there are six unique balls, each with different gameplay properties, that the player can choose from and play with. The player must choose them strategically to earn more points or accomplish tasks more easily. The player will be prompted to choose a character at the start of each ball, as well as when the ball is locked into the SHIELD HQ sinkhole after the SHIELD miniloop is shot 4 times. The player uses the flippers to choose a ball and presses the launch button or waits seven seconds to confirm the choice. Every time a character is switched, the player will have a chance to perform a skill shot.

The following 6 Avengers are available to play with:

Black Widow: A former spy for the Soviet Union, Natasha Romanova instead has become a valuable ally for SHIELD, providing it her intelligence, martial arts and small weaponry skills to confront threats. With her ball, the player only needs to shoot her ramp twice to raise mission rewards, and only needs to shoot Hawkeye's ramp twice for a chance to lock a ball for Quinjet Multiball. Also, during that multiball mode, the player earns an increased jackpot if the player locks her ball in the left sinkhole.

Captain America: A super soldier created in World War II to help the Allied forces defeat the Axis powers and save democracy, Steve Rogers ended up in the present day after he makes a sacrifice that instead leaves him frozen in the Arctic. He offers to improve team morale to help the Avengers defeat Loki. With his ball, the player will have more time to extend combos, and is given a longer ball saver. An extra ball can be earned from shooting an 8-way combo with this ball. The time limits for the mission Repair the Engines will also be longer with this ball.

Hawkeye: A skilled archer who can also shoot arrows that induce other effects, including ones that explode, Clint Barton has become known as The World's Greatest Marksman and can provide ranged support. With his ball, the player only needs to shoot his ramp twice for a chance to lock a ball for Quinjet Multiball and the skill shot reward increases for each successful skill shot, or whenever all 3 bumper rollovers are lit. Furthermore, this ball can also activate kickbacks twice as fast than other balls, as each return lane rollover it hits will light both letters in that lane instead of one of them. During Quinjet Multiball, the player earns an increased jackpot if the player locks his ball in the right sinkhole.

The Incredible Hulk: Bruce Banner, a scientist exposed to gamma rays, develops the ability to transform into a large, green monster when under stress. His muscular strength is a great asset to the team. With his ball, the player is able to start up missions that require hitting targets at Loki's platform much faster, as hits to these targets are "power hits" due to his great strength, counting as a double hit to the target as opposed to single hits from other balls. This ball also increases the scores for hitting rebounds and bumpers, and will also decrease the number of bumper hits needed to start the mission Thor vs. Hulk from his perspective.

Iron Man: High tech billionaire Tony Stark, after becoming a victim of his own weaponry during an American military campaign on the other side of the world, is given a second chance at life and seeks to use it to become a superhero with his technology, inventing powerful weapons and technology that are of invaluable use for SHIELD. With his ball, the player only needs to shoot his crosslane twice to increase the score multiplier, and can also earn better prizes from the SHIELD random award. The time limits for the mission Repair the Engines will also be longer with this ball.

Thor: Thor Odinson, an Asgardian known as the God of Thunder, has the power to master thunder and lightning, and is worthy to wield the enchanted battle hammer Mjolnir. With his ball, the player can activate Odin's blessing for double scoring, as well as decrease the number of Mjolnir flag spins needed to start the mission Thor vs. Hulk from his perspective. This ball also charges up Mjolnir faster during the mission Thor vs. Loki.

Tips

The persistence of kickbacks across balls due to the typical difficulty of activating them - combined with how Hawkeye's ball activates kickbacks with just half the effort needed with other balls, should convince you to consider beginning each session with that ball and using it to get the kickbacks turned on quickly so that they can be at your service, extending ball survivability. In the meantime, you can also increase ball survivability even further by shooting Captain America's ramp 4 times with any ball (it does not matter) to reactivate the ball saver once the initial one expires at the start of each ball.

It should not be difficult to get to the wizard mode because you do not need to clear most missions successfully to get there. However, you might need to get some extra balls to survive the long way there, which you can get from SHIELD rewards, or by mastering long combos with the Captain America ball.

If you drain the ball down the left outlane without the left kickback available, you can possibly save it by making a well-timed nudge (specifically right before the ball rolls down the diagonal portion of the left outlane) that will force it through the one-way gate that balls going down the looping return lane next to it will pass through to go straight to the left flipper.

Avengers: Age of Ultron

"You want to protect the world, but you don't want it to change..." - Ultron

Avengers: Age of Ultron is one of the three Marvel pinball tables available in the Cinematic Pack for Pinball FX 3, originally released as a standalone table for Pinball FX 2 and Zen Pinball 2 shortly before the film's release. The table depicts the events of the 2015 MCU film of the same name, following the Avengers' efforts to stop a rogue AI originally created by Tony Stark to defend the world.

Objective and missions

Help the Avengers pursue Ultron across the world in hopes of defeating him by playing seven missions, then take Ultron down for good in the Redemption wizard mode after completing the missions.

Prologue

After selecting the desired difficulty setting, the player will be able to choose whether or not they want to start the optional Stark's Mistake prologue mode. This mode is a 2-ball multiball played with the Iron Man & Hulk balls, depicting the initial creation of Ultron through the two scientists' ingenuity. All major shots during this mode will increase the jackpot value by 10,000 points per shot, but the player must focus on shooting either spinner a total of 150 times in 60 seconds to construct Ultron, with each spin adding .5% to the completion percentage shown on the scoring display; shooting the spinners using the Iron Man ball will add 1% per spin instead. Once Ultron has been assembled, the player must lock one ball back into Avengers Tower to win the mode. No penalties are given for failing the mode, and both balls will drain if the 60 second timer for the mode expires. The mode can also end if either ball is lost.

Missions

Each mission must be started by spelling a word (or two) at one of the major shots on the playfield, and must be won by making the required shots while keeping the ball in play. Each non-multiball mission has a 30 second timer (+10 seconds if the Assault hurry-up was completed) that resets for each lit shot, and some missions have other methods of extending the timer as well. The value for completing each mission starts at 15 million (25 million on medium, 35 million on hard), adding 10 million for each successive activation of the wizard mode, and the shots are worth 1/10th of the completion value; repeating a mission that has already been completed before starting the wizard mode will reduce all scoring in the mission by 1/10th to prevent exploiting the mission.

The seven missions, listed from the Roman numerals I to VII, are:

I - Black Market: Iron Man & Black Widow team up to fight against Ultron. This 2-ball multiball mission starts after spelling MARKET at the left entrance to the mini-loop. The player must keep both balls in play, making 15 lit shots to defeat Ultron's forces within 60 seconds, then lock a ball at Avengers Tower to finish the mission. Four shots will be lit blue and four will be lit red; shooting a lit shot with the corresponding ball will double the value of the lit shots. The mission ends in failure if the player drains either ball or the timer runs out.

II - Widow's Mission: Spelling WIDOW at the left ramp with 5 shots will start a mission representing Black Widow's motorcycle run through Seoul. Three Ultron sentries will spawn in front of three randomly selected shots; to complete the mission, the player must shoot 5 flashing shots while avoiding the sentries, as hitting three sentries will end the mission in failure. The sentries change positions with every lit shot made. After the third lit shot has been collected, Cap's shield will spawn as an item that can be collected with the ball for 500,000 points at the Avengers Tower shot.

III - Besieged: Cap, Hawkeye, and Black Widow must rescue trapped civilians in Seoul following Ultron's destruction of the city. Spelling CAPTAIN at the right entrance to the mini-loop will begin this mission, lighting all eight major shots; only one of the lit shots will hide a trapped civilian, and after rescuing them, they must be saved by shooting the Avengers Tower shot. Shooting the right ramp during this mission will add 12,500 points to the values for each shot, while shooting lanes that were already shot will add 4 seconds of time. Rescuing 3 civilians will finish the mission in success.

IV - A God's Wrath: Completing the two drop targets in front of the center sinkhole will allow the player to collect letters in THOR. Spelling THOR will start this mission where Thor must fight waves of Ultron sentries attacking a train and the Quinjet by shooting the left ramp and reverse scoop, respectively. If the timer expires and a shot hasn't been made, the sentries will destroy one of the shots, which must be fixed by shooting it with the ball again; if both shots are destroyed, the mission will fail. Defeating 10 total sentries, then shooting the Avengers Tower shot, will finish the mission.

V - Science Bros: Collect 60 spins at the spinner in front of the right orbit, and make 30 bumper hits to fill up the letters in IRON MAN and HULK and start this 2-ball multiball mission. Iron Man must put an end to the enraged Hulk's destruction. Shots can only be lit during this mode by shooting them with the Hulk ball, then the Iron Man ball must be used to collect the flashing shots. After making 8 flashing shots, the player can lock one of the balls at Avengers Tower to finish the mission.

VI - Hawk's Nest: Hawkeye uses his archery skills to fend off the Ultron sentries. Spelling HAWKEYE with seven shots to the right ramp will start a video mode mission, where the player must use the flippers to aim the bow and press the launch button to fire at approaching sentries. The player only has 12 ammo (11 on medium, 10 on hard) to defeat a total of 9 sentries and win the mission, meaning if they miss enough shots, they won't be able to finish the mission successfully.

VII - Machine vs. Machine: Synthetic body Vision assists in using JARVIS to block Ultron from conquering the world. Shooting the reverse scoop six times to spell JARVIS will begin a mission where 5 random shots will light to make progress in the mission, changing positions and decreasing by 1 each time a lit shot is made - so only one shot will be lit for the fifth, final shot of the mission. Shooting unlit shots will increase the value of the lit shots by 12,500 points. Making all five lit shots will end the mission in success.

Redemption

Redemption starts automatically as soon as the player finishes the last mission they needed to complete. This 4-ball multiball wizard mode represents the Avengers' final victory over Ultron, and requires the player to make twelve flashing lane shots to defeat Ultron. Once the player has made all twelve shots, the mode will transition into a victory multiball where all shots are constantly lit for jackpot, and random teal flashing lanes are lit for super jackpots worth 2x the jackpot value. Shooting a flashing lane with the corresponding ball will enhance the jackpot value by 100,000 points. Redemption ends when the player returns to single-ball play; a brief cutscene will be seen before the player returns to playing through the seven missions again, and an extra ball will be lit if the player won the first phase wizard mode.

Side modes

The two side modes on this table are Assemble Hurry-Ups and Invasion. The former awards various perks to make certain features score higher and make playing through the game easier, while the latter is a quick and easy way to increase the jackpot value.

Assemble Hurry-Ups

Shooting the spinner between the entrances of the center orbit will fill up the word ASSEMBLE on the scoring display. Once ASSEMBLE has been filled, with 30 spins total, one of the hurry-up modes listed below will start. Assault will always be the first hurry-up mode qualified at the start of a new game; to change the qualified hurry-up mode to the next listed one, the player can shoot Avengers Tower. Each completed Assemble Hurry-Up also increases the bonus multiplier by +1x - and every 5 Assemble Hurry-Ups light the Avengers Tower to hold the bonus multipliers on a 10-second hurry-up timer. Perks granted from completed Assemble Hurry-Ups can't be stacked.

The available hurry-ups are:

Assault - Shoot a random flashing shot to help Black Widow defeat a sentry. Increases the timer for main missions by 10 seconds.

Take Off! - Shoot Avengers Tower to launch the Quinjet. Increases the timer for locking balls for Invasion by 5 seconds.

Calm the Rage - Shoot the bumpers to calm down the Hulk. Reduces the number of spins required to start an Assemble Hurry-Up to 15 spins.

Worthy - Shoot the center sinkhole to pick up Mjolnir and become worthy. Increases the kickback timer by 10 seconds.

Neural Override - Shoot the right mini-loop entrance and the right orbit to strengthen Vision and increase the ball save timer by 5 seconds.

Retribution - Shoot the bumpers from the upper platform to strike down Ultron, and increase the skill shot value by 50,000 points.

Invasion

Spelling ULTRON at the return lanes, whose inserts cycle with flipper button presses and cancel out if the ball rolls over an already lit return lane, will light the Avengers Tower to lock a ball for 10 seconds (+5 seconds if the Take Off! hurry-up was completed). The Tower can lock 4 balls total, and needs to be relit by spelling ULTRON for each lock; if the timer runs out before the player locks a ball, or after they lock the fourth ball, Invasion will start and Ultron's sentries will swarm the table. Shooting the sentries with the ball(s) will award jackpots, and increase the jackpot value by 50,000 points for every jackpot collected. Invasion ends after the 30 second timer runs out. Defeating 30 sentries across multiple attempts at this mode will light an extra ball.

Perks

The following perks can be activated on this table:

Ball Save: A 15-second ball saver (20 seconds if the Neural Override hurry-up was completed) is active at the start of every new ball and Multiball mode. Once the timer expires, it can be reactivated by spelling VISION at the top rollover lanes, whose inserts cycle with flipper hits.

Kickbacks: Hitting the two drop targets blocking the center sinkhole and the two blue standup targets will light both kickbacks for 20 seconds (30 if the Worthy hurry-up was completed). Thor will throw his hammer at balls saved via the kickbacks, but they otherwise behave as standard kickbacks that send the ball above the slingshots and towards the flippers. If a ball is in the bumpers while the kickbacks are lit, the kickback timer will freeze until the ball exits the bumpers. Each kickback can only be used once before having to be qualified again with target hits.

Bonus Multiplier: Every completed Assemble Hurry-Up mode increases the bonus multiplier by +1x, which maxes at 10x bonus. After every 5 completed Assemble Hurry-Ups, shooting the Avengers Tower within 10 seconds will hold the bonus multipliers for the next ball.

Random Award: Balls that fall into the bumper eject or far right kickout count down to scoring a random award at every 6 shots. Random awards include: jackpot, super jackpot, activating the ball save, increasing the bonus multiplier, or lighting the extra ball.

Jackpot Value: At the start of the game, the jackpot value is 500,000 points. The jackpot value can be increased by 50,000 points in several ways throughout the game, primarily through defeating sentries during Invasion or making jackpot shots with corresponding balls in the Redemption wizard mode.

Combos: Shooting any major lane repeatedly during single-ball, non-multiball play scores combo points worth 50,000 points times the number of shots made in the combo. Reaching a 10-way combo lights an extra ball.

Extra Ball: Extra balls can be lit at the Avengers Tower by winning the Redemption wizard mode, defeating 30 sentries during Invasion in a single game, maxing out the bonus multiplier to 10x, making a 10-way combo, or lighting it off the random award.

Tips

Whenever you need to make the Avengers Tower as the final shot during a mission or if it's lit to score an extra ball, remember, you can always shoot the right mini-loop entrance to get credit for the shot. This is generally far easier than shooting the right ramp and attempting to make the Tower from the upper right flipper.

Science Bros. is arguably the toughest of the main missions to complete, due to having to control two balls and make certain shots at certain times. Certain shots can be repeatedly made to send the ball to a single flipper and finish the mission more easily - these shots include the left ramp, the right orbit, and the right ramp. Don't play this mission the way you would a normal, high-scoring multiball.

The difficulty doesn't matter that much, but medium difficulty is the recommended option; on hard difficulty, the left mini-loop entrance is very difficult to make, making the Black Market mission a road block on the way to starting Redemption. Medium difficulty's physics are more forgiving, and the scoring isn't nearly as low as on easy difficulty.

If you accidentally started a mission before reaching Redemption, time it out by holding the ball on either flipper and waiting for the mission's timer to expire. The missions are very difficult on this table, and the low points for repeating them before starting the wizard mode aren't worth the risk. A God's Wrath can be especially painful in this regard, as you might accidentally start it while going for Assemble Hurry-Ups.

Blade

"I feel my strength returning." -Blade

Blade is one of the first four Marvel pinball tables released in 2010 and available for Zen Pinball 2, Pinball FX 2 and Pinball FX 3. It is based on the superhero vampire hunter of the same name, who is a human-vampire hybrid with powerful weapons and abilities, collaborating with the supernatural detective Hannibal King to hunt and eventually bring down Marvel's version of the famous vampire Dracula.

Table overview

The upper half of the table and mini-playfield

At the back left corner of the table is a right-looping ramp paved with stone, representing a citadel that Blade visits to hone his abilities. It leads down a passageway destined for the left most inlane. This ramp loops around a large hole where a figure of Deacon Frost, a villain Blade once fought, appears, transformed into some sort of monster. A series of sinkholes appear to the right of the front of this hole, blocked off by targets on the outer wall of this looping ramp.

Next to this ramp is an elevated mini-playfield, whose lanes comprise of a fire miniloop wrapping around a mission sinkhole blocked by rotating drop targets containing rune marks of some sort. This mini-playfield is guarded by two mini-flippers. Its left wall, which is also part of the citadel ramp's outer wall, is also the mini-playfield's entrance, implemented as a diverter gate that can fold out into the ramp's trajectory to bring the ball in. Balls that drain from the mini-playfield go down a long habitrail destined for the right inlane. Below this mini-playfield are two lanes: one leading to a sinkhole representing a shrine and the left end of another mini-loop.

To the right of all these is a ramp representing alleyways where vampires may hide, with targets on its front corners. It approaches the back right corner of the table before turning into a spiraling drain representing the sewers. The ball goes down this drain and down the right end of the abovementioned mini-loop, which is gated by a flag and flanked by the alley ramp and another ramp that shares its destination: the sewer ramp. The latter also has a diverter mechanism that deflects the ball down a hidden sinkhole to the right of the ramp's entrance, locking the ball in a platform containing a figure of Hannibal King, a detective assistant of Blade.

The entrance to the citadel ramp is gated by a bumper area representing ultraviolet energy, with the frontmost one also having a lair sinkhole in front of it. The bumpers are arranged in such a way that they allow both a clear shot up that ramp, as well as a clear left cross-shot up a short lane leading into a sinkhole that is a vertical upkicker popping the ball into the citadel ramp's path. On the other side of the table is the mini-flipper that is the only one that can access such hole. It sits between the right end of the main miniloop and the sewer ramp, whose entrance is further towards the front of the table, beneath Hannibal's platform.

The lower half of the table and citadel mini-playfield

The front half of the left table wall is themed after the citadel that is the destination of its namesake ramp. It contains a mini-playfield of its own that balls entering the ramp must pass through, comprising of a passageway, with its left wall lined with pushers operated with the flipper buttons and its right wall lined with holes that allow the ball to travel down another passageway that runs parallel to it, with its opposite wall lined with targets representing talismans that Blade uses to enhance his abilities. Both of these passageways converge to one dropdown that brings the ball to the leftmost inlane. Beneath this mini-playfield are a series of sinkholes representing treasure, with an exit vertical upkicker all behind them that takes the ball down a short, straight habitrail leading to the inner left inlane.

On the other side of these sinkholes is another lone sinkhole used for ball locking. There are five return lanes, 2 rebounds and 2 main flippers. The left outlane is guarded by a low-power spring-loaded kickback, while the right outlane is guarded by a diverter gate that diverts the ball back to the plunger. A figure of Blade stands on the left apron on an oversized copy of a comic book about him. A mysterious compass used for locating vampire hideouts is on the opposite apron. Score multiplier lamps appear between the right inlane and plunger shaft. The right table wall also contains two gauges representing the amount of energy Blade has gained and his available funds.

The plunger

The plunger is a spring-loaded mechanism shaped into the handlebars of a motor bike Blade uses to get around places quickly, with its tachometer serving as the plunger's strength gauge. It launches the ball up a short straight shaft that turns left to bring it into play diagonally, although a diverter mechanism will occasionally pop in and out of the turn's wall to influence the ball's movement. The goal of the skill shot is to guess the correct time and amount of plunger strength that will launch the ball into a flashing treasure sinkhole on the other side of the table. A successful skill shot will take the ball to the VUK behind these holes to bring it to the left flipper for a chance to shoot the alley ramp to feed it to the mini-flipper and use it to shoot the hidden sinkhole left of the bumpers for a super skill shot.

Objective and missions

The goal of this table is to help Blade and Hannibal hunt down vampires and eventually challenge Dracula to rid the world of vampires through seven missions. Four of these missions (which involve fighting Blade's nemesis, Deacon Frost) require a unified, specific activation procedure to access and the player can choose any of such missions to attempt each time it is performed. (It is to shoot the citadel ramp at nighttime to divert the ball to the mini-playfield, then knock down enough runes blocking the mission sinkhole with its flippers to eventually shoot the ball into it.) The other three missions have their own activation procedures. All but one of these missions must be completed in nighttime mode, with the remaining one available at any time. (It will be daytime at the start of a session.) Most missions must be completed without losing the ball. In the few other missions where this rule does not apply, it is either not possible to fail the mission, or the ball will be held motionless during it.

The following missions must be completed to unlock the wizard mode:

Visions: Blade can seek out vampires through visions. Hitting the bumpers many times in either time of day will eventually spell out the word VISIONS. Once the word is fully spelled out, Blade will be able to figure out what Dracula is up to and the mission will be complete, lighting the letter D in the name DRACULA. This mission has no unique activation procedure and cannot be failed.

Clear A Lair: Blade must root out vampires from lairs where they hide. To start this mission, the player enter nighttime mode, then shoot the lair sinkhole, shoot a lit lane and then shoot the lair sinkhole again. The player must then shoot lit lanes five times. The lanes are all arranged in a row and will cycle positions from left to right every two seconds and every time a target lane is hit, one lit lane will disappear, making it progressively more difficult to hit the remaining ones. The player has 15 seconds to hit each target lane and will earn the letter R in the name DRACULA if they can complete this mission successfully.

District Sweep: Some vampires can disguise themselves as humans and Blade and Hannibal must use their skills to single them out. This mission begins when the player shoots the shrine sinkhole twice at night. The second shot lock the ball for a video mode in which the player must quickly race against time to find a vampire among four suspects on the scoring display. The player uses the flippers to select which one is the vampire and presses the launch button to confirm. The vampire will look differently than the other three. There are four levels of difficulty (each representing the four districts Blade and Hannibal investigate) and their difficulty level number is the number of rounds that must be cleared successfully to win. This mode can only be completed four times per wizard mode run; any further shrine sinkhole shots will instead award 1 million points. Beating the first level lights the letter A in DRACULA.

Personal Differences: Blade has a score to settle with his nemesis Deacon Frost. This is one of the four missions that involve fighting Deacon Frost and must be activated through the mission start procedure described above at nighttime. In this mission, the player must shoot three different lit target lanes quickly before Blade's energy fully depletes. Doing so will award the letter C in DRACULA.

Nocturnal Visitors: Blade and Hannibal argue over who is more capable of stopping Deacon Frost. This is one of the four missions that involve fighting Deacon Frost and must be activated through the mission start procedure described above at nighttime. In this mission, the player must shoot three of five lit lanes once to help sort out the argument; hitting any previously shot lane three times or taking too long will cause Blade's energy to deplete, resulting in mission failure. (The five lanes available at the start are both ends of the main miniloop, the citadel ramp, the alley ramp or the sewer ramp.) Completing this mission successfully lights the letter U in DRACULA.

Mirror Images: Blade and Hannibal must battle clone mirror images of themselves. This is one of the four missions that involve fighting Deacon Frost and must be activated through the mission start procedure described above at nighttime. This is a 2-ball multiball mission in which the player must hit any of 3 target/sinkholes and any 3 ramps/orbits, then lock either ball into the shrine sinkhole. Blade's energy does not deplete during this mission and it will fail only if either ball is lost. Successfully completing this mission awards the letter L in DRACULA.

The Cathari Katana: Blade builds his ultimate weapon, the Cathari Katana. This is one of the four missions that involve fighting Deacon Frost and must be activated through the mission start procedure described above at nighttime. In this mission, the player must collect each of the four pieces of the sword, strewn over four lanes: the alley ramp, the sewer ramp and both ends of the main miniloop. Each lane can only be shot once and for each lane hit except the last one, the player must shoot the citadel ramp before shooting any of the remaining lanes containing the sword parts. Successfully completing this mission lights the letter A in DRACULA.

Once all 7 missions are completed, the wizard mode, Dracula, will be available to start the same way the Deacon Frost missions are started. This is a final battle between Blade and Dracula. To defeat Dracular, the player must perform the following tasks:

First, the player must hit 15 lanes or targets within the time limit.

Second, the player must help Blade obtain all four talismans to gather the power to defeat Dracula. This involves hitting all four talisman targets in the citadel mini-playfield once. There is no time limit and the player must shoot the citadel ramp as many times as possible and make the necessary pusher jabs at the right time to strike each of the targets once.

The final stage is a 3-ball multiball in which the player must shoot ten lit lanes before all but one ball is lost.

After completing all three phases successfully, the wizard mode transitions to a victory multiball where any balls lost in the final stage are replaced and lit lanes award jackpots that are triple the value of shooting targets/lanes in the first phase. This victory multiball continues until all but one ball is lost. The player can try the wizard mode as many times as possible until it is won or all balls are depleted, then the table will reset.

Day and night cycles

Pivotal to this table is a day-night cycle, with modes available in one time of day, but not the other. Because vampires are active at nighttime, Blade must gather strength to battle them when that time of day comes. Each table session starts in the daytime where all but one mission is disabled. Energy can be recovered by shooting sinkholes, especially the shrine sinkhole, in the daytime. The time of day changes automatically through time, although this can happen earlier if certain actions occur. The table changes between time of day instantly when the player cradles the ball and holds the launch button, and will also change from night to day if Blade's energy depletes.

The missions, side modes and perks available for either or both times of day are as follows:

Side modes

The following side modes can be activated during play, depending on time of day:

Day-exclusive side modes

Bound Captives: Blade occasionally rescues people in peril in the daytime. If the player shoots the alley ramp or the sewer ramp in the daytime, the barriers blocking the score multiplier sinkholes will go down for a chance to shoot them and earn score rewards, plus funds for the workshop.

Darkhold Chapter Suppression: The Darkhold is a dangerous spell book created from dark matter in hell and Blade seeks to neutralize its eight chapters to keep the world safe. If the player found Darkhold Chapters by knocking down targets blocking the mission hole at night (or by obtaining Musenda's Boots in the daytime, one of the four talismans), the player can suppress each one by shooting the shrine sinkhole for score rewards.

Night-exclusive side modes

Darkhold Chapter Search: The Darkhold is a dangerous spell book created from dark matter in hell and Blade seeks to neutralize its eight chapters to keep the world safe. Every time the player knocks down a drop target blocking the mission sinkhole, a chapter will be ready to suppress in the daytime with a shot to the sinkhole.

Payback: Hannibal King delivers vengeance with a powerful cannon. If the player shoots the sewer ramp four times, the ball will be locked into Hannibal's platform and the player will have a chance to shoot a target near the citadel ramp from his perspective with the launch button for extra points.

Lone Vampires: Blade frequently hunts down and eliminates vampires. If the player strikes both front corners of the alley ramp at night, the player must shoot a flashing lit lane to slay a vampire. The reward for doing so increased with each vampire slain.

Haunted Alley: Blade also enters haunted alleys to slay more vampires. If the player shoots the alley ramp four times, the player must shoot a flashing lit lane to slay a vampire. The reward for doing so increased with each vampire slain.

Multiball

There are three optional multiball modes available, one in the daytime and two in the nightime:

Daywalker Multiball (Day): Despite being half-vampire, Blade can survive the daytime and sun rays. If the player executes a 5-way combo or spells BLADE by collecting a talisman, collecting treasure, completing Bound Captives successfully, purchasing one item from the workshop and shooting the shrine sinkhole, a quick multiball will begin where the player can shoot 3 lit lanes and then the citadel ramp for a jackpot. This mode continues until all but one ball is lost.

UV Multiball (Night): Blade weaponizes ultraviolet energy to defeat vampires. If the player hits all 3 treasure sinkholes at night, a 2-ball multiball will start. The player must shoot lit lanes to plug security breaches. Doing so five times adds a third ball into play. Every 100 security breaches shot will also award a score bonus. This mode continues until all but one ball is lost.

Hannibal Multiball (Night): Hannibal is a skilled supernatural detective. If the player shoots the lock sinkhole once, its ball locker will then be able to accept 3 ball locks. Once 3 balls are locked into the sinkhole with 3 more shots, a multiball will start, where any of three ramps (the citadel, alley or sewer) grants a jackpot, with the shrine sinkhole awards a super jackpot. The value of the next super jackpot depends on how many jackpots were collected before it was hit, and the value of jackpots themselves rises with each main miniloop shot. This mode continues until all but one ball is lost.

Perks

The following perks are available during play, with some of them being available on only one time of day:

Perks available on either time of day

Ball Saver: At the start of each ball and multiball, a 30-second ball saver will activate. Once it expires, it can be reactivated by performing the kickback activation method when kickbacks are already activated, purchasing the twin blades from the workshop or by shooting the hidden sinkhole four times with mini-flipper cross-shots.

Kickbacks: Shooting the left end of the miniloop several times will activate both kickbacks, which are only good for the current ball. Kickback activation can also be purchased as Kevlar armor in the workshop. Either method activates both kickbacks simultaneously. The left kickback is a low-power spring-loaded mechanism, while the right kickback diverts the ball back to the plunger.

Score Multiplier: The score multiplier, which is only good for the current ball, can be advanced through the following methods: successfully completing enough Bound Captive side mode runs in the daytime such that all 3 multiplier sinkholes are hit, purchasing the Tearwood Dagger at the workshop or completing the target bank that blocks such sinkholes in the nighttime.

Funds: Blade needs money to develop special weapons and technology to aid in his mission of ridding the world of vampires. Every mode, whether mandatory or not, awards extra funds if completed successfully. Funds are then spent at the workshop in the daytime to buy certain perks, each represented by a special technology item that can be built at the workshop.

Extra Ball: Extra balls can be awarded by destroying all Darkhold Chapters, starting the Daywalker Multiball by spelling BLADE, maxing out the score multiplier or performing poorly on the first two balls. All extra balls are claimed by shooting the lair sinkhole or draining the ball in either outlane.

Perks available in the daytime

Energy: Blade requires special energy to become a powerful vampire hunter at night. To gain energy, the player can shoot any sinkhole in the daytime, with more energy awarded at the shrine sinkhole (if no Darkhold Chapters are available to suppress). The more energy collected, the more time Blade has available to clear night missions against Deacon Frost successfully.

Talismans: To defeat Dracula, Blade must obtain special talismans from his mentors to augment his powers further. Shooting the citadel ramp in the daytime will take the ball to its mini-playfield, which involves using the pushers to strike any of four targets beside the mini-playfield's main corridor to obtain talismans, each with their own unique benefits. They are as follows:

Ogun's Wristband: A mystic wristband worn by a corrupted ninja that once trained Wolverine and has the power to possess other people. Obtained by hitting the rearmost of the four targets in the citadel mini-playfield, this item permanently increases all scores by 100 points.

Musenda's Boots: The boots of a mystic African assassin. Obtained by hitting the second rearmost of the four targets in the citadel mini-playfield, this item seizes half of the 8 Darkhold Chapters and makes them ready to destroy at the shrine sinkhole.

Azu's Belt: The belt of another mentor of Blade. Obtained by hitting the second frontmost of the four targets in the citadel mini-playfield, this item doubles all scoring permanently.

Jama's Shades: The shades of Jamal Afari, Blade's early stepfather and guardian. Obtained by hitting the frontmost of the four targets in the citadel mini-playfield, this item halves the costs of purchasing items at the workshop.

Workshop: Blade has a workshop that allows him to create powerful technology to defeat his vampiric adversaries, for a price. If the player hits both targets on the front corners of the alley ramp, then shoots the ramp itself, the player can access the workshop and purchase a variety of upgrades and perks that grant special advantages, as listed below:

Friendly Handshake: A free upgrade that awards points.

Santa's Bag: An upgrade that costs $15 and awards points.

Silver Bullet: An upgrade that costs $25 and awards points.

Swirling Blade: An upgrade that costs $40 and increases the amount of points earned per flag spin in the right end of the main mini-loop.

Flamethrower: An upgrade that costs $50 and unlocks the Flaming Ball mode at night.

Tearwood Dagger: An upgrade that costs $60 and advances the score multiplier.

Garlic Essence: An upgrade that costs $75 and awards points.

Kevlar Armor: An upgrade that costs $80 and activates both kickbacks.

Twin Blades: An upgrade that costs $90 and activates the ball saver.

Treasure: If the player shoots the lair sinkhole in the daytime, a lit sinkhole can then be shot to obtain treasure, amounting to bonus points and extra funds. Possible sinkholes include treasure sinkholes, the score multiplier sinkholes or the lock sinkhole.

Perks available in the nighttime

Flaming Ball: Once the flamethrower is purchased from the workshop, the player can shoot the fire mini-loop at the mini-playfield 3 times to ignite the ball and double all scoring for a limited time.

Slashing: Every time the ball bounces off a rebound into an inlane a slash occurs. 20 slashes will result in a slash attack that awards more points. The value of the attack increases with each successive one.

Deacon Frost Mission Rewards: Spinning the flag in the right end of the mini-loop at night will increase the reward of beating missions against Deacon Frost. This value maxes out at 5 million points.

Tips

It can be difficult to shoot the citadel ramp because its entrance is gated by a bumper area. Make sure you've nailed down the timing for making a clean shot up the ramp.

Shoot the left end of the main mini-loop to activate kickbacks and the ball saver to keep your ball alive! Also, take advantage of the multiple ways to earn extra balls to extend your session.

Because almost all missions take place at night, you need to gather strength for Blade in the daytime - and enough energy such that you have time to beat each mission, as mission failure will result if Blade's energy depletes. Aim for the shrine sinkhole to get bigger bursts of energy, then when you think you have enough energy, activate nighttime mode and start tackling the missions.

Captain America

"On your feet, soldiers. We've got a job to do." - Captain America

Captain America is a Marvel pinball table, originally released as a standalone table in 2011 for Pinball FX2. The table takes influence from Ed Brubaker's 65th anniversary Captain America comic, chronicling his exploits as a super soldier battling the Axis Powers in the heat of World War II with his Howling Commandos.

Missions

Help Captain America rally the Allied forces and defeat powerful villains who work with the Axis Powers through six missions of two different types. Captain America missions can be started by shooting the left ramp three times and then shooting the upper sinkhole, while Red Skull missions can be started by hitting the vari-target with a strong shot, then shooting the sinkhole under the right ramp. Missions of both types can be selected with the flippers, and must be completed successfully without draining the ball within 45 seconds per mission. Missions cannot be replayed until the wizard mode has been won, and starting missions scores a value starting at 500,000 points + 500,000 points per mission started.

Captain America missions

Resistance: Search for two resistance members in two of the table's five sinkholes, with each member scoring 2 million points. Then, storm Baron Zemo's castle by shooting the left ramp and using the flipper magnets to hit all 12 targets lining the tunnel walls; the timer will reset for this phase. Winning the mission scores 6 million points.

The Archives: Break into the archive and find three pieces of the Red Skull's intel by shooting the leftmost sinkhole, then making a skill shot to the flashing hole for 2 million points, with the third skill shot scoring 6 million points and ending the mission. Progress for this mission is saved across balls.

Dig Site: Destroy the Axis' dig site by planting and detonating explosives. To set the two explosives, the player must make 2 shots to both of the ramp sinkholes for 2 million points each. After setting the explosives, the timer will reset, and a strong shot to the vari-target will detonate the explosives for 6 million points, ending the mission.

Red Skull missions

Adhesive X: Destroy Baron Zemo's supply of Adhesive X by making two shots to three of the table's ramps - the left ramp, right ramp, and skill shot ramp - for 3 million points per canister destroyed. Until they have been destroyed, the canisters will spill puddles of Adhesive X that will slow the ball down. Progress for this mission is saved across balls.

Death Ray: Cap has been disarmed by the Red Skull's death ray! Help him regain his strength by hitting 20 bumpers. Once the gauge fills completely, the player must shoot make three shots - the left ramp, the upper orbit, and the right ramp - for 1 million points each, to help Captain America deflect the Death Ray attacks.

Sparring: To defeat the Red Skull head-on, the player must hit the vari-target or the captive ball a total of five times to score 2 million points each, while avoiding the table's five sinkholes. Every time a sinkhole is hit, 888,999 points will be scored and the Red Skull will attack Captain America - and after five hits, the mission will end in failure. This mission is untimed.

Final Clash

Completing all six missions and having at least one Howling Commando in Captain America's squad will qualify Final Clash. The four phases of the Final Clash are all played as a 3-ball multiball, though multiball isn't required to finish any of the four phases, and can each be started by shooting the Cosmic Cube. Once a phase is completed successfully, the flippers will be disabled, any remaining balls will drain, and the next shot to the Cosmic Cube will start the next phase. If the ball drains during a phase, that phase will have to be restarted on the next ball.

The Sleeper: The Red Skull dispatches the Sleeper to fight Captain America. To defeat the Sleeper Robot, the player must hit any Cosmic Cube target 10 times for 1 million points per shot. Every 30 seconds, however, the Sleeper will attack Captain America, requiring the player to complete the targets quickly. Winning this phase scores 10 million points.

The Cage: Free Captain America from the Cosmic Cube's force field by shooting the captive ball 3 times. Winning this phase scores 25 million points.

Captive Shield: The Red Skull uses the Cosmic Cube's power to steal Captain America's shield. Break the telekinetic hold by shooting all 10 targets on the rotating Cosmic Cube platform once each. Winning this phase scores 35 million points.

Final Clash: Captain America engages in one final battle against Red Skull. To defeat him, the player must shoot any lit lane 15 times. The Red Skull will occasionally fire a ray in front of either the left or right ramp, momentarily sending a ball to the plunger. Winning this final phase scores 50 million points and resets the progress made on missions and Howling Commando members.

Side modes

Commando Search: Captain America has a squad of soldiers who work closely with him called the Howling Commandos. To obtain each Commando, the player must first hit the two left standup targets, then shoot the left sinkhole to start a 45-second side mode where one of the five flashing shots will award the next Commando and end the mode, while shots to the ramp sinkholes will start the Ambush feature described later in this subsection. Each of the five Commandos listed below has a different perk, and the player can change the currently active Commando by hitting the captive ball when no missions are running. Obtaining a new Howling Commando does not change the one currently being used unless the player had none prior. After all five Commandos have been collected, further completions of the two left standup targets will light Supply Drop at the left sinkhole for 10 seconds.

Bucky Barnes: When selected, there is a 30% chance that if the ball drains with no Ball Saver active, the ball will be saved regardless.

Dum Dum Dugan: When selected, bumpers scores are quadrupled.

Gabe Jones: When selected, combos are worth more points.

Jim Morita: When selected, hurry-up countdowns will decrease slower.

Jacque Dernier: When selected, all targets earn 30x more points than usual.

Ambush: During the Commando Search, shooting under either ramp will begin a minigame where Captain America can demonstrate his bullet-deflecting skills. His figure will jump to the ambush mini-playfield, and the player adjusts the angle of his shield with the flippers, watching the flashing yellow lamps that indicate the direction of incoming bullets. The player must deflect the onslaught of bullets with the shield, without getting hit twice, to win the mode for 2 million points.

Supply Drop: At random times during play, or after all five Commandos have been collected and the two left standup targets are completed, the left sinkhole will light for 10 seconds to start the Supply Drop mini-game. This plays identically to the Ambush described above, but along with the 2 million points for completion, a random award is collected, determined by the flashing insert. These awards are:

Extra Ammo: Awards an extra ball.

Resupply: 10 million points.

Regroup: Collects a Howling Commando (but does not select him).

Assault Plan: Starts the Assault side mode.

New Intel Report: Starts Red Skull Multiball.

Secure Supply Lines: Holds the bonus multiplier.

Medical Pack: Activates the ball saver.

Tactical Support: Qualifies the Cosmic Cube.

Assault: 7 shots to the crossramp spell ASSAULT, starting a hurry-up mode. The first shot to the left ramp under a 30-second time limit sets in the hurry-up value, which starts at 150,000 points; and the player can score this value for every target hit using the flipper magnets in the left ramp tunnel. After hitting all 12 targets, the side mode will end and 10 million points will be scored.

Multiball modes

Sleeper Multiball: Every time one of the Cosmic Cube target banks is completed, one of the table's three main ramps will raise its entrance to reveal a sinkhole where a ball can be locked. Locking a ball in all three sinkholes summons the Sleeper robot, and starts the 3-ball Sleeper Multiball. Jackpots worth 500,000 points can be collected by hitting the captive ball; they can be increased by 500,000 points per Cosmic Cube target bank hit during the multiball, and multiplied up to 3x by locking balls under the crossramp. The jackpot value resets with each jackpot collected.

Red Skull Multiball: 8 shots to the skill shot ramp will spell RED SKULL and start a quick 2-ball multiball, where the Red Skull activates his jetpack to attack Captain America from above. Jackpots worth 1 million points are lit at either the left or right ramp, alternating every 15 seconds. The jackpot value resets each time one is collected, and can be increased by 100,000 points per spinner hit.

Perks

Skill Shot & Save Bucky: At the start of each new ball, plunging the ball into the flashing hole on the skill shot ramp scores 300,000 points and, if Bucky hasn't been collected (see Commando Search), starts a hurry-up at the right ramp for 15 seconds starting at 300,000 points. Shooting the ramp before time runs out collects Bucky and scores the value.

Ball Saver: A 30-second ball saver activates at the start of each ball and multiball mode. Once it expires, it can be reactivated randomly from Supply Drop.

Kickbacks: Spelling BUCKY at the return lanes, which alternate with the flippers, lights the left kickback followed by the right kickback.

Bonus Multiplier: Completing the three standup targets from the upper flipper increases the bonus multiplier by +2x to a max of 10x. The bonus multiplier can be held between balls as a random award from Supply Drop.

Cosmic Cube: If the player hits the 3 exposed targets on the Cosmic Cube pedestal, it will lower, allowing access to the Cosmic Cube. More target bank completions are required to light the Cosmic Cube further times on the same ball. The Cosmic Cube spots whatever the game believes to be the most important shot currently; if no shots are considered important, it will award credit for the left standup target bank, the left ramp, or the vari-target, but mission shots take priority otherwise.

Super Jets: During normal play, every 4 bumper hits adds a letter to the phrase SOLDIER, SYMBOL, SAVIOUR, FRIEND. Completing all four words lights the bumpers to score 100,000 points per hit for the rest of the ball. Super Jets can only be activated once per game.

Extra Balls: Extra balls can be lit at the left sinkhole by maxing out the bonus multiplier, or awarded instantly as a Supply Drop random award.

Tips

Completing all four phases of the Final Clash typically averages around 150 million points. While this is one of the highest scoring features on the table, it can also be worthwhile to prioritize repeatedly playing the Sleeper & Red Skull Multiballs, as these add 10 million per multiball to end-of-ball bonus. Both strategies score just as much in the long run, so play however you like.

If you fail the skill shot, reset the table. Bucky's perk makes this table one of the easiest in the game, and can result in very long ball times.

The random nature of the Supply Drop makes it difficult to go for, so you should ideally focus on completing the bonus multiplier targets, as they help light an extra ball along with contributing to the massive end-of-ball bonus.

Champions

"Ugh... what was that? Oh no! The lockbox with our first day's cash! I have to get it back, or the coffee shop is over!" - Ms. Marvel

Champions is one of the two Marvel pinball tables that are part of the Women of Power pack, released in the fall of 2016 and available for Zen Pinball 2, Pinball FX 2 and Pinball FX 3. It is based on the female members of the 2016 superhero team known as the Champions, and follows an original story in which Ms. Marvel, leader of the Champions, must defeat the Bombshells and save the world while thwarting their theft of her first day of work's paycheck.

Table overview

The upper half of the table

The back table wall is the facade and entrance of a bank that the younger Bombshell, Lana Baumgartner, raids before stealing Ms. Marvel's coffee shop funds. Instead of there being a large orbit that wraps around major table lanes, most table lanes are sandwiched between two long lanes spelling LOCK that curve towards the back center of the table, but end at vertical upkickers that pop the ball onto long, slightly undulating exit habitrails running along the nearest table wall to bring the ball to the nearest inlane (the left lane VUK takes the ball to the left inlane and vice versa).

To the right of the left VUK ramp is a third VUK ramp that also spells LOCK, but takes a big loop within the two VUK ramps, cutting across the entrances of two other lanes to bring the ball through the rearmost of two gates lining the left VUK ramp's wall; a strong shot up this third VUK ramp will push the ball past this gate and into a VUK saucer that launches the ball down a very short habitrail that merges with the left VUK's exit habitrail. To the right of the loop VUK ramp is a branching lane and one of two to represent the Kate Bishop version of Hawkeye. Normally, it would take the ball up a question mark-shaped ramp that merges with the left VUK's exit habitrail, but a diverter wall gate can pop up to divert the ball along an alternate pathway that cuts across the other Hawkeye lane, before curving back towards the back to merge with the loop VUK's path, taking the ball backwards through it.

The other Hawkeye ramp, meanwhile, makes a similar reverse question mark-shaped path that brings the ball to the right inlane, merging with the right VUK's exit habitrail. At the reverse D-shaped platform formed by the intersections of the left Hawkeye lane's alternate path, the right Hawkeye lane and the loop VUK pathway, stands a figure of Ms. Marvel, also known as Kamala Khan. Between the two paths of the left Hawkeye lane is a sinkhole, appearing indirectly behind her. There are two paths to this sinkhole: a) a short habitrail that branches off from the plunger ramp and b) the reverse C-shaped crossramp. Both of these paths converge at and share one stretch of habitrail, with one side missing above the sinkhole to allow the ball to fall in if it travels through this habitrail at a slow enough speed.

The other of the two abovementioned gates lining the left wall of the left VUK ramp is the exit gate of a tight hairpin lane dedicated to Tippy-Toe, an ally of Squirrel Girl. There is a target at the apex of the sharp hairpin turn just before the exit gate. In front of the reverse D-shaped platform where Ms. Marvel stands, but also behind the latter half of the loop VUK's path, is a trapezoidal platform that is home to a big sinkhole that is blocked by a target. The corners of the sinkhole also each have a target each lighting a word in the phrase "Inhuman Energy". A drop target track cuts in front of the entrances of the left VUK ramp, the two Hawkeye lanes, the loop VUK lane and the sinkhole. At the right end of this track is the entrance to the aforementioned crossramp, dedicated to Bombshell. It spells BOOM.

The lower half of the table

Further down the table are the entrances of three other lanes: two left lanes that are left of the left VUK ramp and the right VUK ramp itself. The leftmost lane is a left hairpin loop lane which ends by cutting across the left outlane to drop the ball down the left inlane through a gate in between the two return lanes. This left hairpin lane has a magnetic trap at its turn and is dedicated to Spider-Gwen, a super-powered version of Spider-Man's first love interest. To the right of this lane is the entrance to the abovmentioned Tippy-Toe lane, gated by a spinner with an icon of the Wheel of Fortune.

In between this lane and the left VUK ramp is a mini-flipper used to access the Bombshell crosssramp. It may also be helpful in hitting a target bank spelling FIST that lies between the entrances of the crossramp and the right VUK ramp. The latter is gated by a bumper area, with two bumpers on the left side and one on the right. A VUK is installed between the left two bumpers that can pop the ball directly into the bumper area. A small bridge is installed between the two front bumpers. There are four return lanes spelling SPIN, two rebounds and two flippers. The outlanes are guarded by a kickback mechanism called the "fist save". The table walls are lined with buildings of a street in Jersey City, culminating with the aprons containing a crosswalk, with a wrecked car on the left one.

The plunger

The plunger is a spring-loaded mechanism that is also shaped into the cash register of Ms. Marvel's new coffee shop. Its scale model is part of the front end of the right table wall. The plunger strength is gauged by the analog counters of the cash register. The plunger launches the ball up a special ramp that starts straight as it runs along the right table wall, before taking a big left turn in front of the back table wall towards an exit habitrail that merges with that of the left VUK. Near the rearmost apex of this plunger ramp is the abovementioned branching path leading to the sinkhole, with a small spring-loaded gate that the ball must pass through to slowly drop into the hole. The goal of the skill shot is to determine the correct amount of force that will launch the ball such that it will slow down to the gate midway up the ramp, push through it and land into the hole for a reward of a maximum of 999,900 points, depending on the current number displayed on the cash register. If the ball is shot too strong, there is a chance to shoot the right Hawkeye ramp for a flipper skill shot for 100k + 100k per successful flipper skill shot, and then shoot the sinkhole with the right flipper for a secret skill shot that allows the player to choose a reward, alternating between small points and gaining credit for any objective that hasn’t been finished yet. Secret skill shots are only available at the first plunge on any ball.

Main objectives

Bombshell has stolen Ms. Marvel's funds from her first day of work! Help her unite the Champions to thwart Bombshell and recover the stolen money. Could there be more to Bombshell's life of crime than it seems?

Champions is a table designed in the early 90s Williams mold of "easy to learn, hard to master", with several fairly simple objectives that the player can focus on to get the highest score possible. The seven objectives are listed above the flippers, which must be lit solidly by completing them to qualify the wizard mode, Bombshells Reunited. Three of these objectives are missions that can be started by making enough shots to a different area of the playfield, then teleporting Bombshell using the Staff of One - while three more are side modes that can be activated at any time during play. Ms. Marvel is the exception to the rule, as completing one of the three missions is the only way to reach this mode.

All timed modes will have their timers frozen when Squirrel Girl Multiball is activated, but no modes can be started at this time. Every successfully completed mission in the current wizard mode run adds 1 million points to the wizard mode's jackpot value, and missions can be repeated to increase the jackpot value further. The jackpot value resets once Bombshells Reunited has been activated.

Teleporting Bombshell & Missions

All three main missions are linked together by the use of Nico Minoru's Staff of One to teleport Bombshell for a fight. To teleport Bombshell each time one of the Champions has been summoned, the player must shoot the moving target representing the head of the staff. The player must shoot the staff once to lower its ring, then shoot the ball through it twice - once while it is stationary, and again while moving. After these three hits, Bombshell will appear, and the main portion of the mission will begin, where the player must make certain shots described below to defeat her and start the Ms. Marvel mission.

The value for each Staff of One shot starts at 1 million points, and can be doubled or tripled if two or three Champions have been summoned at once, respectively. Every 5 seconds, the Staff of One value will decrease by 250,000 points, to a minimum of 500,000 points. If the Bombshell Frenzy mode is active, the process of activating the Staff of One will be skipped, as Bombshell is already present during the mode.

The three Champions that must be summoned are:

Spider-Gwen: Shoot the left saucer lane to lock a ball, then shoot the locked ball to free it, summon Spider-Gwen and start a 2-ball multiball. After teleporting Bombshell with both balls in play, the player must shoot the center sinkhole to web up Bombshell for a hurry-up value starting at 3 million points (+1 million points per completion) and decreasing to 100,000 points, then shoot Spider-Gwen's lane again to deliver a powerful blow and win the mission. The value of the final blow is the collected hurry-up value times a multiplier that starts at 30x and decreases by 2x every second. If the multiplier depletes to 1x, the second ball will be kicked back out.

America Chavez: Hit the bumpers gating the right VUK lane 30 times (+10 hits per completion) to summon America Chavez and light the Staff of One to teleport Bombshell. Once she appears, a hurry-up value starting at 1 million points (+1 million points per completion) and decreasing to 100,000 points will be seen on the display. To collect the hurry-up, the player must hit the bumpers again to knock Bombshell off balance. The player will then be given 10 seconds to shoot the right orbit to attack her and win the mission, scoring the collected hurry-up value with a multiplier determined by how many bumper hits were made before hitting her.

Hawkeye (Kate Bishop): Shoot the flashing left and right ramps three times each to summon Hawkeye; shooting an already lit ramp shot won't count towards qualifying this mode, so the player must shoot both ramps once to get their inserts flashing again. Once all six inserts are lit, use the Staff of One to teleport Bombshell for a fight. The sinkhole will light for a hurry-up value starting from 1 million points (+1 million points per completion) and decreasing to 100,000 points; shooting the sinkhole will turn the ball into a bomb that moves on its own across the playfield, which must be shot with one of Hawkeye's arrows. Use the new ball plunged into play to hit the bomb ball within 10 seconds to thwart Bombshell's attack for 10x the hurry-up value and win the mission. The value awarded for shooting the bomb ball can be increased by +10x by shooting either ramp during the mode, which will also reset the timer when the bomb is active.

Ms. Marvel

Every time one of the missions described above is completed, Ms. Marvel's mode will start. Chase after Bombshell and score 7 million points by alternating shots between the right VUK and the center sinkhole for 1 million points each. The player has 90 seconds to make the required shots with 10 seconds added to the timer per major shot, and all other shots during the mode will award 100,000 points and add that value to the mode total. If the final shot to finish the mission is the flashing shot, 10 million points will be rewarded; otherwise, only 1 million points will be scored.

If more than one mission has been completed before Ms. Marvel's mode starts, the points scored from this mode will increase accordingly. The values per shot will be multiplied by +1 times the number of missions completed, and the value required to finish the mode will similarly be multiplied.

Balls infused with Inhuman Energy will score double the values per shot, and add double the value to the score total. Score bonus perks introduced in Pinball FX 3 won't affect the values each shot adds to the score total, but will still increase the points regardless.

Side modes

Side modes on this table are listed as such because while they are necessary to complete to reach Bombshells Reunited, they are started separately from the missions and impact starting the missions - or the scoring of the missions - in various ways.

Bombshell Frenzy: Witness the power of Bombshell by making 4 full-strength shots to the crossramp to spell BOOM, then shooting the crossramp again to start the timed mode. During this mode, the player must score a total of 2 million points in 60 seconds by shooting flashing shots. Shots to the crossramp, whether complete or incomplete, will score the full shot value of 500,000 points, while other major shots will only add 100,000 points to the total. At every 500,000 points scored, Bombshell will stomp on the table and activate a magnet in the dead space above the flippers, which messes up the physics of the ball. The base value of each shot can be increased by 100,000 points with weak shots to the crossramp during normal play. Balls infused with Inhuman Energy will score and add double the value of each shot, and like with Ms. Marvel, the score bonus perks introduced in Pinball FX 3 don't affect the points added to the total. Starting Bombshell Frenzy disables the Staff of One until the mode ends.

Sister Grimm: Every fifth shot to the spinner that collects a Tippy-Toe Award will light the video mode at the center sinkhole, if it isn't already lit. Reaching level 1 of the video mode is required to light this objective solidly. In the video mode, the player must use the flippers to steer the constantly forward-moving Staff of One to collect magic charges before they escape into the walls of the scoring display; holding the launch button will speed up the movement of the Staff. There are three different levels to this video mode; the first level completed scores 10 million points, the second level scores 20 million points, and the third level lights an extra ball. Each charge collected also scores 1 million points, meaning the player can score a maximum of 42 million points from the video mode.

Squirrel Girl Multiball: Every shot to any of the VUKs will collect a letter in LOCK, meaning after four shots to any VUK, the fifth shot will lock a ball - each representing a part of the squirrel army. Each VUK lock can only be used once, but shooting an already occupied lock will allow the player to lock a ball there if they shoot it again. Once all 3 balls are locked, they will be released into play to complete the objective and start a 3-ball multiball, where the player can re-lock the balls at the VUKs for jackpots. The base jackpot value is 5 million points; hitting a jackpot starts a 10-second countdown to hit another VUK for a super jackpot for 10 million, followed by another countdown to hit the last unused VUK for a double super jackpot for 20 million. All other lanes raise the jackpot value by 100,000 points; weak shots to the crossramp, and locking and recapturing the ball at the left saucer lane, will increase it by 1 million points. Strong shots to the crossramp will increase the jackpot multiplier by +1x. The jackpot value resets to 5 million points each time one of the super jackpot phases times out, or if the double super jackpot has been collected. All timers for timed modes will be paused during Squirrel Girl Multiball.

Bombshells Reunited

Bombshell has started robbing once again, and Ms. Marvel is determined to find out why. It turns out that her robberies were a direct result of her mother, Lori Baumgartner; the Champions must unite to defeat the mother-daughter duo.

Bombshells Reunited is qualified after completing all seven objectives described above. Once the wizard mode has been qualified, the player must lock 2 balls at two of the three VUKs, which don't require spelling LOCK to light this time around; then, the player can start the wizard mode by shooting the center sinkhole. This 4-ball multiball depicts the Champions' battle against Lori, represented as a moving target that can be hit to score the jackpot value, worth a minimum of 7 million plus 1 million points per objective completed. Two jackpots can be collected this way before the player must shoot the Staff of One three times to catch her again.

One of the balls during this mode will always be infused with Inhuman Energy, and score double the values for each shot. The jackpots can also be doubled if the player shoots the center sinkhole while the Lori target is active; this will turn the ball into a bomb ball that detonates after 10 seconds, and must be shot towards Lori to score the doubled jackpot value. All other lanes score 10% of the jackpot value.

Once the wizard mode ends, the player will be able to light all seven objectives again for another chance to start the wizard mode.

Perks

Ball Saver: At the start of each ball and multiball, a 15-second ball saver will activate. There is no way to manually reactivate the ball saver, but a ball that drains down the right outlane from a late upper flipper shot will be saved, as will any shot to the Staff of One that quickly drains. A ball save will also accompany the activation of the magnet during the Bombshell Frenzy mode.

Fist Save: Spelling FIST on the target bank beside the right VUK will activate a unique "fist save" at the left, then the right outlane - a magnet near the center drain will hold the ball in place, and Ms. Marvel will slam the table to jump the ball back into the nearby inlane. Up to 3 fist saves can be stacked per outlane, and fist saves carry over across balls.

Bonus Multiplier: Shooting the left or right ramp when their inserts are solidly lit will activate a diverter towards the winding lane at the left ramp, which sends the ball backwards down the loop VUK lane. Shooting the winding lane within 10 seconds will advance the bonus multiplier by +3x to no known limit, and advancing the bonus multiplier to 10x lights an extra ball. The bonus multiplier can be held as a random Tippy-Toe Award.

Tippy-Toe Award: Shots to the spinner lane will start a random award roulette, which scores whatever prize it stops on. Every fifth shot to the spinner will always light the video mode, and certain awards are rarer than others, making this an example of a pseudo-random award. Possible awards include points (100,000 + 100,000 points per collection), lighting Bombshell Frenzy at the crossramp, lighting a lock for Squirrel Girl Multiball, activation of either fist save, +1x bonus multiplier, bonus multipliers held, +1x jackpot multiplier for the next Squirrel Girl Multiball, or lighting an extra ball.

Inhuman Energy: If the player knocks down both Inhuman Energy drop targets flanking the center sinkhole within 5 seconds, then shoots the sinkhole itself, the ball will glow orange with Inhuman energy, which will double all playfield scoring for 30 seconds. Completing this process again while Inhuman Energy is running will score a bonus of 3 million + 100,000 each time this bonus has been collected, and reset the timer.

Combos: Shooting unique lanes in succession, within 10 seconds of each other, scores combo points worth 1 million points times the number of shots in the combo - starting at 3 million points for a 3-way combo. Making all seven shots in a single combo scores a master combo for 7 million points, lights the extra ball the first time, and multiplies the combo value by +1x.

Extra Balls: Extra balls can be lit at the center sinkhole by earning a double super jackpot in Squirrel Girl Multiball, raising the bonus multiplier to 10x, beating all 3 levels of the Sister Grimm video mode, scoring a master combo, or as a percentage-based Tippy-Toe Award.

Tips

Squirrel Girl Multiball is a very high-scoring mode, often scoring more than the wizard mode. Be sure to keep the jackpot value multiplied by shooting the crossramp; Tippy-Toe can also award jackpot multipliers, or instantly light locks for you. If you drain down to 2 balls, lock and release a ball at the left saucer lane to return to 3-ball play for a chance at double super jackpots. Getting Inhuman Energy right before starting this multiball can also drastically increase its scoring.

If you want to take advantage of the high scoring from stacking the missions together, start Spider-Gwen first, then ignore the objective of the mode and focus solely on summoning the other Champions & completing their missions repeatedly. Spider-Gwen doesn't penalize failure like the two remaining modes do, and progress can also be made towards Squirrel Girl Multiball during this mission.

Those combos can seriously add up over the course of a long game. If you're going for Squirrel Girl Multiball, you'll often score 3 or 4-way combos completely on accident while you're trying to light the locks. Master combos can lead to relatively easy extra balls, and increase the value scored for each combo by 1 million points - which seems small, but can be pretty decent if you keep going for combos.

References & Easter Eggs

The magnet that affects the direction of the ball during Bombshell Frenzy has several equivalents on real tables. One of the most famous is the "The Power" magnet on The Addams Family.

The wheel depicted on the spinner in front of Tippy-Toe's lane resembles the titular wheel of the game show, Wheel of Fortune.

Right before Ms. Marvel raises her fist after a successful Fist Save, you can hit her fist with the ball. This scores a bonus of 100,000 points + 100,000 per shot.

Civil War

"Families torn apart, old friends fighting one another... stop resisting the Registration Act and help me change things from within!" - Iron Man

Civil War (or Marvel: Civil War) is one of the three Marvel pinball tables that are part of the Heavy Hitters pack in Pinball FX 3, originally released in 2012 for Zen Pinball 2 and Pinball FX 2 as a standalone table. The table is based on the 2006-2007 crossover comic book of the same title, in which the high collateral damage from a battle between superheroes and supervillains sparks calls for government control of superheroes. This carries divisive moral implications, resulting in infighting among superheroes disagreeing over whether it should be implemented.

Table overview

    The upper half of the table

The back corners of the table show two dueling posters. The left one has a poster of Iron Man in favor of the Superhuman Registration Act, reading "Together, we are strong." The right one has a poster of Captain America against the Superhuman Registration Act, reading "Captain America is right." The center of the back wall contains a barred window showing the U.S. Capitol.

A long, red U-shaped arcing ramp has its apex right in front of the Iron Man poster. It arcs left and leads to an exit habitrail leading to a drop-off atop the left rebound. A pop-out sign on the left table wall near the corner can fold out when a combo is active, showing the current length of the combo. A right crossramp spanning the width of the table runs along the table's back wall, merging into that ramp. It is accessed by a right mini-flipper at the opposite corner, where a button is also present that can be hit if the ball reaches that flipper. A failure to make a cross-shot that brings the ball to the red ramp would cause the ball to drop down a straight, down-sloping, one-way blue ramp running along the right table wall that eventually drops the ball to a right vertical upkicker.

A large asymmetrical orbit wraps around the entrances of most of the table's lanes. to the right of the left orbit's entrance is a single target representing the Punisher and a blue crossramp that makes a small loop towards the start of a left crossramp leading to back right corner of the table. Its left wall contains a gap that allows a ball going backward up the nearby red ramp to jump over to this looping ramp. A left mini-flipper is also placed at the start of this crossramp and it must be used to make a cross-shot up that crossramp to access the mini-flipper at the back right corner for a chance to make a cross-shot to the red ramp. Failure would result in the ball dropping down the exit habitrail of the right red ramp to the left of the right orbit (described further down this section), whether from a direct drop or by going down a holographic "flash ramp" that takes the ball to the left rebound, then loops over to it.

Next to that blue looping crossramp is the abovementioned red U-shaped ramp. Next to that ramp is a spindisk that captures the ball and drops it into the table subway. It is themed after a whirlpool in the ocean, where the Raft, a floating maximum security prison, is stationed. There are two lanes next to each other that access the spindisk, with the left one blocked off by as many as 3 drop targets placed in a line. The right lane is used to start fights. A electronic display placed in front of the back crossramp shows images of the superhero civil war. depending on events on the table.

To the right of the fight lane is the direct hit mini-orbit that brings the ball to the entrance of the right orbit. It goes around and underneath a red ramp that travels over the right orbit and eventually down a habitrail that leads to a drop-off atop the right rebound. Most of this ramp's exit habitrail has its left wall missing, allowing for the abovementoned right VUK to send the ball backward up it and right up the looping left crossramp. In some situations, a flash ramp may appear there that forms an overhead bridge across the two rebounds and boosts the ball up the exit habitrail of the left U-shaped red ramp. The boosted ball goes backwards up this ramp in such a way that it ends up jumping over to the end of the blue looping crossramp due to the abovementioned gap in its walls. The entrance of the right orbit contains a magnetic trap that may activate when the direct hit mini-orbit is shot, which then captures the ball for a chance to make a cross-shot with a nearby right mini-flipper to access the blue looping crossramp.

    The lower half of the table

The entrance of the left orbit threads through a bumper area. The bumper area is designed such that any balls that go towards the left side of the bumper area can drop into an automatic launcher on the left side of the table, or down an exit that drops the ball into the left inlane. The rightmost bumper is much different than the two others, as it is collapsible and its right side contains a twin pair of targets, each representing a word in the phrase "safe house". The targets can fold up and out of the way to reveal a hidden sinkhole. The automatic launcher sends the ball up the left orbit, looping it over to the other side of the table. There is an electronic sign installed on the left wall of the table above this launcher, containing a blue meter and a red meter indicating the popularity of Captain America and Iron Man respectively as they fight over the Superhuman Registration Act. There are also lamps for score multiplier placed below these meter, going up to 5x.

At the other side of the table, there is a right mini-flipper used to access the abovementioned blue looping crossramp. It lies behind the end of the abovementoned one-way drop from the back right corner of the table destined for the right VUK and a stone balcony installed high up the right side of the table, where a figure of Captain America stands. There are also two VUK sinkholes: one in front of the frontmost bumper (right beside the dropdown exit at the left side of the bumper area) and another that can be accessed either from the left main flipper, or a failed attempt to take the ball through the back crossramp, the latter which would drop the ball down a one-way lane and hit the VUK from behind. There are also two flash ramps in front of them: the left one loops the ball onto to the exit habitrail of the right red ramp, while the right one loops the ball up the right orbit with great force so that it goes all the way down the left one. The left sinkhole represents the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division (S.H.I.E.L.D.) and is likewise marked with its emblem, while the right sinkhole is used to advance the score multiplier.

There are 4 return lanes, 2 rebounds and 2 flippers. Each outlane has a low-power spring-loaded kickback and each inlane is marked with a icon of a superhero registration card. A figure of Iron Man stands on a platform installed on the left table wall near the left outlane, with the platform marked with the message "I save the future". The aprons contain machinery that glow blue when a nearby kickback is available to use. At the edges of the left apron are red and yellow lamps spelling the word FUTURE, representing Iron Man's desire to use the Superhuman Registration Act to ensure a safer future. At the edges of the right apron are blue and white lamps spelling the word FREEDOM, representing Captain America's belief that the Superhuman Registration Act infringes on freedoms that superheroes need. A digital screen is also placed on the right apron with the message "Whose side are you on?", next to a circular portrait of the leader of the faction the player has chosen (Iron Man or Captain America).

    The plunger

Along the right wall of the table, next to the plunger shaft, is a fold-out computer screen indicating the alignment of each of 8 Marvel superheroes involved in the civil war: Spider-Man, Spider-Woman, Sentry, Human Torch, Ms. Marvel, Tigra, Luke Cage and Vision. The shaft itself is straight and its terminus drops the ball into the one-way drop down lane leading behind the VUK. The drop-down lane is also designed such that strong shots of the plunger would take the ball up the right orbit instead of the one-way blue ramp where balls that fail to go through the back of the crossramp. The drop-off end of that ramp is raised too high for the ball to get up there.

The plunger itself is shaped like the engine of a Helicarrier, a large aircraft used by the S.H.I.E.L.D. to transport heroes and combat personnel to confront threats. There are 16 segment lamps that gauge the plunger strength, with the lamps changing from blue to red if the plunger strength is too high for a good skill shot. The goal of the skill shot is to guess the correct amount of plunger strength that will bring the ball up the right orbit (but not too deeply into it), so that it can quickly drop to the right mini-flipper to execute a cross shot that hits the Punisher's target within several seconds of launch. The rightmost bumper will lower during this time to allow for clearance to hit the target.

Objective and missions

The goal of this table is to choose to either support or block the enactment of the Superhuman Registration Act, a law that requires superheroes to register with the government to keep their powers under control out of public safety concerns. To achieve this goal, the player first chooses a cause to support (which is either joining Iron Man to ensure the passing of the Act or standing with Captain America to prevent it from becoming law) at the start of a session and after the Stamford Multiball if the player chose to start it, then convince eight superheroes, Spider-Man, Spider-Woman, Sentry, Human Torch, Ms. Marvel, Tigra, Luke Cage and Vision, to join the chosen cause by completing modes successfully, while bearing the risk of losing them or letting them get taken by the opposing faction if modes are failed. Each superhero can either be for the player's cause, neutral or against the player's cause, and the table will choose at random which particular superhero will change alignment when a mode is won or lost.

Note: Unlike other tables, in which the wizard mode is unlocked only by completing a certain series of missions, this table requires players to unlock the wizard mode by converting all eight abovementioned superheroes to the player's cause, which can be done either through modes with a risk of failure, or by activating certain perks that can result in one superhero being converted into an ally. Modes in which it is possible to lose an ally due to failure are considered "missions" for the purpose of this wiki, with each mission representing an area of conflict in the larger superhero civil war. Actions that the player can perform to win allies, but would not result in losing an ally if done unsuccessfully are classified as perks. Allies who are supporting the opposing cause cannot be recruited until they are "disabled" or otherwise convinced to rethink their position and move back to neutral status.

The player can win allies by completing any of the following mission modes successfully - but can lose allies if completed unsuccessfully:

Recruitment: Superheroes will stop at nothing to recruit allies to uphold their efforts to enact or block the SHRA. If the ball drops into either inlane, the player has 5 seconds to shoot the opposite orbit. Successfully doing so converts one superhero into an ally. Failure will result in one ally being lost or one neutral hero joining the opposing cause.

Ambush: Iron Man spots a chance to capture and prosecute Captain America for his defiance of the SHRA. This mission's startup procedure and objectives depend on which side the player supports:

    If the player is supporting the Superhuman Registration Act with Iron Man, the player starts the Ambush mission by helping him find and attack one of Captain America's safe houses to apprehend any superheroes he protects. This is done by hitting each of the two Safe House targets twice to make the targets fold up and out to expose a hidden sinkhole inside the right bumper that must be shot to begin an ambush. (Every time one target is struck twice, one superhero who is opposing the Superhuman Registration Act will rethink their position and become neutral.) The ambush mission itself is a 3-ball multiball, with the 3 balls representing heroes that Captain America protects from SHRA prosecution. The player must assist Iron Man in rounding up the superheroes by locking each ball into the Raft spindisk, with a time limit for each ball to lock. (An infinite ball saver is granted for the duration of each time limit. If the player started this mission without any allies supporting the SHRA, each successful lock will recruit one hero to support it.) If the player takes too long to lock a ball, the flippers will be disabled and all balls will drain, resulting in failure of the mode and causing a random superhero supporting the Superhuman Registration Act to oppose it.

    If the player is opposing the Superhuman Registration Act with Captain America, the player starts the Ambush mission by helping him defeat the guards at the Raft prison, represented by 3 drop targets blocking the Raft spindisk. To defeat the first guard, the player must hit the first drop target to knock it down, then shoot the flash ramp in front of the left sinkhole within the next 15 seconds before the drop target comes back up. The second guard is then defeated by hitting the next drop target in line and then shooting the flash ramp in front of the right sinkhole VUK within the next 15 seconds before that drop target comes back up. After two drop targets are down, the player must knock down the final drop target and then hit the Raft spindisk within the next 15 seconds to start the mission before that target comes back up. (Alternatively, the player can try knocking down each drop target, one by one, within 15 seconds of each hit, to start this mission.) When this mission begins, Iron Man will then chase Captain America and the player must guide the latter to safety at a Safe House by shooting the following target lanes in order: the fight lane, the right orbit and lastly, the hidden safehouse sinkhole inside the right bumper. The player has 15 seconds to make each of the 3 shots, with each correct hit resulting in one hero who supports the SHRA to rethink their support of it and become neutral. Successful completion of this mission will convert one superhero into joining Captain America's campaign to stop the SHRA, while failure will result in one of his allies getting captured by Iron Man and converted into a SHRA supporter.

Fights: Superheroes are even willing to engage in open combat to enforce whichever cause they support. A battle begins if the player spells FUTURE (while supporting the Superhuman Registration Act with Iron Man) or FREEDOM (while opposing the Superhuman Registration Act with Captain America) through shots up the blue looping crossramp or either of the two red ramps, then hits the fight lane. This is a 3-phase fight and each phase requires the player to shoot any flashing lane (with lamps flashing at the corners of the entrance of the target lane to shoot) at least once, with easier fights having more target lanes available, fewer target lane hits needed to win a phase and longer time limits. If the player takes too long to hit a target lane, the battle will be lost and the opposing faction will take away one of the player's allies so that they support the other side's views. Completing all three phases successfully results in the player converting one superhero into an ally (and can gain more if the battle won was more difficult).

Once the player has recruited all 8 superheroes to their cause, the player must spell FUTURE (if the player is pro-Registration) or FREEDOM (if the player is anti-Registration) one more time through shots up the red ramps or the blue looping crossramp and then hit the fight lane before any allies are lost to start the wizard mode, Wedding Party. This is a time-limited 4-ball victory multiball celebrating the end of the Civil War with the wedding of Black Panther and the mutant Storm. Within one minute and unlimited ball saver, the player can shoot any lane to earn a massive jackpot that is a multiple of 1,500,000 and grows every time the wizard mode is started. Once time runs out, the flippers will be disabled and all balls will drain, and then the table progress will restart with the player being reassigned to the opposing cause, starting with another chance to execute a skill shot. All 8 superheroes will then become enemies allying with the previous cause and the player must win them back to the new side they support.

Side modes

There is only one side mode for this table (in that winning it does not result in automatically recruiting an ally), and it is called the Direct Hit. It starts every time the Direct Hit mini-orbit is hit, starting a time-limited opportunity for Captain America or Iron Man to land a tactical attack and gain an advantage.

    If the player is pro-Registration and hits the Direct Hit mini-orbit, the player must immediately get the ball to the back right corner of the table by chaining together two cross-shots, one that brings the ball up the looping blue crossramp, and then an immediate follow-through cross-shot that takes the ball to the back right corner of the table, hitting a button there. Successfully accomplishing this task boosts Iron Man's popularity.

    If the player is anti-Registration and hits the Direct Hit mini-orbit, the player must immediately make a cross-shot with the right mini-flipper up the blue looping crossramp to disrupt Iron Man so that he can't recruit superheroes to his cause for a limited amount of time, temporarily removing ally penalties for failing any of the missions above.

Multiball

At the start of each session, the player is given the choice to start an optional 2-ball multiball representing the event that started the superhero civil war, Stamford Multiball. The 2 balls shown represent Captain America and Iron Man themselves as they work side by side to find and rescue survivors of the "Stamford Incident" in which the supervillain Nitro blows up an elementary school, causing massive damage and death. Shooting a lit lane results in one survivor being rescued, and the rescued survivors must then be evacuated by hitting the flash ramps at either VUK sinkhole, with 200,000 points awarded per evacuated survivor. Every 10 survivors evacuated will result in one superhero being converted to the cause of the player's choice once the player chooses which of the two factions to support after the multiball ends with either ball draining. (There is no ball saver during this multiball and this multiball can only occur once per play session.)

Perks

The following perks can be earned during play:

Ball Saver: At the start of each ball, a 30-second ball saver will activate. Once it expires, it cannot be reactivated normally if the player is pro-Registration, but can be reactivated while the player is anti-Registration, completes both Safe House hurry-ups (described below) and then hits the Punisher target.

Kickbacks: Hitting the S.H.I.E.L.D. sinkhole 4 times will activate a low-power spring-loaded kickback in the left outlane; hitting the sinkhole another 4 times will activate the one in the right outlane. Once both kickbacks are turned on, every 4 hits of that sinkhole will raise the bumper score (if the player is pro-Registration) or steal all of Iron Man's popularity (if the player is Anti-Registration). Once activated, kickbacks will stay on until they are used.

Score Multiplier: Hitting the right sinkhole/VUK will spell out a letter of the word WAR (if the player is pro-Registration) or REBEL (if the player is anti-Registration). When either word is spelled out completely, the score multiplier will advance by 1 until the maximum of 4 (for anti-Registration) or 5 (for pro-Registration) is reached. The score multiplier is only good for the current ball, and once the maximum is reached, any further completed spellings of the word will grant a growing score bonus.

Super Combo: If the player shoots multiple different lanes, one after the other, a combo will start, and the player will have a chance to add 2 steps to the current combo while it is alive for a limited time by hitting flash ramps that activate in front of the sinkholes. Extending a combo to a certain length will result in a Super Combo, in which the table will automatically control the flippers for a brief time and grant the player one ally. The minimum combo length needed for a Super Combo conversion starts at 4 and gradually increases to 8 every time a successful Super Combo is performed. A combo expires if the player takes too long to hit a different lane, and the current length of the combo will be displayed on a foldout computer screen at the back left corner of the table.

Godlike Combo: After a successful Direct Hit is performed, the player can then shoot the red right ramp to attempt a Godlike Combo, in which that ramp's flash ramp will activate, sending the ball backwards up the exit habitrail of the opposite red ramp with such force that it jumps off its entrance and onto the end of the blue looping crossramp, where the player chain together two cross-shots, one that propels the ball up the crossramp leading to the back right corner of the table with the left mini-flipper and another that takes the ball back to the left red ramp via the back crossramp and the right mini-flipper. Completing 3 Godlike Combos with the same ball awards an extra ball.

Popularity: With the civil war occurring in a democracy where the belief upheld by the most civilians becomes the one that guides society, gaining popularity is key to strengthening one's cause. Popularity increases throughout events such as winning allies or executing Super Combos. The current popularity value dispenses an end-of-ball bonus every time the ball is lost.

Thunderbolts (Pro-Registration only): To aid his cause, Iron Man turns to the Thunderbolts, a team of reformed super-villains, to provide needed firepower to round up rebels opposing the Superhuman Registration Act. If the player is pro-Registration, every 10 spins the ball performs in the Raft spindisk will recruit a Thunderbolt member, contributing to the end of ball bonus. Each Thunderbolt recruited will also convert one hero to support the Superhero Registration Act. Recruiting 3 Thunderbolt members will also convince up to 2 of the 8 superheroes who oppose Registration to rethink their position and become neutral.

Rebel, Don't Register (Anti-Registration only): Captain America makes efforts to broadcast his justification for opposing the Superhuman Registration Act and gains some allies in this manner eventually. If the player is anti-Registration, every 30 bumper hits will eventually convince one hero to oppose the Superhuman Registration Act.

Safe House Hurry-Up (Anti-Registration only): Captain America uses safe houses to protect heroes who oppose the Superhuman Registration Act and are thus being hunted for capture by those who uphold it. If the player is anti-Registration and hits an unlit Safe House target, a hurry-up mode will start where the player must shoot a lit lane within a short amount of time to recruit one hero to oppose Registration. Completing this hurry-up successfully will light up that target solidly. Completing two Safe House hurry-ups, one for each target, will also allow Captain America to convince the Punisher to help his cause, lowering the right bumper and making his target available to activate the Ball Saver or instantly complete modes successfully.

Extra Ball: Extra Balls can be earned by maxing out the score multiplier or executing 3 Godlike Combos with the same ball. All earned extra balls are claimed by shooting the right sinkhole VUK.

Tips

You need to be skilled in shooting the right lane within a short amount of time to win missions, gain allies and avoid losing allies. If that's not your specialty, avoid battles if you don't have a lot of allies and try looking for ways to earn allies without the risk of losing them, listed in the Perks section above. This is especially important, as losing allies to the opposing cause therefore makes them incapable of joining your cause until they are brought back to neutral status - a task that's harder to accomplish on the anti-Registration side than the pro-Registration side because the only way to do so in the former is to complete the Ambush mission successfully. Thus, it would be easier for you to start anti-Registration, so once you beat the table on that side, you won't have much difficulty disabling the anti-Registration heroes as you switch sides and play on the pro-Registration side. You can also avoid losing allies on the anti-Registration side by successfully executing a Direct Hit that temporarily freezes Iron Man and negates ally penalties for mission failures.

Increase ball survivability by hitting the left sinkhole frequently and gaining kickbacks. If you are playing on the anti-Registration side, you can also earn the ball saver by completing the two Safe House hurry-ups and hitting the Punisher's target, but bear in mind that activating it is no easy task.

Beware of the exit habitrails of the red twin ramps! When the right red ramp's flash ramp is inactive, the ends of each habitrail will drop the ball from atop a rebound and dangerously right near the outhole, unlike how the habitrails of typical tables drop the ball neatly into inlanes. Be sure to ready your flippers to catch the ball when it drops off a rebound at the end of either exit habitrail.

Deadpool

"Prepare yourselves for the greatest pinball gaming experience of all time!" - Yours Truly

For added humor, and to celebrate the unique personality and character of the Marvel superhero Deadpool, this entire article will be written in his fourth-wall breaking first-person perspective. It is most enjoyable for readers who can make their best Nolan North impression.

Deadpool is one of a multitude of Marvel pinball tables released in 2014, available for Zen Pinball 2, Pinball FX 2 and Pinball FX 3. Originally released as a standalone table, it was released as part of the Heavy Hitters pack-

Alright, enough of that boring, boilerplate article intro stuff! When you write an article about the Merc with the Mouth, YOU KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT, RIGHT? So you say THIS article is about a pinball table celebrating all things me, right? Well, let me tell you, this is basically the most awesome pinball table YOU'LL ever play - because it has ME in it, and you'll get a glimpse of all the mayhem that I've been through in missions and modes mostly based on what my creators Fabian and Rob put me through. You think it's all superhero-ey stuff, like all the other Marvel tables you've played? Well, you might wanna think again... those developers have a mind of their own...

Oh, and by the way, this isn't the only pinball table about me. Those folks at Stern Pinball decided to make a REAL one back in 2018, and you know you've made it when you have a physical pinball machine named after you.

Objective and missions

I get to force you to experience all the crazy stuff I've been through in eight missions across five crazy issues. That's as simple as I can make it, right? And in order to start a mission, you gotta shoot either crossramp, shoot the spinners enough times, and then make a shot up that center ramp. Easy, right? Now, bear in mind that you have to do what you're told without draining the ball...and without taking too long. 'Cuz if you drain the ball or run out of time, well, the mission fails and you have to start it over. And once you beat a mission? You can't play it again 'till you start the wizard mode. And remember, some missions can't be started from the get go because they're not the first missions of an issue, but you can jump straight into one if you beat that first mission. Cool?

If you're up for a challenge, you can spin the flags a little more to fill the meters again and kick the mission difficulty up to Medium and then once more for Hard before you sink the ball in the center ramp, but don't say I didn't warn you. Each difficulty setting lowers the time limits, but also means more points for doing things, and more points added to the jackpot value. Hope you're a masochist.

All right, so in order to get to the wizard mode, you need to beat all 8 missions listed below across 5 issues:

ISSUE #1

Chapter One - Kick Beat' Em: There are some people who just don't like me for some reason - what did I ever do to them? So you gotta help me deal with 'em. You do just that by hitting the varitarget in front of my chair, then within a measly 15 seconds, shoot the center ramp to take care of one of them. You need to get rid of all three of them, so do this twice more. If you run out of time, they'll jump me. If that happens three times, well, they get the better half of me...

ISSUE #2

Chapter Two - Lil' Me: Dang it, I told Zen not to include that tiny version of myself and look at what they did... looks like you'll have to deal with him too. (And I thought he'd be friendly because he's me, right?) You have all the time in the world to spin the flags in the orbits until the counter on the scoring display reaches zero. That will lower the entrances of the two ramps flanking the center ramp, and you have to hit either one to get that freak off of me. And once he's down on the playfield, quickly squish him with the ball - that's what you don't have all the time in the world to do. You need to do this three times to beat him, but if you take too long to squish him, he'll come back and then take a swipe at me. If that happens too many times, then this mission is done for.

Chapter Three - Tie Breaker: Screw this pinball stuff, let's do something different. In THIS mission, you get to arm-wrestle me through the screen - because I can't wrestle you in person, though I think it's obvious who would win. Don't worry, I made this easy for you because the ball is going nowhere fast. Your goal is to simply mash the right buttons to eventually muster the strength to pin my arm down, and the sooner you win, the bigger the reward. But beware...I'm a button masher too, so be ready for some resistance.

ISSUE #3

Chapter Four - Return of the Dead(pool): Of course the devs forced me to fight Lil' Deadpool again, and this time they got even lazier! At least I've got my Wildcard this time. (Well, Weasel's, actually...I'll explain that later.) Three cannon blasts from the suit will be enough to beat this stinker, but here's the thing: you need to charge up the cannon with 4 shots through a makeshift miniloop around the center ramp, before you take a shot by locking the ball in the sinkhole behind the left mini-flipper. And then you need to actually hit the mark by correctly executing a quick-time event... because as if defeating it wasn't hard enough, Zen thinks this is 2005 all over again. Take too long to make a shot? Fouled up on that QTE? Then Lil' Deadpool will attack the pinball table I'm hiding behind on the left apron by throwing things at it, and eventually, he'll get to me and knock my socks off, so you better blast him three times before it's too late. The good news? The cannon's already fully charged at the start of the mission, so you can make your first shot right out the gate.

Chapter Five - Evil Me: Wait, did I tell you that I have an evil doppelgänger who likes to ruin my life? And he doesn't even have a toupee? Okay, you're gonna have to help me beat him because he's commandeered my beloved Wildcard and he's trying to blow me to pieces with it. Here's the game plan: You distract him by trying to make two combos that consist of three consecutive shots, and that'll be long enough for me to get him out of there. But beware, if you mess up a combo, Evil Deadpool will hurt me. And even though I have regenerative capabilities, you know I can't just be a meat shield all the time and take all those hits - I gotta be the one that lands 'em.

ISSUE #4

Chapter Six - U Can't Touch Me: Ooh, boy, this is my favorite! You have to look for me in a game of hide and seek, but remember...don't peek. Once I'm gone, shoot different lanes to eventually find me, but you have a clock to beat, so chop, chop!

Chapter Seven - Don't Touch That: Get your dirty hands off my Wildcard. I had to borrow it from my buddy Weasel for a while, but if you absolutely must touch it (which I surmise that you will), treat it well by not wasting its ammo on poor target practice! Use the flippers to aim and shoot at popouts of my head in the right wall of the table from the mech's perspective on the left wall of the table, but watch out for those bombs...because I don't think I can afford fixing the mess that'll result if you shoot one. And you need to be quick too, because there's a clock you have to beat in this one which might make this mission a little tougher. You know, after this, I'm never allowing anyone to borrow Wildcard again.

ISSUE #5

Chapter Eight - Tag, You're It!: Um, bad news. Remember those baddies I had to fight earlier? They're all here, and either they've figured out that if they can't take on me individually, they can surely do it all together... or the devs got lazy again. The good news? Not only do I get to dance to awesome music that topped the Hungarian charts, but this is our chance to get rid of them all for good now that they're all here. Here's how we do it: Shoot 3 flashing lanes within a time limit to attack them, and you need to keep doing that until their health bar at the upper right corner of the scoring display reaches zero so that I (and probably you, too) can finally relax. Take too long to shoot the sequence? They'll attack me. And you know I can't take much punishment, so you better be quick here.

Play With Me

Done with all eight missions and still have a ball to spare? Then congratulations, you can unlock the final mission: Issue #6, Chapter Nine - Play With Me, where I get to humiliate you further! You start this the same way as the previous missions, and you have to play against me and outscore me within a time limit - and pretty much the only way you can do that is to master those combos, baby! I would've helped back when you were defeating Evil Deadpool, but chimichangas wait for no one. Then, you need to shoot three sets of lit lanes in any order you wish, each within a time limit while I play as fair as possible - which means I constantly distract you by causing mischief all around the table. If you try this mission on Hard difficulty, you're gonna hate losing this one...

If you somehow survive, I'm just gonna give up and cut the table in half with my katanas so you can shoot lit lanes for jackpots, and you can go for the super jackpot worth double at the center ramp. Bored with just two balls? Get some more by pushing a ball into the sharp blade of the katana and watch as the multiball get wilder with the blade slicing the balls in half to make two new balls, up to the max of four! This keeps going and going until you lose all but one ball and then everything starts over, capiche? Oh, and don't worry, you didn't shatter my pride or anything. Trust me.

Side modes

Now let's get to those modes that you don't need to beat to get to Play With Me, and / or everything that doesn't involve yours truly. I was just going to end this page after that wizard mode, but I didn't want to risk the complaints and legal fees.

Mischief: If you hang around the table long enough without starting anything, a countdown will start to decrease for every lane you shoot. You might want to avoid this altogether if you care about keeping the ball by HURRYING UP AND STARTING A MODE! Sheesh! If it reaches zero, I'll play fair... as if, and mess up your game in one of the following ways:

I'll throw a smoke grenade somewhere on the table!

I'll throw some grenades at you! Don't worry, they won't blow up.

I'll nudge the table! Curse you, active slingshots...

I'll fix the upper right flipper with some glue! It was flipping uncontrollably.

I'll pull out a magnet and mess up your shots! Feel the power!

I'll just shoot the ball! (Please note - your ball will be returned, we're not that mean.)

Weasel: Spell WEASEL with 6 shots up the left crossramp if you're not too busy, and any of the following three modes will start:

Repair the Suit: Wildcard is the best mech a mercenary could ask for, but it's not always a well-oiled one (and no, it's not my fault, stop asking). To fix it, you need to shoot one orbit, then hit the crossramp nearest to it once the ball comes out the other side with the opposite flipper. And repeat this enough times until you've hit either spinner enough times. I'm afraid to say that fixing it won't get you to stay away from it, though.

Calibrate the Suit: Wildcard's cannon can't be effective if it's off kilter - well, it can, but firing from weird angles takes work. So you gotta recalibrate it for me by watching the mech's laser sight and doing all you can to bring the ball right to the moving reticle where it ends. Four hits on that reticle will be enough to make the cannon reliable, and allow me to have all the thrill of finishing housework without actually doing it!

Prep the Suit: All right, it's time to power up and prepare Wildcard. Its power button is the varitarget in front of my chair, so hit that for me first. Then, you gotta shoot the miniloop at the ramp entrances quickly until the preparation percentage reaches 100%, and the machine will be ready for action! If only Weasel was here to see your hard work.

Blind Al: Spell BLIND AL with 7 shots up the right ramp - if you care - and any of the following three modes will start:

Blind Play: Ah yes, Matt Murdoch mode. I get to turn down the lights, and you get to try to shoot all the lit lanes, with only a few lit parts to guide you, like the ball and flippers - I wouldn't be that mean to you, would I? You better complete three rounds of this mode in 30 seconds each if you never want to see it again. (See what I did there?)

Clean the House: Blind Al, being my roommate, has issues with the mess I leave in my home... also, if you're still reading this, maybe you should clean up your room. Just saying. To please her and make my life inside this pinball machine more manageable, you can do the work for me by finding and hitting all five trash bags that appear on the playfield with the ball within 30 seconds.

Prank the Merc: Oooh, a spooky ghost ball! That should be fun - certainly better than doing housework, at least - plus I get to watch you fail to flip at the ball! The ghost ball will mess with your flippers, so if you're tired of it, which I know you will be, get rid of that thing with three hits in 30 seconds. Shame, I liked that ghost ball.

Multiball

One ball is never enough in a pinball table - everyone learned that decades ago. Let's have fun with two or more by starting any of these high-scoring goodies:

Hydra Multiball: Bob, Agent of Hydra, was one of my best sidekicks, so here's a 2-ball multiball in his honor that you kinda need to go out of your way to get (hey, I didn't say these would be easy to start). Remember the two saucers I told you about earlier? You need to lock two balls into them, by spelling BOB at those tricky lower left targets to make one saucer lock available. And once one ball is locked, the saucer you locked the ball into will be sealed off with my mask icon, so beware. Work on locking up the other one, and then they'll both release, and you need to hit the crossramps to earn jackpots, and if you're not satisfied with what they give, you can just send one ball into the mini-loop behind the right mini-flipper and they'll increase, and don't you just love it when a sentence goes on for this long? Probably longer than you spent in the Multiball, honestly.

Hellhouse Multiball: The Hellhouse is like a headquarters for mercs like me - yeah, would you believe I'm a mercenary with all the crazy stuff I've lived through? My creators really wouldn't have been expecting this, I'll say. Anyway, if you want to see me do actual mercenary things, then spell HELLHOUSE with 9 shots up the right crossramp and then you can then lock a ball in the sinkhole under the left mini-flipper. Once three balls are locked this way, I'll throw three balls at you and you can earn a jackpot by shooting the bumpers to build one up, then collecting it by shooting lit lanes with the charged balls. Don't worry, I tested these charged balls and can guarantee that they won't mess up all the game's wires, I swear.

Headbang Multiball: Don't shoot the sinkhole near the left ramps too many times (10 to be exact), or my zombified counterpart, Headpool, will come out to play as a second ball! If he ever shows up, make him sick by shooting the lit lanes, earning jackpots along the way, and then the Headpool ball will get dizzy and stop at the center of the table where the word SPLIT would be. That's where you hit him and put an end to this madness. Phew, that was tough work.

Katana Multiball: If you can pull off six 3-way combos (haha, I said 3-way) and then drop the ball into the sinkhole under the left mini-flipper once per combo, I'll throw one of my katanas at the table and it'll plant itself right in the dead center while another ball is shot into play. Want more balls? Then push those balls into the sharp blade of the katana and watch them split into two new balls. Want more points? Then shoot the ramps flanking the center ramp for jackpots, and after enough are collected, you can shoot the center ramp for a super jackpot. Cool, right? Oh, and did I forget to mention that you can stack other multiballs on this one except for Headbang Multiball for maximum scoring? Rage quitting has never been so much fun!

Sidekick Multiball: If for some reason you think it's boring to play a Sidekick side mode with just one ball (this housework won't solve itself!), you can play another one with two balls if you complete one successfully, then lock the ball in the Box at the left crossramp anytime you want before you start another sidekick mode. Then, the next sidekick mode will be played with two balls instead of one. Now if you think that's fun (and I think it sure will be), just make sure you know that there's a hitch to it: you need to beat that side mode without losing either ball or you fail that mode automatically. You hear me? No flailing mindlessly around the playfield for you... though you probably shouldn't be doing that anyway. Pinball 101 stuff, right there.

Perks

Okay, you're probably getting dizzy with all those modes I've been blabbering about for like an hour, right? Well, I've got some stuff that can make things a bit more bearable. Just stick with me here:

Skill Shot: Started a new game? Your first priority should be to plunge to the lit rollover for 500,000 points, then quickly make whichever shot lights in 5 seconds for an additional 2 million... even Dogpool could've done that.

Grenade Ball Saver: Grenades can always come in handy, but Zen didn't give me their immense grenade supply and I have to buy them myself. You'll get a free one at the start of each ball and multiball that lasts for I think 30 seconds, and if you drain the ball while it's there, it'll blast the ball back into play. And in case if it doesn't...well, I know that can happen, and you don't have to complain about a ball saver that doesn't actually save the ball, because I'll make sure the table shoots a new ball back into play. And after that ball saver goes bye-bye, you can always get another one if you push the varitarget at my chair all the way and then hit the bumpers enough times. Cool, huh? And one more thing... try not to waste those grenades, okay? They come out of my paycheck.

Kickbacks: Ah, outlanes. My favorite thing in a pinball machine, but apparently players hate them... so, because I'm such a nice guy, you get to have two kickbacks on this table. Here's how they work: Spell my alter ego's first name on the return rollovers. And that's the easy part. The harder part? Well, you only have several seconds to shoot either of the two ramps flanking the center ramp to turn on a kickback before you have to spell WADE again. The left ramp turns on the left kickback and...yadda, yadda, yadda. And you can't shoot the ramp representing one that's already on, you know. The good news? These low-power spring-loaded kickbacks, once turned on, will stay on until you use them, or until the game is over. And they don't cost anything!

Bonus Multiplier: Okay, so this is where spelling my alter-ego's last name is gonna help. Look up to the center of the back wall. If you squint close enough, you'll see what letters are missing. Your job is to piece together that last name by dropping the ball through the bumper rollovers so that you'll eventually get a bonus multiplier increase - it can go up to a whopping 10x, and even light one of those precious extra balls I hear you pinball players like so much. To get the letters you need, use those flippers to cycle the letter positions and collect unlit letters. Those bonus multipliers are only good for the current ball, but I hear you can earn a bonus multiplier hold from the Merc Award.

Merc Award: Mercs always get payouts for getting the job done and I'm no exception thanks to my mad skills. If you shoot the ball into the Hellhouse enough times so that the ball comes out of the roof of the Hellhouse four times and spells MERC, you'll get a nice random reward. So far I've seen decent point values, a kickback, forcing me to buy a grenade (that's the worst), increasing the bonus multipliers, or even lighting an extra ball. And no, I'm not giving you everything at once, you have to work for these. Sorry.

Jackpot Value: You know how this whole guide has been referring to jackpots but never saying what they're worth? What's up with that? Basically, at the start of the game, your jackpot is worth 500,000 points. Puny. But as you complete missions or spell MERC, it increases, and if you're lucky (or skillful, whatever) enough to get a multiball, it'll constantly increase!

Combos: So if you shoot a 3-way combo by shooting the three lit lanes marked with COMBO in sequence, then you'll earn a bullet for the third lane you shoot. Those bullets are important, 'cause if you make 5 combos that end with that lane, you'll have a chance to earn an extra ball. But remember here - if you lose the ball, you lose one bullet from each lane that had any, so you better be careful! Curse these small pant pockets... they can hold multipliers, but not bullets.

Extra Balls: If three balls somehow aren't enough for you on this table, then "the extra ball you should get" (I love that line!) at the Hellhouse crossramp by doing any of these: maxing out the bonus multiplier, earning one from the Merc Award, finishing a combo at a lane with all bullets lit, beating the wizard mode - yeah, as if - or beating all six sidekick modes. Oh, and you only get one extra ball for each of these methods, and they're not refundable.

Tips

First of all, don't tell anyone I gave you these tips. These are your gift, and yours alone for reading so much of my incessant babbling. We don't need any people going around saying "oh, I went to the bottom of the page, and there were these tips, here you go!", alright?!... well, it's a public site, so I guess it's fine. But just this once.

This table has some tough lanes that you need to shoot on your journey to beat me at my own game. You know that right orbit and the two shots behind the upper flippers? The Zen guys made those surprisingly tough to shoot; even I can't make them, so you need to figure them out yourself. Nudging the ball a bit on the left flipper, then shooting the right orbit should make it a little easier for you. And for those shots behind the upper flippers, just trap the ball at either flipper, raise the upper flipper in front of the shot, and then go for it. Easy, right?

Multiball! Oh wait, they want me to explain more. Your jackpots constantly increase during multiball, and during a long game these can become massive. Hopefully not massive enough to beat my high score, though.

Remember, you need to keep the ball alive to beat modes and missions, but the Zen team made the kickbacks and the ball saver pretty easy to turn on. So activate them whenever you set out to complete missions or side modes, so you'll have some insurance just in case things do go wrong. And remember - shoot that center ramp with care, because at just the right angle, it can drop the ball straight down the middle. I might laugh at you, but I can't imagine you would be laughing with me.

The bonus is worth nothing. Those weird yellow boxes hate how dismissive I am towards those bonus multipliers, but really, unless you want that extra ball you're better off ignoring them.

Alright, is that everything? No rules left undiscussed? Cause if that's what's happening, I'm outta here. Hm, you know, this was actually quite a fun article to write... maybe I can go vandalize that Iron Man article now -

Doctor Strange

"By the Hoary Hosts of Hoggoth! Wong! The battle of our lives awaits..." - Doctor Strange

Doctor Strange is one of the Marvel pinball tables originally released in 2013 as a standalone in Zen Pinball 2 and Pinball FX2, then ported to Pinball FX3 in 2017 as part of the Marvel Legends DLC pack. The table is based on the Doctor Strange comic series, featuring the adventures of Stephen Strange and his fights against magical threats taking over the world.

Main objective

Complete eight missions to take down Dormammu, Nightmare, and Baron Mordo. Then, take them down again during the Sorcerer Mode.

Missions

Shoot either of the two drop targets in front of each sinkhole to lower them, then shoot into the sinkhole to start the mission listed below. Timers for each mission are listed below. All missions prevent side modes from being activated, though perks can still be gained. If a bank of drop targets have been lowered and the ball drains, the targets will reset on the next ball. Winning all eight missions will light Sorcerer Mode at all four of the sinkhole shots.

The values for each mission shot are determined by spelling LEVEL at the left ramp (for Doctor Strange), center ramp (for Dormammu), side ramp (for Nightmare), and right ramp (for Baron Mordo). Mission shots start at 250,000 points and increase by 50,000 points for each LEVEL completion at the aforementioned shots until the ball drains.

25 million is awarded for completing the Tier 1 mission for each set, and 50 million points are awarded for winning the Tier 2 mission for the set. Missions for each sinkhole can be repeatedly played, alternating between tiers 1 and 2, until Sorcerer Mode is started.

Tier 1 Missions

Doctor Strange - The Book of the Vishanti: Find the location of the Book of Vishanti by shooting six symbols moving around the playfield with the ball. Each symbol is only lit for 20 seconds, and the timer resets for each shot. Hit all six symbols to win the mission.

Dormammu - Occupying Dr. Strange's Body!: Dormammu infects the mind of Doctor Strange. Get rid of Dormammu by making 10 flashing shots in a 2-ball multiball, without letting either ball drain. The mission ends after 10 shots, but if the player makes 10 more shots following the end of the mission, an extra ball will be awarded. The orbits will divert to the bumpers during this mission, to increase the shot value by 10,000 points per bump.

Nightmare - Prisoner in the Dream Dimension!: Alternate between shooting the flashing left, center, or right ramp, then shoot the ball into the Nightmare sinkhole. Repeat this process 3 times, with 20 seconds allotted per shot, to win the mission and defeat Nightmare. Each ramp can only be shot once to light the sinkhole.

Baron Mordo - I'm the New Sorcerer Supreme!: Portals spawn in the dead space above the flippers. Use the flippers to shoot the ball into the correctly colored portals that feed flashing shots, with 20 seconds given per shot. 5 total flashing shots - one to each portal - are required to defeat Mordo for a while...

Tier 2 Missions

Doctor Strange - Obtain the Book of the Vishanti: Baron Mordo attacks Doctor Strange during his attempt to receive the book. In this 3-ball multiball mode, make all seven shots once, then lock the remaining balls by shooting the three sinkholes for 5, 2, and 1 million points to win the mission. Each sinkhole can only lock one ball, and if a ball drains after locking the first of 3 balls, the mission will end in failure regardless.

Dormammu - Invading Manhattan!: 90 seconds. Defeat Dormammu's minions by shooting 3 sinkholes corresponding to the characters on the display in order; either the Doctor Strange, Dormammu, or Nightmare sinkholes. Shooting the wrong sinkhole will cause the sinkhole sequence to reset. Complete three sinkhole shot sequences to win the mission.

Nightmare - Doctor Strange Entering the Dream Dimension!: 120 seconds. Defeat Nightmare's shield by shooting the correctly colored sinkhole. Nightmare's shield will alternate colors between blue, red, and green every 15 seconds; to open a sinkhole, shoot any flashing shot, then shoot the sinkhole that corresponds to the color of the shield. Repeat this process 3 times to win the mission. Failing to shoot the correct sinkhole won't count as mission progress.

Baron Mordo - Allies From Beyond This Dimension!: Prevent Nightmare & Dormammu from attacking in a 2-ball multiball. Jump ramps will spawn in front of the Dormammu and Nightmare drop targets to send balls into the portals above them; each shot to a portal will decrease the constantly growing size of the portal (starting at 50%) by about 15%, and when the portal size reaches 0%, the portal will disappear. The player must then remove the second portal with the remaining ball to win the mission.

Sorcerer Mode

After all eight missions have been won, a shot to any of the lit sinkholes will start Sorcerer Mode. This is a 6-phase wizard mode, divided into the steps listed below. The values for each shot during Sorcerer Mode start at 633,333, and are multiplied by +1x for every completion of the Eye of Agamotto mini-playfield, up to 4x. Winning the Sorcerer Mode scores 100 million points and resets the mission progress.

Shoot three random flashing shots, then shoot the Eye of Agamotto sinkhole to summon Baron Mordo.

Hit the flashing jump ramp 3 times without missing 5 times to defeat Baron Mordo.

A 3-ball multiball will start. Collect 100 bumper hits by shooting the orbits to summon Nightmare, without draining to single-ball play. Then, lock the remaining balls in the Eye of Agamotto sinkhole for 10, 5, and 2.5 million points per ball locked.

Hit the flashing jump ramp 3 times without missing 5 times to defeat Nightmare.

Shoot three random flashing shots, then shoot the Eye of Agamotto sinkhole to summon Dormammu.

Hit the flashing jump ramp 3 times without missing 5 times to defeat Dormammu and win the Sorcerer Mode.

If the player fails any phase of Sorcerer Mode (and still has a ball remaining if they drained during a single-ball phase), a "second chance" will activate and the player can shoot any sinkhole to restart the wizard mode. If they fail the second chance, mission progress will automatically reset.

Side modes

Various side modes are available during normal play; 4 of the side modes lead up to a multiball mode, and a standalone multiball mode can also be activated.

Sorcery Side Modes & Sorcerer Supreme Frenzy

All four ramps and the center orbit are marked with five inserts spelling LEVEL. Shooting any of these shots five times to complete LEVEL will start a mode associated with that shot and increase the jackpot value for one of the mission sets by 50,000 points. Once the four side modes have been played, Sorcerer Supreme Frenzy will be qualified to start at the left ramp. Side modes are listed from the left to right side of the playfield.

A&A Multiball: Spelling LEVEL at both the left and center ramps will start a 2-ball multiball and light a hurry-up at the aforementioned ramps, starting at 1 million points (+500,000 per activation to a max of 5 million) and decreasing to 100,000. As soon as the player makes either ramp shot or the value decreases, all seven major shots will light for jackpots worth the hurry-up value. Shooting all seven shots will relight the jackpots again for the same value. Other side modes can be activated during A&A Multiball; Eye of Agamotto can be qualified, but can't be started until the player returns to single-ball play.

Eye of Agamotto: Spelling LEVEL at the center orbit will activate the Eye of Agamotto sinkhole, which sends the ball to the Eye of Agamotto mini-playfield to complete a stage and increase the jackpot values for Sorcerer Mode. The player must shoot all four ramps a total of three times to complete the stage and score 5 million points. A center post is active between the flippers and will lower when the ball hits it; it can be raised again by completing the four blue standup targets on the mini-playfield. The mode ends when the player completes all the lit shots or drains out of the mini-playfield.

Spirit Hurry-Up: Spelling LEVEL at the side ramp will light all seven major shots for a hurry-up value starting at 3 million points and decreasing to 0, over the course of about 30 seconds. The mode ends once time runs out or the player shoots all seven lit shots.

Intelligence Hurry-Up: Spelling LEVEL at the right ramp will light the right ramp for a hurry-up value starting at 1 million points (+500,000 per activation to a max of 5 million) and decreasing to 0, over the course of about 30 seconds. Shoot the right ramp to collect the hurry-up value and end the mode.

Sorcerer Supreme Frenzy itself is a 2-ball multiball mode with a 60 second timer, where all seven major shots will light to score jackpots worth 1 million (+1 million points per activation). The mode ends once either the player makes all seven shots, the player returns to single-ball play, or the timer runs out.

Shuma-Gorath Multiball

Shooting both orbits three times will light the center ramp to lock a ball for Shuma-Gorath Multiball; the creature in the table's back wall will pick up and lock the ball. Collecting 3 locks starts the 3-ball Shuma-Gorath Multiball and lights all seven shots for jackpots worth 1 million points (+500,000 per activation), with an opportunity for a super jackpot worth 5x the jackpot value moving from the left to right side of the playfield and back after each wave of jackpots has been collected.

Perks

Ball Save: Every 50 bumper hits will activate the ball save for 15 seconds; the ball save is also activated at the start of each multiball mode. During multiball, only the first ball that drains will be saved.

Kickbacks: Spelling MYSTIC and POWERS at the return lanes, which cycle with the flippers, activates the left and right kickbacks respectively. Kickbacks aren't carried over across balls.

Bonus Multiplier: Completing the three top rollover lanes, which cycle with the flippers, increases the bonus multiplier by +2x to a maximum of 10x. Reaching 10x bonus will collect an extra ball as well.

Double Scoring: Shoot the left orbit six times on a single ball, then shoot it again to start 30 seconds of 2x playfield scoring.

Random Award: Every seven shots to the right orbit on a single ball will score a random award from the following list: points (1 or 5 million), +2x bonus multiplier, ball save, activating either kickback, or extra ball. Awards that contradict the current status of the game won't be collected.

Combos: Repeatedly making any of the seven major shots within 10 seconds of each other will score combo points worth 100,000 points + 100,000 per combo. After six shots are made in a combo and the 600,000 point value is scored, the value will reset.

Extra Ball: Extra balls can be collected by making 10 additional shots after winning the Tier 1 Dormammu mission, after reaching a bonus multiplier of 10x, and as a random award.

Tips

When in doubt, play the missions. While the shots during missions don't score much, 25 million / 50 million for winning a mission is a very large amount of points on this game and is the most consistent way to reach high scores. Remember to light the kickbacks if you have low stamina.

Sorcerer Mode is a very difficult mode and scores just as much as completing two Tier 2 missions for winning it - it might not be worth the risk of playing for. However, the third phase of the mode can make it very easy to reach 10x bonus and score an extra ball.

Double scoring can similarly boost scoring on this game, and is most effectively used at the very end of any Tier 2 mission to score 100 million points.

Fantastic Four

"It's clobberin' time!" - The Thing

Fantastic Four is a Marvel pinball table released in 2011 and available for Zen Pinball 2, Pinball FX 2 and Pinball FX 3 as one of three tables in the Marvel Legends pack. It is based on the eponymous superhero team, comprising of Mr. Fantastic (Reed Richards), The Thing (Ben Grimm), The Invisible Woman (Susan Storm) and The Human Torch (Johnny Storm), as well as their efforts to protect Earth from different villains.

Table overview

The upper half of the table

At the back left corner of the table is a platform comprising of a large disk-shaped diverter mechanism resembling the logo of the Fantastic Four, mounted to the back table wall by a gray platform where a figure of Doctor Doom, a common archenemy of the Fantastic Four, stands. The diverter mechanism, accessed by a green ramp representing him, can divert the ball into one of three destinations: to the back left into a long exit habitrail that threads through the back table wall towards the right inlane, a saucer to its back right or a front-left egress towards an exit habitrail destined for the leftmost inlane that passes through Mr. Fantastic's Negative Zone computer. On the back right corner is a scale model representation of the Baxter building, with an entry sinkhole placed in front of its main entrance and a upkicker on its rooftop that takes the ball down a long exit habitrail that drops the ball down the exit habitrail of the Human Torch crossramp, directly destined for the right flipper.

A large orbit wraps around the table, with the left orbit gated by a flag being one of two table elements attributed to the Human Torch. The right orbit spells INVISIBLE and represents the Invisible Woman, with her figure standing on a force field platform of her making near the Baxter Building replica, which the right orbit goes behind. The front side of the main orbit's apex is open to allow balls to enter a bumper area, but not before passing through one of four bumper rollovers spelling FOUR. Balls that enter the bumper area, placed closer to the left orbit than the right, exit it by rolling down the left orbit. To the right of the left orbit is a saucer that is shot to start missions, and right next to it is the aforementioned green ramp representing Dr. Doom.

To the right of the Dr. Doom Ramp is the light brown-colored ramp representing the Thing. Its path resembles a large, crude question mark, leading to the inner left inlane. A sinkhole also associated with the Thing (and also spells his name) is right next to it, but it is blocked off by a target bank spelling the middle three letters of the word FANTASTIC. The Thing himself stands behind the sinkhole and can throw the ball to the bumpers if the ball goes into his sinkhole. To the right of this target bank is a short lane leading into the abovementioned Baxter Building sinkhole. Lastly, to the right of this lane are two crosslanes: a fiery, looping crossramp that is the aforementioned Human Torch crossramp (spelling TORCH) and a mini-orbit that spells BAXTER. To the left of the right ramp is a pale blue ramp also representing the Invisible Woman, and it shares the same exit habitrail that is used by the rear left exit of the Fantastic Four diverter. In the front left corner of its entrance is a lone target used to claim extra balls.

The lower half of the table

Figures of Mr. Fantastic and the Human Torch stand on opposite sides of the table, with the former on the left and the latter on the right. This allows Mr. Fantastic to stand near his Negative Zone computer, which the ball passes through while on the leftmost exit habitrail as it comes out of the front-left exit of the sign diverter. Near each of these two members is a target bank that spells the first or last three letters of the word FANTASTIC. A left mini-flipper is installed behind the left target bank, used to make cross-shots into either of the table's two crosslanes.

There are 5 return lanes spelling the word FORCE FIELD, with each return lane representing one letter from both words. There are also two rebounds and two main flippers, with the outlanes each guarded by a diverter kickback representing the Invisible Woman's force field powers. Score multiplier lamps are positioned to the right of the inlane. On the left apron are ramps indicating which of the three optional multiball modes are active and on the right apron, there are lamps indicating whether the bonus multiplier held or whether a combo streak is in progress.

The mini-playfield

This table has a mini-playfield that emerges from the Baxter Building model, consisting of a fan-shaped area where five tracks of drop targets converge into its conical, front area and connect it with the curved rear end. It represents the workshop of the Baxter Building, which falls under attack from Skrulls. The drop target tracks carry waves of advancing drop targets headed towards the front of the mini-playfield, representing Skrull invaders. There is a paddle mechanism at the front end of the table that can be twisted left or right with flipper operation to propel the ball towards the drop targets.

The plunger

The plugner is a spring-loaded mechanism that launches the ball up a straight shaft that merges with the right orbit. The goal of the skill shot is to guess the correct amount of force that will drop the ball into one of four lit FOUR bumper rollovers. There is also a super skill shot called the Flaming Skill Shot, which can be attempted with a full-force plunger shot and does not require a successful skill shot, in which the player can shoot the Human Torch crossramp immediately after launching the ball for a big score reward.

Objective and missions

The goal of this table is to help the Fantastic Four accomplish heroic feats and protect the Earth from great threats through five missions, with one based on each member and their archenemy Dr. Doom. A mission can start by first shooting the Baxter Building sinkhole, then shooting the mission saucer to the right of the left orbit. The player can then choose which mission to attempt within a time limit before it is automatically chosen. Each mission must be completed successfully without losing the ball to unlock the wizard mode.

The following missions must be completed successfully to access the wizard mode:

Mr. Fantastic: Mr. Fantastic must find and assemble machine parts for his next experiment. The player must quickly shoot one of six major lanes that are pointed out by Mr. Fantastic's outstretched arm, with the target lane changing every seven seconds. The player has nearly two minutes to hit six target lanes and help Mr. Fantastic gather the necessary parts.

Invisible Woman: The Invisible Woman must use her force field powers to hold off Dr. Doom. To do so, the player must shoot her ramp within 20 seconds to start up her force field and increase its power to level 1. The player must then increase its power level all the way to 5 by shooting three or four randomly selected lit target lanes, with the level decreasing if the player takes more than 20 seconds to shoot a lit lane.

Human Torch: The Human Torch pushes his incendiary powers to the limit to become a powerful supernova, which is 1 million degrees Fahrenheit. To achieve this amount, the player must shoot the orbits such that the ball passes through the fire flag in the left orbit, but the temperature will slowly decrease over time, resulting in mission failure if the temperature reaches zero. Completing the mission successfully will multiply all scores by 40 for the next 20 seconds.

The Thing: The Thing, becoming a powerful being with stony skin, demonstrates his devastating strength to destroy Doombots created by Dr. Doom and programmed to terrorize civilians. At the start of the mission, the player must race to shoot the Thing's sinkhole (with the middle FANTASTIC target bank going down temporarily) to determine how many points each Doombot destroyed is worth. The value starts at 1 million and shrinks down rapidly across time until the sinkhole is hit or it reaches 100,000. Then, figures of Doombots will block the way to the Baxter Building sinkhole, one by one and the player must hit each one to destroy them. There are a total of 5 Doombots to defeat to clear the mission successfully. If the player takes too long to hit a Doombot, it will attack the Thing and take away 25% of his health, after four hits, the Thing is defeated and the mission will fail.

Dr. Doom: Dr. Doom, otherwise known as Victor Von Doom, is the ruler of the fictional sovereign state of Latveria and a scientist gone insane. The player must defend the Baxter Building in a mandatory multiball battle. At the start of the mission, in which only one ball is in play, the player must shoot the Baxter Building to charge the ball up with Doom's blast energy, then shoot the Dr. Doom ramp to him. The player must hit him four times to repel Dr. Doom's attack and finish the mission, but after each successful hit, Dr. Doom will dispense another ball into play to make it a multiball mode. After the first hit, the mission will fail if all but one ball is lost. Also, balls charged up with Dr. Doom's energy do not stay supercharged permanently and will wear off over time.

Once all five missions are completed successfully, the wizard mode, The Devourer of Worlds will begin the same way all the five missions are started. It is a final battle where the Fantastic Four must defeat Galactus, a powerful cosmic being that can devour entire universes. First, the player must shoot the ball into a massive singularity that appears in the open table area. Then, the player must complete the middle FANTASTIC target bank, then shoot the ball into the Thing's sinkhole that the target bank blocks. Then, Galactus will attack the table, firing his laser eyes onto one of four ramps: the Dr. Doom Ramp, the Thing Ramp, the Human Torch crossramp or the Invisible Woman's ramp. The player must hit his eye beams four times, which will change positions across the ramps periodically. After that, the player must shoot Dr. Doom's ramp four times to open up another singularity in the open table area, which the player must shoot the ball into. Then, the player helps the Human Torch activate the Ultimate Nullifier and use it against Galactus to defeat him by shooting the Human Torch crossramp, then shoot the Dr. Doom or Invisible Woman ramp. Doing so successfully starts a time-limited victory multiball where any lane awards a large amount of points and an unlimited ball saver is available. The player is only allowed one attempt at this wizard mode before the table resets.

Side modes

There is only one side mode proper that is available on the table and it is the Skrull Invasion. To access it, the player must spell BAXTER with six cross-shots up the mini-orbit, then shoot the ball into the Baxter Building sinkhole. This will take the ball to the Workshop mini-playfield, where the player must twist a paddle to push the ball towards advancing drop targets representing Skrulls, aliens who can disguise themselves as humans. The player must knock down all Skrull targets for a score reward and the side mode fails if one reaches the paddle. A successful completion of the side mode will increase its difficulty.

There is also another side mode that is tied to a multiball called Flame On. It is started by spelling TORCH on the Human Torch crossramp, in which shooting the flag in the left orbit will ignite the ball temporarily. Shooting the Dr. Doom ramp four times with an inflamed ball, with each shot locking a ball, will clear the side mode and start Sign Multiball.

Multiball

There are three multiball modes available on this table:

Clobberin' Multiball: The Thing likes to clobber bad guys with his immense strength. If the player spells THING on his sinkhole, a multiball mode will begin with 2 balls, which can increase up to 4 if the player scores a Clobberin' Jackpot within its first minute, with one extra ball added per jackpot. The said jackpot is scored by shooting the Thing's ramp when he blocks it with his fists. The mode will continue until all but one ball is lost.

Sign Multiball: The Human Torch uses his fire powers to illuminate the team sign. This mutliball begins when the player locks four burning balls during the Flame On side mode. Two balls will be initially released, with the other two each being released when a jackpot is scored in the first minute of play. Shots up the Dr. Doom ramp score jackpots, with the value of each jackpot increasing with shots through the fire flag in the left orbit. This mode will continue until all but one ball is lost.

Fantastic Four Multiball: The Fantastic Four work together as a team to save the world. If the player spells FANTASTIC across all three target banks, the player can lock one ball into the sign diverter via the Dr. Doom ramp. Once four balls are locked, the player can shoot the Dr. Doom ramp to earn jackpots, with every fifth shot being a super jackpot. The value of jackpots increase every time FANTASTIC is spelled again while the multiball mode is active, which will continue until all but one ball is lost.

Perks

The following perks can be activated during play:

Ball Saver: At the start of each ball and multiball, a 30-second ball saver will activate. Once it expires, it can only be reactivated as a random reward from the Thing.

Negative Zone Ball Saver: A powerful, permanent ball saver that activates by shooting either the Thing Ramp or the Invisible Woman ramp a total of 7 times, then shooting the Dr. Doom ramp a total of 7-8 times to make the ball pass through Mr. Fantastic's Negative Zone computer four times, as each shot will switch the destination of the sign diverter between the left exit habitrail (where the computer is) and the threading exit habitrail. This ball saver remains active until the ball is lost, and Mr. Fantastic will fish it out of a singularity in the middle of the table when it is used up.

Force Field Kickbacks: The Invisible Woman can defend others with her force field. If the player spells FORCE FIELD (with the lit positions of letters cycling with flipper operation), a diverter kickback mechanism will activate in the left outlane. Spelling it again before it is used will activate the right kickback. Kickbacks will stay on until they are used. Once a kickback is used, the ball will be brought to a standstill and Mr. Fantastic will pick up the ball and drop it into a nearby inlane to resume play after several seconds.

Score Multiplier: Spelling FOUR on the bumper rollovers will advance the score multiplier, which is only good for the current ball unless a multiplier hold is earned as a random reward from the Thing.

Gift of the Thing: If the player hits the bumpers 40 times, the player can shoot the Thing sinkhole (although the middle FANTASTIC target bank may also have to be removed) to claim a random award from the Thing, with possible prizes including a ball saver, advancing (or maxing out) of score multiplier or an extra ball.

Invisible Flip: The Invisible Woman can use her invisibility to gain an advantage over adversaries. If the player spells INVISIBLE with nine shots up the right orbit, the next shot up the right orbit will make the Invisible Woman freeze the ball in place and automatically guide it to the Human Torch crossramp. However, the player can press both flipper buttons to attempt a manual Invisible Flip to earn a big score, with an extra ball awarded on the first successful manual Invisible Flip.

Extra Balls: Extra balls can be earned by maxing out the multiplier, performing a manual Invisible Flip, earning a random Thing award, executing a 10 hit combo or beating 4 waves of the Skrull Invasion at the Workshop mini-playfield. All extra balls are claimed by hitting the extra balls target to the left of the Invisible Woman ramp.

Tips

The Human Torch and the Thing missions are fairly easy because they involve shooting one or two lanes. The Mr. Fantastic and Invisible Woman missions are a little harder because you need to quickly shoot randomly lit target lanes. The Dr. Doom mission and wizard mode are the hardest, due to the large number of balls or stages you need to deal with. To excel at these missions, you need to be a quick sharpshooter, mastering the flipper timing to hit the right lanes.

Take advantage of table perks to help you keep the ball alive and extend your session! You will need them to help you beat the five missions. The wizard mode can be long and brutal, requiring you to complete many actions before victory can be achieved, and losing the ball at any point means you'll be back at square one completely with your score intact. So ball protection mechanics are absolutely needed if you want to get to the end.

Some lanes are easier to hit with one flipper than the other. If the ball is on the flipper opposite of the one you want it to be on, master the nudge pass to get it there.

Fear Itself

"As their fear strengthens, so too, does my power." - Cul Borson (The Serpent)

Fear Itself is one of the four Marvel pinball tables that are part of the Avengers Chronicles Pack, released in 2012 and available for Zen Pinball 2, Pinball FX 2 and Pinball FX 3. Based on the 2011 comic miniseries of the same title, this table explores the Avengers' conflict with Cul Borson, otherwise known as the Serpent, an Asgardian deity of fear who unleashes fear across the world with the aid of several transformed and brainwashed superheroes.

Table overview

The upper half of the table

At the corners of the back wall of the table are two pictures of Iron Man and Captain America, two heroes who were among those involved in the battle against the Serpent. Between the two, at the center of the back wall, is a plastic with a picture of Dark Asgard; below it is a portal, which can also function as a sinkhole that leads the ball to a mini-playfield (described later). The portal is usually blocked by a figure of the Midgard Serpent, a monster that has opposed Thor on occasion. A figure of Cul Borson, brother of Odin and uncle of Thor also known as the "Serpent" and the Asgardian god of fear, usually stands on the head of this figure.

Much of the upper half of the table is set in the ruins of Asgard. There is a large orbit wrapping around the major lanes of the table. At the apex of the left orbit is a hidden diverter that can send balls traveling up the right orbit into a lane marked with inserts of the letters in ADRENALINE, which sends the ball to the table's magnetic half-loop, described later. Beside the left orbit is a jump ramp with a gap, which loops around in front of the picture of Iron Man at the back table wall, and leads to an exit habitrail that sends the ball to the left inlane. Weak shots up this ramp that fall into the gap will drop directly onto that habitrail, skipping the loop. To the right of this ramp is a looping crossramp, which leads to a diverter marked with Thor’s Mjolnir hammer; the diverter alternates between taking the ball to the left inlane or the right inlane. Behind the entrances of these two ramps is a bumper area accessed primarily by incomplete orbit shots, although a diverter at the top of the orbit can send balls into the bumpers at certain times. Balls entering the bumper area through either orbit must pass through any one of three rollovers. Between the left ramp and the Mjolnir crossramp is a single standup target which adds letters to ASGARD and activates the Dark Asgard portal when it is ready.

Directly to the right of the Mjolnir crossramp is a center lane with inserts spelling LOCK. Shots to the center lane usually cause the ball to make a sharp right turn to a saucer that ejects to the upper flipper, where a figure of Odin, the father of Thor, stands. If the Dark Asgard portal is ready, the center lane will become a jump ramp that sends the ball directly into the portal to start a battle in the Dark Asgard mini-playfield. To the right of the center lane is a reverse scoop blocked by a pair of two lowering standup targets; hitting both targets lowers them both and allows the reverse scoop shot to be made. 2 additional, smaller standup targets are located at each of the scoop's front corners. Weak shots up the reverse scoop take the ball to the abovementioned diverter gate, while strong shots send the ball flying towards the middle of the playfield where it is magnetized to start one of the eight main missions. To the right of this reverse scoop is another jump ramp similar to the left ramp, which loops around the Odin figure and feeds the right inlane. Weak shots up this ramp cause the ball to drop to the center lane saucer. This ramp is also the last lane within the large orbit, as the right orbit is directly next to it.

The lower half of the table

To the left of the left orbit is the Uncertainty Gate, a spinning gate that only rotates if the ball hits either end of the bar barrier atop it. If the gate is aligned horizontally to the flippers, it allows access to the magnetic, U-shaped half-loop that arcs towards the front end of the table, and back out to the other side, exiting at the left orbit entrance. Both ends of this half-loop are inclined towards its apex, where a hole awaits balls that fail to fully traverse this half-loop and returns them to play via the right sinkhole. Two magnets, one on the front end and one towards the exit of the half-loop, boost the ball through the half-loop. In front of the Uncertainty Gate is a set of 2 standup targets used to activate the magna save, and a figure of Skadi, goddess and ally of the Serpent. She stands between the left outlane and the left end of the half-loop. The right front corner of the right orbit contains the table’s only upper flipper, used to make cross-shots up the Mjolnir crossramp. Behind and besides it is a sinkhole that ejects balls to the lower flippers, with a large robot standing behind it.

There are four return lanes that spell THOR, two slingshots and two flippers. The slingshots contain two halves of the broken shield of Captain America, split apart by the Serpent himself. The outhole is placed between the flippers and the apex of the half-loop. In the space between the slingshots are hidden magnets that hold the ball at any of 8 different positions, one for each of the Worthy that the Serpent summons to do his bidding. Behind these hidden magnets is a long, wide drop target track where drop targets for each of the Worthy to battle can appear and move from side to side, with 6 different target positions to hit.

The Dark Asgard mini-playfield

The Dark Asgard mini-playfield, placed behind the table, is a battle against the Serpent himself. Thor throws his Mjolnir and it becomes a missile that must be bounced around in a walled arena with a deflector paddle, such that it eventually hits the back of the Serpent a few times.

The plunger

The plunger is normally designed to launch the ball across the main playfield, traveling up and out of the half-loop exit due to a closed gate near its exit that blocks a straight shaft that takes the ball up the orbit. This gate remains closed at the start of each ball and only opens when the ball must be shot back into play during the ball so that it travels up a straight shaft and up the large orbit. Skadi herself uses her hammer as the plunger to launch the ball into play when the gate is closed at the beginning of each ball.

To perform a skill shot, the player must plunge the ball with enough force to launch the ball across the playfield and pass through the Uncertainty Gate, to make one full run through the half-loop at the bottom of the table. A double skill shot can be scored if the ball is shot with such force that it can pass through the half-loop two consecutive times right after it is launched into play with no assist from the flippers. Skill shots are worth a set value of 200,000, and are available both at the start of a ball and after a ball has been locked for Odinsword Multiball.

Objective and missions

The goal of this table is to defeat the Serpent's seven Worthy, who are brainwashed and transformed superheroes who came in contact with enchanted hammers similar to Thor's Mjolnir, and then eventually defeat the Serpent himself to end his reign of fear over the world, through seven main missions, one for each Worthy. To start a mission, the player must hit the 2 standup targets blocking the reverse scoop to lower them, and then make a strong shot up that scoop so that it jumps to the middle of the table and is magnetized there. (If the player's shot is too weak, it will count as a shot to the Mjolnir crossramp, and the mission start procedure must be restarted as the two targets will come back up and block the reverse scoop.)

After a successful reverse scoop shot, the player must use the flippers and the launch button to choose which Worthy to fight, with each choice magnetizing the ball to one of seven different locations (eight if Skadi is available to fight). After a Worthy is chosen, the Serpent will slam his hammer on the playfield and release the ball, beginning the mission. Each mission must be completed successfully without draining the ball, and completed mission can be repeated as many times as desired, but all must be completed once to unlock the wizard mode. Each mission also is divided into two phases: the first phase involves finding the Worthy, while the second phase involves battling the Worthy. To win the battle, the player must hit a drop target representation of the Worthy in 6 different positions.

Fulfilling certain requirements in the main missions will collect the weapon of the Worthy that was defeated. Weapons increase the jackpot values during the final victory multiball. After a weapon has been collected the first time, it can’t be collected again until the victory multiball has been played.

Non-Multiball missions have minute-long timers for their first phase, and 30-second timers for their battle phase; this timer resets with each shot. All lit shots during missions score 1 million, with a few exceptions noted below. A completion value of 10 million is scored for each successfully finished mission. The following seven missions must be completed to unlock the wizard mode:

Kuurth: The Juggernaut is possessed by Kuurth, Breaker of Stone. The first phase of this mission requires the player to turn the normal ball into a stone one by shooting it into the right sinkhole. Then, the player must smash this stone ball against all four major targets: the Dark Asgard target, the 2 mission targets and the center of the Uncertainty Gate. Only 7 stone balls are available, and one is destroyed every time a target is hit, meaning that if the player hits a target that has already been scored 3 times, the mission will fail. After this is completed, the player must finish the mission by defeating Kuurth in a battle. Kuurth’s weapon can be obtained by finishing the mission "flawlessly", with no stone balls wasted.

Mokk: Mokk, the Breaker of Faith, has taken control of the Grey Gargoyle and terrorizes France. To neutralize his magic, the player must use a stone ball to shoot both ramps and both ends of the large orbit without hitting a target, which will destroy the ball. Shattering 3 balls results in mission failure, but once all 4 lanes are shot once, the player must finish the mission by defeating Mokk in a battle. Mokk’s weapon can be obtained by finishing the mission "flawlessly", with no stone balls wasted. (Note that for both Kuurth and Mokk’s missions, the stone ball can’t be saved by magna-save and isn’t impacted by other magnets.)

Nerkkod: Attuma, a warlord of the oceans and enemy of Namor, has become Nerkkod, Breaker of Oceans. The first phase of this mission is a 2-ball multiball involving one steel ball and one neutral ball, in which the player must make one full half-loop shot with the steel ball, either by shooting the Uncertainty Gate or the right orbit (the latter which will divert the ball down the Adrenaline lane) to dive into the water and chase down Nekkrod. After that, the player must use the neutral ball to shoot either the left or right ramp. After one of these ramps are hit, the player must make the same strong shot up the right orbit with the steel ball and then shoot the neutral ball through the other ramp, before making one final shot to the center lane with the neutral ball. If the player can do all of this without draining either ball, the player must finish the mission by defeating Nerkkod in a battle. Nerkkod’s weapon can be obtained by finishing the first phase of the mission within 60 seconds.

Greithoth: Greithoth, Breaker of Wills, possesses the supervillain Absorbing Man. Greithoth's absorbing power traps one of the balls at the middle of the table, and the player must knock it free with another ball with great force within 10 seconds. The player must shoot both orbits, both ramps, and the center lane with these 2 balls. However, every 10 seconds, a magnetic burst from Greithoth will disrupt the balls' movements, which may lead to a quick drain and becomes progressively stronger over the course of the mission. If he achieves full power, the mission fails. After all 5 of these lanes are hit, the player must finish the mission by defeating Greithoth in a battle. Greithoth’s weapon can be obtained by finishing the first phase of the mission within 60 seconds.

Skirn: The wife of Absorbing Man, Titania, has become Skirn, Breaker of Men. The player must make 3 full revolutions of the Uncertainty Gate, by hitting it once on the front and once on the back within 15 seconds. To fully rotate the Uncertainty Gate, a strong shot must be made to the back; this process must be repeated three times to move on to the battle phase. Skirn’s weapon can be obtained by making all three revolutions of the Uncertainty Gate without missing a single shot.

Angrir: The Thing, a member of the Fantastic Four, has become Angrir, Breaker of Souls. The player must punch Angrir 100 times by hitting the bumpers, but the hit multiplier will increase if the player hits either the left or right ramp, up to a maximum of 5 punches per hit; this multiplier resets to 1x when enough time passes without hitting a bumper. After the 100 punches are made, the player must finish the mission by defeating Angrir in a battle. Angrir’s weapon can be obtained by reaching the 5x hit multiplier at least once during the first phase.

Nul: Incredible Hulk has become the Worthy Nul, Breaker of Worlds, thanks to the Serpent taking advantage of his incredible World-Breaker ability. The player must make 10 full loops through the half-loop at the bottom of the table, either with shots through the Uncertainty Gate, or shots up the right orbit that will divert the ball down the Adrenaline lane and into the half-loop, to remove all 10 letters of ADRENALINE and try to calm Nul down and weaken him. During this mission, the magnets in the half-loop are player controlled; the left flipper operates the first magnet and the right flipper operates the second, meaning the player has to constantly accelerate the ball to collect letters. Afterwards, the player must finish the mission by defeating Nul in a battle. Nul’s weapon can be obtained by collecting all 10 ADRENALINE letters without the ball exiting the half-loop.

Once all seven Worthy are defeated, the wizard mode, Skadi, will be available to start in the same method as the Worthy missions. The player must battle Skadi, the Serpent's closest ally, by shooting all 3 ramps within 60 seconds (each ramp resets progress 15 seconds after they have been shot), before facing Skadi herself in a battle. This time, however, the mecha figure on the right side of the table will walk onto the playfield and block the ball, making it difficult to hit the Skadi drop target. If the player can defeat Skadi by hitting her at all 6 positions, a 3-ball victory multiball will start with all shots scoring jackpot values starting at 1 million + 500,000 per hammer collected; the eighth hammer can be collected during Skadi's battle by making all three ramps without their timers resetting, for a maximum jackpot value of 5 million. The player can attempt the wizard mode as many times as possible until all balls are lost or the mode is won; following the end of the victory multiball, the table will reset.

Side modes

The following side modes can be started when no other modes are running:

Raft Madness: The Raft, a floating prison where defeated supervillains are secured, becomes a place of chaos when the Serpent unleashes fear. If the player shoots either orbit a total of 10 times with the same ball, the Raft Madness side mode will be available to start at the right sinkhole; progress can be made towards Raft Madness faster by shooting the orbits in succession, potentially scoring up to 4 shots towards Raft Madness in a single orbit shot. This frenzy-styled mode grants points of around 20,000 for hitting any standup targets; the bumpers, along with scoring the current value, will also increase it by 2,000 per bump for the remainder of the mode. The points from Raft Madness are scored during end-of-ball bonus, and are affected by the bonus multiplier, meaning a well played Raft Madness or two with a large multiplier can lead to big bonuses.

Hammer Drop Hurry-Up: Iron Man travels to the Elven Forges to develop counter-weapons against the Serpent's forces. The player can take him there by shooting either the left or right ramp; the player can make faster progress by hitting both ramps in succession depending on how long the current combo is (up to 4-way), but weak shots will cancel out the current combo. Once Iron Man gets to the Elven Forges, the Hammer Drop side mode will begin, and the player must spin the Uncertainty Gate spinner 30 times in 60 seconds to forge the counter-weapon. After the weapon is created, Odin must "bless" it, with a shot to the center lane to take the ball to his saucer. As the Mjolnir diverter becomes a gold color, a large jackpot is scored with the center lane shot, with a minimum value of 3 million; further spins add 100,000 to the jackpot, and 100,000 points are also added for each second remaining before the center lane was made. This side mode ends once either time has run out or the jackpot has been collected.

Spin-Off Hurry-Up: If the player hits the 2 targets at the corners of the reverse scoop, a value on the score display will start counting down from 100,000; the player will have a chance to earn the currently displayed value by hitting the Uncertainty Gate spinner. Once it is hit, the value will be multiplied by however many times the gate spun. Accompanying the spinning gate, a roulette will start on the display that chooses one of various characters that appeared in Fear Itself's spin-offs on the scoring display. If the spinner spins an even number of times (landing on a hero), the final points will be doubled.

Thunder God Hurry-Up: If the player spells THOR and then shoots the ball up the center lane or makes a weak shot to the right ramp so that it feeds Odin's saucer within 10 seconds, Odin will turn it into a neutral ball that the player can send through the half-loop either through the Uncertainty Gate or up the right orbit. As the neutral ball isn’t impacted by magnets, strong shots to the half-loop will have to be made. Once the neutral ball successfully traverses the loop, it will be struck by lightning and can be shot into Odin's saucer to redeem the current hurry-up value (1 million points per full loop shot) and end the mode immediately. The player can also make more revolutions through the half-loop to try and raise the score value before returning the ball to Odin. If time expires, the bonus can still be collected once the player shoots Odin's saucer through the middle lane or a weak shot up his ramp.

Blitzkrieg USA Hurry-Up: If the player hits the right sinkhole enough times during normal play such that the Blitzkrieg USA side mode is randomly chosen as a reward, several “1M” statues will spawn across the playfield and the mecha figure will activate. The player must collect as many of the seven 1 million point rewards as possible within 30 seconds by hitting the statues, before they are all destroyed by the mecha figure.

Dark Asgard: If the player hits the target between the left ramp and the Mjolnir crossramp six times to spell ASGARD, the portal will activate, and the player can shoot the center lane to go through the portal and enter Dark Asgard for a showdown against the Serpent. Thor will throw his Mjolnir, and the player must bounce it around with a paddle inside a boxed arena such that it hits the Serpent from the behind 3 times without letting the Mjolnir go past the paddle. Finishing the mode scores 3 million points.

Multiball

There are 3 optional, but high-scoring multiball modes that can be started:

Odinsword Multiball: Odin creates a powerful sword to challenge his brother Cul, the Serpent. To lock a ball for the Odinsword Multiball, the player must shoot the center lane 5 times during normal play; four times to spell LOCK, and a fifth time to get Odin to capture the ball. LOCK can also be spelled by collecting “quick lock” off the random award. After 3 balls are locked, a 3-ball multiball will begin and the side ramp will be lit for a jackpot value starting at 4 million. The jackpot increases by 1 million with shots to any flashing lanes. After the jackpot has been collected, another will be lit at the side ramp once a total of 4 lit lanes have been hit. This process of collecting, increasing, and relighting the jackpot repeats until only 1 of the 3 balls remain.

Chaos Multiball: As fear grips the inhabitants of Earth due to the Serpent's presence, chaos spreads at unprecedented levels. If the player spells ADRENALINE with 10 full shots through the half-loop at the bottom of the table (with a 5-second chance to spell 2 more letters by continuously shooting the right orbit), a 2-ball multiball will begin where one ball will be trapped flying around in the half-loop. The player can either hit it with the ball that was sent out the sinkhole with a shot to the Uncertainty Gate, or put another ball into the half-loop with a right orbit shot that diverts the ball down to the Adrenaline lane; up to three balls can be sent around the half-loop this way, and the jackpots are multiplied by however many balls are active at once. Once either the 10 ADRENALINE letters have all become unlit or all balls have left the half-loop, a jackpot (worth 500,000 x the number of ADRENALINE letters lit x the balls in play) can be claimed at both the left and right ramp. Once both ramps are hit, a Super Jackpot worth double the most recently collected jackpot can be earned by shooting the half-loop either through the Uncertainty Gate, or the right orbit (which diverts the ball to the Adrenaline lane), resetting the process of relighting the jackpots by knocking balls out of the half-loop until all but one ball has drained.

Avengers Multiball: The Avengers respond to the threat of the Serpent and are determined to stop him. If the player shoots the Mjolnir crossramp, the ball will travel to the left or right inlane. At that moment, the player can boost Captain America's vigor by shooting the orbit opposite of the inlane the ball dropped into. If the player can shoot the other orbit or the crossramp immediately afterward, the vigor meter will increase by 2 boosts. Once it fills, a quick 3-ball multiball with balls colored to represent three of the Avengers will begin on the next shot to Odin's saucer, either by a weak shot up his ramp or a shot through the middle lane. During this mode, jackpots worth 1 million can be collected by shooting both the left and right ramps, and a Super Jackpot worth double is available at the center lane once both jackpots have been collected. All jackpots, including super jackpots, can be multiplied by 2x if one ball is locked in the random award sinkhole or Odin's saucer before they have been collected, and can be multiplied by 3x if two balls are locked in both Odin's saucer and the random award sinkhole; balls will remain locked for about 15 seconds before ejecting back into play. It is possible (but very difficult) to earn a triple super jackpot this way by locking a ball into Odin’s saucer with a weak right ramp shot.

Perks

The following perks can be earned on this table:

Ball Saver: A 30-second ball saver is available at the start of each ball and multiball mode. Once it expires, it cannot be normally reactivated. However, a very brief, free ball saver is given at the start of missions, whenever the Dark Asgard target is hit, or when the player performs a successful attack on a Worthy during the battle phase of a Worthy Mission.

Magna-Save: Hitting both of the 2 targets near the entrance of the half-loop on the left side of the table will activate the magna-save, which can be used to magnetize the ball to an inlane, or away from the outhole, if timed properly. Up to 3 magna-saves can be stored and used, and will persist across balls. (The Magna-Save only works on regular, steel balls, and will not work on neutral or stone balls.)

Bonus Multiplier: Lighting all 3 bumper rollovers will open up a chance to advance the bonus multiplier by shooting either orbit as many times as possible before time expires, up to a maximum of 250x. Each shot increases the amount of total bonus multipliers added by 1 (for instance, the first shot will only add +1x, then the second shot +2x, third shot +3x, etc.). The bonus multiplier can also be advanced by 5x as a random award, and is only good for the current ball unless a multiplier hold is earned from the random award.

Super Jets: Hitting the bumpers 50 times during normal play will activate super jets, making the next 50 bumper hits scores 10,000 points. Super Jets can also be activated as a random award, and expires at the end of the ball if the 50 hits haven’t been collected.

Random Award: Every time the right sinkhole is hit, a random award is instantly granted from one of 8 awards. These include: points (10,000 + 10,000 each time this is collected), startup of the Blitzkrieg USA side mode, multiplier hold, +5x bonus multiplier, +1 magna save, super jets, quick lock (for Odinsword Multiball), or lighting an extra ball.

Extra Balls: Extra balls can be lit at the random award sinkhole from defeating 4 of the Worthy, lighting one as a random award, or by maxing out the bonus multiplier at 250x.

Tips

If playing for score, Chaos Multiball is the way to go. One shot to the Uncertainty Gate and five quick shots to the right orbit are all a skilled player needs to start up this high-scoring mode. Just remember that the jackpots won’t be valuable unless you knock the balls out of the half-loop as quickly as possible. Raft Madness might also be worth going for if you can consistently increase the bonus multiplier with orbit shots.

The battle phase of each Worthy mission is a fairly easy task because 1) you have no time limit and 2) you get a free, short Ball Saver every time you land a successful hit on the Worthy. Take your time and make good use of flipper-trapping, and patiently wait for a chance to attack. This becomes especially important during the final battle against Skadi, thanks to the mecha moving around.

Ball survivability can be difficult on this table due to the the table's unique design encouraging fast play over controlled play. The Magna-Save’s niche rules that only apply to the steel ball, and the lack of a consistent ball saver can be frustrating to inexperienced players. Overcome this by seeking out the extra ball from defeating four Worthy members (the most consistent one to get), aiming shots carefully when a long time limit is given, and mastering the bangback to save balls when the Magna Saver is unavailable or a ball other than the steel ball is used. The neutral ball’s light weight makes bangbacks a breeze.

Ghost Rider

"The Spirit of Vengeance rides again!" - Ghost Rider

Ghost Rider is one of the four Marvel pinball tables included in the Vengeance & Virtue DLC pack, released in late 2011 for Zen Pinball 2 and Pinball FX2, then ported to Pinball FX3 in 2017. The table is based on the 2006 Ghost Rider comic series, depicting stuntman Johnny Blaze's transformation into Ghost Rider, the "Spirit of Vengeance" who fights against villains alive and undead.

Main objective

The Ghost Rider must take on four villains in one timed mission each, then fight against former archangel Zadkiel.

Missions

Depending on the current position of the seesaw, the player must shoot either side of the orbit - depending on which side of the seesaw is lowered - to light the villain sinkhole to start a mission. Missions don't have to be completed to qualify the fight against Zadkiel; they just have to be played. After shooting the sinkhole, the player can select a mission using the flippers and launch button. Any mission can be replayed at any time.

Starting either Multiball mode pauses the mission, and disables the shots required to progress in it; the mission will continue once the player drains down to single-ball play, or collects the hurry-up super jackpot.

At the end of each mission with a timer (all of them except for Mephisto), 10 million points will be awarded, along with a timer bonus worth 100,000 points per second remaining when the final shot was made. 10 seconds will be added to missions for every lit shot made.

Scarecrow: Put up with Scarecrow's army of sentient crows by repeatedly shooting the orbits. A 40-second timer will start, and crows will flock to either the left or right orbit. To get rid of the crows, the player must first shoot the orbit that the crows are flying above for 500,000 points, then shoot the bumpers for 1 million points. After making 3 shots to the bumpers this way, the ball will be magnetized to the center of the playfield and picked up by the crows. A new ball will be sent to the plunger and be diverted to the Hellfire Gun; to win the mission, the player must use the gun by pressing the launch button when the crows are as close as it to possible to knock the ball off. If the player wins the mission, Stuntman Multiball will activate until the player returns to single-ball play.

The Orb: Avoid the Orb's deadly laser by setting up a trap at the seesaw. In 30 seconds, the player must shoot for the flashing orbit twice - once to set up the seesaw, and again to directly hit the Orb with the ball for 1 million points. The Orb will then make things a little more challenging by firing his laser, which constantly messes with the physics of the ball if the player doesn't focus on making the required left orbit shot. Making a strong shot to the left orbit will activate the hidden kicker in the seesaw for 5 million points and send the ball flying at the Orb, completing the mission.

Mephisto: The Ghost Rider risks his life as he matches wits against Mephisto. This untimed mission begins with a 10-second phase where the player can shoot either ramp to increase the difficulty of the mode, which starts at "Tricky" and increases with two shots to the right ramp for "Trickiest"; shooting the flashing left ramp will lower the difficulty accordingly. To win against Mephisto, the player must make six flashing ramp shots before Mephisto does. After every few ramp shots, the HANDS OFF! inserts near the flippers will turn on, and Mephisto will use the flippers to shoot ramps himself - the player can still nudge during this time to mess up his flow, however. Making six flashing ramp shots wins the mission for 5 million points. The difficulty settings directly impact the value of the shots (500,000 for Tricky, 1 million for Trickier, 2 million for Trickiest) and determine how many ramp shots Mephisto will make when his turn comes.

Death Race: Don't let Death catch up to the Ghost Rider. Within 30 seconds, the player must make a total of three skill shots by sending the ball to the plunger via the diverted right inlane and outlane. The skill shots will be lit in order, from the lowest sinkhole to the highest, each scoring 2 million points. Making all three skill shots wins the mission for 10 million points.

Zadkiel

Zadkiel is the final mission, and can be accessed the same way as the preceding missions after playing them all - by shooting the flashing orbit, followed by the villain sinkhole. Once Zadkiel has been qualified, all other missions will be disabled until the player wins this mission. As a result, the player has unlimited attempts at this mission if they fail it.

Ghost Rider will tear off a part of the left ramp after a failed attempt to kill Zadkiel, and the player must get rid of this false god by using the power of hellfire. Every shot into the Pit will put the ball on fire; once the ball exits the Pit, the player must shoot the left ramp with a strong shot within 5 seconds to hit Zadkiel for 5 million points. To win the mission, the player must shoot Zadkiel 3 times within a 90-second timer that doesn't reset for each shot. Making the third shot to Zadkiel will kill the archangel for 50 million points + 100,000 points per second of time remaining, and reset the mission inserts so the player can play through them all again.

Side objectives

Four side objectives are available, in the loosest sense of the term. These are simply opportunities for higher scoring that can be activated by making certain shots enough times.

Heavy Traffic Video Mode: Every three shots to the lowered seesaw will light the video mode at the right outlane if it isn't already lit, which can be started by sending a ball into the diverted outlane. During the video mode, the player must use the flippers to successfully overtake 20 rows of vehicles, while collecting the "1M" icons for additional million point bonuses and the "EB" icon to light an extra ball. Once the video mode has been played once, it must be relit with three more seesaw orbit shots. 1 million points are awarded for a successful video mode completion.

Super Skill Shot: If video mode is already lit at the right outlane, every three shots to the lowered seesaw will divert the right return lane area into the plunger for 10 seconds; if the player sends the ball to the area during this time, they will get a chance to make a Super Skill Shot. Plunging into the lowest sinkhole will hold the bonus multiplier for the next ball or light an extra ball if the multiplier has already been held, while the middle sinkhole will award 1 million points (or reset the FIRE standups if one is already lit), and the highest sinkhole will score 2 million points. If extra balls have been maxed out, the lowest sinkhole will award 3 million points instead.

Hellfire Gun: Spelling FIRE at the right bank of standup targets will divert balls sent to the left return lane area into the Hellfire Gun, where the player can use the launch button to fire the ball at one of the flashing FIRE targets for 100,000 points within 10 seconds; if the player misses the shot or shoots an already lit target from the gun, the FIRE targets will reset and must be shot again to relight the gun. Progress towards spelling FIRE from the gun is carried across multiple attempts on the same ball; once the player has made all four FIRE targets from the gun, a chance at a 3 million point Hellfire Jackpot will be given if the player shoots the constantly moving FIRE target.

Fireball: Shooting the moving target in front of the villain sinkhole 5 times without shooting the sinkhole behind it will enrage Lucifer, and start a 10-second period where the player can choose the reward for winning the mode using the flippers and launch button; the player can either choose 500,000 points and save the ball if they fail, or 5 million points and risk losing the ball if they fail. Lucifer will send the ball flying between the flippers a second after the decision is made, and the player must nudge the table to save the ball and score the reward.

Multiball modes

There are two types of multiballs on Ghost Rider - a 2-ball Stuntman Multiball, and the 3-ball Helluva Multiball. Balls for both multiballs are locked in the same way - the player must first shoot balls into the Pit, then shoot the lock to lock a ball, which becomes a captive ball that can be hit from either lower flipper. If 1 ball has been locked in the Pit, Stuntman Multiball will start; if 2 have been locked, Helluva Multiball will start.

Both multiballs have the same jackpot rules; jackpots are lit at both orbits and ramps, their values increase by 200,000 points + 200,000 points per Damned Soul target for every successful shot out of the Pit, and are multiplied by +1x for every consecutive shot up the jump ramp. Both multiballs have different ways of obtaining the super jackpot. The jackpot value resets to its base value after every jackpot collected, although the super jackpot value for Helluva Multiball doesn't reset until the player has shot all active balls from the gun.

Stuntman Multiball: In this 2-ball multiball, the player must shoot all four shots for jackpots worth 1 million, then shoot the jump ramp for a 2 million point super jackpot. The super jackpot value is multiplied by +1x for every consecutive shot to the jump ramp. This mode also activates after a successful attempt at the Scarecrow mission.

Helluva Multiball: This lucrative 3-ball multiball lights jackpots at all four major shots worth 1 million points. To collect 2 million point super jackpots, the player must load balls into the Hellfire Gun, then shoot the flashing FIRE targets from the gun using the launch button. If the player manages to shoot all 4 FIRE targets in a single attempt, a mega jackpot worth 2x the super jackpot value will be awarded, and another ball will be launched into play. If the player drains down to single-ball play while the super jackpot is lit, they will have 10 seconds to load the gun and fire it using the launch button for a super jackpot before play returns to normal.

Perks

Ball Save: 15 seconds of ball save time are given at the start of each new ball and multiball mode. Balls that hit the target in front of the center ramp and drain down the middle will also be saved.

Kickback: Shooting the left standup target twice will activate the kickback at the left outlane, which can be stacked an unlimited amount of times and carries over across balls. If the right outlane is lit for video mode, the ball will be diverted into the skill shot VUK and saved.

Bonus Multiplier: Spelling VROOM at the return lanes, which cycle with the flippers, increases the bonus multiplier by +1x to a maximum of 99x. Reaching 99x bonus will light an extra ball. The bonus multiplier can be held by making the first skill shot hole during a Super Skill Shot attempt.

Combos: Repeatedly making alternating shots to the left and right ramp within 10 seconds of each other will score combo points. The first three shots in the combo sequence award 100,000, 200,000, then 300,000 points; then all subsequent shots in the sequence will award Super Combos worth 400,000 points each. Making a weak shot to the left ramp that falls onto the jump ramp will cancel out the combo sequence.

Random Award: Shooting the villain sinkhole when a mission isn't lit will award a random award from the following list: super jets, light extra ball, FIRE lit (lights the Hellfire Gun), -1 Damned Soul, +1x bonus multiplier, 100,000 points (+100,000 per collection).

Jump Ramp Scoring: Shooting the target in front of the center ramp will cause it to lower and start a wheel with various point values (between 40,000 and 500,000) under the figure of Ghost Rider to start spinning, and allow the player to access the upper left flipper. Repeatedly shooting the jump ramp without draining from the area multiplies the points per shot, which are added to end-of-ball bonus. Making four consecutive shots to the jump ramp will light an extra ball, once per game.

Damned Souls: Every time a ball drains into the kicker that ejects balls out of the Pit, a Damned Soul will escape. Each escaped Damned Soul decreases the end-of-ball bonus by 10%. The player can capture escaped Damned Souls by either shooting both standup targets in the Pit, or from a random award.

Extra Ball: Extra balls can be lit at the villain sinkhole from the Super Skill Shot, by making four shots to the jump ramp in a row, by collecting the "EB" icon during video mode, as a random award, or by maxing out the bonus multiplier at 99x.

Tips

Ghost Rider is an easy table to learn for more casual Pinball FX players, as you don't need to complete missions to get to the worthwhile Zadkiel fight - you just have to start them. The easiest way to access the villain sinkhole is to shoot the target once, then either backhand the sinkhole from the left flipper or shoot it directly from the right flipper depending on the position of the target.

Helluva Multiball is relatively easy to start and can be immensely valuable, especially if you can repeatedly shoot the jump ramp to multiply the super jackpot value. Just be sure to avoid shooting the left ramp if the super jackpot is lit, as this will cancel out the chance for multipliers.

The jump ramp might be fun to shoot, but can generally be ignored unless you've already had a long ball and the bonus multipliers have been held - in which case, keep shooting for it. End-of-ball bonus can be huge on this game with a decent multiplier.

Super skill shots are the most reliable way to get extra balls, and can be activated by shooting the lit orbits three times while video mode is already lit. Shooting the right ramp as soon as the diverter activates will always send the ball into the plunger area.

References & Easter Eggs

The Heavy Traffic video mode strongly resembles the video mode from The Getaway: High Speed II.

An inverted playfield, similar to the Pit, was attempted on Bally's 1991 Bugs Bunny's Birthday Ball. The two inverted playfields behave similarly, and reward players for shooting the exit out of the playfield using the flipper rather than relying on the kicker.

Guardians of the Galaxy

"My name is Peter Quill. There's one other name you may know me by...Star-Lord, legendary outlaw." - Star-Lord

Guardians of the Galaxy is one of the three Marvel pinball tables that are part of the Cinematic Pack, released in 2014 and available for Zen Pinball 2, Pinball FX 2 and Pinball FX 3. Based on the 2014 Marvel Cinematic Universe film of the same name, directed by James Gunn and featuring characters from the 2008 incarnation of the Guardians of the Galaxy, this pinball table focuses on the Guardians of the Galaxy, a band of former galactic criminals, and their mission to stop the Kree extremist Ronan.

A few years after this table was released, Stern produced a physical pinball adaptation of the film.

Table overview

The upper half of the table

Much of the upper half of the table is designed to resemble the Kyln, a prison run by the Nova Corps, which became the unlikely birthplace of the Guardians of the Galaxy. The back left corner of the table features a scale model of the prison's overseer tower, used to keep watch over the prison's inmates, and the back walls of the table are reminiscent of that of the prison facility. A scale model of the Milano, the personal spaceship of the Guardians, appears at the back center part of the table. It is placed directly in the middle of a crossramp that spells DRAX, a mutant warrior Guardian seeking to avenge his family, and can briefly trap balls that travel through it in some modes. Past the locker, this crossramp splits into two habitrails leading to the inlanes, with a diverter gate deciding which exit habitrail any ball going up the crossramp would travel through.

A large orbit wraps around much of the table's lanes, with the left orbit spelling YONDU, an alien Ravager that took care of Star-Lord in his childhood, and the right orbit spelling GAMORA, a Zen-Whoberi warrior among the Guardians. The right orbit can also divert the ball into a hidden mini-playfield described separately later in this section. At the apex of the left orbit is a bumper area representing the cities of the planet Xandar, accessed by an incomplete orbit shot that drops the ball out of the orbit and through one of three bumper rollover lanes spelling the name of the planet, with 2 letters per lane. Balls that pass through the bumper area go down the left orbit.

Between the left orbit and the Drax crossramp is a long, orange spiral ramp that spells GUARDIANS. Its exit habitrail eventually leads to either the left inlane or the left plunger lane, described further in detail in the next section. In the space between the Guardians ramp and the Drax crossramp, a single target facing right is installed, representing the Orb containing the Power Stone that the Guardians seek to protect. To the right of the crossramp is a miniloop spelling ROCKET, an anthropomorphic racoon who is part of the Guardians, wrapping around a platform and going down Gamora's right orbit. Figures of characters of the film can jump right atop this small platform, which is fronted by a target bank that can collapse to reveal a sinkhole. Between this platform and Gamora's right orbit is a ramp spelling COLLECTOR, an eccentric individual specializing in collecting artifacts from throughout the Marvel universe. It loops around and connects with Drax's right inlane exit habitrail. A mini-flipper is installed on the right side of the table, in front of Gamora's right orbit, used to make cross-shots up Drax's ramp or towards the Orb target.

The lower half of the table

In contrast to the upper half of the table, the lower half of the table appears to resemble more of the main deck of the Milano. To the left of Yondu's left orbit is a sinkhole where characters can be switched. Near it is a habitrail junction where the left inlane exit habitrail of Drax's crossramp and the exit habitrail of the Guardians ramp intersect, with a diverter installed that usually diverts the ball to the left inlane, but can be switched over to drop the ball into the special left plunger. Conversely, on the other side of the table, to the right of Gamora's orbit and in front of the mini-flipper is a sinkhole that's framed by the open case of one of the Collector's exhibits.

There are two rebounds, two flippers and 4 return lanes that spell GROOT, with the double O's being assigned to the right inlane and lit as one lamp. There are two low-power spring-loaded kickbacks, one in each outlane. The aprons appears to be textured off of the actual floor of the ship, with the left apron containing a compartment of 5 special balls, representing each of the 5 major members of the Guardians of the Galaxy. The team's badge is placed at the outhole. A figure of Star-Lord may usually stand on the left apron as well.

The mini-playfield

This table has a hidden mini-playfield representing the rivalry between Gamora and her stepsister, Nebula, who are both raised by Thanos, soon to be responsible for carrying out a plan to destroy half of all sentient life in the universe. This table has two orbits, one for each half of the mini-playfield. One of each orbit's termini intersect with a terminus from the other orbit. Each orbit also wraps around a ramp that leads into a tunnel habitail shaped like some of the weapons Gamora and Nebula used to spar each other. They drop the ball onto the habitrail. There are three targets placed throughout this mini-playfield, one between the left orbit and the left ramp, one in front of the intersection of the orbits and one between the right ramp and right orbit. There are two flippers and two inlane return lanes at the bottom of the mini-playfield. The leftmost and rightmost lanes also each have a trapdoor that can open up and capture the ball as well.

The plungers

The table's two plungers are control panels that operate the forward blaster batteries of the Milano. Star-Lord operates the left one, while Rocket operates the right one.

The right plunger is used at the start of balls, and shoots the ball up a straight shaft up into Gamora's orbit. This gunner control panel also has a small targeting system screen where a crosshair moves sideways and occasionally points at an enemy. If the player presses the launch button to plunge the ball at the moment the crosshair meets the enemy, the ball will shoot up to Gamora's orbit and drop down to the upper flipper for a chance to make a cross-shot up Drax's crossramp to pull off a skill shot for 500,000 points, which can increase by 500,000 through one of the Collector awards.

The left plunger launches the ball up Yondu's orbit and is operated by Star-Lord. It is used at the end of the prologue mode at the beginning of a session, and launches balls at the start of multiball modes.

Objective and missions

Prologue

At the start of each session, a mandatory time-limited 4-ball multiball will begin reflecting the origins of the Guardians of the Galaxy as inmates of the Kyln who stage a prison riot and escape. The player can shoot any lane for jackpots, but can score greater points if a ball depicting a particular character is shot up a lit lane marked with their portrait. This multiball continues for one minute, with unlimited ball saver and kickbacks, before all balls automatically drain as the newly founded Guardians make their escape. The prologue will then end with one ball going to the left plunger, which will shoot the ball automatically up the Yondu orbit and towards the mini-flipper for one chance to make a shot up Drax's ramp to get Star-Lord's Awesome Music Volume 1 mixtape for 5 million points. If this shot is successful, the ball will be locked into the Milano toy and the film's title logo will appear. If the shot is missed, the ball will drain and be diverted to the right plunger to begin the first ball.

Missions

The goal of the table is to help the Guardians of the Galaxy battle Ronan the Accuser, a Kree extremist, through six battle missions. Each mission has a unique method of activation, assigned to a particular lane, and must be at least started up to access the wizard mode. Missions will end whenever the battle represented is won or lost, or whenever the ball is drained, and missions can be repeated as many times as desired, with great score rewards granted for successful completions.

The following six battle missions must be started up to access the wizard mode:

Star-Lord vs. Ronan: Star-Lord looks to take on Ronan himself to prevent the Power Stone from falling into his hands. This battle begins when the player hits all 3 targets at the target bank to open up a hidden sinkhole, then shoots the ball inside it. This battle switches between attack and defense as the two take turns shooting at each other, starting on defense. On defense, the player has 20 seconds to shoot a lit lane to evade Ronan's attack, if it fails, Star-Lord will take damage. On offense, the player must shoot a lit target at the target bank to deal damage to Ronan. Every time Ronan is damaged, the number of lit lanes needed to be shot to evade Ronan during defense phase increases by 1, and Ronan requires 4 hits to defeat and can only be hit once per attack phase.

Drax vs. Ronan: Drax has a personal score to settle against Ronan for the deaths of his wife and child, and confronts him in melee combat. This battle begins when the player spells DRAX at the side ramp, and is divided into 2 phases:

In the first phase, the player must help Drax counter-attack against Ronan by shooting 3 combos that can start from one of three lanes: the Guardians ramp, the Rocket miniloop or the Collector ramp. The second lane to shoot to complete the counterattack, depending on which lane was chosen, would be the Gamora orbit, the Drax side ramp or the Yondu orbit, respectively. At least 2 unique combos must be performed, meaning that the same pair of lanes cannot be used for all 3 counterattacks against Ronan.

In the second phase, Drax and Ronan will get into a very close clash and the player must help Drax overpower Ronan by quickly shooting lit lanes to win a tug-of-war battle, with a gauge on the scoring display showing who has the advantage. The battle is won once this meter increases fully to the right.

Guardians vs. Necrocrafts Multiball: After the Guardians of the Galaxy escaped from Klyn, Ronan dispatches a squadron of Necrocrafts, piloted by the Sakaarans, to hunt them down and the Guardians must fight back against them. A 3-ball multiball battle against the Necrocrafts begins when the player spells GUARDIANS on the orange spiral ramp. 3 randomly selected character balls will be deployed into play and the player must shoot lit lanes to destroy the Necrocrafts. The player must destroy the entire squadron of 20 ships before the Milano's health fully depletes, but can speed up the process and destroy 2 ships simultaneously if a character ball is shot through a lit lane with a portrait that matches the character. Characters can be switched by shooting the left sinkhole.

Rocket & Groot vs. Ronan: Rocket and Groot work closely with each other and Groot must protect Rocket as he fights back against Ronan. This battle begins when Rocket's miniloop is shot 6 times to spell his name. The player can attack Ronan and reduce his health by shooting a lane marked with Rocket's portrait, but Ronan will constantly attack Rocket as he hides behind a bark shield generated by Groot, which will be damaged gradually and render Rocket vulnerable once it is destroyed. The bark shield can be repaired by shooting a lane marked with Groot's portrait, functioning as a time extender. Once Rocket lands enough hits on Ronan, the player must finish off Ronan by shooting the sinkhole exposed by the target bank.

Star-Lord vs. Yondu: Furious over issues arising from Star-Lord obtaining the Orb and Power Stone for the first time, Yondu issues a bounty on him and pursues him in hopes of capturing him. The race to escape Yondu and get to Knowhere begins when the player spells his name with 5 shots up the left orbit. The player has 20 seconds to shoot 4 lit lanes to evade Yondu's periodic attacks; if the Milano takes too much damage, it will be disabled and Yondu will capture the Guardians, resulting in mission failure. The player must evade at least one of Yondu's 5 attacks to win the mission.

Gamora vs. Nebula: Gamora has been sparring Nebula, who continued to ally with Ronan, over which sister would be the strongest. This battle begins when the player spells GAMORA with 6 shots up the right orbit, with the sixth shot diverting the ball into the mini-playfield. To defeat Nebula, the player must hit the 3 targets in the mini-playfield to get a chance to attack her, then shoot all the blue flashing shots; 30 seconds will be given to make these shots, increasing by 3 seconds per target hit, and the orbits must be unlocked by shooting them first. 10 successful attacks on Nebula will be enough to defeat her.

Orb Bonus Round

The first time a mission is completed before the wizard mode has been attempted, the player will have a 30-second opportunity to score bonus points in the Orb Bonus Round. The ball will become the Orb, all switches will score 10,000 points, and all major shots will score 50,000 points. The multiplier for the Orb Bonus Round increases every time one is activated in the current wizard mode run (to a maximum of 100x), and the total points from Orb Bonus Round attempts are scored at the end of a successful wizard mode multiplied by the current bonus multiplier value.

Guardians vs. Ronan

Once all 6 missions are attempted, Guardians vs. Ronan will be available to start at the left sinkhole, in which the Guardians and the Nova Corps work together to prevent Ronan, who now possesses the Power Stone, from landing his ship, the Dark Aster, on the surface of Xandar to kill many there. This wizard mode is a 4-ball multiball mission, and is divided into 3 phases:

The first phase involves fighting off the Necrocraft deployed from the Dark Aster to attack Xandar. The player must juggle 4 character balls to shoot lit lanes to shoot down the squadron of 20 Necrocraft ships before Xandar is destroyed, but can destroy 2 ships at once if a character ball is shot up a lane lit with its matching portrait. Characters can be switched by shooting the left sinkhole, and once the entire squadron is defeated, all balls will drain.

The second phase involves Drax taking on Ronan one last time aboard the Dark Aster. This is fought as a repeat of the mission Drax vs. Ronan.

The final phase involves Star Lord's final struggle with Ronan over the Power Stone on the ground of Xandar after the Dark Aster crash-lands. This is fought as a repeat of the mission Star-Lord vs. Ronan. Winning the final phase will finish the wizard mode, score the total points from Orb Bonus Round times the bonus multiplier, and reset all table progress.

The player is only allowed one attempt at this wizard mode. Regardless of its success or failure, the table will reset.

Side modes

There are no proper side modes on this table.

Multiball

The following multiball modes can be started:

Collector Multiball: The Collector collects priceless artifacts. The right ramp is labeled with nine inserts, each spelling COLLECTOR. Every three shots to the right ramp will light the lock at the Collector sinkhole at the right, and a ball must be locked to collect the next 3 letters and light the next lock. Once 3 balls are locked this way, a 3-ball multiball will begin, and 3 lit jackpot lanes will be available for jackpots. Super jackpots are available by shooting hitting lanes marked with a character's portrait with the ball corresponding to that character.

Sparring Multiball: Star-Lord & Drax participate in a sparring match, which goes about as well as you'd expect. If the player shoots the left swap sinkhole 4 times, the player will be sent to the mini-playfield for a 2-ball multiball. Lit lanes can be shot for jackpots, which can be increased by hitting targets.

Perks

The following perks can be obtained during play:

Ball Saver: A 30-second ball saver is available at the start of each ball and multiball mode. Once it expires, the player can activate it again as a Collector random award.

Kickbacks & GROOT Hurry-Up: Groot is a Flora Colossus and a fierce protector of the Guardians, and serves as Rocket's personal bodyguard. Spelling GROOT on the return rollovers will activate the left kickback and spelling it again will activate the right kickback. Both kickbacks are low-power spring-loaded kickbacks, and activated kickbacks stay on until they are used. If GROOT is spelled when both kickbacks are activated, a random lane will light to score 200,000 points for 20 seconds.

Bonus Multiplier: The Orb, containing the Power Stone, is a highly valuable quarry. If the player hits the Orb target 5 times, the bonus multiplier will increase by +2x up to 10x; it can also be maxed from a random Collector Award. Advancing the bonus multiplier while maxed will award an extra ball. The bonus multiplier is only good for the current ball, unless a bonus hold has been collected from the Collector Award, and it also applies to the final score given from beating the wizard mode.

Xandar Jackpot Increase: The Guardians will stop at nothing to protect Xandar. If the player spells XANDAR on the bumper rollovers, the jackpots for multiball modes will permanently increase.

Collector Award: The Collector has various invaluable items that could be of good use. If the player shoots the right sinkhole 4 times, a prize roulette on the scoring display will begin and the player taps the launch button to stop the roulette and claim a random prize. Prizes can range from points (random values between 5 million - 10 million), lighting one of the six main missions, activating the ball save or either kickback, increasing the skill shot value by 500,000 points, maxing or holding the bonus multiplier, or an extra ball hurry-up.

Extra Ball: Extra balls can be awarded by increasing the bonus multiplier while already at 10x, or by starting an extra ball hurry-up from the Collector Award and shooting a lit lane to claim the extra ball within 20 seconds.

Tips

It is very difficult to earn extra balls, so take great care to protect balls from draining by taking advantage of the table's easy-to-earn persistent kickbacks. Even better, if you turn both kickbacks on, every time you spell GROOT again will give you a chance to reactivate the ball saver.

If you're getting close to starting one of the six missions and you've already collected the Orb Bonus Round for that mission, don't bother with continuing to go for it. Save it for after you've played the wizard mode, so you can play through the missions quickly.

Above all, it always helps to pay a visit to the Collector for a random award, accessed with 4 shots to his sinkhole at the right of the table - an easy feed to recover from by dead bouncing the ball, then shooting the sinkhole again with a late shot from the left flipper. The Collector Awards include two opportunities for easy extra balls and are the most practical way to increase the valuable bonus multiplier, which impacts the final score of the wizard mode.

References & Easter Eggs

Data East's Guns N' Roses pinball machine has a "G"-shaped ramp in a similar position to the left ramp in this game, which even feeds a plunger on the left side of the table.

The Infinity Gauntlet

"Thanos now has the unbridled power of a god." - Silver Surfer

Infinity Gauntlet is one of the four Marvel pinball tables included in the Avengers Chronicles Pack, originally released in 2012. Based on the 1991 comic miniseries of the same title, this table focuses on the efforts of Adam Warlock to unite the superheroes who survived Thanos' use of the Infinity Gauntlet and lead them on a mission to take it back from him.

This is the first pinball table based on this plot line; Stern would release Avengers: Infinity Quest in 2020, a physical table that also took inspiration from the miniseries.

Objective

Help Adam Warlock unite the heroes who survived Thanos' Infinity Gauntlet, and help them take back the Gauntlet to reverse Thanos' destruction by taking each of its six gems. To collect each gem, the heroes must fight against Thanos in a total of six missions.

Starting missions & general info

To start a random mission, the player must hit any of the three Gauntlet ramps three times (but after Warlock Frenzy has been played once, four shots will be required). The center ramp will be blocked by the monument at the start of the game, and the monument will have to be destroyed to access it. Each non-multiball mission has a time limit that resets when shots are made, and will fail if time expires or the ball is lost. If the player hasn't collected a gem, collecting a super jackpot during Half of the Universe Multiball will spot the furthest left, uncollected gem.

After each mission, regardless of failure or success, the bumpers will light for soul pop bumpers for 30 seconds; winning a mission will activate a magnet that repeatedly sends the ball into the bumper area on the upper playfield, but the player will otherwise have to use the flipper to shoot the bumpers. Completing a mission also scores 6 million points in addition to the points scored from the mission, and adds points to end-of-ball bonus.

Gauntlet Multiball and Monument Multiball can be started during the Time Gem, Space Gem, and Reality Gem missions, but otherwise can't be stacked onto missions, as the other missions are either multiball modes or prevent multiballs from being started during them.

Successfully completed missions cannot be repeated until Warlock Frenzy has been started, and the player has no control over which mission to complete, as they are decided at random by the table. There are two wizard modes; Thanos Frenzy will be qualified at the right ramp when all missions have been started, while Warlock Frenzy will light at the center ramp once all missions are completed successfully.

Missions

Missions are listed from the left to right side of the playfield.

Time Gem: Thanos takes advantage of the Time Gem to trap Silver Surfer; the player must free him a total of 3 times by first shooting any of the standup targets, then hitting either side of the monument orbit. The player has 20 seconds to complete each phase of the mission. Right after each monument orbit shot and at the start of the mission, Thanos will slow down the table speed for about a second.

Space Gem: Outsmart, trap and attack Thanos to take the Space Gem - the trap phase is timed for 30 seconds, and the latter two phases are 20 seconds each. To trap Thanos, the player must shoot one of the three ramps determined at random, which changes with every activation of the first phase. After shooting the flashing lane, the player must quickly shoot a random flashing target lane, then shoot the ball into a small purple portal that appears on the main playfield to attack Thanos. The mission is successfully completed once Thanos has been hit 3 times.

Mind Gem: Free two balls trapped on the main playfield with a blue ball representing the Mind Gem, whose loss will result in failure of the mission. Once both balls are freed, a multiball will start and the player must hit any combination of the Gauntlet ramps six times, with the final three hits locking the balls; however, during this mission, the flipper button mechanics will be reversed - when the flipper buttons are not pressed, the flippers will be locked in the raised position and pressing the buttons will lower them. Locking all three balls will end the mission in success.

Reality Gem: Restore reality by shooting any of six lit target lanes that change once they are hit successfully, while the table is turned upside down to make play more difficult. Each successful target lane hit adds 10% to the percentage level seen on the scoring display, which must hit 100% before the 60-second timer expires; each bumper hit will also add 1% to the percentage level and temporarily freeze the timer. An unlimited ball saver will be available for the duration of the mission.

Power Gem: Turn Thanos' usage of the Power Gem against him by charging Adam Warlock's strength with 30 bumper hits. Making the required bumper hits will spawn two additional balls, and start a 3-ball multiball where the player can destroy the "GOD" monument in the middle of the table by shooting it with the balls. Approximately 15 hits to the structure are required to win the mission in success. The mission will fail if the player drains down to a single ball or drains during the bumper phase.

Soul Gem: Adam Warlock is forced to battle and defeat Kray-Tor during his search for the Soul Gem. This mission takes place on the Court of Kray-Tor mini-playfield, where two rows of 6 drop targets will spawn on both sides of the playfield, with a large drop target in between the drop target sets. The player must spell GUILTY twice by knocking down the 12 drop targets using the magnets, then strike down Kray-Tor by hitting the center target of the mini-playfield to open the exit, which must then be shot to complete the mission successfully.

Wizard modes

There are two wizard modes - one for starting all the main missions but not completing them, and one for successfully completing them. If the player completes all six missions on the first try (or collects the last, uncollected gem from Half of the Universe before starting Thanos Frenzy), both wizard modes will be available to play.

Thanos Frenzy: Qualified at the right ramp, Thanos Frenzy is a 60-second timed 2-ball multiball where all shots score jackpots starting at 1 million, incrementing by 100,000 per jackpot collected. However, rocks will descend over the flippers and block them off from view for the entirety of the mode, although an unlimited ball saver will be available. Once this mode ends, the player will have another chance to retry the failed missions to try and unlock the true wizard mode discussed below.

Warlock Frenzy: After the monument blocking the center ramp has been destroyed, a shot to the center ramp after collecting all six gems will start Warlock Frenzy. This is a 4-ball multiball mission with a 120 second timer, depicting Warlock leading the final attack on Thanos to take the Infinity Gauntlet. The player has to defeat Thanos through the following procedure, with each shot scoring 50,000 x the seconds remaining:

    Shoot any of the three Gauntlet ramps 6 times

    Hit any flashing lanes a total of 15 times

    Lock all 4 balls at the center ramp to win the mode for 10 million

During the first two major steps, a random table effect will make it difficult to play, although it will be compensated with an unlimited ball saver. Possible effects include blocking or inverting the flippers, magnetically moving the balls around the playfield, or the table appearance being turned upside-down. The player is only allowed one attempt at this mode before the mission progress resets.

Side modes

Timed modes

Uatu Scoring: Uatu, a Watcher, observes the efforts to retake the Infinity Gauntlet. If the player spells UATU on the rollovers, whose lit positions cycle with the flipper buttons, a 30-second timer will start where the player can hit any of the three Thanos targets or the HERO target bank for 100,000 points + 100,000 points per shot. The value resets every time the mode is started.

Ride the Board: After the ball drains down the exit from the bumper area 5 times (+1 per activation) the Silver Surfer will be able to automatically send the ball up the giveback lane for 30 seconds, with each shot made granting 1 million points + 500,000 per shot (this value resets after the mode ends, and maxes out at 5 million). This can be accomplished by bringing the ball to him via either the left standup target or the right orbit. 10 successful shots across multiple playthroughs of this mode will light an extra ball.

Multiballs

(Note that Monument Multiball & Gauntlet Multiball can be stacked, but no more than 4 balls can be play at once.)

Monument Multiball: Thanos has constructed a monument of his dear love, Death. Normally, the center ramp is blocked by Death's monument, which must be destroyed with a total of 5 shots to it followed by a shot up the center ramp. Once the monument has been destroyed, the player must rebuild it by collecting 100 spins at the spinners in front of the monument orbits, then shoot either orbit to start a quick 2-ball multiball. Jackpots worth a base value of 500,000 points can be collected by shooting the center ramp, and can be increased up to 1.5 million by shooting the spinners.

Gauntlet Multiball: Hitting the pop bumpers when they are not lit a total of 30 times (+15 per activation, to a max of 60 hits) will light a lock for Gauntlet Multiball at any of the three Gauntlet ramps. Once all 3 balls are locked, a 3-ball multiball will start, and one 1 million point jackpot will be available on each of the three Gauntlet ramps; after a jackpot has been collected, a flashing Thanos standup target must be hit to relight the jackpot, and increase the jackpot value by 250,000 points per target shot to no known limit.

Half of the Universe Multiball: With the Infinity Gauntlet, Thanos wishes for the annihilation of half of all life in the universe. Once 1 billion souls have been captured through soul pop bumpers, this quick 4-ball multiball mode can be started at the right sinkhole. During this multiball, all but one lane will be blocked off, and the player must shoot unblocked lanes to score jackpots worth 500,000 points + 100,000 points per shot - each shot removing a barrier. Once all barriers have been removed, the player must shoot the center ramp for a super jackpot worth a maximum of 20 million points and resets the barriers. The first super jackpot per multiball activation will also award a gem that hasn't been acquired yet, from the left to right side of the playfield, and reset the jackpot value. The amount of heroes collected from completions of the HERO target bank determines the number of balls that will be saved during this mode; once the count reaches 0, lost balls are gone for good.

Perks

Skill Shot: The skill shot is determined by a roulette on the scoring display that spins faster after the end of each ball. It is not possible to fail the skill shot, and possible awards from the skill shot are soul pop bumpers, 1 million points (+1 million per collection maxing out at 3 million), starting an Impress the Mistress combo, +2x bonus multiplier or a chance to execute a super skill shot. The super skill shot is collected by shooting either the giveback lane or the HERO targets from the upper left flipper within 5 seconds, and scores 1 million points multiplied by the ball number (+1 million per collection).

Powershot: Balls can be sent to the Powershot plunger off of one of the many gauntlet pathways. To collect a Powershot, the player must plunge with full strength when the diverter is in the right position and the desired shot is flashing so the ball will hit either the HERO target bank or the giveback lane. The score for a Powershot oscillates between 1 and 2 million, increasing by 1 million per successful Powershot and maxing out at 5 million; the value will be halved for making the HERO target bank. Collecting 5 Powershots in a game lights an extra ball.

Ball Saver: At the start of each ball and during multiball modes, a 30-second ball saver will activate. Once it expires, it can be reactivated as a Kiss of Death award.

Giveback: If the gauntlet diverter sends the ball to the upper left flipper and the player immediately shoots the giveback lane, a giveback will activate at the left outlane. Repeating this procedure before it is used will activate the right giveback. Both givebacks send balls to the gauntlet diverter, and carry over across balls.

Gauntlet Saver: Completing the giveback activation process before either one has been used will activate the Gauntlet Saver, which will save the ball the next time the ball drains without a kickback to save it; further activations of the Gauntlet Saver require one more lit giveback lane to qualify, to a max of 5. If Gauntlet Saver and both givebacks are already lit, repeating the giveback activation process will score 2 million points.

Bonus Multiplier & Heroes: Adam Warlock must help the surviving heroes defeat Thanos. Every shot to the HERO target bank will add a letter to HERO - once the word has been spelled, a hero will be added that acts as a ball save during Half of the Universe, and the bonus multiplier will increase by +2x to a maximum of 10x. It can also be advanced by +2x from the skill shot reward, or maxed out from Kiss of Death. Completing HERO after maxing out the bonus multiplier will light the extra ball, and any further completions of HERO after 10x will score a 5 million point bonus.

Soul Pop Bumpers: If a mission has ended and the player hasn't drained the ball, the bumpers will light to capture souls. For 30 seconds, random amounts from 5 to 10 million souls can be captured with each bumper hit, which can be fed to by shooting a barrier in front of the upper gauntlet ramp. If the previous mission was completed, magnets in the bumper area will activate to keep the ball there longer. Soul pop bumpers deactivates when the player has collected 1 billion souls, and Half of the Universe must be played to re-enable the feature.

Impress the Mistress: Shooting any lane during normal play will light up to 5 lanes depending on the shot to Impress the Mistress and score combo points worth 50,000 times the number of combo shots made in the sequence, to a maximum of 200,000 points.

Kiss of Death: Once 10 combos have been made through Impress the Mistress, a random award can be collected at the right sinkhole. Once the ball is locked there, a random "sweepstake" of prizes will appear on the scoring display, and an award will be dispensed once the player presses the launch button or ten seconds pass. Possible awards include: points (500,000 - 900,000), advancing or maxing out the bonus multiplier, activating Gauntlet Multiball or Monument Multiball (or destroying the monument if the target is still raised), activating soul pop bumpers, activating either giveback or the gauntlet saver, or lighting the extra ball.

Extra Ball: Extra balls can be lit at the standup target near the upper gauntlet ramp by completing HERO after maxing out the bonus multiplier, making 10 total shots across multiple plays of Ride the Board, performing 5 successful Power Shots, or from a random Kiss of Death award. Each extra ball can only be lit once, until all four extra balls have been collected.

End-of-ball bonus: Bonus is comprised of: base bonus (50,000) + infinity gem modes bonus (100,000 points x mission played) + built monuments bonus (50,000 x number of Monument Multiball activations) + destroyed monuments bonus (50,000 x monuments destroyed) + Mistress impressed bonus (10,000 x number of Impress the Mistress combo shots) + surfing bonus (10,000 x shots made during Ride the Board) + Uatu bonus (10,000 x number of UATU return lane completions), all multiplied by the bonus multiplier.

Tips

Lighting the givebacks is key to having a long game on this table. Always go for the giveback lane if the gauntlet diverts the ball there; when both are lit, the Gauntlet Saver can be acquired, which can act as an extra ball of sorts during single-ball play.

Only go for Half of the Universe Multiball if you have 3 or 4 of the gems already, and are having trouble with the last few. The free gem for completing this multiball mode is only given out once per wizard mode run; you might also want to wait until you have one particularly frustrating gem left to go for this mode.

Max out those bonus multipliers! An extra ball will light after completing the HERO targets 6 times on a single ball, and further completions of the targets will award 5 million points - quite a bit of points on this table.

References & Easter Eggs

The layout shares similarities with the 1995 Gottlieb pinball machine Frank Thomas' Big Hurt. The surfboard exit from the upper playfield behaves similarly to the skill shot exit on Big Hurt, and the center ramp is a jump ramp like the one on that game. Both games also prominently feature gloves - a baseball glove on Big Hurt, and the gauntlet in Infinity Gauntlet.

Thanos' quote "Time is a one-way tunnel, except when Thanos is involved!" during the Time Gem mode might be a reference to a quote from Bally's 1993 Twilight Zone pinball machine, where at the start of the Clock Chaos mode, Rod Serling says "Tim is a one-way street, except... in the Twilight Zone". Both modes also share an emphasis on making standup target shots to reset the timer.

Iron Man

"And that's why I have more than one suit." - Iron Man

Iron Man is one of the first four Marvel pinball tables released in 2010 and available for Zen Pinball 2, Pinball FX 2 and Pinball FX 3. Based on the Marvel superhero Iron Man, created by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, Don Heck and Jack Kirby, this table explores the high life of high-tech magnate and playboy Tony Stark, as well as his commitment to defending the world from threats at home and abroad with a collection of powerful electro-mechanical exosuits, becoming known as Iron Man.

This is the second major pinball table to be based on Iron Man, released months after Stern's pinball adaptation of the Marvel Cinematic Universe films Iron Man and Iron Man 2. This pinball adaptation is based on the original incarnation of the character, while featuring two villains, Whiplash and Mandarin, that eventually appeared in the 2008 film's sequels, Iron Man 2 and Iron Man 3.

Table overview

The upper half of the table and mini-playfield

The back of the table provides a panoramic view of Tony Stark's mansion, but when Tony Stark suits up as Iron Man, a door resembling the patterns of his armor will close and obstruct it entirely. A large yellow orbit wraps around much of the table's upper half and around six different lanes, including as many as four ramps with habitrails traveling all over the place. The first of such ramp is a red one that's right next to the left orbit, which is gated by a flag, and this ramp leads to a habitrail that splits in two, leading to either a sinkhole in a small platform containing a figure of Whiplash, one of Iron Man's enemies, placed left of the left orbit, and into a tunnel underneath him that drops the ball to the leftmost inlane, or a crossing habitrail that takes the ball to the first right inlane.

Besides that ramp is a yellow ramp that rises and goes to the back of the table, where it splits into two different habitrails, which is either a left habitrail that spirals down through a toy model of Stark Tower, or a longer right habitrail leading to a toy model of the Helicarrier of the superhero agency Strategic Hazard Intervention Espionage Logistics Directorate (SHIELD). This is a mini-playfield where two cannons at the front of the helicarrier can be rotated to shoot at several rows of red drop targets atop its deck. To the right of that ramp is a covered sinkhole blocked by 3 drop targets that must be knocked down to unblock it. Behind this sinkhole lies a figure of Tony Stark, who stands on a platform that can instantly put on an Iron Man suit on him by mechanical means. To his right is a bumper area, accessed with incomplete shots through the orbit that drop the ball through one of three bumper rollovers. This bumper area contains 3 bumpers shaped like the arc reactor that Iron Man wears to regulate his damaged circulatory system after it is filled with dangerous shrapnel. Balls that fall into the bumper area will exit into the left orbit.

Right next to those drop targets is another yellow ramp that bends right and splits into two habitrails that go to the same destinations as the red one. To the right of that ramp is a red crossramp that leads to a looping habitrail ending at the left orbit. Between this crossramp and the right orbit, which is also gated by a flag, there is a VUK that can be accessed by knocking down 2 drop targets blocking it. Four target posts spelling the word SAVE are placed on the corners of the entries of the two left ramps and the covered sinkhole. There is also an arc reactor placed in front of all these lanes in the very middle of the table and there is a hidden magnet underneath it that may hold balls briefly. The front entries of the four ramps can also rise to expose hidden sinkholes that can lock balls inside.

The lower half of the table

Further down the table, there are two platforms, one on each side of the table, containing figures of two of Iron Man's greatest foes: Whiplash on the left platform and Mandarin on the right platform. Two habitrails from the ramps described above drop into a sinkhole besides Whiplash that lead into a tunnel going through the left platform and passing under Whiplash to take balls to the leftmost inlane. A mini-flipper is embedded in the outer edge of the left platform and it is mainly used to access the crossramp. In front of that mini-flipper are three targets that spell UNI, the first three letters of the word UNIBEAM, a powerful blast cannon derived from the arc reactor. On the right platform, there are also similarly four targets that spell the rest of the word, BEAM. The table walls are filled with information screens and schematics of Iron Man's technology.

There are 6 return lanes that spell the word THRUST, with three outlanes on each side. There are two rebounds and two flippers, and a low-power spring-loaded kickback is installed in each outlane. Each rebound also contains a pop-up mini ball cannon that automatically pivots and can shoot balls at Whiplash or back into the playfield with the press of the launch button in particular missions.

The plunger

The plunger is a straight shaft that leads into the right orbit and is meant to be reminiscent of the kinetic repulsor ray cannons Iron Man has on the palm of each glove. The player is challenged to apply a high, but specific amount of force to the plunger such that the ball travels up the right orbit and drops through a specific lit bumper rollover instead of going down the left orbit for a skill shot. If the player shoots the ball too strong or too weak such that the ball doesn't reach the rollovers in the first place, or lands the ball in the wrong rollover, the skillshot will fail.

Objective and missions

The goal of this table is to help Tony Stark manage the ins and outs of his life as both a billionaire who must manage his own tech company, Stark Industries, and a superhero who must protect the world from grave threats as Iron Man, through a total of 12 missions, six as himself and six as Iron Man.

The rules for Tony Stark missions are different from that of Iron Man missions. For the Tony Stark missions, they can only be worked on when no Iron Man mission is active and most of them do not have to be tackled one at a time. It is also not possible to "fail" any of them and draining the ball will not result in losing progress for them. By contrast, the Iron Man missions can only be completed one at a time and one will begin at random by knocking down the three drop targets blocking the center sinkhole by hitting them once each and locking the ball there. Once an Iron Man mission begins, it must be completed successfully with the ball in play; draining it will result in failure.

The following six Tony Stark missions and six Iron Man missions must be completed successfully to unlock the wizard mode:

Tony Stark missions:

Missions marked with an asterisk can be worked in tandem with each other.

Stock Market:* To ensure his fortunes, Stark must manage his company well and make sure that its stocks are rising favorably. To increase the company's stock, the player must shoot the red left ramp a total of 8 times, with every 2 shots raising the stock market level from 0 all the way up to 4.

Stark Tower:* Tony needs to protect Stark Tower from adversaries who may try to sabotage his company. The player can help him upgrade its security systems by shooting the yellow fork ramp placed between the left red ramp and the central mission sinkhole so that the ball spirals down through the toy model of his tower 8 times, with every 2 shots raising the tower security level from 0 all the way up to 4.

Party:* With a lot of money to live on, what could stop Tony from enjoying a lavish party with a lot of people? The player can make his parties a lot more exciting over the years by shooting the right yellow ramp a total of 8 times.

Science:* Tony must stop at nothing in discovering new scientific and technological breakthroughs that could be helpful for others. The player can help further and advance his research by shooting the red crossramp between the right yellow ramp and the orbit a total of 8 times, raising the research level from 0 all the way up to 4.

Target Practice: Stark can test out the repulsor rays in his Iron Man gloves to ensure he can shoot them well. To start a target practice session, the player must shoot each orbit 6 times, which will cause the left yellow ramp to divert the ball to a right habitrail leading to the SHIELD Helicarrier mini-playfield, where the player will be given a time-limited opportunity to hit as many red drop targets there as possible by tapping the launch button in time to fire the front cannons of the helicarrier while they pivot in front of the targets automatically.

SHIELD Multiball: Tony works closely with SHIELD and its agents to ensure public security. This is a mandatory multiball mode that the player can start once three balls are locked through the following procedure: unblock the VUK by hitting the 2 targets barricading it, then shoot the ball into the VUK so that it goes into a holding bay onboard the SHIELD Helicarrier. After the third ball is locked, the Helicarrier will launch the three locked balls back into play and the player can juggle the balls as long as possible until two of them are lost. Each lane except for the crossramp has a one-time jackpot that can be claimed, and once all 6 jackpots are claimed, the player must shoot a lit lane to collect a Super Jackpot. The Jackpot increases every time UNIBEAM is spelled on the side target banks.

Iron Man missions:

Mandarin Flame Blast: One of the Mandarin's powerful weapons is a ring that can shoot a powerful stream of fire. Iron Man's armor can withstand the heat blast, but not for long and he will need to return fire to break off the Mandarin's attack. The player needs to charge up Iron Man's cannons by opening the central mission sinkhole in the usual method by hitting the three targets blocking it to open it, then shoot the ball inside. The player only has twenty seconds to make each needed shot to prime the suit's weapons system. Once it's ready, a ball cannon will pop out of each rebound and will pivot automatically, aiming at different lanes, while the entrances of the orbits and every ramp except the crossramp will open up to reveal sinkholes that the ball needs to be shot into to fire back at the Mandarin. The player must use careful timing to shoot the ball into the correct lit sinkhole by tapping the launch button at the exact moment one of the cannons is pointing at it. A successful hit will allow the player to immediately use the cannon again and a miss will force the player to shoot the center sinkhole (which will remain unblocked) again to restart the weapons systems. Four successful hits will repel the Mandarin's fire attack.

Mandarin Impact Beam: The Mandarin can also unleash a powerful kinetic blast from one of his magic rings, but Iron Man counters the blast with his repulsor ray glove. The player needs to put more power into the glove's repulsor ray by shooting all ramps and orbits once within 90 seconds before the Mandarin's blast intensifies and knocks out Iron Man. Once all six lanes are shot, the player must deliver the final power surge to knock out the Mandarin and defeat him by shooting the open center mission hole.

Whiplash Attack: Ivan Vanko, a scientist seeking revenge on Stark for a perceived injustice, becomes the supervillain Whiplash, armed with tough armor and powerful electric whips. Iron Man must deal with him and this can be accomplished by shooting any of 3 lit lanes that change every 10 seconds six times, but the player must also carefully watch out for Whiplash's attacks, as he can strike the ball with his long energy whips at certain times. Flipper shot timing and precision are pivotal to completing this mission successfully.

Mandarin Vortex Beam: The Mandarin attacks by using his magic rings to create a powerful vortex storm. This will begin a 4 ball multiball in which the balls will come out of the mission hole and get trapped at the center of a table with a magnet in the arc reactor, before scattering. The player must shoot all ramps and both orbits once with the multiball before all but one ball drains, then after that, the player must lock at least 2 balls back into the mission hole to attack the Mandarin, but must watch out as he will create a vortex in the arc reactor in the table center that can move the balls in a different direction and may potentially lead to unwanted drains.

Mandarin Electro Blast: The Mandarin has a powerful attack that can greatly disrupt Iron Man's armor systems - an electromagnetic blast from one of his rings. After the Mandarin zaps Iron Man with it and leaves him for dead, the player must reboot Iron Man's systems by shooting the left orbit, the yellow left ramp leading to Stark Tower and the red Science crossramp, then fully recharge the suit by hitting the bumpers many times within a 1 minute time limit, in which the orbits will divert the ball directly to the bumper area to make the recharging procedure easy. After enough energy is regained, Iron Man will return to the Mandarin and take him down.

Whiplash and Mandarin: Whiplash and Mandarin sometimes work together to try and defeat Iron Man, but he can use his powerful repulsor ray palm cannons to take the two down. To charge up the cannons, the player must shoot both orbits and the Science crossramp once each, then prepare them to fire by locking the ball into some lit sinkholes in the entrances of the ramps or orbits that open up. Once a ball is shot into such sinkhole, the camera will then enter into a first-person view of the right rebound's cannon, which will then pop out and move up and down while pointing at Whiplash. The player must shoot the cannon at the marked target on him by tapping the launch button at the moment the cannon points at it. If the player misses, Whiplash will slash the ball in half with his whips. Regardless of the shot outcome, the player must lock the ball into the sinkholes again for another shot. This procedure must be repeated a total of three times (locking the ball into sinkhole and then shooting the marked weakpoint on Whiplash), for each of Whiplash's three weakpoints: the head, the torso and the legs.

Once all 12 missions are complete, the player will be able to access the wizard mode, which is a final battle against ULTIMO that is started the same way as the Iron Man missions. This is a final 4 ball multiball mission that serves as a climatic battle against a powerful robot created by Mandarin, capable of terrorizing the world. To defeat ULTIMO, Iron Man must use flamethrower attacks, and can charge up one by shooting any of three lit lanes that change every 10 seconds with one of the balls in play, turning any ball that goes through a lit lane into a fireball for a limited time. Burning balls will damage ULTIMO every time they touch him as he appears in the center of the table as a massive figure interfering with most of the lanes. It will take 10 hits to finally destroy ULTIMO and save the day, and the player must land all 10 hits before all but one ball drains. The player must be careful, as shooting ULTIMO with a normal ball may send it into the outlanes or straight down the middle, whether with a natural bounce, or by ULTIMO himself using his powerful abilities to manipulate the balls. The player is only allowed one attempt at this wizard mode.

Perks

The following perks can be activated during play.

Backup Power Ball Saver: When Iron Man's suit is running out of energy, he can use emergency backup power reserves to keep his suit and weapon functionality operational for a little longer. A 30-second ball saver will be available at the start of each ball and multiball, and once it expires, the player can spell SAVE on the target posts to reactivate the ball saver.

Thruster Kickback: Iron Man uses special thrusters in his rocket boots to achieve stable flight and avoid spiraling out of control. If the player spells the first half of the word THRUST by lighting all left return lanes (THR), the left kickback will turn on. If the player spells the second half of the word THRUST by lighting all right return lanes (UST), the right kickback will turn on. Both kickbacks are low-power spring-loaded kickbacks and are only good for the current ball.

Unibeam Score: The Unibeam is a very powerful weapon Iron Man can use to deliver maximum damage to enemies via a blast from his arc reactor in his chest. If the player spells UNIBEAM on all seven targets in the two side banks, the jackpots of multiballs, the rewards of mission progress and a special end-of-ball bonus will increase.

Score Multiplier: Lighting all 3 bumper rollovers (which cycle when the flippers are operated) will raise the score multiplier, which is only good for the current ball.

Extra Ball: An extra ball can be earned for maxing out the multiplier, limited to once per ball. Once earned, the player claims it with a shot through the red Science crossramp.

Tips

You can only earn 1 extra ball per ball from maxing out the multipliers and draining a ball will result in failure of any Iron Man mission in progress, so it is absolutely essential for you to play very carefully to avoid ball drains and take advantage of how easy it is to activate the kickbacks and the ball saver (although the latter is more difficult to activate) so that they can be at your service to keep the ball alive as you strive to complete all 12 missions to earn the right to face ULTIMO in the wizard mode.

Given that the Stock Market, Stark Tower, Party and Science missions for Tony Stark all simply consist of shooting a particular ramp a total of 8 times, you can efficiently complete these four missions by breaking down the missions into smaller chunks by taking some time to shoot a few ramps before you begin working on the other 8 missions and in between such missions.

Try to master incomplete orbit shots that drop the ball into the bumper area, as this will give you a chance to raise the score multiplier en route to vital extra balls, as well as provide a very effective way to get the ball to the mini-flipper for a chance to line up a cross shot to hit the red Science crossramp. Once you get the ball through that crossramp, it will loop back to the mini-flipper, giving you an opportunity to repeatedly string together a chain of crossramp shots if you can master the flipper timing, which can allow you to rapidly progress through the Science mission when no modes are running.

Moon Knight

"I'll wear white so they'll see me coming." - Moon Knight

Moon Knight is one of the four Marvel pinball tables released as part of the Vengeance and Virtue pack, and is the fourth and final table in that pack to be released in late 2011, available for Zen Pinball 2, Pinball FX 2 and Pinball FX 3. It is based on the nocturnal superhero Moon Knight, who gains superpowers from the Egyptian god Khonshu after being betrayed and murdered and seeks vengeance upon various adversaries.

Table overview

The upper half of the table

The back left corner of the table features a rotating carousel of dioramas that the ball can enter into under certain conditions. The four dioramas include (in rotating, counter-clockwise order): 1) the entrance to the temple of Khonshu, the Egyptian god of vengeance, 2) a street alley containing the Black Spectre, one of the villains opposing Moon Knight, 3) the cockpit of the Mooncopter, one of Moon Knight's famous vehicles and 4) his hideout. On the opposite back corner is an Archimedes screw with a captive ball locked inside. It sits between the complex pathways of the left and right lanes of this table, with the left lane's path behind it and the right lane's path in front of it. Behind all this is a shooting gallery used for a mini-game, which gives Moon Knight the ability to wield his crossbow, with a door to the left where Bushman, the man responsible for the death of Moon Knight's original alter ego and his subsequent return as Moon Knight, enters the table to fight Moon Knight.

The right lane's path travels under a transparent ceiling towards the dioramas, but takes a sharp hairpin turn at the end that can take the ball down either one or two paths, depending on a diverter gate: a) a very tight hairpin turn that takes the ball up a higher path that's still inclined downward towards a raised pathway along the right table wall or b) a slightly looser turn that wraps around the righter turn to drop the ball into a bumper area described later on. The ball can also be trapped here briefly for certain modes. The left path behind the screw merges into the end of the tighter hairpin turn of the right lane to take the ball to the raised path, doing so near a figure of Moon Knight himself. Bushman can walk atop the transparent ceiling of both side lane's complex pathways for a fight against Moon Knight.

The entrance to the left lane is the table's leftmost full lane, passing under the diorama carousel towards the back table wall, going behind the captive ball screw mechanism to reach a raised pathway on the right table wall. To the left of this lane is a ramp that takes a sharp left hairpin turn down a winding habitrail destined for the leftmost inlane. Its entrance may fold up and out of view to expose a sinkhole. To the right of this ramp entrance is a miniloop used to start missions that wraps around the left ramp's hidden, obstructed sinkhole and merges down with the left ramp's entrance. Sometimes, a ramp may fold out to divert balls shot up this lane up to the dioramas in the back left corner of the table.

A central sinkhole used to start mandatory side missions sits to the right of the abovementioned mission miniloop. To the right of it is a bumper area that is one of the two destinations of the right lane. The bumpers are arranged such that balls that enter it can exit either to the left down the lane leading to the side mission sinkhole or to the right down the right lane. In front of the left bumper is Moon Knight's war chest, which holds energy orbs. A toy model of the Mooncopter, one of his vehicles, is also located, and locks balls. In front of it is a varitarget representing Bertrand Crawley, an ally of Moon Knight.

To the right of this varitarget is a right ramp with a foldable entrance like that of the left ramp. It normally takes the ball up a left, arcing curve in front of the tighter hairpin exit of the right lane, before merging with the exit habitrail of its left counterpart. The inner wall of the ramp also has a pop-out diverter that can take balls to the ball locker in the Mooncopter. A clock face appears right before the right ramp's entrance. The abovementioned right lane's entrance is right beside it, being the table's rightmost full lane just as the left lane is the table's leftmost full lane.

The raised pathway that the left and right lanes merge onto is to the right of the right lane's entrance, running along the table wall. It travels down and splits into two paths, regulated by an alternating diverter mechanism: a) a shorter dropdown pathway with one side having no wall and the other one lined by a right mini-flipper used to make jump cross shots to a sinkhole on a model moon that appears on the left side of the table, or b) a longer U-shaped exit habitrail that arcs across the table towards the player with multiple exit points depending on how fast the ball enters the habitrail: a full-speed ball will make it to the end at the center-left inlane, while slower balls may drop midway down the right lane to directly feed the right flipper. The gate changes positions every time the ball passes through it, such that balls do not go down the same path consecutively.

The lower half of the table

The exit habitrails of the dueling ramps merge at a model of crashed car, passing through its windows to take the ball to the leftmost inlane. There is a left sinkhole used to investigate crime scenes directly underneath the car, to the left of the left orbit. A model of the moon may appear as a cross-shot target above the crashed car model. Between this sinkhole and the left lane is one of two targets used to activate kickbacks; the other one is located to the right of the right lane.

There are five return lanes, two crescent-shaped rebounds and two main flippers. Each outlane is guarded by a subway kickback that diverts the ball to a vertical upkicker at a nearby apron that catapults the ball back into play. Lamps for score multipliers are installed on the left rebound. The left rebound contains a machine that tracks taxi fare, just to the left of the left kickback VUK.

The mini-playfield

Inside the model moon is a small mini-playfield where the ball enters a circular area via a crater-like hole. The rear wall of this play area contains a rotating bank of targets representing unruly mobs, with pop-up barriers that can block the targets. The front part of the mini-playfield is an outhole guarded by two flippers used to keep the ball in play and strike the targets. The outhole is the mini-playfield's only exit.

The plunger

The plunger is a spring-loaded mechanism that launches the ball up a straight shaft that drops the ball down the path of the right lane. The goal of the skill shot is to guess the correct amount of plunger force that will launch the ball up the right lane and hit its left path (with the tighter hairpin turn) to bring the ball to the raised, forking pathway for a chance to hit a super skillshot with the mini-flipper as the pathway's diverter gate brings the ball there. If the player shoots the ball too strong, the ball will instead go up the other path of the right lane, dropping it into the bumper area. If it is shot too weak, it will fall back down the plunger or drop down backwards down the right lane.

Objective and missions

The goal of the table is to help Marc Spector, otherwise known as the Moon Knight, perform heroic acts both as his alter ego and his superheroic persona, in preparation for a battle with the Egyptian deity Set, through ten missions. Missions must be completed successfully and are divided into three categories: 1) main missions in which Moon Knight battles villains, 2) side missions comprising of errands done by Spector in the daytime and 3) mandatory multiball modes. Main missions have one unified activation procedure, while side missions have their own activation procedure. Main missions must be completed successfully without losing the ball, although draining the ball during the Midnight or Morpheus missions will not count as a ballout. Side missions have a minimum condition that must be fulfilled to progress to the wizard mode. Mandatory multiball modes must be started to progress to the wizard mode, with no other conditions necessary.

To start a main mission, the player must collect 100 blue orbs for Moon Knight's war chest by shooting different lanes many times. Once the requisite amount is collected, a ramp will appear on the mission mini-orbit that will jump the ball into the diorama for a mission selection. The player can decide which mission to work on with the flippers and launch button. Successful completion of a mission awards yellow orbs representing Khonshu's blessing to Moon Knight as a reward for serving his purpose.

The ten missions that must be completed to unlock the wizard mode are:

Main missions

Bushman Is Back: Raoul Bushman, the man who murdered Spector, leading to his resurrection as Moon Knight, is now a dangerous supervillain whom Moon Knight must battle. To win the battle, the player must watch which of the two ramps will fold back to expose hidden sinkholes and shoot the exposed sinkholes to attack Bushman. Shooting any other lane will result in Bushman attacking Moon Knight, and doing so several times will result in mission failure. Success will light the letter "M" in MOON KNIGHT.

Black Spectre - Vote For Me: Carson Knwoles, a veteran who lost everything, sought revenge against the city and became a powerful criminal who attempted to run for mayor in New York City. In this mission, the player must shoot lit lanes while avoiding unlit ones, and each successful shot delivers a blow to Black Spectre and changes which lit lanes can be shot. Shooting unlit lanes will result in Black Spectre attacking Moon Knight and doing so too many times results in mission failure. Success will light the first "O" in MOON KNIGHT.

Morpheus and His Ebony Energy: Robert Markham, suffering from a dangerous medical condition, consumes a drug that was intended to save his life, but deforms him and deprives him of sleep. He then uses his powers to unleash nightmares. Moon Knight must fight him off inside his mind in this mission, which is done by hitting several small black clouds that advance towards the flippers with the ball quickly before they reach the flippers. Success will light the second "O" in MOON KNIGHT.

Midnight: Midnight, who was once a sidekick of Moon Knight, betrays him and becomes a villain. The player must attack Midnight three times by shooting the right ramp sinkhole, but after the first hit, he will protect himself and the player must shoot a lit lane to make him vulnerable. Shooting the right ramp sinkhole before doing so will cause the ball to magnetize to the center of the table for a potential straight-down-the-middle drain. Success will light the first "N" in MOON KNIGHT.

Side missions

Taxi Around: Spector also works as a New York City taxi driver under the assumed identity of Jake Lockley. If the player shoots the left ramp several times, the player must shoot a lit lane to successfully collect fare from one passenger and do so as many times for extra points before time runs out. A successful fare lights the letter "K" in MOON KNIGHT.

Respected Citizen: Spector also assumes the identity of Steven Grant, a millionaire, and gains money by investing in the stock market. If the player shoots the right ramp enough times such that the middle sinkhole lights the middle lamp of "Respected Citizen" and shoots it thrice, the player is challenged to make a profit on the New York Stock Exchange as Grant. This is a one-minute mission in which the player must watch the stock exchange value on the scoring display and shoot any lane to buy it once its price is low. Then, the player must press the launch button to prepare to sell the stock and watch the scoring display, only shooting any lane to sell the stock when its price is higher than its purchased price. If the player can buy low and sell high, the second "N" in MOON KNIGHT will light.

Moon Knight Crossbow: Moon Knight tests his crossbow at a shooting range. If the player shoots the left ramp enough times until the crossbow indicator is lit on the left ramp's sign, the player can shoot the right lane to lock the ball briefly for a mini-game at the back table wall in which the player must aim and fire Moon Knight's crossbow at cardboard shooting targets, using the flippers to aim and the launch button to fire. There are 5 levels of difficulty. The player has 10 seconds to shoot a thug target and must hit 3 to clear the first level; doing so lights the letter "I" in MOON KNIGHT.

Rough Customers: The Moon Knight uses his martial arts to beat up some rough customers. If the player shoots the right ramp enough times such that the middle sinkhole lights the left lamp of "Rough Customers" and shoots it thrice, the ball will be locked inside for a video mode. The player must watch the scoring display and press the left flipper to block a thug's attack, while using the right flipper to attack while the thug is not blocking. All characters go down in one hit. The player must defeat 2 thugs to clear the first level and light the letter "G" in MOON KNIGHT. There are five levels of difficulty.

Mandatory multiballs

Nightmare Multiball: Scary things can happen at night. If the clock on the table shows midnight (with left ramp shots advancing time by 5 minutes and right ramp shots advancing time by one hour), a 2-ball multiball will start and the letter "H" in MOON KNIGHT will light. The balls will move erratically. Lit lanes award jackpots, with some awarding super jackpots. An additional ball can be summoned into play by attacking Midnight at the right ramp entrance. This mode continues until all but one ball is lost.

Whirlybird Multiball: Moon Knight tests out his Mooncopter. If the player shoots the right ramp 7 times (with the first four activating a wall diverter that pops out to divert the ball to the Mooncopter ball locker at the bumper area and the last three locking the balls in), a 3-ball multiball will start, lighting the letter "T" in MOON KNIGHT. The ramps will fold back to expose sinkholes that can be shot to obtain jackpots that grow when any other lane besides the moon jump crossramp is shot; shooting that lane awards a super jackpot. This mode continues until all but one ball is lost.

Lunar eclipse

Once all 10 missions are completed successfully, spelling out Moon Knight's name, the wizard mode, Lunar Eclipse will be ready to start at the mission mini-orbit as a final battle against the Egyptian god Set. This mode is divided into two parts:

In the first phase, Set will summon his puppets to attack Moon Knight. To defeat them, the player must race against time to shoot the left ramp once, the side mission sinkhole five times and the right ramp twice in any order.

In the second phase, Moon Knight must reverse the lunar eclipse and restore the full moon to prevent the world from plunging into darkness. To do so, the player must shoot 50 lit lanes with a 3-ball multiball, with the balls glowing white and hazy to make it difficult to see. The player must make the requisite number of lit lane shots before all but one ball is lost. Doing so successfully will disable the flippers to allow all balls to drain, with a new ball being shot back into play.

The player can try the wizard mode as many times as possible until it is completed succesffully or all balls are depleted; after that, the table will reset.

Side modes

The following side modes can be activated:

Vengeance Hurry-Up: After a mission is completed successfully, a semi-mandatory side mode will start where the player can shoot lit lanes to earn bonus points for a limited time.

Mob Brawl: Moon Knight is challenged by Khonshu to beat up a mob of thugs. If the player makes 2 successful jump cross-shots to the moon, the ball will enter a separate mini-playfield where the player must strike lit mob targets on the rotating target bank, while watching out for barriers that can block the targets. There are 5 levels of difficulty and the ball will exit the mini-playfield if it drains in the outhole or the current level is successfully completed. Harder levels have faster-moving barriers and faster-moving targets to hit.

Crime Scene Hurry-Up: Moon Knight listens to police scanners to beat the cops to catching criminals. If the player shoots either ramp a total of 4 times, the police scanner will activate and the player can shoot any of five major lanes to investigate crimes. (left lane for armed robberies, left ramp for aggravated assaults, mission mini-orbit for vandalism, right ramp for forced entry and right orbit for a stolen car. The crime to investigate depends on which lane is shot, and will be investigated once the left crime scene sinkhole is then shot. Each crime has its unique objective, listed below:

Armed Robbery: The player must shoot randomly lit lanes four times to catch the armed robber.

Aggravated Assault: The player must shoot randomly lit lanes twice to subdue the aggravated suspect.

Vandalism: The player must shoot any lane once to catch the vandal.

Forcible Entry: The player must shoot a randomly lit lane once to stop the invading criminal.

Stolen Car: The player must shoot a randomly lit lane once to stop a car thief.

Silent Pursuit: Moon Knight uses his abilities to rescue his girlfriend Marlene. If the player shoots the right ramp enough times such that the middle sinkhole lights the right lamp of "Silent Pursuit" and shoots it thrice, a side mode will start in which the player races against time to shoot randomly lit lanes five times to rescue Marlene.

Multiball

There is only one optional multiball on this table and it is called A Screw Loose Multiball. It begins if the player shoots the right lane enough times to spin a flag gating its entrance many times. Each spin of the flag will rotate an Archimedes screw containing a captive ball behind Moon Knight's figure, and enough spins will free the ball trapped inside and drop it down the raised forking pathway along the right table wall for a 2-ball multiball. The dueling ramps will fold back their entrances to expose sinkholes that can be hit for jackpots that grow when other lanes are shot. This mode continues until either ball is lost.

Perks

The following perks can be activated during play:

Rise Again Ball Saver: Moon Knight can regain power whenever night comes. At the start of each ball and multiball, a 30-second ball saver will activate. Once it expires, it can be reactivated by repeating the kickback activation procedure once both kickbacks are activated.

Kickbacks: Hitting either of the two kickback targets twice will allow a kickback to activate when the Crawley varitarget is hit, with the left kickback activating first and then the right one. Kickbacks stay on until they are used. Each one is a subway kickback that diverts the ball to a nearby VUK that pops the ball deep into a nearby inlane to feed the ball to a main flipper.

Score Multiplier: If the mission mini-orbit's diverter ramp is not active to jump the ball to the diorama, shooting it five times will advance the score multiplier, which is only good for the current ball.

Crawley's Awards: Bertrand Crawley offers his assistance to Moon Knight. Every spin of the right lane's flag will change the random award that is dispensed when his varitarget is hit.

Hideout Upgrades: Clearing modes will award red orbs that can be obtained the same way as blue orbs. Once enough are gathered, the player can shoot the ball up the right ramp and upgrade the base score value for shooting a particular side lane or dueling ramp. There are five scoring levels for each of these four lanes. Level 1 awards 1,000 points, level 2 awards 2,000 points, level 3 awards 5,000 points, level 4 awards 10,000 points and level 5 awards 50,000 points.

Eternal Flame Vessels: After a crime is successfully solved in a Crime Scene hurry-up, the ball will catch fire from the Eternal Flame of Khonshu. The player can shoot as many lanes as possible to earn points and light the vessels of eternal flames, but can earn an extra ball by shooting all unique lanes once before the ball is extinguished to light all the vessels.

Extra Ball: Extra balls can be earned by maxing out the score multipliers, lighting all vessels with the eternal flame after a crime is successfully solved, clearing all unique crime scene hurry-up modes and repeating the kickback activation process when both kickbacks are turned on and the ball saver is active. All extra balls can be claimed by hitting Crawley's varitarget or draining the ball down the outlanes.

Tips

With ten missions to clear, expect this table to be a significant challenge! You need to great skills in shooting the right lanes fast if you want to get through it all, as well as fierce stamina to endure through all 10 missions.

Activate the kickbacks, leveraging their persistence across balls, and hit Crawley's varitarget to earn special perks to help you conquer the table's many missions.

Earn extra balls by advancing the score multiplier and clearing the crime scene side missions.

Spider-Man

"Look out! Here comes the Spider-Man!" - Spider-Man

Spider-Man is one of the first four Marvel pinball tables released in 2010, originally released for Zen Pinball and Pinball FX before being ported to further Zen pinball collections. Based on the ubiquitous Marvel superhero Spider-Man, created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, this table depicts his efforts to balance his life between fighting supervillains in New York City and making a decent living as a newspaper reporter for The Daily Bugle and building a romantic relationship with Mary Jane Watson.

This is the third known major pinball machine to be based on Spider-Man, following Gottlieb's The Amazing Spider-Man released in 1980 and Stern's 2007 pinball adaptation of Sony Pictures and Sam Raimi's 2002-2007 Spider-Man trilogy.

Table overview

The upper half of the table

The upper half of the table is designed to represent the sinister hideouts of Spider-Man's biggest villains. The back of the table is an opened bank vault for Stark Insurance, where a figure of Doctor Octopus stands, poised to rob its funds. In front of this bank vault is a smaller, raised second story playfield that is typically accessed by a hook ramp, which leads to an irregular trapezoid-like dead space that constitutes its center. Two asymmetrically sized flippers line the bottom of this area, which drains down to a left habitrail that brings the ball to the upper left flipper further down the main playfield.

A ramp decorated with spider webs wraps around the hideout entry ramp and leads all the way down to the leftmost inlane. This is the left websling ramp. To the right of that ramp is a sinkhole representing Doctor Octopus, labeled the "Doc Ock Lock", that feeds the ball exit near the left inlane, and to the right of that sinkhole is another websling ramp, the rightmost one, that leads all the way down to a very long habitrail going directly to the left flipper, crossing the table's apron and skipping the inlanes en route there. In front of the upper right ramp's entry is another parallel lane blocked by a captive ball that can be hit as a target. Sometimes, the ball may travel out of this lane from the VUK from Spider-Man's apartment, hitting the captive ball and knocking it free and rolling it down the hideout's right mini-flipper while becoming the captive ball in its place. Above both of these lanes is where a figure of Mysterio typically stands.

The trapezoidal dead space of the hideout playfield covers the entrance of a central websling ramp that arcs left, emerges out of a model of Spider-Man's web shooter glove and goes all the way down to the left flipper directly, skipping the inlanes. A large orbit wraps around the hideout level, but to the right of its apex is a drop-down area where weak orbit shots bring the ball to a bumper area. The left orbit is marked with the word SPIDEY and the right side of the left orbit entrance is lined with a backward-facing sinkhole that can be shot by shooting the ball in between the three top bumpers.

Between the bumper area and the right orbit are is the right ramp dedicated to the Green Goblin, which brings the ball directly to the right flipper, skipping the inlanes. Directly behind the right ramp is the entrance to the toy model of Spider-Man's apartment, which contains a vertical upkicker (VUK). A one-way upper loop dedicated to J. Jonah Jameson, editor-in-chief of The Daily Bugle, has an entrance running parallel to the VUK entrance under the right ramp, which travels all the way to the reverse sinkhole near the left orbit. Four target posts can be seen flanking the entrances to the hideout ramp, the center ramp and the bumper area. One of them will be lit at any given time, and after several seconds pass, the lit target post will cycle across the four target posts.

The lower half of the table

In front of the left orbit is the upper left flipper, used to shoot the apartment VUK. The ball heads to this flipper when it drains from the upper level hideout playfield via a habitrail. To the right of the right orbit is a sinkhole that can be accessed with a left flipper shot, or by making a weak plunger shot at the start of each ball. It also works as a VUK that pops the ball onto the right ramp's exit habitrail.

There are 5 return lanes, 3 on the left and 2 on the right, that spell THWIP; the two outlanes are guarded by standard kickbacks, and a ball exit can be seen to the left that exits balls shot into the Doc Ock Lock. There are also two slingshots and two main flippers. A figure of the Green Goblin stands over the ending habitrail of his ramp, which drops the ball directly to the right flipper.

The plunger

The plunger is a straight shaft that leads up to the table's main orbit. Depending on plunger strength, the plunger may launch the ball through the orbit completely, drop it into the bumper area, drop it in a sinkhole to the left of it or drop the ball into the rightmost sinkhole.

To perform a skill shot, the player must adjust the plunger strength correctly so that the ball hits a lit target. The target may be any of the following three areas:

A skill shot hole to the left of the bumper area that can be reached with a moderate plunger shot.

The right orbit, where the ball needs to land on and roll down out of with a medium-weak plunger shot.

The right sinkhole, which can be reached with a weak plunger shot.

The value of the skillshot starts at 200,000, and increases by 50,000 when the sinkhole in between the bumpers is shot while the ball is in play.

Objective

Help Spider-Man defeat three of his most nefarious villains, Doctor Octopus, Mysterio and the Green Goblin, while doing his best to please his most prominent critic, J. Jonah Jameson, through four missions.

Missions

Each mission is started in a unique manner and must be completed successfully to access Clone Chaos; a random mission can be started immediately by hitting a flashing target post 4 times when no modes are currently active, and the Lunatic Award from the right sinkhole can also assist in starting missions. Once a mission is successfully completed, it can be repeated as many times as possible, becoming more difficult with each successful completion. The table also automatically keeps track of the highest "stage" the player has reached in a mission - the highest number of times the player has played a mission in a single session. The stage numbers determine the scoring for lit shots during Clone Chaos, which carries over between games.

The following missions must be completed:

Doc Ock: Take on Otto Octavius, former nuclear scientist-turned-supervillain who invented four wearable robotic arms to conduct dangerous experiments. Shooting the Doc Ock Lock twice, once to light it and once to start the mission, will summon Doc Ock for a battle; he will use his robot arms to rise from the back of the table and gradually advance towards the player's flippers. The player must drive back Doctor Octopus by shooting any of the three websling ramps as many times as possible until Doctor Octopus completely retreats to the back of the table. Every second playthrough of this mission, Doctor Octopus will be able to catch the ball with his two other robotic arms and slam them down on either of the two habitrails leading directly to the flippers and will move faster than before.

Green Goblin: Norman Osborne created a formula that he hoped would increase his intelligence and strength, but it also costs him his sanity, turning him into the menacing Green Goblin. Spider-Man can battle the Green Goblin if the player shoots the right ramp three times, which will cause him to throw a pumpkin grenade the same size as the ball onto a random part of the playfield. The player must knock the grenade free with the ball, then shoot the strobing center or right ramp within 10 seconds with the pumpkin grenade ball to defeat him. The mission will end in failure if the player takes too long to hit the Goblin with the grenade or drains either ball; if the player drains the normal ball, it will be automatically saved. On every second playthrough of this mission, the Green Goblin will attack with two grenades and the player must hit the Goblin twice with both grenades to win.

Mysterio: Quentin Beck, a spurned and less fortunate special effects designer, decides to use his skills to elusively conduct criminal acts and stay one step ahead of the law. To face Mysterio, Spider-Man must find him first. The player starts the hunt for Mysterio by hitting the captive ball target on the upper level hideout area. The lights on the table will flicker and under this brief moment of darkness, the figure of Mysterio will teleport somewhere else. The player must find Mysterio and shoot the lane where he appears within 20 seconds; after finding Mysterio three times, requiring a captive ball shot for each attempt, the next captive ball shot will start the battle against him and activate a ball saver for the entirety of the mission. To win the battle against Mysterio, the player must help Spider-Man brave Mysterio's mind-altering gas, which reverses the flipper controls, and shoot all three websling ramps within a 30 second time limit that resets with each shot. Every second playthrough of this mission will require four shots to complete instead of three - the right ramp will also be lit.

J. Jonah Jameson: J. Jonah Jameson, the editor-in-chief of The Daily Bugle, believes Spider-Man to be a menace - but what he doesn't know that is that he works there as his alter-ego, Peter Parker. Shooting the upper loop if Front Page Award isn't lit will start a hurry-up at the right orbit for 1 million points, decreasing to 0 over 15 seconds. After the first successful completion of this mission, the hurry-up value will increase by 1 million. This mission can even be completed during the wizard mode.

Clone Chaos

Shooting the Doc Ock Lock after all four missions above will start a 30-second, time-limited challenge to lock 3 balls into that same sinkhole without draining the ball; each lock resets the timer. Once all three balls have been locked, a 4-ball "victory" multiball will start, granting the player a chance to shoot lit lanes for jackpots determined by the highest number of played missions the player has reached in a session. After draining down to a single ball, the player must play through all four missions again to get another chance at starting Clone Chaos.

Perks

The following perks can be activated during play:

Ball Saver: At the start of each ball and multiball mode, a 15-second ball saver will be available. The ball saver can be regained either by spelling THWIP with both kickbacks active, or by earning it from the Perfect Ball Save Spidey Award.

Kickbacks: Spelling THWIP on the return lane rollovers will activate the left, then the right kickback. Kickbacks are only good for the current ball.

Bonus Multiplier: Every 20 bumper hits will increase the bonus multiplier by +2x, up to 8x. The bonus multiplier can be held by collecting the Enhanced Strength Spidey Award.

Spidey Award: Shooting the orbits (1 + the ordinal number of the award) times will score a reward, given in the listed order. Multiple sets of Spidey Awards can be collected on the same ball.

Spectacular Score: 500,000 points.

Perfect Ball Saver: Activates the Ball Saver.

Incredible Jumps: For 30 seconds, every shot to the apartment will score 1 million points. The timer resets for every shot.

Deluxe Web-Slingers: Activates super jets. Every bumper hit for the rest of the ball scores 10,000 points.

Enhanced Strength: Holds the bonus multiplier.

Yeah! Extra Ball: Awards an extra ball.

Websling Awards: Shooting all three websling ramps once will score a reward, given in the listed order. Once the player has collected the extra ball from Websling Awards, the feature will be deactivated for the rest of the ball.

Celebrated Hero - 1 million points.

Aunt May's Dinner Party - All shots score 200,000 points for 60 seconds.

Extra Ball - Awards an extra ball.

Lunatic Award: Shooting the right sinkhole during normal play will score a random award from the following selection: lunatic score (small points between 10,000 - 50,000), advancing any of the four missions, or start all (which activates all four main missions at the same time).

Front Page Award: After completing a main mission, the next shot to the upper loop will score 100,000 points times the number of the stage of the mission that was completed.

Jump Scoring: Shooting the jump VUK three times in a row will score 50,000, 100,000, then 150,000 points. The third shot will divert the ball to the right ramp and count as a right ramp shot.

Extra Ball: Extra balls can be collected by earning the final Websling and Spidey Awards.

Tips

Spider-Man can be a very long-playing, high-scoring table thanks to the value for Clone Chaos carrying over from game to game and the difficulty of losing the ball. Make an effort to get the websling extra ball on every ball, and repeatedly shoot the upper loop during Clone Chaos to start the Jameson mission to further increase the jackpot value.

You can easily overcome the reversed controls during the battle against Mysterio. If you are playing the table with a pad controller, simply flip it around so that the right flipper button is on your left and the left flipper button is on your right. You can also just operate both flippers simultaneously - the ball saver will save any lost balls during this mission.

Later stages of Green Goblin can be a pain to complete, as the timer constantly decreases with each playthrough. Try only completing the mission once per Clone Chaos run to make the wizard mode easier to get to.

Tournament notes

Spider-Man is not advised to be used in tournaments due to its long-playing nature and the Clone Chaos feature carrying over scoring between attempts.

Thor

"I am Thor Odinson, defender of Asgard." - Thor Odinson

Thor is one of the four Marvel pinball tables released as part of the Vengeance and Virtue pack, and is the fourth and final table in that pack to be released in late 2011, available for Zen Pinball 2, Pinball FX 2 and Pinball FX 3.

Based on a fictional version of the famous god of thunder in Norse mythology of the same name, created by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber and Jack Kirby, this table explores his valiant efforts to master his incredible lightning powers and potent strength to defend his home realm of Asgard from dangerous threats, including the treachery of his mischevious stepbrother frost giant Loki, the ice demon Ymir and the powerful sentient Destroyer armor that Loki sometimes hijacks.

Despite being released on the same year Paramount Pictures released a film adaptation of the character set in the early years of Disney's Marvel Cinematic Universe, this table solely draws on his original depiction in the comics.

Table overview

The upper half of the table

The back wall of the table contains a toy model of the city of Asgard, mainly its front walls. A large orbit, with the left side being lava-red and the right side conversely being pale white with ice, wraps around all the table's major lanes, with the former spelling SURTUR, the fire demon and ruler of Muspelheim. To the left of the right orbit, which is gated by a flag, is a green ramp that spells SERPENT and functions as a one-way orbit, arcing under the front walls of Asgard and undulating all the way down to the left orbit, becoming part of the Midgard Serpent, a monstrous creature. The end of this ramp is the head of the Serpent, whose mouth would open to drop the ball onto the leftmost inlane, but before the ramp becomes the Serpent's neck and throat, there is a trapdoor that can be opened with one tap of the launch button to drop the ball down onto the left end of a miniloop.

There are two dueling loop ramps between the left orbit and the entry to the serpent ramp: a crossramp that spells ARMOR and brushes against the left orbit and a central ramp that spells ASGARD that is directly covering much of the crossramp's path. Their habitrails crisscross each other, with the former leading down to the second left inlane and the latter leading down to the right inlane. In between the two is a forking pathway branching into two short lanes leading to sinkholes that is blocked by a large sinkhole that can be sealed by a drawbridge marked with URU, the material used to construct the Mjolnir, Thor's iconic hammer, and hold its magical powers. The left sinkhole represents Hela, the goddess of death who can command an army of the undead. The right sinkhole takes the ball across the Bifrost, or the Rainbow Bridge, leading into the gates of Asgard. Between the two is a target representing Odin, Thor's father.

There are two stone platforms floating above the lanes, one containing a figure of the Destroyer armor, an enchanted automaton created by Odin to defend Asgard and the other containing a figure of Loki, a Frost Giant who is Thor's stepbrother and sometimes also his nemesis, the god of mischief. At the back left corner of the table are two habitrail exits that drop the ball either down the Serpent ramp's left side or down the central ramp's habitrail, while the back right corner contains a habitrail that drops the ball down the right orbit.

In front of the left orbit are a series of three bumpers representing mini volcanoes, as well as the fiery realm of Muspelheim, ruled by the fire demon Surtur. In front of the frontmost bumper is a sinkhole blocked by a drop target representing a Golden Apple of Idunn, known to rejuvenate Asgardians. The rightmost bumper is also placed behind a reverse scoop that drops the ball down the exit habitrail of the crossramp, but the scoop can also collapse to expose a hidden sinkhole where the ball can be locked into. A target bank that spells SIF, a warrior and ally of Thor, is also placed right of the rightmost bumper. To the left of bumpers is a miniloop leading directly into the center of the bumper area.

To the right of the right orbit is another miniloop that wraps around a right mini-flipper used to shoot the ball into the crossramp. A sheet of translucent ice covers it, acting as a platform in front of an ice cave in the cold realm of Niffelheim, where a figure of the frost giant Ymir may emerge. The bottom end of the loop spells his name.

The lower half of the table

To the left of the miniloop is a left flipper that is used to make cross shots into the right miniloop in Niffelheim on the other side of the table. In front of that miniloop are a pair of targets spelling MJOLNIR that can be knocked down to reveal a hidden sinkhole. There are two rebounds reflecting the texture of Thor's Mjolnir and five return lanes, three on the left and two on the right, that spell FROST GIANT, with one letter of each word in each return lane. There are also two flippers and two spring-loaded kickbacks, one in each outlane, but each kickback applies a different amount of power when it is used.

The aprons are also textured off of the Mjolnir and a figure of Thor Odinson stands on the left apron. A model of Mjolnir itself is planted headfirst into the right apron, near the plunger.

The plunger

The plunger is a straight shaft that eventually makes a diagonal left turn, with a battering ramp providing the force to launch the ball. At full force, it will launch the ball up the crossramp. The player is challenged to find the right power to hit a lit SIF target on the target bank to score a skillshot.

Objective and missions

The goal of this table is to help Thor Odinson fiercely defend his homeworld of Asgard from various threats in the Nine Realms, using his lightning powers wielded through his enchanted hammer, Mjlonir, through five missions. To start a mission, the player must lower the drawbridge blocking the rainbow bridge sinkhole by spelling URU with shots to the sinkhole that it will cover, then shoot the rainbow bridge sinkhole itself now that the drawbridge has lowered. Missions must be completed successfully without draining the ball, which will end the current mission in failure.

The following five missions must be completed to access the wizard mode:

Brother's Duel: Loki at times has become Thor's greatest rival and nemesis, and Thor must take him on in an intense duel. The two each have 7 health points, meaning that the battle ends when either is struck seven times. Thor can successfully attack Loki if the player shoots any of five blue lit lanes (the left orbit, the reverse scoop, the right mini-loop or either of the two dueling loop ramps), but the opposite will happen if the player shoots the green serpent ramp or the right orbit. If the player helps Thor vanquish Loki, the mission will end successfully.

The Destroyer: Unable to face Thor personally, Loki has hijacked the Destroyer to do the dirty work of fighting him. The Destroyer and Thor will then get caught in an intense energy clash, and the player must help Thor overpower the Destroyer and escape by reducing its power to zero, starting from 50%, to win the fight and the mission. The Destroyer's power decreases as long as the ball in the bumper area, and this can be best accomplished with a full right orbit shot that lands it into the bumper area. However, if the Destroyer reaches full power, he will knock out Thor and the battle will end in failure.

Ymir's Attack: Ymir, a frost giant of Niffelheim, terrorizes Thor and seizes him in his icy grip, in which he begins to freeze. The player must help Thor break free of Ymir's grasp by shooting any of 3 lit lanes that change every 8 seconds seven times, but every time the lanes change, Thor will lose more body temperature rapidly. However, Loki can use his powers to save Thor and hold off Ymir if the player spins the flag in the right orbit to slow the freezing.

The Destroyer in Asgard: Loki has hijacked the Destroyer to assault the city of Asgard and terrorize its citizens. Thor must stop the Destroyer before it's too late by hitting him three times with a charged throw of his Mjlonir, and each hit is scored by first using the right mini-flipper to hit the crossramp, then using the opposite mini-flipper to shoot the right miniloop and lastly, locking the ball inside the sinkhole behind the collapsed reverse scoop, all within a time limit. If the player doesn't make the attack within a time limit, the Destroyer will blast Thor, and after three hits on him, the battle will end in defeat. Hitting the Destroyer three times will complete the mission successfully. (If the player shoots the drawbridge sinkhole, the ball will alternate between either dropping down the right orbit or into the left miniloop for a chance to make either of the cross shots needed for the attack sequence.)

Ymir Rages Again: Thor must defeat Ymir once and for all, using fire to exploit his weaknesses. The player must shoot the center ramp and the serpent ramp to damage Ymir, but both of them are blocked by ice blocks that can be melted with two hits from a burning ball, obtained from the two sinkholes near the Muspelheim bumper area. Burning balls will burn for about 30 seconds, so the player needs to be quick to eliminate the ice. As the player works on attacking Ymir, time is of the essence, as Ymir will blast Thor with ice breath to freeze him, causing his temperature to decrease as shown on the display. If it depletes, Thor will be defeated and the mission will fail. Hitting Ymir three times will complete the mission successfully.

After all five missions are completed successfully, the player will unlock the wizard mode, which is the Final Battle to defend Asgard against Loki and defeat him once and for all. This mission is started the same way as the other missions and is a 3-ball multiball mission. The player must shoot each of the 8 major lanes of the tables once with the 3 balls in the order indicated by which lane is lit at the time. Once all 8 lanes are hit, the player must finish the mission by locking all remaining balls into either of the two sinkholes at the Muspelheim bumper area and claim final victory. The player is only allowed one attempt at the wizard mode.

Side modes

There are no definite side modes that provide a separate challenge that can be completed for points on this table.

Multiball

There are two multiball modes that can be started when no modes are running:

Surtur Multiball: Surtur is a menacing fire demon of Muspelheim and can unleash deadly fireballs to rain down destruction. Thor can draw the wrath of Surtur after destroying a legion of his fire elementals. Every bumper hit represents a fire elemental that Thor defeats, and after every 25 elementals are defeated (i.e., 25 bumper hits), the player can lock a ball at either of the two sinkholes in the Muspelheim bumper area. Once 3 balls are locked in this manner, a multiball will begin where Surtur will unleash fireballs that can be shot into lit lanes for jackpots, but after a certain number of jackpots are handed out, the player must help Thor counter Surtur's attack by locking the balls back into the large sinkhole under the drawbridge for a super jackpot that ends the mode.

Day of the Dead: Hela, the goddess of death, has a legion of undead at her command to wreak havoc. When no missions are running and the drawbridge to the rainbow bridge sinkhole is lowered to allow access, the player can lock a ball into the Hela sinkhole to the left of that sinkhole instantly to lock a ball for Day of the Dead Multiball. After 3 balls are locked in this manner, a multiball will begin where Thor will face off against Hela's undead allies, which must be vanquished as targets blocking lanes for jackpots. Eliminating all of them will increase the jackpot and spawn a new wave of enemies to defeat.

Perks

The following perks can be activated during play:

Sif's Ball Saver: Lady Sif is a powerful warrior who stands by Thor's side to defend him when he is in trouble. A 30-second ball saver will be activated at the start of each ball and multiball mode, but once it expires, the player can briefly activate it again by spelling SIF on the target bank in front of the crossramp, but it will be shorter than usual.

Kickbacks: Spelling FROST on the return lanes will activate the left kickback and spelling GIANT will activate the right kickback. Both kickbacks are spring-loaded, but deliver a different level of power depending on position. They are only good for the current ball.

Odin's Gift: Odin seeks to guide his son Thor and help him whenever he can. If the player lowers the drawbridge while no mission is running, the player can hit the target between the Hela sinkhole and the Rainbow Bridge sinkhole for a time-limited chance to shoot the right orbit to claim a random award, which may range from extra points to an extra ball.

Golden Apple Score Multiplier: The Golden Apples of Idunn can rejuvenate Asgardians like Thor and provide a score boost. The player can collect a random amount of Golden Apples to progress towards raising the score multiplier by opening the left sinkhole with a hit to the golden apple drop target blocking it and then dropping the ball inside it. 10 apples will raise the score multiplier up to 2x, 20 apples will push it up to 4x, and so on. The score multiplier is only good for the current ball.

Wielding Mjolnir: Thor can release the full power of Mjolnir to inflict great destruction on his adversaries. If the player spells MJOLNIR with 7 hits to either of the two targets in front of the right orbit, they will lower to expose a sinkhole that can be shot to cause all scoring to be doubled for 30 seconds.

Lightning Strike: If the ball enters the right miniloop, Thor can use a powerful bolt of lightning to push it up the crossramp, which occurs when the player taps the launch button while the ball is in the miniloop.

Jackpots: It is possible to increase the amount of points awarded for shooting lit lanes during missions or multiballs by spelling out certain words through repeated lane shots:

Spelling SERPENT on the Serpent ramp raises the score for successfully attacking Loki during Brothers Duel.

Spelling ARMOR on the Destroyer crossramp raises the score for shooting lit lanes for missions involving fights against the Destroyer (The Destroyer and The Destroyer in Asgard).

Spelling YMIR with right cross shots up the right miniloop will increase the score for attacking Ymir during missions involving fights against him (Ymir's Attack and Ymir Rages Again).

Spelling SURTUR with left orbit shots raises the jackpots for Surtur Multiball.

Spelling ASGARD with center ramp shots raises the reward for shooting a lit lane during the wizard mode, Final Battle.

Extra Ball: Extra balls are awarded by maxing out the score multiplier with lots of Golden Apples in the same ball, or by getting one from Odin's gift. Once awarded, extra balls are claimed immediately.

Tips

Since draining the ball during a mission will end it in failure, take full advantage of the kickbacks and ball saver to extend ball survivability and reduce the likelihood of mission-ending drains. Get the kickbacks turned on quickly at the start of each ball, and use late cross shots from the right mini-flipper or certain angled shots from the right flipper to spell out SIF on her target banks to reactivate the ball saver, but be aware that it's shorter than the one given at the start of each ball.

You will need to master cross shots in order to complete the missions more effectively. While left cross shots into the crossramp with the right mini-flipper are not hard to execute, right cross shots into the right miniloop with the opposite flipper can be much trickier to pull off because of how very little time you are usually given for it. Nonetheless, this can be made easier with a shot up the Serpent Ramp and tapping the launch button at just the right time before it approaches the trap before the Serpent's throat so that it drops down. Once the ball drops, you have less than a second to shoot the ball up the right miniloop for a chance to execute a Lightning Strike by tapping the launch button that will blast the ball into the crossramp if done correctly. Thus, it can be very helpful to practice and master cross shots into the right miniloop.

Right before you start a mission, after you've lowered the drawbridge, you can ask for a blessing from Odin to help you on your journey by hitting the target between the two sinkholes behind the drawbridge, then shooting the right orbit. There is a chance that it can be an extra ball that can help you very much, and is much easier to get than maxing out the score multiplier with dozens of Golden Apples.

Venom

"Being a hero means taking responsibility. And I'm gonna take responsibility for what you've become!" - Spider-Man

Venom is one of the three Marvel pinball tables that are part of the Heavy Hitters pack, and was released in 2014 for Zen Pinball 2, Pinball FX 2 and Pinball FX 3. It is based on the titular super-villain, enemy of Spider-Man and later anti-hero, and explores the various characters, conflicts and events resulting from the alien symbiote responsible for his inception.

Table overview

The upper half of the table

The back left corner of the table features a bell tower of a cathedral, where a symbiote-suited Spider-Man discovers that loud sounds can weaken the symbiote, causing it to fall on Eddie Brock and turn him into Venom. To the right of that tower is a rooftop with an electronic sign spelling "VENOM vs. SPIDER-MAN", with a small water tower atop its right side. The back wall features a view of the skyline of New York City, and there is a scale model of the Statue of Liberty's torch, which emits actual flames when the ball traverses up a winding loop ramp that wraps around the torch. In front of the torch is a sign marked "SUPER JACKPOT".

The wooden end of a ramp originating from the lower half of the table loops and passes through the bell tower, dropping it down into the table's leftmost lane. Near the terminus of this ramp, there is a small left orbit marked "alien" that wraps around a spring-loaded target bank marked with inserts spelling WEB. This target bank opens a gate that drops the ball down into a saucer marked "capture" right beside the midway point of the exit lane. This gate is also next to the left ramp, which provides access to the upper playfield.

The left alien orbit ends at the bigger, Wall-crawler mini-loop, shaped into a skateboard halfpipe and located directly in front of the aforementioned rooftop. At the apex of the mini-loop is a transparent spinner. The mini-loop wraps around a multi-purpose sinkhole used to start the Wallcrawler Battle and Goo Ball missions or claim extra balls, and a figure of Venom is usually perched behind it. Right next to the mini-loop is the right alien orbit, marked "alien" like the one on the left, which wraps around the entrance to the flame ramp and a standup target bank with inserts spelling GOO. The right alien orbit also can be accessed from a strong shot to the lower playfield's left ramp. Behind this target bank is a bumper area only accessible from the lower playfield, used to select one of the various hosts of the symbiote that once infected Spider-Man and created Venom.

At the entry to the left alien orbit is a left flipper, with two right flippers placed in a line opposite to it lying before the right alien orbit's lower entry. Precisely in the space between the flippers is a ledge that drops the ball down to the lower level, with a center post placed in the middle of it.

The lower half of the table

Towards the front end of the table's left wall, which represents a scale model of a typical streetway of New York, lies Ravencroft Institute, a maximum security asylum where villains and mentally insane individuals are imprisoned. The lane to the very left of the lower playfield is a one-way exit lane that drops the ball down to the left inlane. Between the exit lane and the left ramp leading to the upper playfield is a saucer that can be hit either directly through a lucky bounce, or indirectly through the Carnage ramp. To the right of the left ramp is the entrance to the bell tower ramp.

To the right of this ramp, right under the upper playfield's drop-off ledge in front of its 3 flippers, is a drop target bank with each target labeled with a letter in SUIT. The target bank has lamps that cycle every time the flippers are operated, and the targets can lower to reveal three saucers where balls can be locked. To the right of this target bank are two intersecting ramps resembling some of New York City's subway tracks: a long ramp that loops across the table to the left saucer and past the prison of the insane, Symbiote-affected villain known as Carnage, labeled the Carnage ramp; and the right ramp, which sends the ball to the upper playfield.

The Carnage ramp has two different exits depending on the strength of the ramp shot. Strong shots that loop all the way behind the lower flippers will land the ball into the left saucer, lighting one letter of CARNAGE above his prison cell. Weak shots with not enough strength to pass through the loop will result in the ball exiting into a sinkhole on the left apron, which sends the ball to the bumper area. The rightmost lane, directly to the right of the right ramp, is the only direct route to access the aforementioned bumper area. The lane's entry features five lamps, one for each notable host of the Symbiote after Spider-Man and Venom.

There are 4 return lanes, two slingshots and two lower flippers. The inlanes are each marked with the words "lite alien", which light the orbits on the upper playfield. Both outlanes can be lit for a virtual ball saver dedicated to Anti-Venom, who is capable of neutralizing spider-viruses.

Between both the left and right outlanes and inlanes is a one-way gate, which can save balls draining into the outlanes if a well-timed nudge pushes the ball through it to send the ball back into the nearby inlane. The left apron contains two large containment tubes, with one of them broken and used as part of the plunger; the right apron contains weaponry used by Agent Venom. Above the flippers is the prison cell of Carnage, with seven inserts spelling his name above his cage. Once his name is spelled, Carnage will grab the ball and throw it into his cage pit...

The mini-playfield

This table has a dedicated mini-playfield placed deep underneath the table, accessed through Carnage's cage pit in the dead space behind the flippers, where Carnage will throw the ball into after he is freed. This mini-playfield is themed after Riker's Island Prison, where serial killer Cletus Kasady became Carnage. At the back of this mini-playfield is a target bank containing the first 5 letters of the word JAILBREAK. To the left of this bank is a saucer used to claim extra balls, as well as take a second step of the 3-step escape. To the right is a short, question-mark-shaped ramp that drops the ball into an automatic plunger that shoots the ball back into play. This plunger also has a trapdoor that can open to send the ball back into the main playfield once the 3-step escape has been completed.

On the left side of the mini-playfield is an inaccessible left lane marked with 10 yellow arrows and containing 3 captive balls, with one that can be hit by the ball at its entrance. Near that lane is a small rubber post and the table's lone true return lane. On the right side of the mini-playfield is a side-facing target bank containing the remaining four letters of the word JAILBREAK, with the one-way exit of the automatic plunger right in front of it. A slingshot kicker is also on the mini-playfield, hidden under a slope leading down to the right flipper. The mini-playfield has two flippers, both in their standard positions. Directly between the flippers is a saucer that either functions as an outhole if the ball drains with no tries remaining, and as a kicker that kicks the ball back into play once the ball enters the playfield or is drained while tries are remaining.

The plunger

The plunger is a short shaft with a left curving turn that diagonally launches the ball across the table near the left, lower saucer. The spring-loaded mechanism that launches the ball into play is a piece of raw symbiote essence in a broken containment tank. To execute a skill shot and score 500,000 points, the player must determine the amount of power the plunger needs to land the ball into the saucer. After a successful skill shot, the SUIT target bank will lower for a limited time to expose the three ball lock saucers for 5 seconds, which can then be shot for a double skill shot worth 1 million points and a ball lock for Black Suit Multiball.

Objectives and missions

The goal of this table is to experience the various characters, conflicts and events that have resulted from the appearance of a mysterious alien organism called the Symbiote, which first infected Spider-Man and later created the supervillains Venom and Carnage, and eventually confront Carnage through completing six objectives. Three objectives only require parts of the associated feature to be completed, while the other three objectives correspond to missions that must be completed in their entirety.

Each objective has its own unique startup process, and, unless otherwise noted, must be completed successfully without draining the ball to unlock the wizard mode, Maximum Carnage. Once completed successfully, any mission can be repeated for a chance to earn more points from the mission and increase the jackpot value for the wizard mode by 1 million points.

The following six objectives, from left to right, must be successfully completed to access the wizard mode:

Planet of the Symbiotes: The Symbiotes have already taken over several planets and aren't planning to stop any time soon. This timed mission begins once the player activates the alien orbits by dropping the ball into the two inlanes, then hits the activated alien orbits a total of five times. During this mission, the player has 45 seconds to hit 10 targets, comprising of the 3 target banks spelling the words WEB, GOO and SUIT. Successful hits will add back 5 seconds to the timer. Hitting all 10 targets awards 5 million points, solidly lights the objective, and allows you to keep shooting the flashing targets until the timer runs out. The final reward for completing this mission is 10x the current target value, which starts at 1 million and increases by 500,000 points each time the mode is started.

Jailbreak: After the symbiote rescues Eddy Brock from the Riker's Island prison after his defeat as Venom, it also left behind some of itself and later infected incarcerated serial killer Cletus Kasady, who then gains Symbiote powers and becomes Carnage, escaping prison.[1] This mission begins once the player makes 7 strong shots up the Carnage ramp such that they hit the left saucer, adding letters to CARNAGE. Once the word is spelled, Carnage will break free from his pit cage and throw the ball into the pit, dropping into the Jailbreak mini-playfield. The player must spell JAILBREAK on the two target banks to break Kasady out of his cell, then must complete a 3-step procedure to make good his escape: 1) hit the front captive ball in the captive ball lane, 2) hit the saucer to the left of the top jailbreak target bank and lastly, 3) hit the ramp. (The player has only four tries to complete the mini-playfield mission, with one try lost after the ball is drained. Additional tries can be earned by shooting the mini-playfield ramp.) Completing the three-step procedure will solidly light the objective, and begin an optional timed scoring frenzy.

Carnage Frenzy: After Carnage breaks free, the ball returns to the main playfield for a 30 second timed frenzy where any lane scores a million and a random flashing lane increases this value by an additional million. The timer for the frenzy is increased by 30 seconds every time the JAILBREAK targets were completed on the mini-playfield. Once the timer runs out, the player must hit the upper sinkhole in front of the Wall-Crawler mini-loop to re-collect the total value scored during the frenzy and send Carnage back to jail. (If Carnage is still on the loose, either by draining after failing Jailbreak or by draining at the end of the wizard mode, all end-of-ball bonuses will be forfeited.)

Host Hurry-Ups: The symbiote began to infect other individuals after infecting both Spider-Man and Venom, and granted them deadly powers. If the player hits the bumper at least once, then shoots the left lower saucer within 10 seconds by shooting the Carnage ramp, the player will be prompted to complete a hurry-up based on a particular symbiote host, depending on which one was randomly selected after bumper hits. The base value for all hurry-ups is 1 million depleting within 10 seconds, and all hurry-ups will fail if either the value depletes or the player fails the second part of the hurry-up. To solidly light this objective, just one host hurry-up needs to be completed successfully, but completing all five in a session will light an extra ball. The following possible host hurry-ups are shown below:

She-Venom: The symbiote saves Anne Weying from her death, but also turns her into a supervillain.[2] To bond the Symbiote, the player must hit the bumper via a shot up the right lane; each bumper hit multiplies the hurry-up value. A magnet at the entrance to the bumper area will activate right before the ball exits, and a video mode will activate where the player must press the indicated flipper buttons seen on the scoring display. Each correct set of buttons briefly releases the ball for more bumper hits, and two video modes must be completed to finish the hurry-up successfully. Every successful completion of this hurry-up during the current wizard mode run will require one more video mode to complete.

Mania: Andrea Berton, the second person to assume the persona of Mania, has been infected with a unique strain of the Symbiote which contains a mysterious Hell-Mark.[3] The left ramp, right ramp, and Carnage ramp will light in a random order to remove the Hell-Mark, with the hurry-up value increasing by 1 million per shot, up to 3 million for the third, final shot.

Superior Venom: Doctor Octopus becomes Superior Venom after stealing Agent Venom's Symbiote, using aggressive methods to defeat enemies that the Avengers do not approve of.[4] To defeat Superior Venom and complete the hurry-up, the player must shoot all four ramps in a particular order, as shown by the flashing ramp arrows. However, this mission has one unique hazard - there are magnets in the area in front of the SUIT target bank that will cause the ball to move erratically as if it was grabbed by Superior Venom's tendrils. Every time a hurry-up is collected without failure, the player will have an extra chance to shoot a lit ramp if the value depletes.

Mac Gargan: Mac Gargan, the Scorpion, was also infected by the Symbiote - making Spider-Man's hectic life even more stressful.[5] Both the left and right ramps are used in this hurry-up. One ramp will be slowly flashing, while the other will very quickly flash; the slowly flashing ramp will reset the timer, while the quickly flashing ramp will dodge Scorpion's tail and increasing the hurry-up value by 1 million. Making one successful tail dodge will complete the hurry-up successfully.

Agent Venom: After losing his legs in his service in the Iraq War, Flash Thompson chooses to take part in an experiment, where the symbiote turns him into a supersoldier named Agent Venom.[6] In this hurry-up, the player must first shoot either the left or right ramp to set the base hurry-up value, then hit the spinner at the wall-crawler mini-loop as many times as possible to multiply the value while one of his guns in the right apron shoots at the ball to keep it from draining for about 20 seconds. The hurry-up can be completed by shooting the sinkhole in front of the mini-loop.

Wallcrawler Battle: After Spider-Man frees himself of the Symbiote, resulting in Eddie Brock becoming Venom, the two fight each other.[7] If the player spells VENOM vs. SPIDER-MAN by shooting the spinner at the Wall-crawler mini-loop enough times, this mission will light at the sinkhole in front of the mini-loop. In this mission, the player must help Spider-Man defeat Venom by exploiting the Symbiote's weaknesses - heat and sound. Either the bell tower ramp or flame ramp will be lit at the start of the mode, and must be shot to score the first value worth a minimum of 5 million; following this, once the 30 second timer for the shot reaches 20 seconds, the lit ramp will switch to whichever one isn't lit as the battle continues. Spider-Man will successfully defeat Venom and complete the mission after 6 correct ramp hits, with the sixth shot collecting the total score of the mission again (usually about 40 million points) and lighting the objective solidly. Shooting either the bell tower or flame ramps outside of this mission will increase the reward for shooting them when lit during the mission by 100,000 points.

Black Suit Multiball: Spider-Man was the first known host of the Symbiote in its first Marvel Comics appearance.[8] If the player is able to hit two adjacent targets in the SUIT target bank, the letters hit will lower to expose part of a bank of three saucers: a left one that opens when the letters SU are hit, a middle on that opens when the letters UI are hit and a right one that opens when the letters IT are hit. In order for a valid target hit to register, the player must hit a flashing target that cycles positions every time the flippers are operated, unless a ball is currently being held; if an already lit target is shot, the target bank will reset. To lock a ball, the player must open an empty ball locker through the abovementioned method and lock the ball inside it (or successfully make a double skill shot). Balls can be locked as soon as an empty saucer is accessible, but completing all four targets will light Anti-Venom at either outlane. Once all 3 balls have been locked, the objective will solidly light up, and a 3-ball multiball based on Spider-Man's experience with the black suit will begin. The player can earn jackpots worth 1 million by shooting the left and right ramps, and shooting both ramps will light a 4 million super jackpot at the flame ramp. Each jackpot will also sling a web on the ramp that was shot, and hitting the webs will award a double jackpot; if both are hit, the torch ramp will be lit for a double super jackpot. The base jackpot will increase by 100,000 points if two balls are locked back into the empty saucers within 10 seconds, which will remain exposed for the entirety of the multiball. Once the player drains down to one ball, multiball will end.

Goo Ball: The Symbiote has a very slimy texture, and it can be shaped into different objects if one of its victims can control it. If the player spells GOO on the right upper target bank within 30 seconds, the sinkhole in front of the mini-loop will light to start this mission, in which Venom will create a goo ball out of the Symbiote and throw it down the right inlane. The player has to send this goo ball back at him and solidly light the objective by shooting the left ramp within 30 seconds; however, the goo ball has different physics and cannot bounce whatsoever due to its stickiness. At the end of the mission, regardless of success or failure, the goo ball is destroyed and the normal ball will be ejected from the upper sinkhole. Each completion of Goo Ball scores a bonus starting at 3 million and increasing by 1 million each time the mission is completed. (If the goo ball drains, it won't count as a drain - just the end of the mission.)

Once all six objectives have been completed at least once, Maximum Carnage will be ready to start at the lower left saucer. Based on the 1993 crossover comic series of the same title, this final wizard mode involves Spider-Man, Venom and various Marvel superheroes teaming up to defeat Carnage. At the start of the wizard mode, the jackpot value will be shown on the display, worth 1 million points multiplied by however many objectives have been completed before starting the wizard mode - a minimum of 6 million points per shot. This mission is divided into 3 phases:

In the first phase, Spider-Man makes a reluctant alliance with Venom to fight Carnage. To attack Carnage, the player must first shoot either the Carnage ramp or the right ramp, then shoot a randomly lit lane depending one where the ball ends up - either the left ramp or bell tower ramp for the former shot, or the mini-loop or flame ramp for the latter shot. The player has 30 seconds per lit shot, each scoring the jackpot value, and 5 successful attacks against Carnage will complete the first phase successfully. If the timer runs out, the wizard mode will fail and all table progress will be reset.

The second phase depicts various Marvel superheroes coming through to stop Carnage, with a 4-ball multiball - 3 balls are added, each representing Captain America, Dagger and Deathlok. Each ball portrays a different hero, and the player must shoot the correct hero ball (indicated by a red outline) at a flashing lane to earn a jackpot. If the player makes consecutive lit shots with the correct hero ball, the jackpot value will be multiplied by 2x, then 3x, then 4x, etc. until either a lane is hit with a different ball or a 20-second time limit to make the next jackpot lane runs out. This phase continues until all but one ball is lost.

In the final phase, the player must defeat Carnage once and for all by shooting the last, remaining ball into the upper sinkhole in front of the Wall-crawler sinkhole to collect all the points that were scored while defeating Carnage during the first phase. Doing so successfully plays a figure animation in which Venom knocks Carnage to the lower half of the playfield and a swinging Spider-Man kicks him back into his pit cage. Failing to do so by draining the ball will result in Carnage escaping, and the ball ending with no end-of-ball bonus.

Side modes

There are no side modes on this table. All modes must be completed to reach the wizard mode.

Perks

The following perks can be activated during play:

Ball Saver: At the start of each ball and multiball, a 15-second ball saver will activate. Once it expires, it cannot be reactivated normally.

Anti-Venom: Anti-Venom is a Symbiote character that can cure anyone infected with Spider-Man's abilities. If the player spells SUIT completely at the middle, lower target bank, a virtual ball saver will activate at the left outlane. If only one outlane is lit, it will cycle between outlanes if either slingshot is hit. Anti-Venom persists between balls, and returns the ball the same way as the ball saver. If a ball is saved using Spider-Sense while Anti-Venom is lit, a bonus score starting at 1 million points increasing by 500,000 per success will be awarded and Anti-Venom will be unlit. Spelling SUIT while both outlanes are lit for Anti-Venom will light an extra ball the first time it is spelled.

Ball Capture: If the player hits the upper left target bank with enough strength, the ball will fall behind the targets and be brought to a capture saucer, where it can be saved as a backup ball that Venom can throw back into play the next time the ball drains. This captured ball functions as an infinite ball saver, and only one ball can be webbed at a time. If the capture saucer is shot when a ball is already captured, a web award worth 100,000 points + 100,000 per shot will be awarded.

Spider-Sense: Spider-Man can use his spider-senses to evade danger. If the player drains the ball into an outlane, the player has a chance to nudge the table through the one-way diverter gate between the inlane and outlane and return to normal play.

Bonus Multiplier: The bonus multiplier can be advanced and held on the Jailbreak mini-playfield. To advance the bonus multiplier, the player must hit the saucer to the left of the top JAILBREAK target bank, then hit the large question-mark shaped ramp to raise the bonus multiplier by +1x, up to a max of 6x per mini-playfield attempt, but with no known limit otherwise. The multiplier can be held if the captive ball lane is hit with enough strength 10 times. Hitting the captive ball another 10 times while the multiplier is held lights an extra ball.

Combos: Shooting the bell tower ramp and the Carnage ramp within 10 seconds of each other will light either the left ramp or right ramp to score a 3-way combo worth 3 million points for 10 seconds, depending on which shot was hit. If the right ramp is hit, the flame ramp will briefly light to score a 4-way combo worth 4 million points, increasing by 1 million points each time a 4-way combo is collected on the current ball.

Extra Ball: An Extra Ball can be lit at the sinkhole in front of the Wall-crawler mini-loop if the player completes half of the objectives, completes all 5 host hurry-ups, or lights Anti-Venom when it is already lit at both outlanes. Extra Ball can also be lit at the scoop on the Jailbreak mini-playfield if the player hits the captive ball lane 10 times while the bonus multipliers are held. All extra balls can only be collected once per session.

Tips

If you haven't captured a ball yet, do so as soon as you can. Capturing the ball acts as an infinite ball saver, helpful if you're going for dangerous shots like the SUIT target bank, and can give you all the stamina you need to make it through the six objectives and get to Maximum Carnage - it can even save you if you drain during one of the missions. Anti-Venom is also rather easy to light, as you'll be aiming for the SUIT targets to lock balls for Black Suit Multiball anyway. Extra balls are tougher to come by and shouldn't be prioritized as much as the ball capture, but are definitely possible to collect - particularly the first one, for completing three out of six objectives.

This table boasts a complex design that takes some work to figure out if you're new to the table. Before playing the table seriously, try to play some practice games to get used to the table's design and understand how to access each the many different lanes and targets. Remember - backhand shots are always an option, and can be especially helpful when it comes to making the Carnage ramp shot.

Some missions are much easier to start and complete than others; in particular, the Goo Ball mission and the Host Hurry-Ups can potentially add a ton of points to the wizard jackpot when they’re completed, thanks to how easy they are to activate in comparison to the other missions (the GOO target bank lights Goo Ball, and the bumper lights hurry-ups at the Carnage ramp). The highest scoring mission, however, is Jailbreak, especially if you focus on increasing the timer for Carnage Frenzy before you exit the mini-playfield.

If you can't determine the correct plunger strength for the skill shot, don't bother with it. Locking balls from the double skill shot gets in the way of potentially lighting Anti-Venom, and with a particular amount of strength, the ball will be plunged down the left outlane with no compensation ball saver. Plunging at full strength will get the ball on a flipper more reliably.

References & Easter Eggs

The complex, multi-leveled layout shares many similarities to Bally's 1988 pinball machine, Blackwater 100. While Bally's table was a decidedly multiball-based affair, Venom primarily focuses on translating single-ball rules into a complex playfield layout.

The Jailbreak mini-playfield shares a similar layout to Williams' unique Varkon pinball machine - notable for being a pinball machine in an arcade-style cabinet. Both layouts have five targets in the center, and a short but difficult ramp shot to the side.

The Spider-Sense outlane save feature has a real-life equivalent in Bally's Centaur, where balls that drain down either outlane can be saved if the player nudges the machine with just the right amount of strength.

Wolverine

"I'm the best there is at what I do, but what I do best isn't very nice." - Wolverine

Wolverine is one of the first four Marvel pinball tables released in 2010, initially released for Pinball FX2. Based on the iconic Marvel mutant, this table challenges the player to fight against four of Wolverine's deadly adversaries.

Objective

There are four enemies Wolverine must defeat over the course of the game by completing missions, with a Last Page wizard mode qualified for playing them all. Each mission is started differently, and all missions except for Silver Samurai Multiball need to be completed.

Mode stacking is not possible, though if Sabretooth is started during Sentinel, the former mission will take priority over the latter. Sentinel will resume from where it left off after winning or failing Sabretooth.

The Hand: Shooting the reverse scoop from the upper flipper sends the ball to the left plunger, and starts a mode where the player has to defeat three Hand Ninjas, represented as targets. The player must then use the left plunger to shoot the ball back into play up the habitrail; if they want, they can press the launch button and drop the ball above one of the ninjas to defeat them instantly. The player must hit all three targets in 30 seconds, each target scoring 200,000 points with a timer bonus of either 500,000 or 1 million depending on the seconds remaining.

Sentinel: Every bumper hit causes the Sentinel to scan for mutants. After 50 bumper hits, it will detect Wolverine, and a hurry-up will start where the player has 10 seconds to shoot either saucer to lock in a value starting at 5 million and decreasing to 500,000 points. When this value is locked in or reaches its minimum, the mission will start proper, where one of the three ramps is lit at a time to score the hurry-up value; to defeat the Sentinel, the player must shoot six lit ramps within 60 seconds. Successfully winning the mission scores 5 million points and lights the bumpers for 1 million per hit for 45 seconds.

Silver Samurai Multiball: Light locks by shooting the center ramp, followed by the randomly lit saucer within 10 seconds - then lock balls by shooting the left ramp. Lock 3 balls this way to power up the Silver Samurai and start multiball, with the 3 locked balls entering play via Wolverine's pop-up hand in the back table wall. Each ramp scores a jackpot worth 500,000 points, which increases by 10,000 per spinning disc target hit and can be doubled or tripled for 15 seconds by locking balls in the saucers. Collecting all three jackpots lights the reverse scoop for a super jackpot worth a flat 5 million points; collecting the super jackpot resets the jackpot sequence.

Sabretooth: Shoot the targets in front of the spinning disc to open it up; each lit target shot multiplies the number of days awarded for each target hit in the spinning disc by 1x to a max of 4x. Once 365 days have been collected, the mission will begin. In 90 seconds, the player must defeat Sabretooth by first locking the ball into either saucer, then shooting a ball up the jump ramp to hit each of the four drop targets for 1 million points each. All four targets must be hit once to win the mission, and it is possible to hit two consecutive targets in a single jump ramp shot at certain angles. Completing the mission scores 5 million points and lights the spinning disc to score 1 million points per target for 45 seconds,

Once all four missions are completed, The Last Page will be ready to start at either saucer and all missions will be suspended until the player starts the wizard mode. In this 3-ball victory multiball, all shots score 500,000 points, and locking all balls in play into the spinning disc will award 100,000 points per target hit. Scoring during the wizard mode can be multiplied by up to 3x by completing Adamantium Ball. After the wizard mode ends, all mission progress and the Last Page multiplier will reset.

Side modes

Fastball Special: Every six shots to the right ramp (+3 per activation of this mode per ball) during normal play begins a 30-second timed mode where all drag on the ball is removed, making it faster and lighter. All lanes score 500,000 points or 1 million points depending on how quickly each shot is fully registered. The time limit can be extended by 10 seconds, even while Fastball Special is already active, by completing FAST at the standup targets. Playing this mode twice in a single ball lights the extra ball.

Rage Frenzy: Collecting combos at the left and right ramp scores 100,000 x the length of the combo (up to 400,000), and adds a letter to RAGE. During normal play, shooting the right ramp when all four letters are lit begins a mode where the player must collect 3 million points in 30 seconds, with each lit lane scoring 500,000 points. Winning the mode will hold the bonus multiplier if it isn't already held, or award 5 million points if it is.

Adamantium Ball: Spelling BOND with four shots to the left ramp qualifies Adamantium Ball at the left saucer. The goal of this 2-ball multiball is to charge one of the balls with adamantium by quickly locking a ball into each saucer, with only 10 seconds to lock the remaining ball once one ball hits a saucer. The player must then lock the adamantium-charged ball in the Weapon X tank for 1 million via the left ramp or 3 million via the reverse scoop; this also increases the multiplier for scoring during The Last Page.

Perks

Skill Shot: Skill shots can be collected at the start of each ball and whenever a ball has been locked for Silver Samurai Multiball. Plunge the ball into either flashing top lane to score 500,000 points.

Ball Saver: Ball save activates for 30 seconds at the start of each new ball and multiball mode. To prevent unfair drains from the spinning disc, a short free ball saver activates when the ball exits it.

Kickback: Hitting both targets on the right standup target bank on the right side of the table activates the kickback at the left outlane. Kickback activations stack to no known limit.

Regeneration Save: Spelling HEAL at the return lanes, which alternate with the flippers, qualifies the regeneration save at the right outlane. If the ball drains down the right outlane when this is lit, the ball will be shot back into play for a time-limited chance to shoot the ball into the Weapon X tank, either through the reverse scoop or the left ramp, to save the ball, score 500,000 points, and keep playing; failure to hit either lane within the time limit will disable the flippers and end the ball. The value for making a successful regeneration save increases by 500,000 points each time HEAL is completed while it is already lit, and making a regeneration save using the reverse scoop lights an extra ball.

Claw Save: Shooting the left saucer five times to spell SNIKT qualifies the claw save. The next time a ball drains without a ball save active, the claw save will push the ball back into play between the flippers. Claw saves can't be stacked.

Bonus Multiplier: Completing the top lanes - which don't change with the flipper buttons - increases the bonus multiplier by 2x to a max of 10x. Completing the top lanes when the multiplier is maxed or winning the Rage Frenzy side mode holds the bonus multiplier over to the next ball, and completing the top lanes when the bonus multiplier is held lights an extra ball (if they weren't held the previous ball).

Claw Strike: During normal play, repeatedly shooting the orbits scores combo points starting at 150,000 points for a 2-way combo + 150,000 per orbit. After enough combos are made this way (2 + 1 per activation), shooting the slowly flashing orbit scores a 1 million Claw Strike, while shooting the rapidly flashing orbit scores a 3 million Counter Claw Strike.

Amnesia Wheel: Three shots to the right saucer will cause the spinning disc to rotate and reveal an award roulette. Within 15 seconds, the player can shoot the ball into the spinning disc, and whichever award slot the ball is in when the disc slows down will be scored. Wolverine can remember the following:

    Lighting a lock (for Silver Samurai Multiball)

    Advancing the bonus multiplier

    Holding the bonus multiplier

    Starting Adamantium Ball

    Lighting the kickback

    Activating the Claw Save

Claw Coins: When Wolverine's arm activates at the back of the playfield, one of the lanes will have a claw coin icon above it. Collecting this icon by nudging the ball into the lane scores 200,000 points.

Extra Balls: Extra balls can be lit at the right saucer by maxing out the bonus multiplier, playing Fastball Special twice on a single ball (the in-game guide mistakenly says this must be started three times), or by completing Regeneration Save with a shot up the reverse scoop.

Tips

The highest scoring in the game comes from the "winner's award" scoring after completing the Sentinel and Sabretooth missions - particularly the former, which is easier to start and complete. The orbits' Claw Strike behavior takes priority over the far more valuable bumper scoring, but this can be disabled by starting either multiball mode right after defeating Sentinel and repeatedly shooting the bumpers. This strategy can average 100 million points just for hitting the bumpers repeatedly!

Unless you really want to make it to the Last Page, it's generally best to ignore the Hand mission - in particular, you should avoid sneakily defeating either the center or right Hand Ninja, as this can lead to a dangerous drain. Hold the ball on either flipper and let the mission time out, and remember - you don't need to use the upper flipper if you don't want to.

There's no reason not to have the Claw Save active; the left saucer is a safe shot from the right flipper, and the feed from the saucer can be nudge passed from the left to the right flipper. Claw Save can make ball times far longer than they would otherwise be.

World War Hulk

"I am the Green Scar! I am the Worldbreaker! I AM THE HULK!" - Hulk

World War Hulk is one of the four Marvel pinball tables that are part of the Avengers Chronicles Pack, released in 2012 and available for Zen Pinball 2, Pinball FX 2 and Pinball FX 3. The table is based on the eponymous 2007 comic book series in which an enraged Hulk, exiled into space by fellow superheroes to keep him from endangering others, returns with an army to wreck vengeance on them.

Table overview

The upper half of the table

The back table wall reflects the ruins of New York City, devastated by the wrath of the Hulk and his Warbound. The back left corner of the table is the site of a big left hairpin turn of a high-rising ramp marked RAGE, which takes the ball along a exit habitrail running along the left table wall en route to the left inlane. Part of it resembles Brooklyn Bridge, a famous bridge of the city. The center of the back table wall is an electronic sign, possibly from Times Square. Near and front of it, is the start of the table's right exit habitrail, originating from a crossramp labelled HIVELING, referring to the bug-like appearance of the Sakaarans. Multiple lanes merge into this exit habitrail ramp that travels all the way to the right inlane.

A scale model of a Sakaaran stone ship floats near the back right corner of the table, prominently looming over the table's right two lanes. It has a ball locker and a tractor beam. To the right of the crossramp is a platform comprising of crumbling asphalt where a figure of the Hulk stands after his exile in Sakaar. The severed torch-holding hand of the Statue of Liberty lays further to the back left of the platform. Three major lanes pass under this platform, which are the left orbit marked with inserts spelling SAKAAR, the entrance to the left ramp, and the left end of the mini-orbit. These two ramp shots can be blocked with drop targets representing Wolverine's adamantium claws. The left ramp's entry can also be blocked by a pop-up sinkhole.

The table's main orbit wraps around a number of table lanes, though not most of them. There is also another, smaller orbit that spells WARBOUND through shots up either end. The inside wall of the mini-orbit's apex opens to a bumper area. Balls that enter this bumper area can exit either left out of the left entry of the Warbound mini-orbit or right in front of the mission sinkhole, which sits directly to the right of the rightmost bumper, and is shaped into the entrance of a New York subway station that is blocked by a drop target that can be removed after multiple hits. In front of the frontmost bumper is the reverse scoop, marked with inserts spelling ARENA, leading into an exit habitrail that merges with that of the table's leftmost ramp, dedicated to the Hulk himself and spelling his name.

The reverse scoop can be blocked by an adamantium claw drop target, or by a pop-up sinkhole that diverts the ball to the Arena mini-playfield. To the right of the mission sinkhole is the right entry of the mini-orbit. There are two more lanes directly to the right of this lane. The first is the entrance of the right ramp, marked STRENGTH, which merges with the exit of the crossramp. The second is the table's right orbit, which spells SHIP and refers to the spacecraft the Hulk used to return to Earth. Adamantium claw drop targets can block the right ramp, which can also be blocked by a pop-up sinkhole, just like the left ramp. The right orbit is gated by a spinner marked by the insignia of the SHIELD agency.

The lower half of the table

To the right of where the left exit habitrail passes through the Brooklyn Bridge is the leftmost ramp. After a short rise, it takes a right turn into an exit habitrail that immediately forks into two paths: a shorter looping path that dumps the ball in the left inlane, or a longer path that travels across the table (which the reverse scoop's exit habitrail merges into) to merge with the right exit habitrail. Ahead of that junction, there is a dropdown that can be operated manually with the launch button or automatically to drop the ball to the mini-flipper.

Directly to the right of the leftmost ramp is the entrance to a saucer marked with the letters in GAMMA. Balls that enter the saucer exit through a gate directly above the left inlane, and are sent to the left flipper. A figure of Wolverine may stand in front of this sinkhole. A right-facing standup target bank used for random awards sits to the right of the saucer entrance, and is best accessed with the upper flipper on the right side of the table. In front of it is a left-facing target bank marked SAVE, with two targets scoring two letters each. A figure of The Thing stands near these features. The front half of each table wall also has a pop-out laser beam that can rotate to hit the Hulk figure. Behind the plunger's diagonal turn is a VUK, which pops the ball up a short habitrail merging with the right exit habitrail.

There are five return lanes that spell the phrase SMASH AGAIN, with each lane collecting one letter in each word. There are also two slingshots, marked with inserts for the bonus multipliers, and two flippers. Midway through both return lanes are pop-up posts that hold the ball just before they reach either flipper. Each outlane is guarded by a standard kickback. The aprons appear to represent the Upper Bay, with the left apron containing the head of the Statue of Liberty and the right apron featuring a fallen ship turned on its side. Both landmarks are used to indicate kickbacks.

The arena mini-playfield

Underneath the table is a mini-playfield that represents the arena. It is highly symmetrical and comprises of a major orbit wrapping around the entrances of two dueling ramps, which wrap around a miniloop; in the center of the miniloop is a central sinkhole used to exit the mini-playfield. The dueling ramps rise and intersect at a point behind the central miniloop, before forming loops that dump the ball down one of the mini-playfield's two return inlanes that is closer to the entrance of the ramp that was just used. (The left ramp takes the ball to the left inlane and vice versa.) The entrances to each ramp can raise, in which case they need to be hit with the ball to lower.

Four of these lanes each represent superheroes who had to fight in the arena: the left orbit represents Iron Man, the right orbit represents Doctor Strange, the left miniloop entry represents Mr. Fantastic and the right miniloop entry represents Black Bolt. There are two slingshots, two return lanes and two mini-flippers. Balls that enter the mini-playfield do so through a door in the wall of the left return lane. They also re-enter there if the player drains within 15 seconds of activating the mini-playfield. A center post lies between the flippers.

The plunger

The plunger is a spring-loaded mechanism that launches the ball up a straight shaft that takes a diagonally left turn. To enter the main playfield, the ball exits the plunger shaft through a thin one-way gate that separates the plunger shaft from the right outlane. The plunger is themed off of a ship harbor, with a rotating crane gauging the strength of the plunger. A strong shot will take the ball up the crossramp, while weaker shots can strike the left standup target bank.

Skill shots worth 500,000 points can be scored by plunging with minimal strength, such that the ball hits one of the three lit targets in the standup target bank.

Main & side missions

As the Hulk, take revenge on the superheroes who exiled you to space, and thwart efforts to evacuate innocent civilians in the chaos that ensues.

Main missions

The four main missions are qualified by shooting the gate target in front of the mission sinkhole five times, and are started by shooting the ball into the mission sinkhole. The player can select a mission upon shooting the sinkhole using the flippers and launch button. Main missions can't be repeated until the final mission has been won. Missions score 25 million points upon completion.

Hulkbuster: To defeat the Hulkbuster, the Hulk must land six devastating attacks, three per side. Attack the left side by shooting the reverse scoop then shooting the hole under the left ramp; and attack the right side by shooting the leftmost ramp followed by a shot to the hole under the right ramp. The holes under each ramp only raise for 15 seconds.

The Thing: Land three blows on the Thing by making the following shot sequence three times: reverse scoop, leftmost ramp, crossramp. If the player shoots the leftmost ramp, but fails to make the crossramp, the sequence will time out and the reverse scoop must be shot. If the player fails to land three hits before the 90 second timer depletes, the mission fails; 10 seconds of time can be added by shooting the mini-orbit.

Wolverine: Destroy four adamantium claw drop targets, then shoot the four ramps that they block. The color of the claws indicate how to destroy them: green claw targets must be destroyed with a gamma ball and blue claw targets must be destroyed with an adamantium ball. The former can be obtained for 20 seconds by shooting the saucer, while the latter can be obtained for 20 seconds by shooting the leftmost ramp.

Doctor Strange: Shoot the left and right ramps to summon two additional balls for 3-ball multiball, then shoot six lit lanes to defend against Doctor Strange's attacks while keeping at least two balls in play. After the requisite lanes are shot, lock the remaining balls in the ship for 3, 2, and 1 million points each by shooting either the left or right orbit.

Side missions

The three required side missions can be started during normal play; they only need to be started to complete them, and must all be started to unlock the final mission. If the ball drains while a side mission is available to start, they must be qualified again on the next ball; otherwise, progress is retained between balls.

Evacuate Manhattan: Shoot the left ramp five times followed by the pop-up hole under it to start this side mission. Assist Iron Man in evacuating civilians by the truckload. Each truck can hold up to 50 civilians - 5 can be loaded onto the truck by shooting any major shot, and 10 can be loaded by shooting the leftmost ramp or the crossramp. Shooting the reverse scoop evacuates the current truck so that more evacuees can be collected, while shots to the mini-orbit extend the timer by 10 seconds. The player can rescue as many civilians as possible before time expires to end the mode for a bonus of 100,000 x the number of civilians collected. Subsequent attempts at this side mission will be a 2 or 3-ball multiball; the player will only collect the bonus if the timer runs out.

Sakaar Multiball: Spell SAKAAR at the left orbit and SHIP at the right orbit to light the lock at both orbits, then lock 3 balls into the toy Sakaar ship model hovering over the right orbit to start Sakaar Multiball. 3-ball multiball will begin with the locked balls launching out of the ship. All major shots award jackpots worth 250,000, and must each be collected once to relight the jackpots and increase their value by 100,000.

Maximum Strength: Five shots to the right ramp followed by a shot to the pop-up hole under it will start a quick 3-ball multiball. During this multiball, the mini-orbit will always send balls to the bumpers, and each bumper hit will score a jackpot starting at 2,000 points increasing by 2,000 points for each major lane shot. Bumper hits during this multiball will also defeat Hivelings and advance the bonus multiplier as usual.

Final Mission

Once all seven listed missions have been completed, the next shot to the mission sinkhole will start the final mission, a 4-ball multiball with a very short ball saver. The player must shoot as many lit lanes as possible without draining to a single ball to build up the Hulk's rage for a final attack - but the shots will only relight after all other shots have been made. Failing to hit lit lanes quickly will cause the rage meter to decrease, though if all lit lanes are hit and the Hulk still does not have full rage, more lanes will light to hit. Once the rage meter is completely full, the player can finish the mission for 50 million points by locking all remaining balls in the pop-up sinkhole in front of the reverse scoop. The player is only allowed one attempt at this mode before the table resets.

Side modes

The Arena: Spell ARENA at the reverse scoop, then shoot the sinkhole in front of it to access the mini-playfield. In the mini-playfield, shoot all four lanes marked with a superhero once, knock down the targets blocking the two ramps followed by the ramps themselves, and finally shoot the exit sinkhole at the center, all without losing the ball. If the side mode is won, the next activation of the mini-playfield will start a 3-ball multiball where all lanes score jackpots worth 500,000 points.

Double Scoring: Shooting the saucer five times to spell GAMMA lights the leftmost ramp to double all scoring for 30 seconds, indicated by the flashing "double scoring" insert near the mission lights. Double scoring can be qualified during main play and can be activated during any mission, though The Thing will disable this feature due to the leftmost ramp being used in the mission.

Perks

Ball Saver: At the start of each ball and multiball, a 15-second ball saver will activate. Once it expires, it can be reactivated as a random award, or by shooting the leftmost ramp and then shooting both targets in the SAVE target bank. Only one target can be collected per leftmost ramp shot. If more than one ball is in play, the ball saver will only save the first ball that drains.

Kickbacks: Spelling SMASH on the return lanes will activate the left kickback, while spelling AGAIN on the same lanes will activate the right kickback. Both kickbacks are only good for the current ball. The lit letters for each word can be cycled with the flippers.

Hivelings & Bonus Multiplier: Every bumper hit kills 1 hiveling, while every crossramp shot kills 5 hivelings. Every 30 hivelings killed increases the bonus multiplier by +2x up to 10x, and killing 200 hivelings resets the counter and awards an extra ball. If bonus X is already maxed, then 1 million points is awarded instead.

Combos: Shooting any lane awards a base value of 50,000 points + 50,000 points for a 2-way combo + 100,000 points for each combo thereafter, up to 6-way before the combos reset.

Random Award: Striking all three targets in the left target bank scores a random award: 1 or 5 million points, activating the ball saver, advancing the bonus multiplier, or an extra ball.

Warbound: Spelling WARBOUND with shots up either end of the Warbound miniloop will collect one of the five Warbound members. Each member scores 250,000 points and adds 1 million points to end-of-ball bonus.

Extra Balls: Extra balls can be collected instantly by killing 200 hivelings or from a random award.

Tips

Like in many of Mad_Boy's tables, missions are the highest scoring feature in the game - 25 million points per main mission, and 50 million points for winning the final mission. The points for completing Doctor Strange and the final mission are easier to double than those for the other missions.

The toughest of the four main missions is arguably Hulkbuster due to the six shots required and the return lane posts getting in the way. If the posts throw you off, press the launch button to deactivate them so you can make the shots easier, and be sure to light the kickbacks before starting this mission.

The bumpers are integral to killing hivelings and collecting the extra ball for killing 200 of them. The easiest way to access the bumpers is to start Maximum Strength by shooting the right ramp five times, then shooting the bumpers as many times as possible.

X-Men

"We need to know more about your mutant powers." - Charles Xavier

X-Men is one of the four Marvel pinball tables released as part of the Vengeance and Virtue pack, and is the fourth and final table in that pack to be released in late 2011, available for Zen Pinball 2, Pinball FX 2 and Pinball FX 3.

This is the first pinball adaptation of the X-Men comics series; Stern would release a physical table based on the series the following year.

Table overview

The upper half of the table

The back wall of the table is evocative of the Danger Room, a special training chamber for mutants to train to master their powers. There is a small circular platform that connects to the left half of the back table wall, where balls locked for a particular mission are stowed and released back into play. Next to the door just above where the platform connects to the back table wall are a series of lamps indicating sub-missions needed to lock balls there. The main area of the Danger Room occupies much of the back right corner of the table.

Two ramps run underneath the abovementioned ball locking platform. One of them is the right turn of the Unite ramp, and the other is the left turn of Cyclops' crossramp. The entrance of the former is further down the table, lodged between two lanes: a left orbit dedicated to Wolverine and a miniloop dedicated to Phoenix/Jean Grey. The latter runs underneath the rising entrance of the Unite ramp and merges back into the former. A diverter gate within the former can divert the ball into a sinkhole behind the right side of the latter to lock balls onto the platform above. The Unite ramp's overall path forms a huge, crude question-mark, ending at a circular platform that spins the ball to drop it into the left inlane.

The Wolverine left orbit is half of an asymmetrical table orbit that wraps around the entrances of most table lanes, but not all. The other side of this main orbit is a crosslane dedicated to Storm. To the right of the Phoenix miniloop is a target bank dedicated to Magneto, a rogue mutant who believes mutants are superior and is a common enemy of the X-Men. This target bank can collapse to expose a sinkhole. The center target spells his name. A figure of him stands right behind it. Magnets are also installed in front of Magneto's target bank. Behind Magneto's figure is the entrance of the abovementioned Cyclops crossramp, traveling left to curve around the back left corner of the table to drop the ball down Wolverine's orbit.

The entrance of Cyclops' ramp is perpendicular to that of another miniloop dedicated to Nightcrawler. It curves right to merge with Storm's orbit. Between the entrances of Nightcrawler's miniloop and the Storm's orbit is the entrance of another ramp dedicated to Iceman. As it rises, it takes a right hairpin turn towards the front of the table and snakes to a track switch that can take the ball to one of two destinations: a normal, longer snaking path that is blue and laden with ice, leading to the right inlane and past its rollover, or a shorter dropdown path leading back to the plunger shaft. A small mini-flipper is placed near the entrance of Storm's orbit, used to access Cyclops' crossramp. A side-facing sinkhole is also right beside it.

In front of the Wolverine orbit, closer to the left table wall, is a mini-flipper used to hit Storm's orbit, as well as the abovementioned sinkhole. Behind this flipper is a hidden pathway that merges into a lane balls use to enter the left plunger. On the other side of the table is a bumper area gating the entrance to a third ramp dedicated to Colossus. It curves left twice to go along the back table wall to lead to an exit habitrail that shares the same destination as the Unite ramp. The leftmost bumper has one of three X-Men symbol targets, which Magneto can remove to expose a sinkhole. This bumper is also behind the abovementioned side sinkhole, which leads to the left plunger under certain conditions.

The lower half of the table

In front of the left mini-flipper is another one of the three X-Men targets. The abovementioned left plunger entry lane begins from a pop-out sinkhole that balls shot into the side sinkhole exit out of and travels for a short distance down into the entrance of the left plunger, representing bio-scans of mutants. Across that sinkhole are the other two bumpers in the bumper area. The frontmost bumper has the last X-Men target. There is a small crude miniloop around this particular bumper that is part of the plunger trajectory, which travels behind the front and left bumpers.

There are 4 return lanes that spell HANK, the alter-ego of the Beast. There are also two rebounds, two main flippers and two kickbacks that behave differently, one for each outlane. The abovementioned circular platform that spins the ball and drops it in the left inlane is installed over the left return lanes. It represents Charles Xavier, leader of a mutant training school. The left kickback is a diverter kickback that is implemented by Nightcrawler's teleporting power; it teleports balls in the left outlane to the left inlane quickly. The right kickback is a high-power spring-loaded kickback that launches the ball back into play and is powered by Jean Grey's ability to become the Phoenix. A figure of Charles Xavier is on the left apron, while lamps for bonus multipliers are installed on the right apron.

The plungers

There are two plungers on this table. The right plunger is the primary plunger that launches the ball into play. It is also a spring-loaded mechanism powered by Cyclops' optical blast, that propels the ball up a straight shaft that drops the ball down a crude miniloop to the right of the frontmost bumper. At full strength, it will take the ball diagonally behind the left and front bumpers and towards the center of the table. The goal of the skill shot, representing Cyclops mastering his laser beam ability, is to guess the correct amount of plunger force to launch the ball up such that it immediately rolls in front of the frontmost bumper.

The left plunger is a special plunger that represents bio-scans of mutants. Its shaft is a glass tube of sorts, tinted blue with a purple chassis. A spring-loaded mechanism launches the ball up the shaft as it slightly rises. There are a series of four flap targets at the end, with each target placed behind a dropdown hole that all drop the ball down the end of the exit habitrail for Colossus' ramp.

Objective and missions

The goal of this table is to help the X-Men master their powers and vanquish their adversaries through four mini-wizard modes, requiring several smaller objectives to be qualified.

X - Unite the X-Men

There are many mutants in the Marvel universe, and Charles Xavier, a mutant with telepathic powers, plans to unite a team of mutants called the X-Men to protect the world. This mission involves collecting 7 mutants in preparation for a battle against Dark Phoenix. There are three ways to collect each of the 7 X-Men represented on the table (Wolverine, Jean Grey, Cyclops, Nightcrawler, Iceman, Storm and Colossus):

Successfully completing a Unite Hurry-Up for a mutant that has yet to be collected.

Successfully completing a Cerebro Hurry-Up.

Spotting a mutant from the Bioscan.

Unite Hurry-Up

The Unite Hurry-Up starts with every six shots to the left ramp, with the first five shots collecting letters in UNITE and the sixth shot starting the hurry-up. Within 30 seconds, the player must shoot any flashing lane representing a mutant that has yet to be collected.

Cerebro Hurry-Up

The Cerebro Hurry-Up starts when the player shoots the left ramp after the phrase XAVIER GIFT is spelled, with a total of 10 revolutions at the circular platform near the left flipper via shots to the side ramp or the bioscan. Within 30 seconds, the player must shoot a randomly selected flashing lane representing a mutant that has yet to be collected.

Mutant Locations & Perks

Each mutant can be collected at a certain shot, and scores one of several perks listed below from top to bottom:

Nightcrawler - Collected at the right mini-loop. Awards 3 stacked activations of the left kickback.

Jean Grey - Collected at the left mini-loop. Awards 3 stacked activations of the right kickback.

Wolverine - Collected at the left orbit. Activates a 30-second ball saver.

Colossus - Collected at the right orbit. Lights the bumpers for 25 hits, required for Control the Power.

Cyclops - Collected at Cyclops' ramp. Qualifies the Super Blast skill shot at the right ramp, required for Control the Power.

Iceman - Collected at the right ramp. "Freezes" the bonus multipliers, carrying them over to the next ball.

Storm - Collected at the side ramp. Enables the spinning disk in front of the side sinkhole for 25 spins, required for Control the Power.

Dark Phoenix Multiball

Once all 7 mutants have been collected, the player must shoot the left ramp to start the Dark Phoenix Multiball, a 4-ball multiball mode depicting Jean Grey's transformation into the Dark Phoenix and the X-Men battling against her together. All lanes award a jackpot worth 1 million that increases by 100,000 for each left mini-loop shot, multiplied by the number of currently active balls in play minus one (i.e. jackpots with 4 balls in play award a triple jackpot and jackpots with 3 balls in play award a double jackpot). This multiball continues until the player drains down to a single ball; simply starting it is enough to collect the X in X-MEN.

M - Defeat Magneto

Magneto, a rogue mutant, believes mutants are superior over other humans and plots to commit villainous acts to maintain their supremacy. To defeat Magneto, the player must first complete four missions, which have their own unique start procedure, and then begin the Final Clash at the right sinkhole. A random mission can also be started by hitting all 3 standup targets and then shooting the right sinkhole. Each mission requires one more shot than before to start on subsequent attempts.

Magneto Missions

The four missions required to light Final Clash are:

Brooklyn Bridge Attack: Magneto destroys the Brooklyn Bridge, and Iceman responds by using his ice powers to build a new one. If the player shoots Cyclops' ramp four times, a mission will begin where the player must shoot the right ramp three times and then the left ramp to complete the bridge within a 60-second timer that pauses when any other lane is shot before the three right ramp shots are made. Shooting the left ramp while the bridge is not yet complete will destroy the bridge and require more shots to the right ramp to be made.

Phoenix In Peril: Magneto kidnaps Jean Grey and the X-Men must save her. Four shots to the left mini-loop will begin this 2-ball multiball mission, where one ball will be trapped near the entrance to the left orbit via a magnet; the player must hit the magnetized ball with a new ball that plunges into play to start the multiball. During the multiball the player must alternate between shooting either the left or right ramp and the flashing Magneto targets. Once the target bank is completed with three shots to each target, the player must lock a ball into the exposed sinkhole behind it. This mission fails if either ball is lost. Locking the second ball within four seconds of finishing the mission will light an extra ball.

Capturing Magneto: Cyclops uses his abilities to blast and subdue Magneto. Shooting the side sinkhole three times will start this mission, and send the ball into the plunger for a skill shot. Making the skill shot will charge the ball with Cyclops' energy for 30 seconds; during this timer, the player must destroy the three metal barriers Magneto places at the entrances of random lanes. If the player misses the skill shot or the ball loses its charge, they must shoot the right ramp to divert the ball to the plunger for another chance to charge the ball. Once the 3 barriers are eliminated, this mission is completed.

Magnetic Frenzy: The X-Men must find a way to overcome Magneto's magnetic abilities. This sub-mission begins when the player completes the Magneto target bank, then locks the ball into the sinkhole behind it. This will start a 2-ball multiball that must be maintained, although a checkpoint will be activated once the first four letters in MAGNETO have been collected. The player must spell MAGNETO by alternating shots between the left or right ramp and the center Magneto target bank; after his name is spelled out, the player must lock one ball into the sinkhole behind the target bank to defeat Magneto and finish the mission. Locking the second ball within four seconds will score a super jackpot worth 15 million points.

Final Clash Multiball

The X-Men prepare for a final battle against Magneto. Once all four missions described above are completed successfully, the player will be given one chance to beat the Final Clash sub-mission, which begins with a shot to the right sinkhole. The battle, fought as a 3-ball multiball, is divided into two phases but only needs to be started to collect the M in X-MEN:

In the first phase, the player must shoot a total of 20 lanes with the balls, although Magneto can summon metal barriers to block some of them that can be removed in one hit.

In the second phase, the player must complete Magneto's target bank once more to open the sinkhole behind it, and then lock at least the last ball into it to defeat Magneto.

E - The Danger Room

Charles Xavier uses the Danger Room to train the X-Men to master their powers. Three missions must be started to qualify the 3 locks for Danger Room Multiball, which can be collected at the left orbit. Each unique mission must be completed to light a lock, and each has a unique starting procedure.

Danger Room Missions

The missions required to light locks for Danger Room Multiball are as follows:

Halt the Juggernaut: The Juggernaut is an unstoppable adversary of the X-Men, but Iceman is willing to challenge him. If the player shoots the right ramp 4 times, a hurry-up depicting one of their battles will begin. The player must make a total of 3 right ramp shots in 30 seconds to defeat Juggernaut, with each shot scoring a hurry-up value starting at 5 million points and decreasing to 100,000 points.

Sense the Traitor: Wolverine must hunt down Mystique, a mutant supervillain with the ability to shapeshift. If the player shoots the left orbit four times, the player will begin a hurry-up where the player must shoot different lanes within 60 seconds to find Mystique. The lane to shoot is random and is not marked, but shooting the left orbit will briefly light the lane where Mystique is hiding. The reward for finding her starts at 5 million and increases by 1 million for every wrong lane shot.

Move the Blob: The Blob's gargantuan size leads to his inevitable downfall against the agile Nightcrawler. If the player shoots the Nightcrawler miniloop four times, a mission will begin depicting a fight between the two. The player must shoot the following lanes in order: Cyclops' ramp, the right ramp, the side ramp, and the left ramp. At the start of the mission, and for each correct shot except the last, Nightcrawler will teleport the ball to a certain flipper so the player can make each shot easily. Each shot during the mission scores 1 million times the ordinal number of the shot.

Danger Room Multiball

The X-Men train to defeat Sentinels, robots that hunt mutants. After locking 3 balls in the Danger Room, a 3-ball multiball will start where the player must shoot all lanes once while maintaining the multiball, then defeat a Sentinel by shooting the left ramp once more for a super jackpot. Once a Sentinel is defeated, the player can shoot all the lanes once again to battle another Sentinel and defeat it with a left ramp shot, repeating the cycle over and over again until all but one ball are lost. Simply starting the multiball will collect the E in X-MEN.

N - Control the Power

The mutants must master their innate powers to protect citizens. This mission involves helping three particular mutants master their abilities: Cyclops, Storm and Colossus, with one objective dedicated to each mutant, to unlock the Omega Hurry-Up. To qualify each scoring feature, the player must collect their representative mutant by any of the three methods described in the Unite the X-Men subsection. The objectives required to start Omega Hurry-Up are:

Cyclops: After collecting Cyclops, collect a Super Blast skill shot by shooting the right ramp when no modes are running. This skill shot scores double the normal values for each rollover.

Storm: After collecting Storm, shoot the spinning disk in front of the side sinkhole 25 times to master her storm-controlling powers. Making 25 spins will also magnetize the ball and spot a right ramp shot.

Colossus: After collecting Colossus, hit the bumpers 25 times to help him master his strength.

Omega Hurry-Up

Once all 3 objectives above are completed, a final hurry-up mission will start with a shot to the left ramp, where the player can shoot the left ramp once more for a hurry-up value starting at 25 million points. Simply starting the hurry-up is enough to collect the N in X-MEN.

X-MEN Bonus

Once all four letters in X-MEN are solidly lit, the flippers will deactivate and a wizard bonus will be scored - worth 50 million points, the current end-of-ball bonus, and a lit extra ball. All progress towards lighting X-MEN will then reset and a new ball will be sent to the plunger.

Perks

The following perks can be activated on the table:

Ball Saver: At the start of each ball and multiball, a 30-second ball saver will activate. Once it expires, it can be reactivated by collecting Wolverine or executing a 5-way combo.

Kickbacks: Kickbacks can be activated by hitting all 3 X-Men targets while a mode is running. (If no kickbacks were previously activated, this will activate one kickback at random.) 3 activations of the left kickback can also be activated by collecting Nightcrawler, while 3 activations of the right kickback can be activated by collecting Jean Grey. Kickbacks persist across balls.

Bonus Multiplier: Hank McCoy, also known as the Beast, is a resourceful researcher. Spelling the name of his alter-ego on the return lane rollovers, which can be cycled with the flippers, will advance the bonus multiplier by +2x up to 10x. The bonus multipliers are only good for the current ball unless a multiplier freeze is earned by collecting Iceman.

Bioscan Awards: Bioscanning can identify mutants and their powers. If the player shoots the right orbit four times, the next shot to the side sinkhole will divert the ball to the left bioscan plunger. The player must determine the correct amount of plunger force that will make the ball press down on a lit target flap and immediately fall down the hole it is directly in front of. Doing so will grant a random award, typically points (between 1 and 2 million), but sometimes collect a random mutant or light an extra ball.

Extra Balls: Extra balls can be lit at the right sinkhole by spelling XAVIER GIFT with shots to the side ramp or Bioscan and then making a total of 25 revolutions to advance the "XAVIER EXTRA BALL" percentage to 100%, locking 2 balls at the sinkhole after finishing the Phoenix in Peril mission, earning a particular bioscan award or by spelling X-MEN.

Tips

With many sub-missions to complete in order to achieve victory, consider this table to be very difficult. You will need a healthy amount of stamina and ball survivability aids to prevail. Look for extra balls to extend your session.

To reach the wizard mode, you need to master upper flipper shots. Use the mini-loops to easily access the flipper you want to reach. Also, you must be skilled at quickly shooting the correct lanes to progress.

Beware Magneto, as he can use his powers to throw the ball in dangerous directions if you shoot an already lit target. To avoid his magnetic abilities, aim carefully when you try to complete his target bank.

Numerous Exciting Features!

- Global leaderboards and friend challenges

- Table-specific achievements

- Comprehensive rule sheets for each table, providing valuable tips and tricks to enhance your score

- Engage in friendly competition with Hot Seat multiplayer mode as you aim for the title of the ultimate pinball wizard.

Novice Guide to Pinball FX3

Welcome fellow novice. Congratulations on picking the pinball game that is the most devoted to having fun and the most forgiving... well sometimes. If like me you tend to whale away on the paddles and use your Luck attribute more than your Skill attribute, there are plenty of tables here that are quite enjoyable. There are also tables that will drive you nuts. We will cover all the tables, as soon as I buy them and get unlazy enough to write about them. First there are some important things to know about Pinball FX3.

When you are playing Single Player always actually play Single Player and not Single Player Classic. First your scores toward moving up the overall leader-board charts are taken from Single Player and also Single Player uses the Upgrades and Upgrades are the key to your success.

See all those scores above your score and wonder how those players were so good with only three balls? Truth is most of them weren't, they used the Rewind Wizard Power which essentially gives you extra balls since you can rewind balls out of the drain. So our goal is to get the Rewind upgrade for each table.

Rewind is earned by hitting level 5 on the Survival Challenge. Don't try it right away though. Go to the guides and Zen Studios: Official Pinball FX3 Guides and click the link. Look up the table you are trying to play and see if you can figure out the Skill Shot. On maybe half the tables the skill shot isn't too hard to hit and it can be great for the Survival Challenge.

The Skill Shot is your shot with the Plunger when you put the ball into play for the first time and when you lose a ball. Depending on the table this shot can be easy and give you lots of points, always a good thing. If it is easy, I'll mention it in the table guide.

Now give the Five Minute Challenge a play. The Five Minute Challenge gives you, as you might suspect, five minutes on the table and it doesn't matter how many times you lose the ball. As you score, you go up levels. If you hit level 5 you gain the Scoring Boast Wizard Power. This mode is a great way to learn about the table. Can you hit the ramps, can you get the ball onto the bumper field for some easy points, is there some way to open the specials and get lots of points? Since it doesn't matter if you lose the ball there is no pressure. Also it is a great way to start unlocking the various passive bonuses. You can get a massive bonus to Bumper Points, longer to hit this high scoring Combos and points just for making the ball roll around the table and more.

Now that you know the table, load up your Passive Upgrades and if you can get it, your Scoring Boost, and try the Survival Challenge. You should try different Passive Upgrades and see which seem to be the most helpful. Often the higher levels are the ones to use because higher level means they are being triggered the most. On a table that is mostly ramp combos, the combo time bonus really helps, while if you are shooting the ball a long way and not get much to show for it, the Distance Bonus is a good pick.

The goal here is to get to level 5 and unlock the Rewind Upgrade. Survival Challenge can be tricky as you have a minute to reach each target score and get to the next level or the game ends. That first level can be the trickiest and this is where the Skill Shot can really help you. Depending on the table the Skill Shot might get you half way or more to your first level. Also if you can get into the bumpers, hold down the X key which triggers the Score Boost Wizard Power, if you got it, and double your score.

If you are struggling, but are nearly there you might try the Five Minute Challenge again and level up your upgrades to get some extra points on the Survival Challenge. If you think you can hit the Skill Shot, the Main Single Player mode is good as you get to try it every time you drain the ball. If you can't get anywhere with a table, try another one for a while and come back to see if your luck changes. Some tables like Tesla are just rough tables unless you are a great pinball technician.

Once you get the Rewind Wizard Skill, take on the Single Player mode. Remember to hold the X down when you lose the ball, not just tap it. The ball will rewind a second, at level 1 Rewind, which is long enough to pull the ball back into play. You can do this three times. Once you get used to this you, are getting three free balls which makes life easier.

Table Mastery

With six balls instead of three you should be able to improve your scores pretty considerably. Now that you are moving up the high score table you might enjoy a little challenge. Click on the Table Mastery banner and you will be whisked away to a huge set of unlockables. They don't do anything but they are fun to unlock and give you nice goals. You usually need 30 to 70 Stars to unlock your first Mastery Reward for a table. Each level of your upgrades and wizard skills gives you a point and every level on the challenges gives you two points. Note that the free table has an unlock at 10 points to encourage you, so you might already have that one.

Remember the stars you need and go back to the main page for the table. You will see how many stars you have, along with how many are available on the table, usually 200. Now raise those stars up to get your unlockable. Since the 1 Ball Challenge is probably at 0, unless you tried it already, and since you have rewind which makes it a 4 ball challenge, rock that table and pick up lots of points at 2 per level. You'll probably also level up your passive upgrades for more points as well. Did you get that model or picture or whatever unlocked? If not, try the 5 minute and survival challenges again and better your scores. Used the Score Bonus Wizard Power on timed tables.

Remember that the Wizard Powers improve when used so make sure to use them up every game. The passive upgrades always improve until they max out at level 10. Just playing the game and getting some levels in the challenges will usually level up your stars enough to get at least the first Table Mastery unlock.

Once you start lighting up lots of Mastery Rewards on different tables, filter for Unlocked Rewards and bask in your awesomeness as a virtual pinball player! It is kind of silly, but surprisingly fun.

Mildly Advanced

Now that you kind of know what the table is about, you might want to read the in game table guide or internet guide. You probably won't absorb everything, but if you find a way to unlock a special mode or multi-ball or the like that seems easy, try it on the table. The key to high scores on most tables is to be able to start a high scoring mode of some kind. For instance on the ET table, it is pretty easy to unlock a strange little Corn maze mini-game that will give you millions of points.

Another trick is to try to get a skillshot score while using the score boast wizard power. It is tricky, but if you are holding down the X when the skillshot hits you will get double points. On one table that I'm quite bad at, I got 12 million points and maxed out survival mode in a single shot.

Once you are feeling comfortable playing, try capturing the ball on one of your paddles. When the ball is slowly rolling onto the paddle, just hold the shift button down for that paddle and let the ball rest there. Of course if you are in a timed mode you might not want to do this for too long. In the regular game, it can be a nice way to catch your breath. It can also change your routine if all the shots are missing their target. The game lives up to the name of Zen as sometimes it seems like you get into a zone and hit everything. Other times you just whale away on the little bits between the lanes and get frustrated. Taking a few seconds break and then letting the ball roll a bit down the paddle before you start again can stop a bad run and start a Zen run.

The main reason to catch the ball is to learn to aim. Often to complete a combo, to launch a mini-game or multi-ball, etc... you need to hit a certain target. If you start to get the feel for where on the paddle you need the ball to be to hit a target, you can improve your game dramatically. I'm really not very good at this which is one reason this is a novice guide. Once you master this skill you will rocket past my scores, wave as you fly by.

Son of Zeus Table

Novice Friendliness: High

Fun Level: Fairly High

Spoiler Alert!

This table which features Hercules, for those not up on who the son of Zeus is, has some nice ramps and easy to start modes. It looks and sounds pretty good as Hercules bellows and moves while being taunted by a very nasty lady. In one mode, he even fights a snake in a nicely animated battle. This is definitely Zen doing what they do best.

The ball seems to move a bit faster than on some of the other tables and play field feels a bit short and squatty, so it may not be good for your first table. If you can handle the overall speed, the Skill shot on this table is awesome and makes it novice friendly.

Skill shot: There are several skill shots, but one is quite easy to hit and gives lots of points. Hold down the Left Shift and you will see a little bit of the plunger ramp slide open. Fire off the ball by holding down Enter until the ball fires up through this bit of the ramp. Let go of the Left Shift and get ready to hit it again in a moment. The ball will fly around the top and roll onto your Left Flipper. Hit one of the flashing ramps for a Big Score. This will help you quite a lot especially on the Challenge Mode. It can be worth using the mutli-ball upgrade to increase this score.

If that isn't enough try hitting the spinner instead of a ramp. You should get five Big Scores in a row if you can make this shot. Now you are really off to a flying start.

Snake: After you have nailed the skill shot, you can try shooting up the middle ramp. After you shoot through the stone serpant's head 5 times which is pretty easy, he comes to life. Hit him 3 more times to help Herc out of his deadly clutches. Then hit the ramps to finish off the snake. Even if you don't finish off the whole process there are plenty of points to be had along the way.

Combos: Just hitting the ramps will trigger plenty of combos and points. The Combo upgrade is one you will want for this table. The spinner will also count as part of combos, but beware the ball can come out at pretty crazy angles.

Medusa: If you can handle the spinner and hit it enough times you might see a whole column rise from the table. This is a chance for more points by hitting the column and lit lanes until Medusa is defeated.

Occasionally by accident I've unlock multi-ball and other modes which are nice surprises. A good early table in your career as a pinball wizard.

Adventureland

Adventureland takes you to an old time carnival with lots of rides. It might take a bit to get used to all the lights, as it is a very bright and flashy table.

Novice Friendliness: Fairly High

Fun Level: High

The Skill shot is almost un-makeable for me which is about the only problem with this table. You need to hit the Aim-Me on the far right and far right and left aren't easy.

This is one of those tables where you really don't have to sweat knowing what is going on that much, as the many modes just seem to start and then you aim for the flashing lanes and targets. Sneak a peak at the display for a tip on what you are supposed to do. Once you hit a few targets, big scores start popping up and lights flash.

The two most important lanes to be able to hit are the blue one up the center that says 'Twin' and the red one of the to the right that says 'Loop'. It seems that a couple of the modes want you to hit one or both of these ramps and will reward a million points when you do. This also seems like a way to open up a lucrative multi-ball mode.

If you have hit loops and nothing much seems to be happening, hit the sinkhole right up the middle as this seems to start some modes.

The loop thing with the big number in the middle isn't too hard but it mystified me at first. You have to hit the shift as the car going around the loop gets to about 7:30 if it were a clock. This gives you a double score flaming ball for a while.

As with the other tables getting rewind will help with the normal modes and the score bonus mode for the timed modes. This is somewhat luck-based for me, but if you can hit a couple ramps you can usually get enough of a jump start to make the first level of challenge mode. Then hope for the quasi-random million points from a ramp or the hands.

Wild West Rampage

Like Adventureland this has a classic pinball theme. It is an older table and isn't the most graphically impressive but it is still fairly fun. Who doesn't want to go to the wild west and duel bad guys and save stagecoaches? Unfortunately most of the modes are pretty hard to win. The one redeeming factor is a skill shot that can make life much easier.

Novice Friendliness: Medium

Fun Level: Pretty High

Skill Shot: Hit the ball hard and it will loop around the table and down to your left paddle. You will see that two ramps on the right side are lit with a blue arrow. Hit either of these ramps for 2 million points. The ball is naturally going in that direction anyway so with a little practice you can make this shot maybe 50% of the time. Of course everytime you make it your skill will go up and you will get extra points for making it. Definately take the Skill Shot as one of your two passive bonuses. This will give you huge boost to start your games. A few levels up and it can almost take Survival mode to level 5 by itself.

The table is lopsided with most of the ramps on the right side. Don't forget to use the upper paddle as this has a nice ramp shot that gives quite a few points. In general I use the bottom right paddle to put the ball through the saloon doors in the center as not much is happening on the left side of the table.

Most of the modes are too difficult. There are usually shots that are too tough or there are just too many targets to hit in too short a time. Sometimes you can get lucky and hit all the targets, but this table is generally aimed at the higher level pinball wizard.

Castlestorm

Castles, Flaming Balls of Something and Vikings. Sadly while all this sounds like good fun, the table is a bit boring and not very novice friendly.

Novice Friendliness: Fairly Low

Fun Level: Fairly Low

The ramps on this table seem fairly unforgiving and while there are two modes that are fairly easy to unlock they aren't easy to complete. There is a reasonably easy skill shot but it isn't that lucrative unless you can hit a second ramp quickly.

Skill Shot: Loop the ball around the table to the left paddle and then hit the lit ramp off to the right. This is fairly easy but only gives half a million points. To give yourself a leg up on this table you need to now hit the flashing lane on the left side which gives a million points. These ramps aren't terribly hard to hit, but it is far from a sure thing to hit them in order.

There are two modes that you can open by just hitting the ball around. One is the Castle Siege which only requires a shot up the center ramp. You then have to hit a lot of targets without draining the ball. This is possible, thought not easy, and gives decent points that increase with each success. The simplest way to win this is just to hammer away at the flippers.

Mode Two is the Viking Invasion. Just playing a bit seems to bring them out. Each Viking is worth 100,000 points and they spawn all over. If there are a couple of Vikings off to the right side during a timed mode you can drain the ball and let the reentry kill them. These guys aren't a bad way to use your score bonus wizard power.

I tend to have a tough time getting more than a few million points unless I hit the two skill shots. This is a table for later on in your career and requires some study of the guide and some wizardly skill. Unless you are really trying to get a mastery or a high score on every table, I probably wouldn't mess too much with this one. It was an early Zen table and it shows its age.

Eldorado, Shaman, Tesla, V12

I really enjoy this game and think that Zen have done great job of improving the tables across the years. I think you can see the big but coming here. But the Zen Classics aka the first tables are just not very good. They were clearly designed with expert players in mind and should generally be avoided except as a test to see if you can survive them. They can be innovative but the table designs and graphics are obviously old school.

Eldorado

Novice Friendliness: Low

Fun Level: Fairly Low

I have no idea how to hit the skill shot. The plunger doesn't work sometimes, especially when pulled all the way back. Try to hit the head to open modes. The lane on the left can give some decent points as can the bumpers on the right. If you like Indy Jones it might be worth trying.

Shaman

Novice Friendliness: Fairly Low

Fun Level: Low

This is the easiest of these four tables because of the drummer. Hit his three shields and then start pumping the ball under his platform. You get 80K per shot and an occasional 500K. The ramps aren't bad and there is a mini-table up above that can be won if you hit all the targets. The skill shot is blind and impossible.

Tesla

Novice Friendliness: Extremely Low

Fun Level: Medium

This has an easy skill shot, just release the plunger when it is level with the top of the two crossbars. Unfortunately the skill shot is only worth 50,000 points. If you must play this table either try to get the ball into the bumpers in the center of the table or get good at hitting the two covered ramps. If you can hit both ramps twice each, in any order, fairly quickly you will get a multi-ball mode.

There is an upper level but it is hard to get to. If you can get there and hit the five little target things, you can unlocks modes. I do it rarely and by mistake.

This is the best looking of these tables with lots of crazy mad inventor stuff. Sadly it is also one of the most frustrating tables in the game. Still worth a play once just to see how it looks.

V12

Novice Friendliness: Terrible

Fun Level: Terrible

Epically bad. Play it to appreciate all the other tables and everything else in life including root canals which will seem pleasant by comparison. The skill shot is made by pulling the plunger a quarter of the way back allegedly. I've never had any luck with it. Remember that the left exit ramp has a flipper and you can avoid ball draining in that direction which is good because the ball seeks the outlanes on this table. The ramps aren't terrible and have a few points. The sinkhole that claims to give you a huge bonus and then gives you 50 points is a low point of the table. If you are a car fan or race buff... you will still hate it.

Epic Quest

Do you like computer role-playing games? If so you should enjoy this table once you get the hang of it. You get a character on this table that is persistent across all your play-throughs and you can level him up just like in an RPG! Your damage base and hit points go up as you level. Over time your enemies will also improve.

As you level up, you will collect better and better loot. From time to time the game will give you the option of two loot items selectable with the flippers. Common stuff will show in yellow type, Good stuff in blue and purple stuff is Epic. Take the purple or blue stuff and don't worry too much about stats. The game will always discard the worst stuff so you don't have to worry about nerfing yourself with an item choice. You get a weapon, armor, shield and helm. When you equip new armor it actually shows up on your character. My guy is currently waving around a burning club. This makes me laugh as I wonder why the wooden club that is on fire doesn't burn up.

The Skill Shot is worthless, but there are other easy ways to get points. It is easy to open several of the special modes such as fighting one of the many enemies or the skeleton horde. Because it is is an RPG table with a lot to do, it might not be a good choice for a first table.

Novice Friendliness: Moderate

Fun Level: High

Skill Shot: The Skill Shot is kind of a pain and not that rewarding. If you can get the ball to go down that little ramp on the wooden platform to your right, you get 300K points. You need to time it so the little 'tongue' on the plunger is just about to disappear. I rarely succeed.

Get Points: Fortunately that are two good ways to make some points. One is to hit a lot of ramps back to the back. The Outer Orbit ramps and the Shield ramp seem pretty easy to hit and you can rack up enough points to move up reasonably quickly. Get in a groove and hit half a dozen ramps and your score will be in the millions.

The other way to get good points is to hit the ramp just right of center or not quite shoot the loop from the left. You should end up in the 'Forest' aka the bumpers. Do this a couple times and the points will rack up. This is a good place to use your scoring wizard power. Keep an eye on the display and when it gives you the name of an enemy use the flippers to pick 'Skip'. When you are trying for points the enemies actually slow you down.

This brings us to an odd point about the game. If you are simply going for points for a single play through avoid all fights, if you are in time mode let the skeleton multi balls drain and avoid hitting the center ramp which can lead to the Orcanium. The ramps and the bumpers, skipping any enemies, are your friends for a high score.

Level Up: If you are trying to level your character than pick all the fights you can and use the skeleton multi ball to get lots of experience. You can start battles by hitting the upper left paddle to take you to the Orcanium when you get up there using the waterwheel in the middle lane or hitting the smash target many times, hitting the forest bumpers enough times or hitting the cave sinkhole off to the right. Pick the easier monsters first like the rat, the bandit and the spider.

To kill an enemy you need to hit the Sword Ramp to the right or the Smash target to the left as the game will repeatedly tell you. Other ramps will help by letting you dodge, upping your defense or letting you drink healing potions. As you defeat enemies and other things your experience bar at the bottom of the table will fill up. It is oddly exciting to level up or collect better weapons and armor. If you like that sort of thing you might spend a lot of time on this table. Note that the Bethesda table Skyrim is also a persistent RPG table though more complex.

Sorcerer's Lair

This table captures the Haunted House pinball table genre brilliantly. It is flat out fun and easy to unlock the various game modes. This was a good choice for the game's free table as it is representative of the types of tables in the game, but at the same time is one of the best of the house tables. If you enjoy pinball, you will like this table.

Novice Friendliness: Very High

Fun Level: Very High

Skill Shot: Isn't that hard but for some reason gives me trouble. It is one of those skill shots where you hit the ball just about the softest you can while still putting the ball into play. The plunger is about halfway up. A quick hit to the ramp under the tower on the mid-left of the table gets you even more points.

Combos: Combos are fairly easy to get and fairly good for points. Just hitting the various ramps and targets will kick up the combo points. However...

The Missions mode is where the big points are. There is a spinner with three targets at the top of the table slightly to the right. You can easily loop the ball off the left flipper around the top of the spinner three times and it will pop up. Now if you hit the right hole that says Cellar, you will activate a mission. This sounds complex, but it is actually quite easy. Just hitting the ball around the table tends to pop up the spinner and the cellar hole is easy to hit off the left flipper.

There are a couple modes that take you to mini-playfields and others that pop ghosts and mystical portals onto the playfield. If you can complete a mission you will get millions of points. While not exactly easy, they are doable with a bit of luck and practice. If you can manage to do all six missions, succeed or fail, you open up the final mode which is a blast.

For the timed modes winning a mission or three will really help. There is also a Whisper sinkhole, its a bit to the left side and easy to hit from the right flipper, that can give some nice awards if you hit it a few times. It fairly often gives me a million points which bumps you up a level or two in the survival mode. The ball can drain after the sinkhole, but in timed mode it doesn't matter so much.

What Players Saying

Cellsiuss 10 Oct, 2023 @ 1:48am 

Zen Studios is like a cancer to computer pinball

First, they eliminated the competition. Then they canceled Pinball 2 and 3, leaving people who spent money on unupdated versions of the game. And now it takes two games to play the same, idiotically designed tables. FFS, why do these tables need a separate game? Whats the point? Will this game also be abandoned after two years because too few people will buy horror game tables?

Pinballwiz45b has Pinball M 10 Oct, 2023 @ 2:27am  

First, the competition eliminated itself. Farsight was just DONE after they lost the Williams license; all they put out after that were the 2 Stern titles and that's it. We were supposed to get more, but there's a lot more that caused Farsight to lose the drive to build digital pinball.

Magic Pixel is still around, but the way things are going, they're not making enough on Zaccaria, hence the slowed updates since 2020. They're currently building tables exclusively on AtGames cabinets.

Pro Pinball? MIA. Lack of updates, plus the failure to compensate for Kickstarter rewards.

Zen is not a cancer to digital pinball; in fact, it is the STERN of digital pinball.

Think about it. Back in 1999, Bally/Williams, the supposed king of pinball, fell to slot machines and lack of interest. Capcom got into pinball in 1994, but left in 1996. Gottlieb, the pioneer, left in 1996. SEGA (now Stern) considered leaving as well. Come 2000, Stern was the only manufacturer keeping the hobby alive. The point here, is Zen needs to innovate, and that includes upgrading to a separate engine. Do you really want the likes of EA to take over the hobby? I certainly don't.

The point of Pinball M? ESRB ratings, that's why. Add in M-rated elements to a T-rated FX, and you're introducing more problems than you'd think from a developer standpoint. They stripped much from the DOOM table in 2016 to fit the E10+ criteria. Pinball M doesn't even have the same designs.

Last edited by Pinballwiz45b; 10 Oct, 2023 @ 2:44am

#1

J4k3 Ry4n has Pinball M 10 Oct, 2023 @ 2:27am  

Correction. Talented cancer. And I agree.

#2

Gruntled Employee 11 Oct, 2023 @ 12:20am  

I haven't played any Zen Pinball games in ages, but are the ball physics still really crazy? I used to play a lot of the farsight pinball and IMO the physics were perfect, but Zen's were all over the place. I guess I can try out the demo for this since I'm interested in the Duke Nukem table lol

#3

Pinballwiz45b has Pinball M 11 Oct, 2023 @ 8:27pm  

Closer to the real thing than Farsight's. TPA's physics were not perfect -- no ball spin, no room for advanced flipper tricks, and there's the occasional "ball phasing through the flipper" collision issue during multiball. Zen made those improvements from their original set of physics when they received the Williams license.

#4

InevitableCheese has Pinball M 12 Oct, 2023 @ 12:20am  

They had to release a new separate game for ratings I'm sure. WIth the description containing "badass tables" I imagine this will be the platform for more ESRB adult-themed tables.

#5

Hägar has Pinball M 12 Oct, 2023 @ 5:34pm  

I loved it for instance on android. Buy each table - and play the table. Was so wasy and nice. Then they came up with the Williams stuff, where you don't know what you're actually paying for or you need to reach goals to unlock stuff. That's f*cking crazy.

And it feels like this s*it continues.

Sorry here, Zen, I bought ALL tables on Android, but I won't dive into paying anything here.

#6

Matt Beeching has Pinball M 12 Oct, 2023 @ 9:14pm  

Williams mobile was based upon a free-to-play / ad-supported model. It's unlike anything on PC/Console.

Pinball M includes Wrath of the Elder Gods with additional tables sold separately. During gameplay and challenges you earn points to spend on unlockable cosmetics. e.g. custom flippers.

#7

⎛⎝⎛-||-⎞ ⎠⎞ has Pinball M 14 Oct, 2023 @ 4:20am  

PInball M looks to be a solid companion to the already excell Pinball FX.

Will be buying the "M" tables day one. Really enjoying the demos.

#8

Valmar has Pinball M 27 Oct, 2023 @ 6:15am  

Cant wait for pinball FX 2025 ultra plus

#9

Pinballwiz45b has Pinball M 27 Oct, 2023 @ 7:58pm  

2 years after Pinball FX released on Steam? I highly doubt it.

#10

Mr. No_Effs_Given has Pinball M 4 Nov, 2023 @ 10:25pm  

If Embracer don't close Zen until then, that is. Fellas are cutting heads left and right.

#11

Jambon Emmental has Pinball M 5 Nov, 2023 @ 12:17am  

I do wonder what will happen if and when Zen finally decide to incorporate VR. The technology is becoming increasing mainstream and I've heard several folk claim that pinball is a great fit for it (haven't tried it myself).

Last edited by Jambon Emmental; 5 Nov, 2023 @ 1:11am

#12

mfulton has Pinball M 5 Nov, 2023 @ 11:41pm  

It seems to have escaped your notice that there are no tables... zero, which are in both FX and M.

But even if there were, there would be no requirement that you buy the same table in both places.

It would take only a single "M" rated table for FX to lose its kid-friendly ESRB rating. With only FX, that means we simply don't get the option of having tables which may get an "M" rating.

Maybe you don't like horror so you just don't care, but I would love to see tables based on EVIL DEAD or SAW some day, and I'd rather it wasn't watered down to get a kid-friendly rating.

Maybe you're happy playing 20 Star Wars tables that are all basically the same, or 20 Marvel tables, but some of us would like to see some new content that has a bit more variation to it.

It's a simple concept and I'm sure you understand it, so why are you acting like you don't?

Last edited by mfulton; 5 Nov, 2023 @ 11:43pm

#13

🦅 TRUMP ✊🏻 PUMP 🗽 #ISRAEL✡️🕎 27 Nov, 2023 @ 2:29am  

i can't imagine using anything besides VPX these days. VPX 10.8 has merged flat/vr and a ton of other stuff. it's also free.

there is also 0 reason this couldn't just be DLC in one of their existing games. the need for "M" rating/gore or something seems a bit of a stretch. i think a lot of these properties could be toned down and still be very good. i don't really need suggestive themes or cursing in my pin. plenty of other places for that.

it's tough to wish unwell on them since they got me into virtual pin, but their recent trajectory doesn't align with what i want from pin games. i'm a huge duke nukem fan but i could just never play zen stuff again.

Last edited by 🦅 TRUMP ✊🏻 PUMP 🗽 #ISRAEL✡️🕎; 27 Nov, 2023 @ 2:35am

#14

Pinballwiz45b has Pinball M 27 Nov, 2023 @ 4:38am  

Copy-paste from another thread:

Suppose they were introduced in Pinball FX. What then?

Do you know how DOOM made it to FX2/3? They neutered a LOT out of the table to present it at an E10+ rating. The same will apply under a T-rating.

Make Pinball FX an M-rating, and suddenly you're running into a whole mess of problems. Since Pinball FX would have an updated rating across the entire board, now you have certain licensors the likes of My Little Pony now being M-rated. We're not just talking Hasbro; we're talking every single license in the book, even Williams.

"There is so much more we wanted to do with DOOM, but couldn't because we needed to fit in an E10+ rating at the time. Even with T, we can't do everything we want with DOOM.

M unlocks that.

And yeah, having Chucky next to My Little Pony poses some issues." - Mel Kirk

We also do NOT get the new modes, the Play Corner, or anything else of that sort. Zen loses innovation here, trying out new things. You want a lighting slider? Additional game modes? Custom room/table effects? Gone.

Pinball M bypasses all of this.

Last edited by Pinballwiz45b; 27 Nov, 2023 @ 4:42am

#15

mfulton has Pinball M 27 Nov, 2023 @ 12:15pm  

It seems you've abandoned the message thread you started, but I'll ask anyway: In what way exactly did Zen "eliminate" the competition? By creating a product that people preferred? By creating their own table designs in addition to licensing classic physical tables? By making their games available on all the current platforms, including mobile?

Just curious to hear what you think Zen did other than make a product that people wanted?

#16

NoodlePunk has Pinball M 28 Nov, 2023 @ 3:42am  

Adding all the classic very well known horror tables like Elvira's House of Horrors and Tales From The Crypt brings in not just pinball fans but movie fans as well to try things out. Is a smart move to garner more than just pinball fans. There are millions more of movie fans than hardcore pinball fans. Just got to make sure the difficulty isn't pinball-master for the casual horror fans or they'll nope out.

Reputations

Zen Pinball was well received by critics. It currently averages 80.12% at GameRankings and 80/100 at Metacritic.[23][24] It was the top selling PlayStation Network title in May 2009, as well as September 2010.[30][31] It was also a top 10 seller for the month of June 2009.[32] In a preview of the game, Kotaku's Michael McWhertor noted that the game's predecessors may have had impact on the game. "Thanks to Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection, Zen Pinball looks very purchasable" he stated.[33]

Critics generally gave high remarks to the game's physics system. Brett Todd of GameSpot called the physics "superb" and "first-rate" and added "the ball rolls, spins, and bounces like it has real weight."[27] Destructoid's Brad Nicholson praised the game's "lifelike pinball physics and [...] multiplayer options."[8] Daemon Hatfield of IGN stated that although no virtual table could perfectly replicate gameplay on a real table, he stated that "Zen Pinball makes up for that with new features that you don't get with the real thing."[29]

The graphics were also praised by reviewers. GameZone's reviewer called the visuals "beautiful" and stated "the pinball machines are very sharp and crisp, and are the absolute closest you can get to playing pinball without actually being at a pinball machine."[28] IGN's Daemon Hatfield agreed. He felt that the individual tables were well detailed and added praise for the dynamic camera angles show during gameplay.[29] Brad Nicholson of Destructoid also gave high marks for table design and visuals. He stated Zen Pinball is "a sweet little title that captures the recognizable Pinball look."[25]

The pinball tables in Zen Pinball received mixed commentary from critics. Some reviewers felt that four tables was too little to be shipped in the game.[26][27] GamePro's Sean Ely stated "just four tables might seem bare at first" but added that he had "much hope for some DLC in the near future."[26] Destructoid's Brad Nicholson also agreed, stating "With only four tables, all of which can be accessed from the very beginning, Zen Pinball feels a little light on variety."[25] Six additional tables were later released as downloadable content. Nicholson, however, went on to praise solid table design and functionality.[26] Daemon Hatfield of IGN echoed these comments and said the game's tables "are all fun to play, look great, and are hiding all sorts of secrets you'll need to discover if you're going to rack up a high score."[29]