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Williams Pharaoh (1981) Rulesheet by Jess Askey
(Additional features and tips by myself)
General Description:
Pharaoh was Williams 4th classic 2-level game. It was also right after the
large success of Black Knight and before the tight years where video games
started killing pinball earnings. Because of this, it seems that the design
team for Pharaoh had enough money and time to make a great overall game.
Pharaoh was the last two level game to have speech. Pharaoh only has a 2-ball
multiball but with the small lower PF and larger upper PF, a 3-ball multiball
may have been a bit overwhelming. Pharaoh was also one of the last Williams
games to use tth old chrome 3-slot coin door. The production run for Pharaoh
was 2500 games.
Playfield Description:
The playfield configuration for Pharaoh is more like a mirror image of a
Black Knight. The upper and lower PF's are split along a diagonal line going
from the lower left to the upper right. The Upper PF is actually the bigger
of the two PF's (unlike all the other 2-level games) which makes playing
the ball on the lower PF very fast. Keeping the ball on the upper PF is
a very important strategy. The two PF's are connected by only two(2) ramps.
The ball enters the upper PF in the very top right corner of the game and
falls out over the top of the right ramp. Going around the upper PF clockwise,
there is a large slingshot along the lower right side of the entire upper
PF, with a mini-flipper(Addams Family Thing Flip's sized) at the bottom
right. Between the two upper flippers is the top of the left ramp. The left
flipper is standard sized. Directly to the left of the left flipper is a
ball gate which is the exit from the lower PF's Hidden Tomb(see below).
Above the ball gate is a vertially oriented 3-bank of drop targets. At the
top of the left set of drop targets is the Slaves Tomb, a small lane that
loops around to a kicker. Directly to the right of the Slaves Tomb is the
other 3-bank of drop targets. Next, to the right, is another small lane
with a kickout hole.
Major Features:
Pharaoh - Making targets in upper drop target 3-bank lights target arrow and flashes associated arrow in the other 3-bank. Completing flashing arrow(s) advances lighting of P-H-A-R-A-O-H. Spotting letter R* lights eject hole lock lamp for possible Multi-Ball play. Completing PHARAOH lights Slaves Tomb and Hidden Tomb alternately for possible Extra Ball. Making captive ball shot collects 5,000 for each lit letter. When letters are flashing, the Captive Ball shot collects 3X or 5X the lit value. This feature is reset to default setting at the start of every ball. So one has to complete Pharaoh in one ball to get the multiball as described below.
Multiball - Spotting letter R* in PHARAOH lights the eject hole lock lamps. Making an eject hole at this time locks up the ball and initiates 2-ball, Multi-Ball play. Locked ball is released after time interval or certain scoring feature occurs. There is unfortunately no setting to set a minimun timer for multi-ball so one can be quite unlucky and drain quickly. Not like on Jungle Lord were a minimun of 25 sec. is guaranteed.
Start & Stop feature - Countdown from 3X or 5X of lit PHARAOH value is initiated in another player display by making Hidden Tomb (3X) or Slaves Tomb (5X). Starting Stop & Score also flashes the lit letters in PHARAOH for the captive ball to collect 3X or 5X the lit value. As the countdown is made, the eject hole lamps flash. Making an eject hole while flashing stops the countdown and the score remaining in the display is collected. The timer can be adjusted in the menus, but the default vaule of 5 seems appropriate for the average player.
Drop targets on lower PF - As described below the drop targets on lower PF is mainly for earining magna-save time. But hitting one targe in a bank sets of a timer. If the remaining 2 targets in a bank is not made, the bank resets. Making the 2 remaining targets lights a insert in front of the bank. Making both banks lights "collect bonus" in the hidden tomb. Making the hidden tomb now adds the complete collected bonus including the bonus multiplier and the ball is released to the upper PF. The "collect bonus"-feature then resets. The timer is adjustable, but the lit bank or gaining the "collect bonus" light is unfortunately not carried over from ball to ball.
Magna-Saves - These are pretty straighforward. Every drop target on the lower PF earns you a magna-save on the same side as the target. You ca have up to five(5) magna-saves per side at one time. When the magna-save buttons are pushed, the magnet is pulsed on for as long as you hold down the button or until you run out of magna-save units. Magna-save units last about 1 second if the button is held down.
Minor features:
Bonus ball for winner (2 players or more) - When playing more than 1 player, the player with most points gets free multiball for approx. 25 sec. Same rule as regular multiball except that there is a countdown that starts at 25 sec. This is operator adjustable though, so it can range from any where between 1-99 sec. Recommende setting from Williams is 25 sec, but 30 sec seems more fair. Plus all scoring is 2x.
Bonus ladder - One advance for each drop target (1000 p) and for bottom inside rollovers (1000 p). Three advances (3 x 1000 p) for completing a lower drop target 3-bank, completing matching targets on the upper 3-banks, or ? lanes when not lit. Bottom inside rollovers and Hidden Tomb flash Bull's-Eye Targets; making target while flashing advances bonus multiplier (2X, 3X, 5X).
Mystery - Making the hidden tomb starts the stop & start feature as described above, but also lits one ?-lane above one of the outlanes. Hitting slingsshots will change the position of the lit ? from one to the other. But making the hidden tomb on the same ball will lit both ?-lanes. When lit, ? lanes can award random bonus advances. With maximum bonus (49,000), instead of a bonus advance, 10,000 is scored. Making ? lane when lit can advance bonus multiplier.
Playing tips - What can I say. This games is a very fast game and you need to be on your toes all the time. But keeping the ball on the upper PF seems to make the most points. The slave tomb starts the countdown on 5x, where the hidden tomb only stars at 3X. And making enough letters in P-H-A-R-A-O-H lights both lock for mulit-ball. Making the lock in Upper PF is prefeered since the 2nd ball is launched to this area as well. Keeping eyes on 2 ball on the levels is difficult. Also making the collect bonus is a nice way of getting points, especially when having a bonus multiplier. Also use magnasaves with short bursts. This can sling the ball to the middle of the PF, since the magnets are quite powerfull. A direct shot from the left flipper can also make the upper lock. Handy for making a lock ball.
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