Not to be confused with Revenge from Mars (Bally Williams, 1999).
For quick points such as in a tournament setting, determine how safe it is to shoot the saucer (both the Forcefield targets and the targets/holes behind). If these are safe, focus on saucers as a primary strategy. If the saucer is dangerous, focus on ramps and orbits to work toward multiball and Total Annihilation.
One of the two top lanes is lit, and the light can be moved with lane change. If the ball goes through the lit lane, you are awarded a Skill Shot worth 10,000,000 points, +5 bonus multiplier, and +250,000 to the value of each bumper hit. The points award increases by an additional 10,000,000 for each successive skill shot made during a game.
Completing both top lanes at any time awards +1 bonus multiplier and adds 50,000 to the value of each bumper.
This can be performed in lieu of the standard skill shot by holding the left flipper up as the plunge button is hit. This sends the ball around the back of the game and down the left orbit toward the left flipper. From here, making either orbit, either ramp, or shooting the Forcefield within a couple seconds scores 50,000,000 points and instantly gives credit for the entire shot (all 3 shots to that ramp/orbit toward Total Annihilation, or instantly lowering the Forcefield toward Attack Wave). Multiple super skill shots in a game do not increase the score award.
Bumpers score 1,000,000 points each, plus an additional 50,000 for every bonus multiplier advance earned on that ball. I am not sure if there is a maximum value for standard bumper scoring, although it is probably less than 3,000,000, because...
Hitting 100 bumpers starts Super Jets for the rest of the current ball. During Super Jets, all bumpers score 3,000,000 points each. Super Jets ends when the current ball drains. Subsequent startups of Super Jets require 25 more bumper hits than the previous. Starting Super Jets at least once during a game is one of the 6 requirements toward Rule the Universe wizard mode.
The Forcefield is a motorized bank of 3 standup targets at the top center of the table that can retract under the playfield itself. There are 3 ways to destroy the Forcefield and start an Attack Wave round: hit all 3 standup targets that make up the Forcefield itself, hit any Forcefield target with the Super Skill Shot, or earn the Start Attack Wave award from the Stroke of Luck mystery. During an Attack Wave, the goal is to hit the two standup targets and/or lone drop target within the saucer structure itself. After hitting those targets enough times, the drop target will stay down, opening the Destroy Saucer hole.
The first saucer scores 50,000,000 points per target hit, requires 3 hits to expose the Destroy hole, and awards 200,000,000 points for destroying the saucer. Subsequent saucers up to and including the 5th score 10,000,000 more points per target hit, require 3 additional hits to destroy, and give 100,000,000 additional points for destroying. The country being attacked is purely cosmetic: the length and scoring of each saucer round is based solely on how many saucers have been completed.
After destroying the 5th saucer, the final round is Attack Mars. When this Forcefield is deactivated, the Destroy Saucer hole will be available right away. Shooting it scores 100,000,000 points. Ten shots to this hole will conquer the planet of Mars, awarding 2,500,000,000 points and completing another of the 6 requirements toward Rule the Universe wizard mode.
Destroying 2 saucers lights the Stroke of Luck scoop for an extra ball.
The left orbit, left ramp, right ramp, and right orbit are the Capture, Big-O-Beam, Tractor Beam, and Atomic Blaster shots respectively. Making one of these shots scores 20,000,000 the first time, 25,000,000 the second time, and 30,000,000 the third time. Using a Super Skill Shot on any of these four shots also completes it instantly (but does not award the 3 individual shot values, just the Super Skill Shot score). Once a shot is completed, a hurry-up will start at the Saucer. Shoot the Forcefield or any saucer target to collect the hurry-up. The hurry-up's value starts at 100,000,000 points and counts down to a minimum of 25,000,000 before timing out. If a second or third shot is completed while the hurry-up is still counting down, the hurry-up will restart with a value of 300,000,000 or 500,000,000 respectively. Finishing the fourth shot of the group instantly starts Total Annihilation: if that shot was completed while a triple hurry-up was running, the hurry-up will end and 1,000,000,000 points will be given directly.
Total Annihilation is a 4-ball multiball. During Total Annihilation, the four orbit/ramp shots that got you here score the Annihilation Award of 50,000,000 points, increasing by 5,000,000 each time up to a maximum of 200,000,000 points. The lock shot just to the left of the Saucer/Forcefield scores the Annihilation Jackpot, which is equal to 100,000,000 points plus an additional 15,000,000 for each Annihilation Award collected since the previous Jackpot. This scoring lasts for as long as there is more than one ball in play. When the game returns to single ball play, all progress on all 4 shots is reset, allowing the player to work for another Total Annihilation. Starting Total Annihilation once in a game is one of the 6 requirements toward Rule the Universe wizard mode.
Making consecutive major shots awards a Combo score, equal to 10,000,000 points times the current Combo length. Making a 5-way Combo at least once in a game is one of the 6 requirements toward Rule the Universe wizard mode. The left and right ramps can always be used for a Combo. The left and right orbits can only be used for a Combo if they have been completed (progress toward Total Annihilation) and if Super Jets is not running. If either of those conditions fails, the ball will be sent into the pop bumpers and the combo will be lost. The lock lane just to the left of the Forcefield can only be used for a combo if there is not currently a lock available (i.e. none of the green lights are flashing), because only then will this lane loop back around to the right in lane.
Locks are lit by and scored at the lane just to the left of the Saucer/Forcefield, with the green triangle playfield lights. Triangles that are off represent unqualified locks; triangles that flash represent lit locks; triangles that are solidly lit represent locked balls. For the first multiball, one shot to this lane lights all 3 locks at once: for all other multiballs, each lock must be individually lit. Locking the third ball instantly starts Multiball. Light Lock, Award Lock, and Start Multiball are all possible awards given by Stroke of Luck as well.
At the beginning of standard Multiball, all four Total Annihilations shots plus the lock shot will be lit for Jackpot. The first jackpot scores 60,000,000 points, with each subsequent jackpot scoring an additional 10,000,000. Making a jackpot unlights it. After collecting all 5 jackpots, one of the lanes will flash for Super Jackpot, which scores 250,000,000 the first time and increases by a further 250,000,000 for each collect up to a maximum of 1,000,000,000 points. The super jackpot light moves every 5 seconds, going back and forth from left to right to left across the table. Collecting the Super Jackpot relights the 5 standard jackpots, and the process repeats (with the standard jackpot value continuing to build, up to a maximum of 200,000,000).
There are several grace periods during Multiball. The multiball rules do not end immediately after the game returns to single ball play, so one or two more jackpots can be collected "for the road" before normal scoring resumes. If the multiball ends with Super Jackpot lit, a 10-second Last Chance will start, allowing a few more hail mary shots to collect it. Also, there is a brief time window where two adjacent shots can both score the super jackpot immediately before/after the light itself moves. All of these make it just a little easier than expected to collect the Super Jackpot. Earning at least one Super Jackpot in the course of a game is one of the 6 requirements toward Rule the Universe wizard mode.
If an Attack Wave is running at the Saucer when multiball starts, progress can be made on that saucer during the multiball, but no new saucer Attack Waves can be started while multiball is running.
There are 7 martian standup targets around the playfield: MAR in the lower left, T and I on either side of the forcefield, and AN in the lower right. Hitting all 7 of these during regular play or earning Light Martian Attack from Stroke of Luck, lights the Stroke of Luck scoop for Martian Attack. During Martian Attack, the goal is to kill all 4 martians on the playfield by hitting their targets- each one killed scores 20,000,000 points. Any of MAR will work for the lower left martian, and either of AN will work for the lower right. Killing all 4 martians in 30 seconds starts Martian Multiball. If you have any Martian Bombs, press the plunge button during this time to receive credit for one of them for free. Martian Multiball is started immediately, with a second ball being launched into play. The 7 Martian standup targets are worth 20,000,000 points each for the remainder of the multiball.
Martian Multiball is the only multiball that can run alongside another multiball: to stack them, start Martian Attack, then start the other multiball (standard, Strobe, or Total Annihilation), then complete Martian Attack to begin Martian Multiball while the other multiball is still in play.
Starting Martian Multiball at least once is the final of the 6 requirements toward Rule the Universe wizard mode.
At the beginning of the game, and after lighting all 4 in/out lanes, this saucer in the middle-right of the table is lit yellow for Stroke of Luck. This is a pseudorandom mystery award that can give any of the following:
Stroke of Luck always awards 50,000,000 points on competition settings.
Strobe Multiball is a 3-ball multiball where the only playfield lighting is a rapidly flashing strobe light. The Forcefield will raise, even if a saucer is running when Strobe Multiball is started. The only playfield inserts that will be lit are the MARTIAN letters if Martian Attack is brought into Strobe Multiball, or the hurry-up arrow if a hurry-up is brought in. During Strobe Multiball, each shot to the Forcefield scores 50,000,000 points. The 10th hit lights an extra ball at the Stroke of Luck scoop. Every 10th hit after that starting with the 20th scores a 250,000,000 point bonus. There is a generous ball save both immediately after Strobe Multiball starts, and immediately after it ends and the playfield lighting is restored. Photosensitive people should be aware that the Strobe Multiball flashing effect is very intense. Take caution when playing this game.
In Video Mode, you control an autofire gun that can be rotated left or right with the flipper buttons. The goal is not to allow any alien saucers to touch the ground. After 30 saucers, the letters EB will descend, and shooting them scores an extra ball. After 50 saucers, the Mothership will descend, requiring 80 hits to destroy. Exploding the Mothership completes the video mode, which scores a total of 635,000,000 points. During the video mode, one Smart Bomb is available, which is completely separate from the Martian Bombs earned elsewhere in the game: pressing the plunge button uses the Smart Bomb, which instantly destroys all saucers currently on screen.
In Sneak Attack, one of the four Martian target banks will be lit for a hurry-up that starts at 150,000,000 points. Hitting any of the lit targets collects the hurry-up, awards 2 Martian bombs, and lights Martian Attack at the Stroke of Luck scoop.
Completing the 6 requirements listed just above the flippers lights the Stroke of Luck scoop for Rule the Universe:
Rule the Universe is a 5-ball multiball with a very long ball save where everything is lit. Total Annihilation's rules are active, with every ramp and orbit being worth a base value of 100,000,000; the moving Super Jackpot is constantly available, worth a multiple of 250,000,000 just like regular multiball; the drop target in the saucer scores 100,000,000; all martian targets score 50,000,000. The goal of Rule the Universe is to score a total of 5,000,000,000 points before draining back to single ball play. Doing so locks the flippers, allowing all balls to drain, awards you an additional 5,000,000,000 points, and then serves a new ball to the shooter lane to start again.
After completing Rule the Universe, the Lock shot and the 4 Total Annihilation shots will be lit for a Victory Lap jackpot. Collecting a Victory Lap scores 100,000,000 and unlights it. Shooting the drop target in the saucer scores 100,000,000 points, relights all Victory Laps, and adds 10,000,000 to their value.
After Rule the Universe ends, the Forcefield will never raise up again for any reason other than Strobe Multiball. The drop target in the saucer will score 100,000,000 points for the rest of the game. Conquer Mars will already be lit, and the player can work toward completing the other 5 objectives again for another round of Rule the Universe- it can be played multiple times in one game, or even multiple times in one ball.
Attack from Mars has a conventional in/out lane setup. There are yellow lights at the top of each in/out lane; going through a lane lights the yellow insert. The lights can be moved in with direction by lane change. Completing the yellow lights will in turn light Stroke of Luck at the scoop. Completing the yellow lights 10 times lights the Stroke of Luck scoop for an extra ball.
Bonus is equal to 5,000,000 points, plus 250,000 points for each martian destroyed, plus some minor points for each switch hit during the course of the ball, all multiplied by the bonus multiplier. Bonus multiplier is advanced by completing the top lanes or receiving a +5 Bonus X award from Stroke of Luck. Maximum bonus multiplier is 250x. Bonus count cannot be carried from ball to ball. Bonus multiplier is only carried forward between balls if Hold Bonus X is an award collected from Stroke of Luck.
The ball save can be disabled or turned off after being used a certain number of times. Its length can be set from 3 to 15 seconds.
The number of Attack Waves (1-5), bottom lane completions (1-20), or forcefield hits during Strobe Multiball (8-12) that are required to light an extra ball each have their own settings, and each of these extra balls can be individually disabled.
The Forcefield can require shots to all three targets separately in order to be disabled, or lit targets can spot unlit targets (effectively meaning any 3 forcefield shots is good enough to start a Wave).
No awards can be collected by entering the Stroke of Luck saucer from the back- except for the first Martian Attack mode start, if that setting is turned on.
Whether or not Martian letters carry over between balls, and the length of the Martian Attack timer (10-60 seconds), can be adjusted.
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