Fireball II Basics Part 2
Playing pinball can be more fun if you know what you’re shooting for. I’ve also just collected way too much pinball trivia and need an excuse to share it! Each week I’ll include a tiny guide for one of the machines you can play here.
Fireball II Basics (Part 2)
If you missed it, be sure to read part one of this guide first. This week we’re picking up where we left off and learning about bonus and multipliers.
Almost every pinball machine awards bonus points when the ball drains, unless you tilt. Generally, the older the machine, the more important the bonus is to your score. There’s often also a way to increase your “bonus multiplier”, which can greatly increase the points at the end of the ball.
Fireball II has two separate bonus counters, each with its own multiplier.
In the image above, notice the “Fireball Bonus” surrounded with the numbers 1 through 12, and the “Doomsday Bonus” surrounded with 1000 through 9000. These are the two bonus counters. Each counter also has a light for 2x, 3x, etc. to indicate the bonus multiplier for that bonus.
When the ball drains, the bonus awarded is calculated by multiplying the currently lit bonus number by the lit bonus multiplier. For example, in the image below the bonus would be 12×2=24 thousand points.
The Doomsday Bonus is increased by knocking down the center and right drop targets. Generally, I don’t find this bonus to be as lucrative, so I don’t focus on it much while playing.
The Fireball Bonus is increased by knocking down the left drop targets. What’s special about the Fireball bonus is that you can collect it repeatedly without draining your ball. To do so, land the ball in one of the two saucers while the yellow arrow is lit.
Looking around the playfield, you can find the letters A and B up at the very top, and C and D are down by the flippers. These letters are illuminated until the ball rolls over the switch next to them. Each time you extinguish all four letters, the Fireball Bonus multiplier will increase by one.
And with that you know just about all the rules for Fireball II. Time to go set some high scores!
If you have any questions or topics you think would be interesting to cover, please let me know!