Answer the boosted phone
While the Bat-Phone rings, each right X switch hit adds 1.5 million to the phone value and briefly pauses its countdown. Then hit the phone. If time runs out, the villain waits and rings again later.
The objective, the shots that matter, and how to answer the Batphone on your first ball.
Act I · Scene 1The whole game
Objective
Wake one of the four main villains at that villain’s playfield shot. Answer the center Bat-Phone, make the flashing shots shown for the case, and choose Arrest when the game offers the choice.
First route: shoot Catwoman’s two ramps until the Bat-Phone faces you, shoot the phone, make the lit ramp shots, then choose Arrest at the Penguin scoop. That teaches the center turntable, the award shot and the arrest choice.
Two different big-villain arrests light Extra Ball at the left orbit. Arrest all four big villains for Villain Escape. Smaller TV villains add powers: Bookworm keeps won powers between balls, Freeze stops important clocks, King Tut raises the main-channel multiplier, and Shame strengthens later multiballs.
- Make a villain ready Catwoman ramps, Joker center, Riddler orbits, Penguin scoop.
- Play the episode Hit the phone, then follow the lit case arrows.
- Choose your reward earn arrests; continue only with control, multipliers or multiball.
- Make progress toward escape Two arrests light Extra Ball; four light Villain Escape.
Act I · Scene 2Right after you answer the phone
Phone setup
Open setup timingDouble case · Gordon jobs
A villain case has no overall clock. After the phone, set up the orange-scoop double, Gordon bonuses, locks or multipliers before making the next case shot.
Orange scoop → left orbit
After the phone, shoot the orange Penguin scoop, then the left orbit within five seconds plus grace. The coming case shots pay double.
Hit Gordon twice
Before a case-advance shot, hit Gordon twice. The hits add +2 and +2 Bonus X, your end-of-ball bonus multiplier; the second also adds +1 to the Villain Multiball multiplier.
Gordon changes jobs: phone value while ringing, Bonus X and Villain Multiball multiplier after answering, and later shot-multiplier placement when the white X lights flash.
Act I · Scene 3See it before you shoot it
Shot pictures
Yellow circles mark features, not exact ball paths.
These are Catwoman’s ramps
These two openings lead up the ramps, the raised tracks that carry the ball up and over the table. They return the ball predictably, so shoot them to get Catwoman’s attention and watch for the phone.
Watch the center mechanism turn
In this photo the turning block in the center shows its television side. During play it turns to show the Bat-Phone. Hit the phone while it is facing you to start the villain’s case.
These TV targets start side missions
Knock down all three of these small TV targets. Then shoot the lit lane on the far left, and the screen lets you pick a smaller villain to fight.
A quick press uses a gadget
This is the action button, a third button separate from the two flipper buttons. A quick press uses a gadget you have earned; holding it down changes which case is showing on the main screen. On your machine it may be a different button; the gadgets section says where to look.
Act I · Scene 4Launch
Launch
Use the plunger for one of three skill shots. Time the shooter-lane arrows for +5 Bonus X, soft-plunge or shoot the Penguin scoop for the same bonus, or hold the left flipper for a five-second Super Skill Shot at a flashing villain shot.
- Safe start Top lanes: launch as all three arrows are lit.
- Useful start Penguin scoop: points, +5 Bonus X, and a shot you need later.
- Directed start Super Skill Shot: flash a villain shot; no case running means that villain wakes, a running case awards a gadget.
Sources
The three launches are described in the Batman ’66 rulesheet written by players. The exact points grow as the game goes on and can depend on which shooter-lane arrows are lit.
01
First route
Play Catwoman first. Shoot both ramps until the Bat-Phone appears, hit the phone before the hurry-up shrinks too far, then follow the ramp lights.
- Wake Catwoman Ramps make Catwoman ready and turn the center block to the Bat-Phone.
- Start case Phone starts the case; it was not running before that shot.
- Earn Make three trips up each ramp, then shoot the Penguin scoop for the Super Jackpot choice.
- Arrest Left flipper awards and arrests; right flipper continues to a harder chapter.
First-game call: choose Arrest. A second different arrest lights Extra Ball, and four different arrests light Villain Escape.
02
Shots
Joker · center
Hit the center face when Villain-Vision is showing to wake Joker. The same mechanism may instead show the phone, Batcave or Batmobile.
How to try it: Hold the ball still on the right lower flipper. Aim into the opening at Joker · center, avoiding its rim and nearby posts. Watch where the machine kicks the ball back and regain control.
Catwoman · ramps
Use both ramps to wake Catwoman, then keep following whichever ramp lights during her case.
How to try it: Hold the ball still on the right lower flipper. Aim through the two posts at the bottom of Catwoman · ramps and use a firm forehand so the ball climbs the ramp. If it starts up and rolls back, let it reach a flipper before shooting again.
Riddler · orbits
Shoot the outside lanes to wake Riddler. His cases use changing green arrows, so read the lights after every hit.
How to try it: Hold the ball still on the left lower flipper. Aim through the open channel at the bottom of Riddler · orbits; the ball must pass the entrance switch and continue up the lane. If a weak shot rolls back down the same lane, let it return to a flipper before trying again.
Penguin · scoop
The scoop wakes Penguin, awards big-villain Super Jackpots, and can be a skill shot. Check its light before shooting.
How to try it: Hold the ball still on the left lower flipper. Aim at the dark opening of Penguin · scoop, not at its rim or the nearby posts. After the ball settles in the hole, watch where the machine kicks it back and regain control.
TV targets
Hit all three, then shoot the left orbit to choose a smaller villain. Use flippers to browse and the action button to confirm.
How to try it: Hold the ball still on the left lower flipper. Aim at the flat rectangular faces in TV targets, one target at a time; do not aim at the gaps or the plastic above them. Expect the ball to rebound toward the middle after contact.
Sources
How each villain is woken up is laid out in the Tilt Forums community rulesheet.
- Left orbit Mystery, Extra Ball, TV pick, finale start or Super Jackpot, depending on lights.
- Right orbit Locks balls for Villain Multiball when Lock is lit.
- Gordon X Phone boost, Bonus X, multiball multiplier, then shot-multiplier placement.
- Flank targets Bat Computer and Crime Analyzer light locks and playfield multipliers.
Put multipliers on the right prize, earn gadgets, and keep the ball, and the scoring, alive.
Act II · Scene 1Before the call
Phone boost
When the Bat-Phone is flashing, the right X target raises the phone award by 1.5 million per hit and briefly resets the countdown. One controlled X hit is usually plenty; repeated rebounds are dangerous.
- Wake villain The phone begins its hurry-up.
- Hit Gordon Each X hit boosts only the phone prize.
- Answer The phone starts the case; the boost does not multiply case shots.
Sources
The boost only works while the phone is ringing and its countdown is running. Use a small nudge only if your cabinet’s Gordon rebound needs it.
Act II · Scene 2What plays at the same time
playing two features at the same time
Run one big villain, one ordinary smaller villain, and Villain Multiball together. Start the smaller villain before the third lock, because you cannot pick one during multiball.
- Big case Example: Catwoman ramps, then phone.
- Small case TV targets, left orbit, pick Bookworm or Freeze.
- Multiball Center-side targets light locks; right orbit locks balls.
- Overlap A shot counts for both running cases only when both need that shot.
Main channel: hold the action button to change the case on screen. King Tut’s multiplier and gadgets apply to the displayed case.
Source note
03
Multiball
During a big-villain case, hit the Bat Computer or Crime Analyzer target to light locks. For the first Villain Multiball, either target lights all three. Later, both targets are needed for each lock.
Lock three balls in the right orbit. The third lock starts multiball with a 20-second ball save. Shoot 12 green-arrow jackpots, then the Atomic Pile for the Super Jackpot; later rounds need two more jackpots and add 250,000 per jackpot.
Before lock three: start the smaller villain you want, light Mystery if possible, and set any multiplier you can actually use. Mystery can add one ball once, but it will not restart ended multiball.
Sources
How multiball works is laid out in the Tilt Forums rulesheet.
04
Gadgets
Spell GADGET to earn a gadget. A quick action-button press gives credit for a shot in the case shown on the main screen, but it will not earn a big-villain Super Jackpot and some episodes limit gadget use.
Hold the action button to change the main TV channel. On a virtual cabinet, the action button is the control mapped to Right MagnaSave or Lockbar.
Make the call
The Bat-Phone has appeared. Has the villain’s challenge started yet?
Choose your next shot.
Act II · Scene 3Mystery
Mystery
Light all return-lane lamps, then shoot the left orbit saucer. Control its kickout. Mystery awards Add-A-Ball first if a multiball is running and under its ball limit; if a timed smaller villain or Bat Turn is running, it can also award More Time.
Otherwise Mystery can boost a ringing phone, award +2 Bonus X, +1 Gadget, 5 million, Hold Bonus, Hold Bonus Multiplier, Light Shot Multipliers, or a settings-limited 1% extra ball chance.
Act II · Scene 4More play
Extra balls
Two different big-villain arrests light Extra Ball at the left orbit. Combos also light extra balls at 20, 50 and 100 combos, subject to machine limits.
- Add-A-Ball Mystery can add one ball to an active multiball once.
- Shame Winning Shame adds balls and ball-save time to supported later multiballs.
- Finales Four big arrests light Villain Escape; one smaller-villain win from each season lights a minor-villain finale choice.
Sources
The overview and the special endings are in the players’ community rulesheet.
Act II · Scene 5Points
Scoring
Best scoring plays at the same time a case you can shoot, a useful smaller-villain reward, Villain Multiball, and multipliers. Start with the phone boost. Bookworm keeps powers; Freeze stops key clocks.
- Earn help Bookworm, Freeze, Tut or Shame.
- Double case After the phone: orange Penguin scoop, then left orbit.
- Multiply Bat Computer + Crime Analyzer, then Atomic Pile for 2×; repeat for 3×.
- Place value Use Gordon’s flashing X lights to put shot multipliers where you can repeat shots.
King Tut raises the main-channel multiplier up to 5× and keeps unfinished smaller-villain progress. Continue only with control, multipliers or multiball.
- Launch for +5 Bonus X, then prepare Catwoman.
- Boost the phone once, answer, then double the case with orange scoop to left orbit.
- Add Bookworm or Freeze before lock three.
- During Villain Multiball, shoot green jackpots and any overlapping case shots.
- Take Catwoman’s arrest if it is your second different arrest and lights Extra Ball.
Watch DEAD FLIP’s high-score strategy discussion at 2:43:33 →
The creator marks this part as the high-score explanation. It shows the real Stern machine; your table may differ.
Sources
See also the players’ Batman ’66 community rulesheet. The order of priorities and the risk calls here are coaching advice, not the only way to score.
High-score awards, cases, and video reference
Act II · Scene 6Records stored by this table
High-score awards and how to earn them
The table checks these records when your game ends. You do not have to finish an episode to claim its record: start the named episode and score more points during that episode than the stored record. The episode number is the television episode used by the game.
| Record shown by the game | What the table measures | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Grand Champion and High Scores 1–4 | Your final score for the whole game. | Finish the game above one of the five stored scores. Beating the Grand Champion also awards a credit when credits are enabled. |
| Combo Champion | The total number of combos made during one game. | Shoot one of the large arrow-lit lanes or ramps, then shoot another before six seconds pass. Every sequence the display calls a combo adds one to this record. |
| Best Combo Champion | The greatest number of shots in one uninterrupted combo. | Continue the same combo without letting its six-second clock expire. A 5-way combo beats a stored 4-way combo. |
| Bat Turn Champion | Points scored during one Bat Turn round. | Spin the Batmobile enough times, shoot the Atomic Pile to begin Bat Turn, then make as many flashing blue shots as possible before its clock ends. |
| Bat-Phone Champion | Your largest single Bat-Phone award. | After finishing a major-villain chapter, hit the right X target to add 1.5 million and pause the falling phone value, then hit the exposed Bat-Phone before the value counts down. |
| Catwoman 19/20 and Catwoman 108 | Points scored during each named Catwoman episode. | Start that Catwoman episode, follow its lit ramp shots, and keep scoring in it for as long as the rules allow. |
| Joker 5/6 and Joker 104 | Points scored during each named Joker episode. | Start that Joker episode at the center turntable and score its lit shots. |
| Penguin 3/4 and Penguin 95 | Points scored during each named Penguin episode. | Start that Penguin episode at the scoop and score its lit shots. |
| Riddler 1/2 and Riddler 96 | Points scored during each named Riddler episode. | Start that Riddler episode from the outside lanes and score its changing green-arrow shots. |
| Villain Escape Champion | Points scored during Villain Escape. | Arrest all four major villains, shoot the left orbit to begin Villain Escape, then complete its displayed shots and final escape sequence. |
| Bookworm | Points scored during The Bookworm Turns. | Start Bookworm from the minor-villain selection, hit the center turntable, then make all six main shots while continuing to score. |
| Egghead 47/48, 102/103, and 109 | Points scored during each named Egghead episode. | Select the wanted Egghead episode and score its displayed shots before the episode ends. |
| King Tut 27/28, 41/42, 87/88, 100, and 117 | Points scored during each named King Tut episode. | Select the wanted King Tut episode and follow its blue shots through every stage. |
| Mad Hatter 13/14 and 69/70 | Points scored during each named Mad Hatter episode. | Select the wanted Mad Hatter episode and score its displayed shots before the episode ends. |
| Mr. Freeze 53/54 | Points scored during that Mr. Freeze episode. | Select Mr. Freeze 53/54 and score its displayed shots before the episode ends. |
| Shame 59/60 and 115/116 | Points scored during each named Shame episode. | Select the wanted Shame episode and complete its GADGET-target and moving-blue-shot stages while scoring. |
| Batusi Champion | Points scored during Batusi Multiball. | Reach Batusi, use the pop bumpers to light main shots, score those shots to light the Super Jackpot, and shoot the Bat-Signal for the Super Jackpot. |
| Gas Attack Champion | Points scored during Gas Attack Multiball. | Reach Gas Attack and keep scoring its displayed jackpot shots until the multiball ends. |
| Holy Champion | Points scored during Robin's Holy Multiball. | Reach Holy Multiball, score the displayed jackpots until the Super Jackpot lights, then score the Super Jackpot. |
| Bonus Champion | The largest single end-of-ball bonus awarded during the game. | Raise the bonus with episode scoring, hurry-ups, and combos, then keep the ball alive until that bonus is counted after the drain. |
Arrest all four big villains, then take on Villain Escape, plus every episode in the TV guide.
Act III · Scene 1Gotham case files · open an episode
Major cases
Cases have no overall clock. Only shown hurry-ups are timed. At the choice, left flipper arrests, right continues, and no choice for 15 seconds awards. During multiball, the choice waits for one ball.
Start: Catwoman ramps, Joker center, Riddler orbits, Penguin scoop; then hit the Bat-Phone.
Episode select: in the shooter lane with no case running, hold right flipper, press left to switch that villain’s episode, release right to advance.
Prize: Super Jackpot is the chapter award. Arrests count toward Extra Ball and Villain Escape; powers come from smaller villains.
Open major episodesAll eight cases
Catwoman · The Purr-fect CrimeFour parts · ramp control
- Shoot each ramp three times. The Penguin scoop then lights for the award. You can choose Arrest or continue; the other lit shots can add to the prize before you earn it.
- If you continue: make the left ramp while its hurry-up counts down, then the right ramp. Hit the GADGET targets to work through the escape, then shoot the Penguin scoop when it lights to reach the next earn.
- The next chapter opens with a right-ramp escape, moves to the flashing villain shots, then sends you back to the Penguin scoop.
- The last chapter asks for five lit shots, then a final Penguin award.
Worth knowing: The first chapter is a good one to learn on: the ramps send the ball back the same way every time. Choose Arrest early if you need another villain arrest toward the extra ball; continue when you have multipliers on and the ball under control.
Catwoman · Catwoman’s Dressed to KillThree parts · ramps, then a wider sweep
- Make three left ramps and three right ramps, then the center shot (the Batmobile or turntable). Shoot the Penguin scoop.
- If you continue, the job changes to the ramps and orbits. Finish the lit set and go back to the Penguin scoop.
- The last chapter is five shots, then the scoop; more lit shots can light the award again.
Worth knowing: Expect the center shot after the opening ramps. Once the ramps go dark, shooting them again will not finish that chapter.
Joker · The Joker Is WildThree parts · center shots and escapes
- Hit the GADGET targets while the opening hurry-up counts down.
- Hit the center turntable.
- Shoot Penguin’s scoop.
- Hit the center twice.
- Spell GADGET again.
- Hit the center twice again.
- Shoot Penguin’s scoop.
- Hit every villain shot except the right ramp, then go back to the scoop to earn the award.
Worth knowing: a single hurry-up can run out without ending the episode. Get the ball back under control after it bounces off the center. Follow the lights in the order they come on; they decide the next job.
Joker · Surf’s Up! Joker’s Under!Two parts · increases the percentage
- After the phone, shoot the Batmobile. Then almost anything the ball touches advances the surfing percentage on the screen, and the flashing villain shots raise it fastest. Get to 100%, then shoot the Penguin scoop.
- Continue into a five-shot chapter, then the Penguin award.
Worth knowing: A good one to run during multiball, because stray hits count toward the first part. Still aim for the lit shots rather than hoping the bounces finish it.
Penguin · Fine Feathered FinksFour parts · crane, center and escapes
- After the phone, watch the moving crane. Hit it to earn the five umbrella positions one at a time. Each crane hit also lights purple scoring shots. After the fifth umbrella, shoot the Penguin scoop for the Super Jackpot and the award-or-continue choice. Only Continue takes you to the next part.
- Follow the Batcave instructions on the screen, repeating as it asks, then earn the Super Jackpot at the Penguin scoop.
- Continuing adds a GADGET-target escape, a trip to the Penguin scoop, and another run of Batcave shots before the award.
- The last chapter goes back to the crane and villain shots, then a five-shot countdown to the Penguin award.
Worth knowing: Shoot when the crane is sitting at a position you have not earned yet. A hit while it is moving does not always count on this table.
Penguin · Enter Batgirl, Exit PenguinThree parts · five crane positions
- Earn the five crane positions. Between crane hits, use the purple villain shots for points. Then shoot the Penguin scoop.
- Continue through the GADGET-target escape and the flashing shots to another Penguin award.
- The last chapter mixes the crane with a four-shot countdown, then the next Penguin award.
Worth knowing: Crane progress and the lit-shot points are two different things. Shooting a comfortable purple ramp again and again does not fill the five crane positions.
Riddler · Hi Diddle RiddleThree parts · changing green shots
Riddler uses the six main shots: the two orbits, the two ramps, the center shot and the Penguin scoop. Follow the green arrows; in the first two chapters the game swaps which shots are lit as you go.
- First chapter: shoot either orbit while it is green. Five of the main shots light; make any one. The game then picks two shots at random and lights them green. Make both, then shoot the Penguin scoop to earn the award. That is four shots before the award: the orbit, one of your choice, and the two the game picked.
- Second chapter: shoot either lit orbit. All six main shots light. Make one or two different lit shots; the game decides at random how many it wants this time. It then swaps that set for three chosen green shots. Make all three, then shoot the Penguin scoop. Counting the orbit, that is five or six shots.
- Last chapter: shoot either lit orbit. All six main shots light. Make four more different lit shots, then shoot the Penguin scoop. You do not have to make all six.
Worth knowing: Stop and read the green arrows every time they change. A shot you already made can come back in the new random set, and an arrow that just went dark will not count.
Riddler · Ring Around the RiddlerTwo parts · alternate your targets
- First chapter: the same as Hi Diddle Riddle. Shoot either green orbit, make any one of the five lit main shots, then make both of the two shots the game picks. Shoot the Penguin scoop to earn the award.
- Second chapter: shoot either lit orbit. All six main shots light. Make four more shots to light the award at the Penguin scoop. After every hit, all six light again except the one you just made, so you cannot shoot the same one twice in a row. Then shoot the scoop; that is five hits in all.
Worth knowing: Go back and forth between two shots you can make cleanly, when the ball comes back nicely from each. Check the arrows after every hit: the last shot stays dark, the others come back.
Sources
Where a chapter picks shots at random, this guide describes the lights rather than a fixed list, because the list changes every game.
Act III · Scene 2The TV guide · all fourteen episodes
Powers
Knock down TV targets, then shoot the left orbit in single-ball play. Flippers browse; action button picks. “Main shots” means two orbits, two ramps, center and Penguin scoop.
Bookworm carries powers between balls. The Thirteenth Hat revives failed grey episodes; the other Mad Hatter helps future retries. King Tut saves progress but does not reopen grey episodes.
Open minor episodesAll fourteen powers
Mad Hatter · The Thirteenth HatSeason 1
What to do: Shoot the blue shots quickly, before the timer adds more of them. Then shoot the one lit shot, then the last set of three.
What you earn: Brings back smaller-villain episodes you failed.
My approach: Pick this when a failed Bookworm or Freeze attempt has gone grey. Quick, deliberate shots keep the opening job from growing.
King Tut · The Curse of TutSeason 1
What to do: Shoot the one lit blue shot, then four different lit shots, then the next single blue shot, then four more lit shots. In the last stage you may repeat a shot.
What you earn: Each Tut win keeps your unfinished progress on smaller villains and raises the main-channel multiplier, up to 5×. Put your best scoring case on the main screen.
My approach: Save your most reliable ramp for the last stage. The single shot in the middle is picked from the villain shots; it is not always the turntable.
Bookworm · The Bookworm TurnsSeason 1
What to do: Hit the center turntable. Then make all six main shots. Then both ramps and the turntable. Then the turntable once more to finish.
What you earn: Keeps the powers you have won from smaller villains from one ball to the next.
My approach: A strong early investment. It has several stages, so start it and then bring it into multiball, or spend a gadget on a hard step that allows one.
King Tut · The Spell of TutSeason 2
What to do: Shoot three chosen blue shots, then the other three, then four lit shots; in the last group you may repeat.
What you earn: Each Tut win keeps your unfinished progress on smaller villains and raises the main-channel multiplier, up to 5×. Put your best scoring case on the main screen.
My approach: The first two groups make you cover the table; the last lets you settle on your safest lit shot.
Egghead · An Egg Grows in GothamSeason 2
What to do: Anything the ball hits increases the value. With Egghead on the main screen, press the action button to spend a gadget; that lights the yellow award shot. Make that shot. Hitting the GADGET targets moves the yellow shot to the left; hitting the TV targets moves it to the right.
What you earn: Adds the value you built to your end-of-ball bonus.
My approach: Have a gadget in hand before you pick this. The button starts the award; hitting GADGET letters is a different thing and can move the shot away from where you wanted it.
Mr. Freeze · Green IceSeason 2
What to do: Shoot the blue shots. Hitting a red shot turns it blue and adds to the work. After the opening group, make both ramps, then the center, the right ramp and the Penguin scoop.
What you earn: Stops important countdowns, including the clock on the playfield multiplier.
My approach: In the opening, aim carefully rather than fast. Do not pair it with a wild shot pattern that keeps hitting red.
Shame · Come Back ShameSeason 2
What to do: The first time you play it, it starts a two-ball multiball; if you play it again, the game does not automatically give the same extra ball. First hit the GADGET targets four times.
The bumpers move the target pattern on the screen; if a TV target does not seem to count, use the GADGET targets instead. Then shoot each blue jackpot shots. Finish the required set before the multiball ends; you can keep scoring after you have won.
What you earn: Each Shame win adds balls and ball-save time to the multiballs that support it later.
My approach: Shame is already a multiball, so make it the smaller villain you run alongside a big one. Do not treat it as an ordinary single-ball setup step.
Mad Hatter · The Contaminated CowlSeason 2
What to do: Among the blue shots, one is pink; find and shoot it to get through the opening fastest. Then make three pink shots, then four different shots from the last lit set.
What you earn: While this reward is on, episodes you fail later are not greyed out. Unlike The Thirteenth Hat, it does not bring back episodes that are already grey.
My approach: Shoot pink in the opening; blue is the slow way. A gadget can count for a blue opening shot, but not for the pink shots in this episode.
King Tut · King Tut’s CoupSeason 2
What to do: Shoot the first three blue shots, then the other three, then four lit shots that may repeat.
What you earn: Each Tut win keeps your unfinished progress on smaller villains and raises the main-channel multiplier, up to 5×. Put your best scoring case on the main screen.
My approach: Choose this when another step up the channel multiplier fits your plan; it is a fresh episode with the familiar three, three, four pattern.
King Tut · The Unkindest Tut of AllSeason 3
What to do: Shoot two groups of three blue shots, then four more lit shots, repeating one if that helps.
What you earn: Each Tut win keeps your unfinished progress on smaller villains and raises the main-channel multiplier, up to 5×. Put your best scoring case on the main screen.
My approach: This also counts as a Season 3 win toward the smaller-villain finale. Pick it for both the progress and the power.
Egghead · The Ogg and ISeason 3
What to do: Hits increases the value while you make three yellow shots. Then shoot the center turntable to earn the award. Spending a gadget here adds another yellow shot to do.
What you earn: Adds the Egghead value to your bonus.
My approach: Do not spend a gadget expecting it to finish this for you. Read the lit set and protect the value you are advancing.
Egghead · The Ogg CoupleSeason 3
What to do: Start with the left orbit. Shoot the lit scoring shots, then shoot the left orbit to move on. Repeat that scoring-then-orbit pattern, then shoot the center turntable.
What you earn: Adds the Egghead value to your bonus.
My approach: The orbit moves the chapter along. If you want to increase the value first, do not shoot the orbit right away.
Shame · The Great EscapeSeason 3
What to do: The first time you play it, it starts a two-ball multiball; on a replay, how many balls depends on the Shame reward you have. Make four hits on the villain shots, then four hits on the moving blue shots. The win is recorded when the mode ends; you can keep scoring while the multiball lasts.
What you earn: The same later-multiball benefit as the other Shame episode.
My approach: It takes eight hits in all, fewer than the real machine asks for. Watch the screen for what is left.
King Tut · I’ll Be a Mummy’s UncleSeason 3
What to do: Shoot the center turntable, then all six main shots, then the turntable twice.
What you earn: Each Tut win keeps your unfinished progress on smaller villains and raises the main-channel multiplier, up to 5×. Put your best scoring case on the main screen.
My approach: A clear route when you have the center shot down, but the six-shot sweep still takes you all round the table.
Sources
The advice on which episodes to pick is coaching; it is not the only way to score.
Act III · Scene 3Beyond the villains
Finales
Open special modesMultiball · finales
Villain MultiballLocks → green jackpots → Atomic Pile
Start: while a big villain’s case is running, hitting either of the targets beside the center block (Bat Computer or Crime Analyzer) lights all three locks the first time. For later multiballs you have to hit both targets for each lock. Lock three balls in the right orbit; the third starts the multiball with a 20-second ball save.
Score: make 12 green-arrow jackpot shots, then shoot the Atomic Pile for the Super Jackpot. Each later round needs two more jackpots than the last, and each jackpot is worth 250,000 more. A Shame win can add balls and fresh ball-save time; Mystery can add one ball, once, if the game is under its ball limit.
End: when a drain leaves you down to one ball it is over, and Mystery will not restart it. Start a useful smaller villain before the third lock, because you cannot pick one during multiball.
Bat TurnSpinner buildup → timed blue shots
Start: the first Bat Turn needs ten hits on the Batmobile spinner; later rounds need 12, 14, 16, 18, then 20. Then shoot the Atomic Pile to start a 40-second round, plus two seconds of grace.
Score: each of the six blue villain shots awards the hurry-up value once. Spinning the spinner raise the value back up and relights it; make all six and a new sweep starts. Mystery adds time and Freeze can stop the clock.
End: when the clock runs out or the ball ends. It is a timed scoring round, not a multiball.
Villain EscapeArrest all four major villains
Start: arrest all four big villains, then shoot the left orbit. First comes a 30-second stretch where everything the ball hits raise the value; Freeze pauses that clock. Then the game serves several balls with a 20-second ball save.
Catch them again: Catwoman with the ramps, in order; Joker with the center letters, in order; Riddler with an orbit; Penguin with all five crane positions while the crane is still, then his scoop. With all four caught, earn the Super at the Bat-Signal, the left orbit.
Loop and end: every Super loops the round: it adds a ball, gives 20 more seconds of ball save, and makes the next set of captures harder. When you are down to one ball it ends; the four arrests are cleared and each villain’s other episode is selected. If a Shame multiball is running you cannot start Villain Escape.
BatusiMinor-villain wizard · blue shots and bumpers
Win at least one smaller-villain episode from each of the three seasons and the finale choice lights at the left orbit. Pick Batusi. The blue villain shots score and then go dark; hits on the bumpers light them again.
Keep going until the award at the Bat-Signal, the left orbit, is ready. The first three Super Jackpots each add a ball and give you a fresh ball save.
How to play it: take turns between scoring shots and bumper hits to relight them. If your favorite shot is dark, it needs the bumpers before it will pay again. Go for those first three left-orbit Supers early to keep Batusi alive; they are separate from Mystery’s once-per-multiball extra ball.
How it ends: later Supers keep coming, with harder requirements. It ends when you are down to one ball, with no restart.
Robin’s Holy…Minor-villain wizard · clear sets for the center jackpot
Make the current set of blue shots, then earn the Super at the Batcave or Atomic Pile, whichever is showing. Each new set is bigger. The early rounds have long ball saves.
Worth knowing: on this table, do not count on a ball being added at every Super, whatever you may have read about the real machine. It ends when you are down to one ball.
Gas AttackMinor-villain wizard · moving hurry-ups
Opening: keep hitting the center (the Joker shot) while its hurry-up counts down, until the Batcave lights. The number of hits it takes may differ from the real machine’s five.
Super phase: shoot the Batcave to start a yellow Super Jackpot that moves from shot to shot. After you earn it, the round loops with harder work. Follow the lit insert, but you cannot skip the center opening.
End: when you are down to one ball.
Sources
Each of these has its own rules about what can run alongside it; the usual big villain, smaller villain and multiball combination does not apply to every finale.
Act III · Scene 4From the video
Video tips
This stream shows an early, unfinished version of the real Stern machine, so not everything in it matches this table.
- 53:00 · skill shot: time the launch so all three top-lane arrows are lit.
- 50:50 · arrest: two different big-villain arrests light Extra Ball here.
- 1:34:44 · Gordon: the right X target is valuable but kicks hard.
- 41:20 · mismatch: this table’s Bookworm reward keeps powers between balls.
Caption limit: the newer DEAD FLIP video has no captions, so its tips are not covered in this guide.
Act III · Scene 5Straight to the moment
Video jumps
- 0:47 · doubling: phone, orange scoop, left orbit.
- 2:08 · no clock: set up locks and multipliers.
- 11:41 · Bookworm, Freeze: strong power route.
- 29:44 · multipliers: channel, Freeze and playfield value.
- 4:19 · Gordon: phone value differs from shot multipliers.
Act III · Scene 6Watch
Watch
▶ Start at 9:45
Learn the rules with DEAD FLIP
Rules discussion on the real Stern machine.
Start at 9:45 on YouTube →
▶ Watch gameplay
Full play
Early Stern software in full play.
Watch gameplay on YouTube →About this guide
This guide is for the fan-made Stern tribute by Daphishbowl and Mr H, played in VPX on a virtual pinball cabinet. The real Stern machine has had several software versions, and the virtual one does not match them in every detail.
How the villains are woken up and how multiball works also follow the players’ community rulesheet linked throughout.
Photography: Stern Pinball. Batman and related characters belong to their respective rights holders. Personal fan tutorial, not an official Stern or DC publication.