Field guide

Stranger Things Original 2020

Start and finish four story multiballs. Each story has a different start and a required final shot.

Stranger Things reimagined forest backglass

The whole game

Objective

Knock down the B-A-R-B target row to reach Barb Multiball. Knock down R-U-N to reach Bad Men Multiball. The center portal leads to Demogorgon Multiball, and the character shots gather the party for Stranger Things Multiball.

Finish four story multiballs: Where’s Barb, Escape the Bad Men, Save Will and Adventuring Party. Starting one is not enough; make its finishing shot to light its lamp. Four lamps wake the Eleven shot.

Then the last part. The machine calls the next step send the ball Eleven, and it just means shoot the ball into that Eleven shot. That starts Kill the Demogorgon. The monster is out in the open for 40 seconds. Hit it 20 times before the clock runs out, then shoot Eleven once more for the final blow. That is the whole game.

For your first game: learn where the ramps are, and find the two rows of letter targets, B-A-R-B and R-U-N. Knock the letters down. That is where the first two stories begin.

Find your shots

Shots

Bicycles race across a supernatural small town beneath red lightning and a shadow monster

Barricade → portal → upper field

Barricade → portal → upper field on the table

The barricade is a row of targets. Knock it down, then hit the Demogorgon, the monster, 15 times. Now shoot the portal, which carries the ball up into the upper field, the playing area at the top of the table, and get the ball back out again. That starts Save Will.

How to try it: Hold the ball still on the right lower flipper. Aim at the flat scoring face of Barricade → portal → upper field, not at the nearby plastic or gaps. Expect the ball to rebound toward the middle after contact.

BARB bank → Barb lock

BARB bank → Barb lock on the table

A row of four targets that spell B-A-R-B. Knock all four down and the lock at the left-center of the table lights up. A lock is a spot that swallows the ball and keeps it while the machine hands you a fresh one. Put two balls in the lock and Where’s Barb begins.

How to try it: Hold the ball still on the right lower flipper. Aim through the open channel at the bottom of BARB bank → Barb lock; 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.

Full Stranger Things custom VPX playfield with ramps, portal, Castle Byers and lower targets visible
The table, from above.
Open full-size playfield reference →

Eleven

Eleven on the table

The shot that starts the final battle. It only works once Barb, Bad Men, Will and the Party are all finished. During the battle, after your twentieth hit on the monster, this becomes the only shot on the table: hit it for the final blow.

How to try it: Hold the ball still on the left lower flipper. Aim into the opening at Eleven, avoiding its rim and nearby posts. Watch where the machine kicks the ball back and regain control.

RUN bank → Bad Men lock

RUN bank → Bad Men lock on the table

A row of targets that spell R-U-N. Knock down the first half of the letters and the first Bad Men lock lights; knock down the rest and the next one lights. The inside center ramp, the raised track in the middle of the table that the ball rides up, is where you make the Super, the finishing shot of Escape the Bad Men.

How to try it: Hold the ball still on the left lower flipper. Aim through the open channel at the bottom of RUN bank → Bad Men lock; 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.

Castle Byers

Castle Byers on the table

A scoop on the right side of the table: a hole that swallows the ball and spits it back out. It has three jobs. When a Mystery award is waiting, shoot here to earn it. When all nine members of the Adventuring Party are earned, shoot here to start that story. And during Where’s Barb, this is the finishing shot.

How to try it: Hold the ball still on the left lower flipper. Aim at the flat scoring face of Castle Byers, not at the nearby plastic or gaps. Expect the ball to rebound toward the middle after contact.

Launch deliberately

Launch

  1. Pull back the spring-loaded rod at the front of the machine and let go. That is the plunge, and it sends the ball up toward the RUN target bank, the row of targets that spell R-U-N. When each ball starts, the lights under the outer RUN targets flash. That is the machine offering you a skill shot: a prize for a well-aimed launch.
  2. Pull hard enough for the ball to reach the center RUN target. A weak launch trips a switch on the way, a small sensor that tells the machine the ball did not get there, and the prize is cancelled for that launch.
  3. Hit the center target and you win: the outer RUN letters fill in, you move a step closer to Escape the Bad Men, and you score 1 million points on your first ball. Each time you make it again, the prize is 1 million more than the last.
  4. The ball comes bouncing straight back off the target. Nudge the machine, a quick small push, before the ball reaches a sling, one of the two rubber triangles above the flippers that fire the ball sideways. Then catch the ball on a flipper and let it settle instead of forcing the next shot.

How hard to pull is something you learn on this cabinet, not from a guide. If the ball reaches the center RUN target cleanly, you pulled the Plunger the right amount. If it falls short, pull harder next time.

A chrome ball enters a storm-dark small-town arcade route between two rows of glowing letter targets and three illuminated ramps.
First routeLearn the ramps, knock down B-A-R-B and R-U-N, and take the first story you prepare.

Your first useful run

First game

1 · Launch the ball hard enough to hit the center RUN target. That is the skill shot: 1 million points and a head start on Escape the Bad Men.
2 · While you are still playing one ball, roll it through all five KIDS lanes. That gives you a 15-second ball saver: for the next 15 seconds, a ball that falls between the flippers is given straight back to you.
3 · Work toward one of the stories, and on the way shoot each of the big shots once: the ramps, the orbits, Castle Byers. The first time you make each one, it also gives you a member of the Adventuring Party.
4 · When a story starts, do not just enjoy the extra balls. Every story has a finishing shot (the machine calls it the Super), and the story only counts as done once you make it.
5 · When all nine Party members are lit (their lights are on), shoot Castle Byers to start Adventuring Party, then hit all nine shots that have turned orange.
Several chrome balls streak through a red-lit supernatural arcade toward a looming flower-faced monster and glowing jackpot lanes.
Story multiballsStarting a story is not enough. Make its finishing shot to light the completion lamp.

The four stories and the final battle

Multiballs

Where’s Barb

To start it: knock down all four BARB targets to light the lock, then shoot a ball into it. Lock two balls this way and the story begins: the machine sends out two new balls, so you are playing three at once, with a 15-second ball save. For those 15 seconds, any ball you lose comes straight back.

What to shoot: the machine has secretly picked one of the five big shots (the two orbits and three ramps), and all five light up yellow. Shoot a wrong one and you get a 1 million Jackpot, the machine’s word for a prize shot during a multiball, and that shot’s light goes out. Shoot the right one and you get 2 million, and Castle Byers lights. Shoot Castle Byers to rescue Barb for 8 million. That is the finishing shot.

How it ends: when you are down to one ball. There is no add-a-ball here, no way to get another ball sent out once it has started.

Escape the Bad Men

To start it: knock down the first half of the RUN letters to light a lock, then the second half to light the next one, and earn each lock, which means shoot the ball into it while it is lit. The story starts when the second ball locks. It serves three balls and a 10-second ball saver.

What to shoot: the two outside ramps, left and right. Each one is a 2 million Jackpot. Make five of them, then shoot the inside center ramp for the 6 million Super. That is the finishing shot. If you lose the multiball part-way, the machine remembers how many Jackpots you had, and you carry on from there next time.

How it ends: when you are down to one ball.

Save Will

To start it: knock down the barricade, hit the Demogorgon 15 times, shoot the portal, and bring the ball back out of the upper field. This mode (the machine’s word for a story with its own shots and rules) gives you four balls at once and a 15-second ball saver.

What to shoot: the lit shots switch back and forth between the ramps and the center of the table. There are twelve steps. The odd-numbered steps (first, third, fifth and so on) score 1 million each and move the lit arrow to the next shot; the even-numbered steps score 4 million each. The twelfth step saves Will for 10 million. That is the finishing shot.

How it ends: when you are down to one ball. The machine remembers how far you got, and you pick up from there next time, until you finish.

Adventuring Party

To get it ready: earn all nine members of the party: Lucas, Jonathan, Nancy, Joyce, Will, Eleven, Mike, Hopper and Dustin. Each one lives at a different shot, and you earn a member just by making that shot (the list is under “Adventuring Party Multiball shot map” below). Then shoot Castle Byers.

To start it: the machine adds one ball, so you are playing two, with a 15-second ball saver. All nine member shots turn orange.

What to shoot: every orange shot is a 1 million Jackpot. Your third and sixth Jackpots each send out another ball. The ninth Jackpot completes the Party for 10 million. That is the finishing shot.

How it ends: when you are down to one ball. The member lights go out afterwards, so to try again you earn all nine again.

Kill the Demogorgon

To start it: finish all four stories above, then shoot Eleven. Two balls are added, so you are playing three. A 27-second ball saver starts, and so does the 40-second clock for the whole battle.

What to shoot: the Demogorgon, now out in the open. Every hit is worth 4 million. After your twentieth hit, every other light on the table goes out and Eleven is the only shot left. Shoot Eleven for the 100 million finale.

If it goes wrong: if the 40 seconds run out, or you get down to one ball, the battle ends and all four story lamps go out. You have to finish all four stories again before you can try again. The monster only counts as beaten once you have made that last shot on Eleven.

Side features

Side games

Charge and select AV Club

Four ramp shots charge AV Club. Use a flipper to choose an unfinished game, then shoot the AV Club hole. It starts only during single-ball play.

Four AV Club modes

  • Levitation: hit ten lit shots; each hit resets a 20-second clock and raises the value.
  • Pool: hit ten lit shots in 90 seconds.
  • Radio: shoot the currently flashing shot five times in 60 seconds.
  • Compass: hit the left, center and right ramp areas twice each.

Play any two AV Club games—even if their clocks expire—to light Extra Ball at the AV Club hole.

AV Club shot-by-shot coaching

Pool (its full name is Sensory Deprivation Pool): any big shot that is lit counts toward your ten. With a 90-second clock it is the calmest of the four, and the best one to have running when a story multiball starts. Radio: only the pair of purple lights that is moving counts. Catch the ball on a flipper and wait for the light to land on a shot you know you can make. Compass: think of the six lights as three areas: the left ramp, the center ramp and the right ramp. Hit each area once, then all three again. Levitation: each hit moves the lit shots to a different group (there are three), puts the clock back to 20 seconds and steps you up the prize list from 200,000 to 8 million.

An AV Club game is marked as finished when it ends, whether you completed it or the clock ran out, and either way it counts as one of the two that light Extra Ball. So play each game for the points, but do not assume a clock running out cost you anything. Look at the AV Club lights and the Extra Ball light; they tell you where you stand.

Eggos Mystery — all 20 outcomes

The machine picks one of these twenty slots at random: light Extra Ball; 1 million points; 200,000 points; light or advance the Barb lock; advance the Bad Men lock; AV Club ready; a 30-second ball saver; nothing at all (“zilch”); all nine Party members at once; advance the Bad Men lock, a second time in the list; knock down the barricade or add eight Demogorgon hits; that same barricade help, a second time; 20,000 points; 5 million points; a 60-second ball saver; light or advance the Barb lock, a second time; light Extra Ball, a second time; nothing again; all nine Party members, a second time; and 5 million points, a second time. Several prizes appear twice, so the useful ones come up more often than a list of names would suggest.

Adventuring Party Multiball shot map

Each member of the party lives at a different shot, so you pick them up while you are doing everything else. Lucas is at the RUN targets. Jonathan is the left orbit. Nancy is the left ramp. Joyce is the center ramp. Hopper is the right ramp. Dustin is the right orbit. Will is Castle Byers. Eleven is the AV Club hole. Mike (the machine also calls him Mikey) is the barricade: knock down that whole bank of targets and he is yours. When the Party is running, those same nine shots turn orange and each is a 1 million Jackpot. Go for three different quick ones first, because the third Jackpot sends out another ball, then three more for the second.

Doing two things at once, or playing two features at the same time, and extra play

playing two features at the same time

What plays at the same time, and what does not
Feature What happens What to do
AV Club and a story multiball If an AV Club game is already running when a story multiball starts, the AV Club game keeps scoring. But you cannot start an AV Club game while a multiball is running. Charge AV Club, pick a game and start it first. Then start the story you have ready.
The four stories Barb, Bad Men, Will and Party will not start on top of one another. The lights that show a story is ready can stay on while you wait. Finish the story you are in before you start another.
KIDS Roll through all five KIDS lanes while playing a single ball and you get a 15-second ball saver. Spend those safe 15 seconds on a risky shot: a lock, the portal or the center.
Extra Ball Finish two AV Club games and Extra Ball lights at the AV Club hole. The Eggos Mystery can also light it. You can only be given one extra ball during any one ball; after that, an Extra Ball award turns into 4 million points instead. If Extra Ball is lit at the AV Club hole, earn it before you use that hole to start anything else.
Progress Most of your progress carries over to your next ball: finished stories, finished AV Club games, Eggos, Party members, and most lock and Jackpot counts. When a new ball starts, go back to whatever you were closest to finishing rather than starting fresh.
A final supernatural arcade battle with three chrome balls, a flower-faced monster, a glowing central target, and a red storm overhead.
Final showdownHit the monster twenty times inside forty seconds, then shoot Eleven for the finish.

Playing for a high score

Scoring

Safe route

Complete KIDS for ball save, charge AV Club, then start a story using the same shots. In multiball, hold one ball on a raised flipper and finish the story with the other.

Party route

Early in the game, make each of the big shots once. Castle Byers, the AV Club hole, the target banks and the ramps each give you a member of the party. When the Party starts, shoot the easiest orange shots first. Your third and sixth Jackpots each send out another ball, so getting to those two quickly gives you more balls and more time in control.

Final battle

The battle lasts only 40 seconds, and the ball saver covers the first 27 of them. While the saver is on, shoot at the monster as fast as you can and do not worry about losing a ball. As the saver runs out, trap one ball, which means catch it and hold it still against a raised flipper, so you always have a spare. At hit 20, stop shooting the monster and put everything into Eleven.

From the video

Video tips

  1. 2:45 — the machine calls out that a multiball has started. Listen for “Jackpot” at 4:13, 4:18, 4:44 and 4:50: that is the sound of a lit shot being made during a multiball.
  2. 10:04 — Extra Ball lights. This is what it looks and sounds like.
  3. 11:33 — AV Club is announced, and a run of Jackpot callouts follows from 11:55 to 12:48.
  4. 22:27 — the “Super” callout: the sound of a story’s finishing shot.

Watch these moments so you recognise each event when it happens at the machine. The video does not teach when to flip for each shot; that you learn on this cabinet.

The full rules

Full rules

The whole game in five steps
  1. Where’s Barb: knock down B-A-R-B, lock two balls, find the one secret winning shot among the five yellow ones, then shoot Castle Byers.
  2. Escape the Bad Men: knock down R-U-N in two halves and shoot the locks, make five Jackpots on the outside ramps, then the Super on the center ramp.
  3. Save Will: knock down the barricade and hit the Demogorgon 15 times, shoot the portal and escape the upper field, then make the twelve shots in turn.
  4. Adventuring Party: earn all nine members, shoot Castle Byers, then make all nine orange Jackpots. The third and sixth each send out another ball.
  5. Kill the Demogorgon: shoot Eleven, hit the monster 20 times inside 40 seconds, then shoot Eleven again for 100 million.
What the machine remembers between balls

When you lose a ball, most of what you built stays, and the lights come back on for your next ball: the BARB and RUN letters, finished stories, finished AV Club games, Eggos milestones, Party members you have earned, and how many Jackpots you had made in a story. The one big exception is the final battle. If a Demogorgon attempt ends without the finale, all four story lamps go out. So a story you did not finish is easy to pick up again, but a lost final battle means finishing all four stories again before you can try once more.

Shot physics

The rows of targets in the middle of the table and the portal can fire a missed shot straight back down at you. Nudge the machine (a small, quick push) as the ball leaves the target, before it reaches the slingshots beside the flippers. For the ramps and orbits, start with the ball resting still on a flipper and learn one shot at a time: notice which flipper, which spot on the flipper and how fast the ball was moving when the shot went in cleanly on this cabinet. Do not borrow an “early” or “late” flip cue from someone else’s machine. During a multiball, hold one ball still on a raised flipper and shoot with the other once the ball saver has run out.

Where this came from

Your table

What no program can tell you: how hard to pull the plunger, when to flip for each shot, how the machine answers a nudge, and what happens in the rare case when two balls fall out at the same moment. Those you learn by playing this cabinet.