HOMEKeefer's Guide to The Addams Family Special Collector's Edition
===============================================================
(Popularly known as The Addams Family Gold Edition)
V 1.1.1 - 10-Jun-95
-------------------
*** FINAL VERSION ***
This rules compilation is freely distributable. I retain any and all rights
to this guide. You may take this guide and change it or use it in other
manners so long as the new version remains freely distributable, this notice
remains at the beginning of the work, and all persons' names that appear in
this guide as contributors are included. No charge may ever be made for
distributing this guide. Use of this guide in any manner not expressly
permitted here requires my prior permission.
The game and layout and various other stuff is probably copyrighted by
Williams. The subject matter and characters and other stuff (the license
this game is based on) is probably copyrighted by Paramount Pictures. Etc.
etc.
If you have any comments, questions, suggestions, corrections, flames, or
whatever else I might have forgotten, then you may send them to:
keefer@rahul.net
-or-
keefer@access.digex.net
Introduction
============
The Addams Family (TAF) was an amazingly popular pin released in early 1992,
based on the movie by the same name. It is a Pat Lawlor design, who is
famous for his other works including Whirlwind, FunHouse, and Twilight Zone.
This pin was so popular, it broke the production record of most pins
manufactured (of the same type) which was like 22,000 held by former champ
Eight Ball Deluxe (early 1980's). It is said that the machine that broke the
record was all made up in gold (like gold legs, gold metal around other parts
of the machine, etc.). Whereas details of this record-breaking machine are
sketchy to say the least, these characteristics hold for this new limited
edition release of TAF.
Obviously, most of the parts are not pure gold, but more than likely are
gold-color painted. Lots of other parts of the machine (other than the metal
outside) are also gold-colored: the vault, the tops of the pop bumpers,
Thing's box... Each machine of TAF Special Collector's Edition (TAFG, for
TAF Gold) is numbered (out of supposedly 1000 machines - a very limited run
indeed) and includes a certificate signed by the members of the design team.
The number of the machine is located on a gold plate on the lower right-hand
corner of the front of the machine. FWIW, the machine I've been playing is
#0959. :)
WARNING - This guide may contain SPOILERS that you don't really want to know
about right away and find out for yourself (the "?" of the Mansion comes to
mind). Most sections are labelled pretty carefully, so you should be able to
avoid reading that which you don't want to read. However, I take no
responsibility for you finding out stuff you didn't already know. :)
K = 1,000; M = 1,000,000; B = 1,000,000,000. The notation "xM+yM to zM"
means it starts at xM points, goes up yM points every time it is awarded, but
never goes higher than zM points.
Edition Differences
===================
Most people are more than likely familiar with the original version of TAF.
In the interest of completeness, though, this will be a guide to the entire
game. This section briefly describes the differences between the old TAF and
TAFG.
Cousin It's Hideout - Some rooms in the mansion (it's always random) contain
belongings of Cousin It. Depending on what you find, you are given
an award of some sort. For full details, see the section following
the Mansion description.
Super Seance - There seems to be about a 50% chance than any given time you
shoot the Seance Mansion award, you will get a Super Seance instead.
See the description in the Mansion section.
3M - The 3M and 6M awards are NOT attached any more. However, the 3M will
give you another room. See the 3M under the Mansion secion.
Multiball - A couples changes in Multiball rules: The starting jackpot for
Multiball now varies, and Dirty Pool during Multiball will award a
Super Jackpot and leave it lit. See the Multiball section.
Locked balls - Any balls that were locked for Multiball are kicked out of the
Swamp automatically at the end of the game now. It is adjustable,
but this is the default behavior.
Extra ball buyin - There is one on TAFG. It can be set to allow anywhere
from 0-99 buyins, and it doesn't matter how many you use because
you'll be able to get on the high score chart regardless.
Quotes - There's a load of new quotes in TAFG. Some are more understandable
than others, though. They don't have any impact on gameplay, it's
just that some of them are pretty cool. :)
There may be other things that differ that we don't know about yet. Also,
some things have not yet been accomplished on TAFG. In these cases, the
limits set forth in TAF (which have been well documented) will be used. For
example, I have not gotten to the maximum value of the Graveyard yet, but in
TAF it was 4M. Therefore, I assume that the maximum is 4M for TAFG as well.
Should anything ever be found to be different, you can bet that it'll be
changed in this guide.
Playfield Layout
================
I'll start at the bottom center and go clockwise around.
Flippers - The 2 at the bottom are normal full-length flippers.
Left slingshot - A normal slingshot.
Left inlanes - There are 2 of them, both leading to the left flipper. The
left one lights the middle ramp for "Thing Flips" for about 8
seconds. The right one lights the middle ramp for 2 Bear Kicks
instead of just one for about 4 seconds.
Left outlane - It can be lit for a Special, but that's about it.
Thing flipper - This is a mini-flipper which is used to shoot the Swamp. The
ball can go to this flipper either as one of 2 exits from the
Graveyard or from the ramps. (The left ramp always feeds to the
Thing flipper, and the ramp diverter can be opened so that the middle
ramp does too.) When the ball comes down from the ramp or the
Graveyard (or if it wanders up far enough from down below), it'll
trigger an opto that lights the Swamp.
G and R targets - Located between the 2 exits of the Graveyard (the left loop
shot and the Thing flipper lane), these 2 standup targets make up the
first 2 letters in Grave.
Electric Chair - This is a kickout hole with a (gold) plastic chair above it.
There are 2 lights indicating its status on either side of the chair.
The yellow light indicates that a shot to the chair will award the
currently flashing Mansion award. The red light indicates that the
chair will start Multiball. When balls get kicked out, they head
towards the middle of the left flipper (usually).
Graveyard - This is the name given to the pop bumper area. There are *5*
bumpers here. Each hit gives some kind of scream or moan or gasp and
briefly disturbs the appropiate grave on the display as well as adds
to the current Graveyard value.
Left loop - This is the passage through the Graveyard that goes around the
back of the game, feeding to the upper right flipper. "Adv. X" can
be lit for this shot by going through the right inlane. Making this
shot also lights the "light star" light on the left ramp for about 4
seconds.
Cousin It - The Cousin It targets are located above and to the right of the
Electric Chair, sloping away from a direct shot at them from the
bottom right flipper. Just to the right of the standup targets is a
picture of Cousin It. The only time the targets are used is during
the Cousin It round of the Mansion. Any time you hit the targets
will generally get you a random squeal from It.
Left ramp - This ramp is only directly makable from a upper-right flipper
shot. Any shot to it will always award Million Plus (1M+1M up to
10M) and light the next letter in THING. If "light star" is lit (by
shooting the left loop first), then you'll also be awarded one of the
THING stars. This is also the Super Jackpot shot during Multiball.
It feeds to the Thing flipper. The first time it is shot each ball
you may hear "Not bad." from Gomez sometimes followed by "I know,
darling." from Tish. Other times you'll hear "Play ball!" Also,
each shot spots the next unlit letter in GRAVE.
Train - This is a lane located just above the entrance to the left ramp with
a standup target and the end. Getting a certain number of train hits
will award a train wreck. This is also the Jackpot shot during
Multiball.
Thing ramp - This is a tiny ramp shootable from the bottom right flipper,
though sometimes a weird brick shot from the upper right flipper will
also land the ball here. There are 4 status lights for this ramp.
The 2 lights on the playfield are Extra Ball and Multiball. Above
the ramp are a green light which indicates a ball can be locked here
for multiball and a yellow light which indicates that you can collect
the next THING value. You can always get the extra ball when it is
lit by shooting this ramp, but only 1 of the other 3 things may be
collected at a time on any one shot. The priority of awards is
Multiball then lock (green light) then THING award (yellow light).
The ball goes down a small lane to the kickout saucer.
A target - This standup target is located between the entrances to the Thing
ramp and the middle ramp. It is part of the Grave targets.
Middle ramp - Shooting this ramp will add 1 to your "Bear Kicks." You start
the game with 1, and various numbers along the way will give you
awards. An extra ball will light after 6-14 Kicks (self-adjusting)
and at 50 Kicks. Also, every 15+10 Kicks (up to 95) will spot the
currently flashing Mansion award (unless it's the "?"). This ramp
can be lit for 2 Bear Kicks via the right left inlane and/or Thing
Flips via the left left inlane. During Multiball, it adds 1M to the
Jackpot. During Quick Multiball, it adds 1M to the Vault Jackpot.
It is also the "V" shot in Grave. Typically, the ball will be fed to
the right inlane, though it may go to the Thing flipper if Seance is
running or if Thing Flips is lit.
*THING* - This display is located just under the dot matrix display on the
backglass. Every time you shoot the left ramp, the next unlit letter
is lit up. You can light up to both of the stars by shooting the
ramp when "light star" is lit on the left ramp. Typically, you'll
start the game off with 3 letters, though this is adjustable. You
can still earn stars even if THING is already spelled. Collect the
THING award at the Thing ramp/kickout saucer.
Bookcase - This is the big gold block sitting on a gold round turntable. On
it is a sign that says something like "Spell GREED to light locks."
Well, that's just what you do. When the Bookcase is closed (facing
you), then shooting it will usually award you the next letter in
GREED. When the bookcase is open, it reveals a shot to the Vault.
Vault - This is a hold behind the Bookcase, generally only shootable when the
Bookcase is open. Of course, given the way pinball is, a ball could
always wander into it when it isn't open... Above the Vault are 2
status lights. A green light means that a ball can be locked there
for Multiball, and a red light means that that shot will start
Multiball OR that it's lit for a Jackpot (during one of the Quick
Multiballs) OR that it'll light the Super Jackpot if it isn't lit
during Multiball.
Kickout saucer - This saucer can get a ball in it in 3 different ways. It is
fed to from the Thing lane (shot by the Thing ramp) and by a slow-
moving ball that drops down from the plunger ramp. Also, a ball that
kind of dribbles around the upper right corner may plop into it.
Anytime the ball goes into the saucer, whether it was shot from the
Thing ramp, plunger lane, or a lucky bounce, whatever was lit at the
Thing ramp will be awarded. For example, you could drain with an
extra ball lit, then (presuming it stays lit between balls), get the
extra ball off of the skill shot. Thing will pick up the ball here
if a lock, THING, or Multiball is lit.
Thing - Thing resides in the gold box that takes up the upper right corner of
playfield. Basically, he's a plastic hand with a magnet on his
fingertips that allows him to "pick up" balls. See the kickout
saucer description above to find out when he comes out. For all
awards except THING, once he has retreated back into the box, the
magnet will deactivate and the ball will follow a path to the Swamp
kickout. If THING was awarded, though, Thing will come back out and
put the ball back into the saucer.
Right loop - Shooting the ball around here has no really useful purpose
except to get the ball into the Graveyard. Sometimes during
Multiball, the game will get confused and give you Adv. X (the left
loop award) if it's lit.
Plunger ramp - The ball travels up this ramp when you launch it with the
(manual) plunger. Just beyond the gate lies an entrance to the Swamp
which the ball will go into if not launched very hard. The skill
shot is to get the ball to go just off the end of the ramp into the
kickout saucer. The skill shot is worth 2M+1M to 5M. You can also
plunge the ball very hard and it'll go around the right loop into the
Graveyard. If lock is lit in the Swamp, you can soft plunge the ball
and let it fall into there and get credit for the lock. If you slam
the plunger with the palm of your hand with all of your might, the
ball will doubtlessly get lodged under the middle ramp, so I don't
highly recommend doing this.
Upper-right flipper - A full-length flipper which you can use to hit the left
ramp, Train, Cousin It, and the Bookcase. Various other trick shots
are possible, like shooting the Thing ramp, the middle ramp(!), and
an open Vault off of Cousin It. Balls are fed to it from the kickout
saucer and the left loop.
Swamp Millions targets - These standup targets are located around the Swamp,
1 above and 2 below. When the Swamp is lit for 5x Graveyard, these
targets are also active. Each one you hit while 5x Graveyard is lit
is worth 1M points. Otherwise, they're not worth very much at all
(token points). You may think of these as consolation points for
missing that blasted shot to the Swamp from the Thing flipper, but
their real purpose is to let the game know how off Thing was on his
calculated shot from "Thing Flips." If he hits the top target, he
waits a little longer, one of the bottom 2, he speeds up a little.
Swamp - When unlit, the Swamp awards the Graveyard value. When lit for 5x
Graveyard, amazingly enough it awards just that. Lock may also be
lit here, and when it is, you can just plunge a ball softly so that
it lands there.
Swamp kickout - Any ball that goes into the Swamp from the plunger, Swamp
shot, or from Thing will get kicked out here to the right flipper.
This is also the "E" shot in Grave, though you must actually shoot
the kickout itself rather than let a ball get kicked out from it.
Shooting the kickout (tricky, because it's all the way on the right
of the playfield) will also award you the next Mansion room when the
Electric Chair is lit on normal settings, unlighting the Electric
Chair.
Right outlane - Same as left... Special can be lit here, but that's it.
Right inlane - When the ball goes through the right inlane, it lights the
left loop for "Adv. X," which is the bonus multiplier for about 5
seconds. For the same length of time, it'll light the Electric Chair
temporarily if it is not permanently lit.
Right slingshot - A normal slingshot.
Power - In the middle of the playfield right above the flippers is an area
mysteriously marked "The Power." The Power is active during certain
times and is basically 3 spinning magnets that can absolutely wreak
havoc with balls on top of the playfield. This can also lead to some
amazingly interesting, funny, and devastating results. You can tell
if The Power is active by whether its light is flashing or not.
Gameplay
========
There are 2 main objectives to TAFG: Getting Mansion rooms and getting
Multiball to score Jackpots. Both the Mansion and Multiball have their own
sections in this rulesheet. However, there is also tons of other stuff you
can do to score points in this game. Scoring was pretty high when the
original TAF first came out, but by games of today's standards, TAFG tends to
be on the lower side. On an average machine, the replay will probably hover
around 100M +/- 20M depending on the machine itself and the ability of the
locals, assuming auto-percentaging is on. The default replay boost is 8M.
Skill shot
----------
For the skill shot, try to plunge the ball just hard enough to get it to land
in the kickout saucer. The skill shot is worth 2M+1M up to 5M points each
time you make it. You can get the skill shot any time you plunge the ball
when it is served to you by the game to the plunger lane. If a ball airballs
into the plunger lane, you can't get a skill shot.
If the ball doesn't quite make it up the plunger ramp, then it'll fall into
the Swamp. ("Don't torture yourself, darling." or "You should know
better."
or "Have a nice swim!" or "The primeval ooze.") If the lock was lit at
the
Swamp, then the ball gets locked ("Good thinking!").
If the ball goes beyond the kickout saucer but doesn't hit anything AT ALL
(meaning you have scored 0 points) and drains then you are simply given the
ball back to try again. Note that the outlanes score points! This is
applicable ANY time you are given the ball at the plunger, including the
start of Multiballs! Basically, if your score is still flashing (as opposed
to being swept off and back on), then you can let it safely go.
THING
-----
THING letters are on the backglass. On normal settings, you start the game
with 3 letters (THI). Every time you shoot the left ramp, you get the next
letter. When THING is complete, you may shoot the Thing ramp to get the
THING value. Thing will then come out of his box and pick up the ball ("No,
no, no!" or "No time for that now, Thing."). He'll then come back out of
the
box and put the ball back into the kickout saucer. THING is worth 5M the
first time, then 10M, then a maximum of 15M. For each star you have (up to
2), you get an additional 5M from the THING value. You get a star by making
a left loop->left ramp combo (shooting the left ramp when "light star" is
lit). Therefore, you can get up to 25M from THING at one time.
If lights are burned out or something, the display will tell you which
letters you have already gotten when you shoot the left ramp. Also, it is
mentioned in the Status Report.
GRAVE letters
-------------
There are 5 letters scattered over the playfield that spell GRAVE. The G and
R are located just to the right of the Thing flipper, the A is just to the
left of the middle ramp, the V is the middle ramp, and the E is the Swamp
kickout. Each time you hit an unlit letter, you spot one of the pop bumpers.
The bumpers always start each ball unlit, and are spotted starting with the
top one and working down. The first time through will light each bumper, and
the second time will cause them to flash. Therefore, spelling GRAVE
completely two times on one ball will flash all of the bumpers. The bumpers
themselves are worth token points depending on their status. Their real
value lies in increasing the Graveyard.
The left ramp awards the next unlit letter in order in GRAVE.
The GRAVE value is awarded instantly upon completing GRAVE. It is worth
2M+1M up to 10M. The value is held throughout the game (it never goes down).
Graveyard
---------
The Graveyard value starts at 1M at the beginning of each ball, unless it was
held by a Train Wreck from the last ball (see next section). Each pop bumper
hit increases the Graveyard value by 10K if unlit, 20K if lit, and 30K if
flashing. (See previous section for spotting bumpers.) The Mansion award
"Graveyard at max" will instantly make all bumpers flashing.
The Swamp will award the current Graveyard value. The Swamp can be lit if
the ball goes through the lane just above the Thing flipper for 5x the
current Graveyard value ("Quicksand, fumes, toxic waste... It's all ours!").
The maximum value the Graveyard can reach is 4M.
Train Wreck
-----------
Every time you hit the Train shot, you are awarded 1M points. However, after
a certain number of hits, you are awarded a Train Wreck instead, worth 5M
points. On normal settings, the 2nd Train hit will earn you a Train Wreck
("Good show old man!"). After that, the number of hits for a Train Wreck
will go up by one. The maximum number of hits you can ever need for a Train
Wreck is 6 (I think).
On harder settings, more hits will be required for your first Train Wreck,
and will go up from there. A typical 5-ball setting is to have the Train
Wreck need 3 hits for the first one.
Train Wrecks are good for 2 reasons: Every time you get a Train Wreck, you
hold the value of the Graveyard to the next ball (instead of it resetting to
1M). Also, 4 Train Wrecks will light the extra ball. (That means 14 Train
hits: 2+3+4+5. Or more, if your game is set harder.) Nothing special
happens after the 4th Train Wreck (it will still hold the Graveyard, though).
Bear Kicks
----------
You start the game with 1 Bear Kick. Every time you shoot the middle ramp,
you get 1 more Bear Kick, or 2 more if it was lit from the right left inlane.
At 6-14 Bear Kicks, the extra ball is lit (self-adjustable). An extra ball
is also lit at 50 Bear Kicks (though this may change with difficulty
settings). At 15 Bear Kicks, the currently flashing Mansion room is spotted
(awarded). Every 10 Bear Kicks after that will also spot a Mansion room, up
to 95. However, Mansion rooms will never be spotted during any Multiball,
and if you pass 1 or more spot Mansion points during a Multiball, they'll be
queued up and awarded to you one at a time with each ramp shot after
Multiball ends. The Bear Kicks will never spot the "?" room. If the
"?" is
lit when you pass a spot Mansion point, then it is wasted.
After 98 Bear Kicks, every shot to the ramp scores a "Super Bear Bonus" of
5M. "2x Bear Kicks" doesn't do anything anymore (in fact, it may not even be
lit). Quite nice, really.
Thing Flips
-----------
This is a really cool feature. If the ball goes through the left left
inlane, it lights the middle ramp for Thing Flips. (The only time this light
won't be on is during any Multiball and if either Thing Multiball is lit.)
If you shoot the middle ramp before it times out, the ball will go on down to
the Thing flipper ("Let's go, Thing!"). Here, the game will disable any
control YOU have over the flipper and attempt to make the shot to the Swamp
(lit for 5x Graveyard now) by itself! It does this by timing from when the
ball crosses the opto then calculating when to activate the flipper. If it
makes the shot ("Well played, Thing, you're really on the ball!"), then you
get 5x Graveyard. Otherwise, the ball will hit one of the Swamp Millions
("Nonono!" or "Slow down, Thing.") targets, and the game will use
which one
the ball hit first to judge whether to speed up or slow down the shot.
If the game misses the shot 4 times in a row (that is, doesn't hit the 5x
Swamp OR any of the Swamp Millions targets), then it will throw out all of
its previous data and start from scratch in trying to realign itself.
Generally, the only time this would happen is if the playfield angle
drastically changed from what it was before. There is also a "new location"
setting the operator can use after moving the game which makes the game throw
out all of its Thing Flips data immediately.
Combos
------
There is a 4-way combo in TAFG: Shoot the middle ramp, then the left loop,
then the left ramp, then the Swamp in quick succession. Shooting either the
first 3 (middle ramp->left loop->left ramp) or the last 3 (left loop->left
ramp->Swamp) will earn you a 3-way combo. A 3-way combo is worth 5M and a
4-way combo is worth 10M.
4-way combos are very valuable indeed: Not only do you get the 10M, but you
also get the 5M from the 3-way combo right before it, a THING star, Adv. X,
and 5x Graveyard. That can easily add up to 25M or more in the long run.
Extra balls
-----------
Extra balls can be lit in a large number of ways:
- Bear Kicks (between 6-14 and again aat 50)
- The Mansion room
- A Cousin It's Hideout award
- 4 Train Wrecks
- Start of Tour
Extra balls are lit at the Thing ramp/kickout saucer. By default, all of
them but the Tour extra ball will still be lit if you drain.
If more than one extra ball is lit, and there is a difference in the types
that are lit (i.e. may or may not go away when you lose your ball), then the
"temporary" extra balls will be awarded first. So if you have a temporary
extra ball lit and a permanent extra ball lit, collect one, then drain,
you'll still have an extra ball lit next ball.
When you start an extra ball, you may hear: "Keep the ball, I have a whole
bucketful!" or "That's the spirit! Shoot again!" or "Good show old
man!
Shoot again!"
There is available on TAFG an extra ball buyin. Here, you may spend one of
your hard-earned credits on ONE extra ball with your score and everything
else the same. For all intents and purposes, it is just an extra ball.
Buying it doesn't seem to give you any advantage or light anything new. Yes,
you can still get high scores after buying in. The default is to allow one
buyin, but can be set to 99!
Adv. X
------
The left loop is lit for Adv. X when the ball goes through the right inlane
(including coming down off of the middle ramp). Shooting it advances your
bonus multiplier by 1, up to 5x. The bonus multiplier only affects the
Mansion room and Bear Kick bonus. When you have gotten 5x bonus, the "light
adv. x" light goes off.
End-of-ball Bonus
-----------------
As with all other Pat Lawlor games, you are given bonus based on your
accomplishments, not ball time or number of switches hit. Your bonus is:
(100K * Bear Kicks + 500K * Mansion rooms) * bonus multiplier + any round
bonuses you may have gotten that ball (from Cousin It, Mamushka, or Raise the
Dead).
Getting a bonus OVER 20M that includes a round bonus earns the quote "Who
says you can't take it with you???" You won't get it if you have merely a
multiplied bonus without any rounds, nor will you get it for *exactly* 20M.
Status Report
-------------
Holding one flipper button in for a few seconds will bring up the Status
Report, assuming there isn't a ball hitting switches somewhere. Using the
other flipper button, you may page through (or just wait and it'll change
pages automatically) and find out lots of neat stuff about your current game.
It'll tell you the replay value, number of credits left, number of extra
balls in reserve (default is no more than 4 balls at a time, BTW), status of
GREED and THING, Graveyard value (and whether it's held or not), Train Wrecks
and number of hits for the next one, bonus, bonus multiplier, Bear Kicks and
when the next extra ball is lit, the high scores, and probably other stuff
I've forgotten. If you wonder about something, it's more than likely in the
Status Report.
Tilting
-------
Not surprisingly, tilting the ball means you lose it along with any bonus you
might have had coming that ball. ("Heheheh, you're a funny guy!") It is for
this reason that I don't recommend it if you have a 20M Cousin It bonus...
The tilt warning quote is "Careful!" for each warning.
Mansion Rooms
=============
There are 13 rooms in the Addams' Mansion, apparently. Each of them has an
award or a round tied to it. Rooms that start rounds are orange-colored.
Rooms that just award points are white. Rooms that start Multiballs are
green. The extra ball room is red, and the "Graveyard at max" room is
yellow.
Normal behavior for TAFG is to have the Electric Chair lit at the start of
every ball, though this is difficulty-adjustable. When the yellow light
above the Electric Chair is on, shoot it or the Swamp kickout to collect the
currently flashing room. (You may not be able to collect a room from the
Swamp kickout depending on the difficulty setting.) Doing so awards the room
(see descriptions below), leaves it permanently lit, and advances the
flashing room to the next one to the right, going up a row to the leftmost
room if the rightmost room on a row was awarded, going back to the bottom
left from the top right. The "?" on top of the Mansion will not start
flashing until all other rooms have been collected (lit). It will skip over
rooms already collected, obviously. If the Chair is unlit, going through the
right inlane will light it for about 5 seconds. Shooting either the left or
middle ramps will light the Chair permanently. The Chair will always be lit
if the "?" is flashing. Shooting an unlit chair the first time after the
last award will earn you the quote "It's not plugged in yet." Bear Kicks can
also award rooms (see the Bear Kick section under Gameplay above).
If you drain when the next room to be awarded was either 3M, 6M, or
"Graveyard at max," then the flashing room will be advanced to a room that
ISN'T one of those 3. However, if the only remaining rooms are among those
3, then the game will not change the current room. The pop bumpers advance
the room to the next one available. A new Mansion (including the start of
the game) will always start with either Cousin It or Mamushka flashing (seems
to be a 50-50 chance).
There is a small chance you may find something belonging to Cousin It... See
the next section.
3 Million
---------
This award is actually "Pugsley's and Wednesday's Trap Door." It awards 3M,
the quote from Tish "Look, darling," and another totally random room whether
you've already gotten it or not. It will NOT award the "?". If you haven't
gotten the room it gives you already, it'll light it for you, and advance the
lit room to the one after the second room. If you've already gotten the
second room, you get the award/round again, and it STILL counts towards your
end-of-ball bonus (number-of-rooms-gotten-wise).
Graveyard at Max.
-----------------
Makes all of the pop bumpers flashing. "Out to the cemetary! Come on
everybody!" (See Graveyard under Gameplay for more details on the
ramifications of this award.)
Cousin It
---------
This starts a 20-second round in which all switches score a certain value
("It's Cousin It!"). You get 1M for starting the round (*every* time it was
started, if more than once on that ball). Cousin It is now flashing on the
playfield, and any time you hit the Cousin It targets, you get an amusing
picture of a pinball hitting him in the head, 1M points added to your total,
and the switch value increased by 50K (it starts at 200K). I do not know of
a limit on the switch value. If started more than once on a ball, the value
goes back to 200K. You are not awarded the total until the end-of-ball
bonus, so if you tilt, you lose it!
Mamushka
--------
A 20-second round where all switches score a flat 250K ("Thuuuuuh
Maaaaaaamushkaaa!"). You get 1M each time you start it added to the bonus.
It isn't awarded until the end-of-ball bonus, same deal as Cousin It.
6 Million
---------
You get 6M points. That's it. Really. Oh, Gomez says "Six million!" BFD.
Quick Multiball
---------------
Lights the Thing ramp/kickout saucer for a 2-ball Multiball (Gomez says
"Quickmultiball!" really fast). Shooting it makes Thing pick up the ball and
drop it into the Swamp. If there is at least one ball still in the trough,
then it'll be served to the plunger. If all 3 balls (or all the balls in the
machine) are in the Swamp, then you'll get a Swamp kickout warning from the
display and 2 balls will be kicked out. If you get to plunge, then the
second ball is kicked out after you hit a switch.
The goal for Quick Multiball is to shoot the vault (which is now open) for
Vault Jackpots. The starting value is 5M. Shooting the vault for the
Jackpot OR shooting the middle ramp increases the Jackpot by 1M up to a
maximum of 10M. The Power is active during this Multiball, as with any other
Multiball. Quick Multiball ends when at least one ball drains. :)
The default is to let this award stay on between balls, but on hard and 5-
ball settings, Quick Multiball turns off after you drain.
Fester's Tunnel Hunt
--------------------
This is a 20-second round where you are supposed to search the 3 different
holes for treasure or something ("Look, darling, just what we've been
searching for." from Tish). The three shots are the Electric Chair, the
Vault (which will be revealed if it isn't already), and the Swamp/Swamp
kickout. The first shot (doesn't matter which of the 3) earns 5M and
"Perhaps it's in here?" The second (of the remaining 2 shots) is worth 10M
and "There it is." The last shot is worth 15M and "Just what we've been
searching for." If you don't make all 3 in 20 seconds, well, nothing BAD
happens, the round just ends.
(Super) Seance
--------------
Seance is a 20-second round in which you are supposed to shoot any 3 ramps
(either the middle or left ones). "Knock 3 times!" The first shot is worth
5M ("That's once."), the second shot is 10M ("Twice."), and the third
is 15M
("Thrice! Well done!"). The real kicker is that the Power is active during
this round. :( The replay knocker (it's a lot softer in TAF and TAFG than
normal games, BTW) is knocked one time, two times, and three times depending
on the shot.
During Seance, the ball always goes to the Thing flipper from the middle ramp
unless you got it right at the end of the round on the grace period or Thing
Multiball is lit.
There is a chance (not sure, but it seems to be 25%-50%) that instead of a
Seance, you'll get a Super Seance. Same deal, except the shots are worth
10M, 15M, and 20M. This is really worth going for. It may also pop up
during the Tour (same probability).
9 Million
---------
This is not unlike the 6 Million award.
Thing Multiball
---------------
Simply labeled "Thing" on the playfield, this room starts a 15-second
countdown to get the ball to the Thing ramp/kickout saucer ("Look,
darling!"). The display changes to show you 15M points which counts down at
the standard rate of 1M/second down to a minimum of 3M. When it reaches 3M,
you have about 3 more seconds to try and shoot for it. If you do get it,
Thing will pick up the ball ("And that's not all!"), and a 2-ball Multiball
will start exactly like Quick Multiball. However, the value of the Vault
Jackpots is the value at which you shot the Thing ramp and cannot be
increased.
Thing Multiball can be operator-set to start at anywhere from 10M-20M. If
it's set lower, you have less time (always 3-5 seconds after it hits a value
of 3M); likewise, if it's set higher you get more time. This is because the
countdown rate (1M/sec) cannot be changed.
When Thing Multiball is lit, the middle ramp will *always* feed to the right
inlane regardless of Thing Flips or Seance. All returns to normal after you
collect the value or it times out.
Raise the Dead
--------------
This is a dreaded pop bumper round, though since this is not a DE game, it is
livable. "Raise the dead! Out to the cemetary, come on everybody!" The
Graveyard picture (of all the graves) takes over the display with a number on
each grave representing the number of hits of that bumper needed to raise the
dead person from that grave. Simple observation will show you which grave
represents which bumper. It's roughly perspectively equivalent to their
positions on the playfield. (Got that?)
Each bumper hit adds 100K to the total (2M each time the round is started)
for 30 seconds. Hitting each bumper the required number of times (which is
usually 4, but can be set from 3 to 9) adds 3M to the total. This is end-of-
ball bonus, BTW! It is potentially a very lucrative round if you can get the
ball into the bumpers... Nothing special for raising them all, except that
you'll have at least 19M points. After a bumper has been "raised", it still
scores 100K for the rest of the round.
The bumpers all flash at the start of the round, and the fewer hits a bumper
needs to be "raised" the faster it flashes. It stops flashing after being
"raised." If everyone is raised, the round ends.
Light Extra Ball
----------------
*YOU* figure it out... "Get the extra ball!"
?
-
Tour the Mansion! Only available after all other rooms have been collected,
this is the Wizard Bonus of TAFG. It can NOT be started by spotting from
Bear Kicks. When it is lit, the Electric Chair is automatically lit.
Collecting it does the following:
- Turns off all the Mansion lights
>
- 50M ("Fifffffty millll-yun!&quoot;)
- Marks off 3M, 6M, and 9M
- Lights the special ("Look, darlling!")
- Marks off Quick Multiball
- Awards the "Graveyard at max&quuot; room (and marks it off)
- Awards the "Light extra ball&quuot; room (and marks it off), which must be
collected during that ball or it goes away.
- Goes through the rest of the rooms oone-by-one starting at the bottom right
and stepping up the path laid out by the marked-off rooms to the upper left.
If you still can't figure out the order, it is: Mamushka, Cousin It, Seance,
Tunnel Hunt, Raise the Dead, and Thing Multiball. The next round is started
as soon as the previous one ends (Mamushka is started right away). Any
rounds that were going continue just fine, except Thing Multiball gets
cancelled and Mamushka's timer is RESET to 20 seconds (instead of having 20
seconds added to the timer).
Right before the first room is awarded, when the display goes back to the
Mansion for the room zoom-in, the Mansion picture is briefly mutilated for
some unknown reason. Just a display bug.
During the Tour, no GREED letters may be spotted. Also, if the lock was
already lit, you can't lock balls.
If you go through everything, then at the end of Thing Multiball, everything
is solidly lit and the Mansion is effectively out of play for the rest of
that ball. GREED or the status of the locks are restored to what it was when
you started the Tour. Since you can't get any more Mansion rooms now, just
about the only major thing to go for is Multiball...
Cousin It's Hideout
===================
The game can be set to give a certain number of extra awards per mansion.
These are from Cousin It's Hideout, and it is just a random bonus with awards
as described below:
Cousin It's Hat: 5M
(Rabbit pops out of hat)
Cousin It's Hair Brush: 5M
(It strokes his hair)
Cousin It's Sunglasses: 7M
(Cool shades!)
Cousin It's Car Keys: 8M
(It drives his car onto the screen from the left)
Cousin It's Hair Spray: 10M
(Huge spritzes of spray)
Cousin It's Hair Dryer: 15M
(Hair flys all over the place)
Cousin It's Wristwatch: 20M
(It displays his huge watch on his left arm)
Cousin It's Gold Chain: 25M
(It schwinging his chain)
Cousin It's Gold Pinball: Light extra ball
(Tosses a ball in the air a couple of times)
Cousin It's Bag of Gold: Light special
(Picks up coins from the bag and lets them fall back in)
The range "per mansion" is from 1-4, and the default is 2. However, after
going through 1 or 2 mansions, I never got any extra items. It may be just
for the first mansion. :(
There are only a couple of rules that I'm aware of... It doesn't appear that
you will get a Hideout for Pugsley's and Wednesday's Trap Door (3M room),
though you may from the room awarded after that. You *can* get Hideouts from
rooms spotted by Bear Kicks just as if you had shot it, and you can also get
a Hideout from the Cousin It round (same possibility as any other room).
I also encountered an interesting bug: I got Cousin It's Car Keys at the
start of a Tour once! That was weird, but then for each room I went through
(drained after starting 3 rounds), it gave me the animation *again* for it.
This has since been confirmed by other people, and it turns out that you do
NOT keep getting the award though it keeps showing you the animation.
Multiball
=========
Multiball can be a lot of fun on TAFG. The way you light it is by spelling
GREED. Each time you hit the Bookcase, you get the next letter in GREED.
For the first Multiball, the start of each ball will spot you the next letter
in GREED (so you basically start the game with G lit). Also (for the first
Multiball), tilting the ball will spot you another GREED letter for reasons
beyond my comprehension. Upon completion of GREED (alternates between
"Greeeeeeeed" and "There, see what greed will get you?"), the Bookcase
swings
open revealing the Vault.
At times you may get really lucky, and the ball will fly into the Vault even
though the Bookcase is still closed. Well, this situation was anticipated,
and should it happen, the game will immediately spell GREED, open the Vault,
and lock that ball! "Dirty pool, old man... I like it!" I thought this was
the coolest thing I'd ever seen a game do until R&B (a DE game of all things)
came out with its "Good boy, Sherman" award. :)
At this point, the lock(s) is(are) lit (any shot with a green flashing light
above it). For the first Multiball, you may lock balls at the Thing ramp/
kickout saucer (adjustable). For the second lock on your first Multiball,
you may also lock the ball in the Swamp. After 2 balls have been locked, you
may start Multiball from either of the shots with a flashing red light above
it - the Vault ("Not the Bermuda Triangle!") or from the Electric Chair
("Now
you've done it." the first time and "It has to warm up... So it can KILL
you!" the second). The Electric Chair will only start Multiball the first 2
times (adjustable), and the Swamp kickout shot will NOT work to start. I
might point out that when start Multiball is lit, the Power is active...
The start of Multiball is probably the biggest buildup of any game yet...
All the playfield flashers go off and get lit row by row alternating every
other lamp while the sound gets louder and louder and the flashing gets
faster and faster. Finally, Gomez yells "SHOW-TIME!", there are 3 more
booms, and Multiball starts.
The balls are kicked out one at a time - first one from the Swamp kickout,
second one from the Swamp kickout or Electric Chair (depending on whether or
not you started Multiball from the Chair (i.e. there's a ball there)), and
the last one from the Swamp kickout.
The object now is to shoot either the Train for Jackpot or the left ramp for
the Super Jackpot. It's an either/or situation, so chances are you'll want
to go for the Super Jackpot. The Super Jackpot is a double Jackpot the first
Multiball, and a triple Jackpot for each Multiball after that.
So, just how much IS the Jackpot worth? Good question. But, we seem to
finally have an answer! On L-1 and L-2 ROMs, it is worth either 5 or 15M.
If you've had 6 or more skill shots (may just be skill shot attempts), then
it is 5M. 5 or fewer and it is 15M. On L-3 ROMs, the jackpot is worth 10M
for starting it from the Electric Chair, and 15M for starting it from the
Vault.
Whatever the starting value, each hit of the Bookcase or each shot of the
middle ramp will increase the Jackpot by 1M, up to a maximum of 25M.
Collecting the Jackpot keeps the value of the Jackpot the same. Collecting a
Super Jackpot sets the value of the next Jackpot at 10M. In either case, the
Bookcase will reopen, and you need to shoot the Vault to relight the Super
Jackpot. (You don't get to shoot for the Jackpot after either one is
collected the first time, but who cares?)
If you get Dirty Pool during Multiball (the ball goes into the Vault, which
is closed because the Jackpots are lit), then you are awarded the Super
Jackpot, the value is reset to 10M, and the Super Jackpot *stays lit* on the
ramp. Cool! Oh, and the Jackpot goes away if it was lit.
Hearing Gomez yell "Triiiiple Jackpot!!" is very cool and very satisfying.
You MUST hear this. :)
Gomez says something near the start of Multiball during the initial flail-
around period, but I've never understood it. If you get a Jackpot or Super
Jackpot and still have more than one ball on the playfield, Gomez says
"There's more where that came from!"
If through some vast misfortune you don't get a single Jackpot, all is not
lost. You get a 20-second period in which you can shoot the Thing ramp/
kickout saucer for a 2-ball Multiball restart. Thing will pick up the ball,
and you will get a ball served to the plunger lane. The Jackpot value
remains what it was when the 2nd ball drained. Be absolutely sure that this
ball makes it off of the plunger ramp, because the Jackpots are lit right
away and this is an easy opportunity to make one. If you miss the skill
shot, but the ball still makes it to the upper right flipper, then you can
shoot either shot before the other ball has a chance to come out. If you
make the skill shot, generally there is just enough time for the other ball
to get kicked out before being awarded a Jackpot. If you don't make the
Multiball restart, Gomez says "Sorry, old man."
When Multiball finally ends, the Bookcase closes back up if it was open and
everything begins anew. However, after the first Multiball, no more GREED
letters will be given out for free and you must lock balls in the Vault.
If, during a multiplayer game, someone steals your locked balls from you, you
may simply drop a ball into the Swamp from the plunge to relock it. A very
nice feature indeed. Also, at the end of the game, any locked balls are
kicked out into the trough (adjustable).
Tips/Tricks/Strategies
======================
As soon as you plunge the ball into the skill shot, you immediately have a
choice to make. Do I shoot the left ramp? The Train? Maybe slam it into
the Bookcase instead... Generally, the best thing to do is shoot the ramp.
You can hit the Bookcase from either of the bottom flippers if you want to go
for Multiball, and Train Wrecks usually happen more or less by accident as
the game goes on. Generally, the ONLY time I'll shoot the Train is if the
Graveyard value is very high (so that it'll carry over to the next ball) or
if I'm very close to getting the extra ball from the 4th Train Wreck.
Besides, shooting the left ramp increases the value for the rest of the ball
and gives you a letter in THING.
As for deciding whether to go for the Mansion or Multiball, the same kind of
logic generally applies. Mansion rooms are much harder to shoot than the
Bookcase, and generally the ball will wander up and hit the Bookcase a few
times by inself anyway. After a Tour, of course, you CAN'T go for the
Mansion so you might as well go for Multiball.
The 2 most important shots to master are probably the Electric Chair and the
vault. They can be tricky but generally aren't that difficult. Most of the
other shots are pretty easy (even that left ramp is much easier than it
looks). Also extremely important is to learn how the balls come out of the
Chair and the Swamp kickout. Can you catch them? Can you let the ball
bounce over to the other flipper for an easy shot somewhere else? Is it
really fast? Will it run into the slingshot on the way down? Answering
those questions is key in keeping good ball control.
When you light the locks for Multiball, it's generally a good idea to go
ahead and get it out of the way.
During Multiball, always go for the Super Jackpot. The only time it's
mathematically to your advantage to shoot the Jackpot is when you're on your
first Multiball (Super Jackpot = 2x) and the Jackpot value is >20M. You can
figure out why if you want, but the difference is small enough that you might
as well shoot for the Super Jackpot anyway. Besides, it could wind up *NOT*
being to your advantage, but I don't want to get into all that now... Email
me if you really care. :)
If you're not sure what to do when the ball is at the upper right flipper,
shoot the left ramp. The only exceptions are described above and when Cousin
It is running. It's worth nailing It a few times near the beginning of the
round, but when there's only about 5 seconds left, just shoot the ramp. The
exception to THAT rule is if you are in Multiball. During Multiball, any
timed round has the timer paused any time ANY ball is in a hole or kickout
saucer or something. This can lead to insanely high Cousin It scores (like
45M), as well as good Mamushka scores. High Cousin Its are much more likely
if you take the time to nail him during Multiball, though. One more
exception: If the Super Jackpot is lit, shoot for that at all costs. One
measly hit on It is not going to make up the difference in the long run no
matter what!
For either of the frenzy rounds (Cousin It and Mamushka and especially Raise
the Dead), it makes sense that the best place for the ball to be is in the
pop bumpers. This is just about the only reason to learn the right loop
shot. You can also plunge a ball directly into the bumpers after locking a
ball, but you should only do this when Multiball is ready to start or the only
place to lock the ball is the Vault, and when the round is Raise the Dead.
Otherwise, it's usually worth going for the skill shot instead. (For
Mamushka, you need 20 bumper hits to make up a 5M skill shot, and the chances
of that happening are not great, though it could.)
For Quick Multiball, a good idea is to jack up the Jackpot value to 10M by
shooting the middle ramp a few times first. Then just plug away at the
Vault!
There's not much to say about Tunnel Hunt... One thing I like to do is to
flail the ball directly into the Vault from the Electric Chair kickout (not a
hard shot once you get used to it), then flail it into the Electric Chair
from the Swamp Kickout, then catch the ball from the Chair and try to shoot
the Swamp kickout. If you light Thing Flips and you haven't gotten the Swamp
yet, by all means shoot the ramp and hopefully Thing will make the Swamp for
you (you DO get credit for it during Tunnel Hunt).
Seance is definitely tricky. The normal Seance is often not worth the
frustration of dealing with the Power, though this is certainly machine-
dependant. You can't just hold onto the ball, though. Generally the Seance
timer will stop after the Status Report starts showing on the screen.
However, this often turns the Power off until you hit another target. This
gives you a nice clean shot at the middle ramp. (You can turn the Power off
in this way just about any time, so you can give yourself a clean shot at
starting Multiball as well.) If you get a Super Seance, though, it is
definitely worth going for, since the total for finishing it would get you
45M. When you shoot either ramp, it's generally OK to NOT shoot for 5x
Graveyard and just let the ball dribble into the inlanes. But be careful
here! It's also quite possible that the ball will bounce right into the
outlane. If you're really lucky, you'll shoot the ramp, the ball will go
through the "light 2x Bear Kicks" inlane, you'll shoot the ramp, the ball
will go through the "light Thing Flips" inlane, you'll shoot the ramp, and
Thing'll make the shot and you'll get 5x Graveyard, too.
For Thing Multiball, the best thing to do is to let the ball bounce over to
the right flipper and shoot the Thing ramp right away. Alternatively, if you
can't bounce it over, flail the ball up the middle ramp (which will ALWAYS
deliver the ball to the right inlane while the Thing timer is counting down)
then shoot the Thing ramp. Either way shoot net you over 10M easily if you
don't miss. The middle ramp->Thing ramp combo generally gives you around
12.5M and the bounce-over method generally give you 13.8M. If when you start
Thing Multiball the value is pretty low (like below 5M), then I concentrate
on hitting things other than the Vault. For example, this is a great time to
shoot the left ramp and build up your Million Plus value quite a bit, which
can easily surpass the Thing Jackpot value.
During Raise the Dead, if you're ever given the ball at the plunger lane and
there's no easy lock (skill shot or Swamp), then launch it to the bumpers.
Chances are good that you'll get a couple of graves which will give you
around 7M points. Raise the Dead is probably the most easily ignored round
in the whole game because the ball often doesn't make it to the bumpers by
itself, and no shot really puts the ball there except for the (generally
useless) right loop. However, Raise the Dead, if actually shot for, can
easily be worth more than Cousin It and Mamushka combined.
If THING is lit, but so is Multiball, make sure you collect THING first. You
can't get it during Multiball, and since your main goal is to shoot the left
ramp, you'll miss out on letters for the next THING you would have otherwise
gotten. It's pretty easy to go through all 5 letters during one Multiball.
If something is lit at the Thing ramp and you have a ball at the plunger, be
sure to err on the launch-too-hard side. This is because hopefully if the
ball goes beyond the kickout saucer, it won't go TOO far and you can let the
ball drain silently and get another chance. This is especially important if
an extra ball is lit there.
Know what's going to happen when you're about to spot a room. For example,
if Thing is flashing and you shoot the 15th Bear Kick, then you should shoot
the Thing ramp before the room is even awarded to you and you instantly get
15M points. Also, during the Tour, when Raise the Dead is about to come to a
close, hold the ball on the right flipper and wait for it to end, then shoot
the Thing ramp for a very high Thing value.
There ARE cows in TAFG. :) The designer credits are in there as well.
When to use the buyin? Well, if you're really close to the Tour or you have
an extra ball (or more) lit or if you're getting bored and want to get rid of
credits, then go ahead and use it. The button is on the middle right of the
front of the cabinet. Otherwise, hit start or both flippers together to
abort it.
Contributors
============
Special thanks to...
Jon Biavati <jon.biavati@cubic.com>
Mark Phaedrus <phaedrus@halcyon.com>
Mark Valentine <markv@cix.compulink.co.uk>
David Stewart <dstewart@eng.umd.edu>
The end. (For now.)
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