Priority 1 is always to increase your end of ball bonus to the max of 100,000. Do this by shooting the spinner from the left flipper and the 500 + advance bonus wall switch just below the drop targets from the right flipper. As a skill shot and any time you get back to the top of the playfield via the spinner, try to get the ball in the center top lane for a bonus advance and to open the left out lane gate. After clearing the left drop targets once or twice, the right saucer is lit for double bonus and light extra ball respectively; both of these are nice to get, but shooting the saucer can be finnicky due to a high reject rate given its location close to the flippers.
There are two at the top of the table: one directly above the center top lane, and one to the left of it. These buttons score 500 points and advance the bonus. Always good to roll over these. If shooting the wall just below the drop targets is too dangerous as a way to build bonus from the right flipper, you can shoot up the table trying to hit the left rollover button instead.
This lane scores 1,000 points, advances the bonus, and opens the gate, turning the left out lane into a one-time-use second in lane. If the bonus is maxed, this lane scores 10,000 points instead of 1,000. If the drop targets are set to medium difficulty, rolling through this lane when the lit drop target award is 10,000 points will instantly spot a completion of the entire bank, increasing the drop target award to 30,000 and lighting the right saucer for double bonus.
Can be set to score 100 or 1,000 points. This setting is not tied to whether the game is set to 3-ball or 5-ball play.
Each drop target down scores 1,000 points. On the most recent virtual recreation of Argosy in VPX as I write this, each drop target down also advances the bonus, but this does not align with the physical table's rules.
On easy drop target settings, the completion bonus for these targets starts at 30,000 points. On medium or hard settings, the completion bonus starts at 10,000. On medium settings only, the top center lane will instantly advance the completion bonus from 10,000 to 30,000, but not at any other level. Clearing the drop target bank scores and advances the lit value: 10,000 - 30,000 - 50,000 - special. Collecting the special resets the target value back to 30,000.
Scores 100 points per spin, or 1,000 per spin when lit. The spinner alternates lit or not lit with each 10-point switch hit, which is just the two slingshots at the bottom of the table and the slingshot behind the drop targets. Unless you're trying to collect awards from the right saucer, this is the only thing you should be shooting for from the left flipper.
Scores 500 points and a bonus advance, just like the top rollover buttons. Use this well as a way to advance the bonus using the right flipper.
The saucer always scores 5,000 points. If the current drop target completion bonus is 30,000 or more, this saucer awards 2x bonus. If the current drop target completion bonus is 50,000 or more, this saucer lights the out lanes alternately for extra ball. If the current drop target completion bonus is the special, this saucer awards the special instantly and resets the drop targets back to 30,000. Any or all of these awards can be lit simultaneously depending on the value of the drop targets.
This saucer is finnicky on many copies of Argosy. A direct shot with the left flipper will likely be too strong causing the ball to reject out, and the saucer cannot be reliably backhanded. The most common way to end up in this saucer is off a ricochet or off the left slingshot.
Argosy has a conventional in/out lane setup. Out lanes score 5,000 points and are lit alternately for extra ball by collecting Light Extra Ball from the right saucer. In lanes score 1,000 points and advance the bonus.
The top center lane opens a gate which lets a ball in the left out lane be redirected back into the in lane one time only. On some copies of Argosy, you can push the gate open from beneath via a shatz/alley pass into the left in lane. If you do this, the gate will stay open until used in typical fashion, but there's a chance that when the gate is pushed open, the ball will continue up into the out lane, hit the switch, close the gate, and drain.
Bonus is paramount on Argosy. Note that one bonus advance is worth 10,000 points rather than the usual 1,000, and that's before double bonus is applied! Bonus is advanced by rollover buttons, the top center lane, the left wall, and the in lanes. Double bonus is awarded from the right saucer once the drop target value has reached 30,000. Max bonus is 2x 100,000 points. End of ball bonus is very likely to be the majority of your score on Argosy. Take care not to tilt at all unless you are trying to save a true house ball that did not advance the bonus even one time. There is no mid-ball bonus collect, nor is there any way to preserve base bonus or multiplier from ball to ball. Double bonus is never given for free.
Special can be set to extra ball, but not to points.
Bumpers can be set to score 1,000 or 100 points.
On easy settings, the drop target value starts at 30,000.
On medium settings, the drop target value starts at 10,000, but the top center lane will instantly spot the first drop target completion.
On hard settings, the drop target value starts at 10,000 and the first bank completion cannot be spotted by the top lane.
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