Balls-A-Poppin / Circus

Quickie Version:

Make the Skill Shot to the top center lane, then UTAD.

Go-to Flipper:

Balanced

Risk Index:

High

Full Rules:

Making the Skill Shot here is critical and will save you having to take risky shots later. Drop the ball into the top center lane to light the six white rollover disks, three on each side of the upper playfield, to advance bonus [by 1K each]. If you go through either side top lane, only the disks on that side will be turned on for advance bonus. If you miss all three top lanes on the plunge, which is not just possible but common since there’s no gate at the top of the right or left orbit, you’ll need to flip the ball back up top to try again or shoot one of the risky standup targets below the disks to light them. Unlit, they’re only worth 100 points. This game is mostly about bonus, with the other major scoring coming from the two top side bumpers once your bonus is maximized at 19,000. Build bonus by hitting any of ten switches: those six white rollovers when lit, plus the two yellow standup targets near the middle of the game and the two return lanes. Since both the yellow standup bonus advance targets and the “light lanes” standups are risky shots, I prefer UTAD to advance bonus [and to light the disks if I missed them on the plunge]. Bonus is doubled on balls 3 and 5; you can’t double it on the other balls. Like some games, this has an extra ball feature that is on a bonus value cycle: it lights only when the bonus is at exactly 15000. Take it if you can, but it’s usually turned off for competition. Since you’ll be going UTAD, the key feeds will be how the ball comes down each side orbit - - you may need to bump the game when the ball gets to the post below the lowest white disk - - and how the ball comes down through the center gap below the bumper. Most of the time it comes down the center gap, it will have traveled along the angled rubber in that section and won’t drain down the middle, but you still may need to nudge to get the ball to come to a flipper rather than hit one of the lower slingshots or drain out the side.