Track your progress on the 5 major shots in the game with the nearby inserts: tower ramp, back ramp, center up-kicker, right ramp, and right orbit. Make a single shot 3 times to start a mode. Make all 5 shots once or twice each to start additional modes. Make all 5 shots three times each and play out all 7 modes to light the up-kicker for Earthquake wizard mode.
Use the flippers to pick one of three skill shots: Top Lanes, Shark Hole, and Side Ramp.
On most Baywatches, the Top Lanes plunge will bounce once and fall directly into the flashing center lane. You can frequently earn this skill shot by doing absolutely nothing, which makes it my recommendation.
Making 3 of the same skill shot, or making the three different skill shots once each, scores a 50,000,000 point bonus and lights the bumpers for Squid Pops for the rest of the ball. This is just a further reason to stick with the Top Lanes skill shot, being the easiest one.
The 5 major shots in the game must be made in certain quantities to start modes. Make a shot 3 times to start a mode. As well, make all 5 shots once or twice each to start additional modes. The 7 modes are:
When a mode is running, other modes cannot be started, nor can progress be made toward other shots.
Playing all 7 modes- effectively equivalent to making all 5 major shots three times each when no other modes are running- lights the up-kicker in the back of the game for Earthquake wizard mode. Earthquake is a 5-ball multiball with unlimited ball save for 45 seconds. During this time, all major shots in the game score 10,000,000 points, except for the Guard tower left ramp, which scores 50,000,000 points plus an additional 10,000,000 for each mode completed in the game so far. This value builds even across multiple Earthquake modes: I've seen Tower Jackpot be worth 110,000,000 on a player's second time through. The DMD seems to imply that this mode can be won with enough tower shots in quick succession to pull the car up over the edge of the cliff, but this is either not possible or requires so many shots that it's unreasonable to achieve. When the 45 seconds is up. the game locks the flippers, and all balls drain. You then get to plunge again and start over.
Earthquake wizard mode can be started with enough Shark scoop shots; this is mentioned in more detail later in the guide. If Earthquake was started from the Shark hole, mode progress on the 5 major shots is retained after Earthquake ends. Otherwise, everything resets.
After one Earthquake is played, some mode progress is slightly more difficult; it takes 3 shots instead of 2 to collect a major shot's cast member, and accordingly, it takes 4 shots instead of 3 to light a major shot's mode. After two Earthquakes are played, it takes 2 shots to light a Guard letter, which in turn means it takes 4 shots to light a cast member and 5 to start a mode.
Complete the 3 drop targets in the center of the playfield to light a lock at the left Tower ramp. These targets face the left side of the game and can be hit with either left flipper. (After a multiball has been played, the drop targets will reset if not cleared within about 15 seconds of the first one being knocked down.) Any left ramp shot then locks a ball for multiball, and locking 3 balls starts multiball.
Despite only requiring 3 locks, multiball on Baywatch is always a 5-ball affair. There are three phases:
If multiball ends before any jackpots were collected, a restart is available at the left ramp for about 15 seconds. All normal rules apply, but only 3 balls are kicked into play instead of the usual 5.
When the ball is coming down the far right side of the game toward the Shark flipper, shoot the ball across the table and into the Shark scoop just above the lower left standup targets. This scores 10,000,000 points and gives one Shark credit. The following Shark credits give awards:
When no mode is running, hit the 5 Shark standup targets in the lower left of the game to spell Shark. Doing this enables Shark Flips one time. The next time the ball comes down the far right side of the game toward the shark flipper, the game will flip automatically, trying to put the ball in the left Shark scoop. If the game succeeds in doing this, 25,000,000 points are scored. The problem is, this basically never works. There is no auto-adjustment code on the timing of the autoflip, so the shark flip is grossly inaccurate the vast majority of the time. A lit Shark Flip is a one-time feature, unless Shark Frenzy was collected on the current ball. If Shark Flips is lit, you can override its use by holding up the right flipper before the ball triggers the rollover switch just above the shark flipper.
Aside from being the easiest of the three skill shots, the ball can sometimes end up here from a left orbit shot. The first 9 completions of S-P-F on a ball each increment the bonus multiplier from 2x to 10x. the first S-P-F completion after reaching 10x lights the up-kicker for an extra ball; any completions beyond that score 20,000,000 points. Lit S-P-F lanes can be moved in either direction with flipper lane change.
Bumpers score 250,000 points per hit to start. After 10 hits, this value increases 250,000 at a time up to a maximum of 1,000,000 points.
After making a third skill shot of the same type, or after making one skill shot of each type, or after playing Earthquake wizard mode, the bumpers are upgraded to Squid Pops, where they score 2,000,000 points for the rest of the ball. Squid Pops can also be activated for a single trip to the bumpers by making the left orbit immediately after rolling through the near right in lane.
Each side ramp shot outside of a mode or multiball scores 10,000,000 points and adds a letter in Ironman. (At the start of the game, I-R-O-N-M is spotted for free.) Complete Ironman to score 25,000,000 points and light the right orbit/spinner lane for Beach Runner video mode, where you mash the flipper buttons as fast as possible to earn 50,000,000 points.
The 5 yellow targets that surround the left Tower ramp, the back center ramp, and the right ramp correspond to 5 modes of emergency transportation: ATV, rescue truck, helicopter, wave runner, and scarab. Hit all 5 targets to collect the vehicles and light the right orbit/spinner lane for a Search and Rescue mystery award. Personally, I have only ever seen this mystery give 10,000,000 or 50,000,000 points, or Advance S-P-F: presumably, other awards could include other point values, Light Lock, Advance Shark, Light Extra Ball, Super Laser Kick, or start a mode.
Baywatch has a conventional in/out lane setup, but with two in lanes on the right side instead of one.
The left out lane has a kickback, called the Laser Kick. It is one time use and can be relit with the boogie board Laser Kick standup targets in the lower right of the game. It can also be upgraded into a Super Laser Kick, which does not unlight until the end of the current ball, with the 2nd Shark award.
The near left in lane lights the right orbit/spinner lane for Shark Flips (otherwise, this shot sends the ball up the playfield toward either the S-P-F lanes or around to the upper left flipper). The near right in lane lights the left orbit for Squid Pops for one trip to the bumpers. The far right in lane lights the left orbit for a Shark Flip.
End of ball bonus appears to be calculated as 1,000,000 points per Guard letter collected in the game, plus 2,000,000 points per Lifeguard cast member collectedin the game, plus 3,000,000 points for each mode played during the game (including all 7 major shot modes and Earthquake). However, this is almost never added up correctly, with the subtotal usually being 1,000,000 or 2,000,000 more or less than what it seems like it should be. Regardless, all of those pieces are then multiplied by the S-P-F bonus multiplier, which is advanced by the top lanes or the Search and Rescue mystery. Max bonus is 10x and can never be carried from ball to ball. There is no mid-ball bonus collect. It usually takes a high multiplier for the end of ball bonus to not just be small potatoes.
The Laser Kick left kickback can either be on at the start of each ball, off at the start of each ball, or have its status stay in memory between balls.
It can take 3, 4, 5, or 6 shots to start one of the "vertical" modes that correspond to making a single shot a certain number of times. By default, this number is 3, but increases each time Earthquake is played within a game.
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