Scoring in Congo is pretty balanced, and the game wants you to grind out objectives to get points. Shoot shots lit for Diamonds to work toward multiball and build end of ball bonus. Diamonds are also awarded for completing various modes and other events; nearly every feature in the game has its own mode or scoring opportunity available if you hit it enough. Some of the more repeatable higher-value shots include the left ramp, which lights the far right saucer for a sequential award when you spell M-A-P, or the lane just to the right of the left ramp, which gives letters towards G-R-A-Y and some valuable modes involving the lower playfield under the main playfield's surface. The one mode of note for big scoring is Skill Fire, the 6th Map award, which lets you repeatedly plunge skill shots for 20 seconds, and can be worth a few hundred million or even a billion points if you can reliably hit the super skill shot in the left out lane.
Two different precise-power plunges are available as the skill shot. If you plunge into the lower left standup targets, reminiscent of Whirlwind or Black Rose, you will receive 10,000,000 points if you hit a target when all three are lit, or you can receive an increasing value of 10,000,000 plus 5,000,000 per previously made skill shot if you hit a lit target when just one is lit. Unlit targets score nothing.
Alternatively, you can plunge a bit shorter, and try to plunge the left out lane for a flat 25,000,000 point bonus. If the kickback in the left out lane is on at the start of the ball, making the super skill shot will use it up; however, the ball will still be kicked back into play if you make a super skill shot with the kickback not lit. It's very worthwhile to master the super skill shot for the Skill Fire mode that will come up later.
Diamonds can be lit at the left orbit, left ramp, G-R-A-Y loop, upper flipper lock shot, center saucer, right ramp, and right saucer. To begin, all are lit. Shoot a shot with a lit diamond to collect it and unlight that diamond. Collecting all lit diamonds will relight all shots. If you shoot the center or right saucers when they are not lit for diamonds themselves, they will relight one random Diamond shot that has already been extinguished.
The number of diamonds you have collected over the course of the game is kept track of. At the start of the game or after making a lock, it takes 4 diamonds to light the next lock for standard multiball. Diamonds can also be earned from various Map awards, Mystery awards, Amy mode completions, and Gray mode completions. The starting multiball jackpot is 10,000,000 points plus an additional 500,000 for each diamond collected when the multiball starts.
Every time you reach a multiple of 100 Diamonds, Super Multiball begins, which is the closest this game has to a wizard mode. This is a 4-ball multiball where the lower gorilla playfield is active as well. Ramps and saucers on the main playfield score jackpots worth 10,000,000 points; complete the Congo targets in the gorilla playfield for a 50,000,000 super jackpot; make a regular jackpot to reactivate the gorilla playfield after collecting a super jackpot.
The left ramp collects letters in the word Map. Collecting the M or A will put the ball on the right flipper for another shot at the left ramp. Collecting the P will light the right saucer for a Map award, and put the ball on the left flipper for a shot at that award. If you collect the 3 map letters in a 3-way combo with no other switch hits in between, you receive a 20,000,000 point combo bonus.
The Map awards are always given in the same order, and 27 different awards are well defined before the list resets; however, several are repeats of things earlier in the list, and it's very difficult to see more than about 10 Map awards in a game. But with that said, here goes:
The top lanes are shot via the left orbit and spell Amy. Roll through an unlit lane to light it. Move lit lanes with either flipper lane change. Complete Amy to increase the bonus multiplier toward its maximum of 5x and start an Amy reflex round. A 25,000,000 point hurry-up starts and counts down to 5,000,000. The ball will be fed to the left orbit for a slow feed to the upper left flipper. If you shoot the Super Score lane, just above the volcano lock shot, you collect double the remaining value of the hurry-up. If you miss, you can collect the hurry-up at single value by shooting the left orbit. This process repeats 3 times. If you collect all 3 awards without draining or timing any of them out, you receive a bonus of 15 diamonds.
The u-turn lane just to the right of the left ramp gives letters in G-R-A-Y. Spell Gray to start Gray Attack, a mode involving the gorilla playfield underneath the main playfield. Use the flippers to operate the gorilla's hands to punch the ball. There are 5 targets in this mini-playfield. Hit a target to light that letter in Congo and score 10,000,000 points. Spell Congo to earn 20 diamonds on the first Gray Attack, instant volcano multiball for the second, 20 diamonds again for the third, Lite Extra Ball at the left orbit for the fourth, and 50,000,000 points for the 5th and onwards. Starting with round 4 of Gray Attack, the Congo letters will unlight on their own after about 5 seconds.
Collect 4 Diamonds to light a lock. Locks can be made at the left orbit or the upper flipper shot that goes under the volcano. After making a lock, collect 4 more diamonds to light the next lock. Lock 3 balls, or defeat the second Gray Attack, to instantly start multiball. The jackpot value for multiball is 10,000,000 points plus an additional 500,000 for each diamond collected over the course of the game so far. Jackpots are available at the left and right ramps. You can also repeatedly score Super Jackpots worth double the regular jackpot value by shooting the Super Score lane from the upper flipper multiple times, each within 20 seconds of the previous one.
Hit the two standup targets in the back center of the game to form the word TraviCom. Do this 4 times to start Satellite Transfer. During Satellite Transfer, you have 25 seconds to hit either of the two satellite targets as many times as you can, scoring 10,000,000 points per hit.
Post targets on either side of the left ramp and between the right ramp and right saucer form the phrase We Are Watching You. Hit all 3 targets to compte a set, and complete 5 sets to qualify video mode at the center saucer.
During video mode, use the flippers to steer around a river, avoiding small and fast moving rocks and/or hippos. You receive 1,000,000 for starting video mode and an additional 5,000,000 for each obstacle dodged. After completing 2 video modes, Diamonds will start appearing and be able to be picked up during the mode.
Shoot the Super Score loop with the upper flipper, just above the volcano lock shot, to play Mine Shaft video mode. The goal is to make it through 5 levels of the mine: they have 2 entrances, then 3, then 4, then 5, then 5 again. Pick a door, and behind it will be either 5 diamonds, a snake that kills you, a bear that kills you, or an award of 10,000,000 points times whatever level of the mine you're at. If you get the points, you advance to the next level; clear level 5 to receive 15 diamonds in addition to your 50,000,000 points. If you ever make a wrong choice, you are thrown out of the mine, but your progress is saved for the next time you make this shot, with wood planks blocking doors you took that were incorrect.
Mystery is lit at the center saucer after lighting all four lanes at the bottom of the table to spell Z-I-N-J. Lane change can be used with either flipper to move the lit letters. Possibly mystery awards include:
Each bumper hit adds a letter to the word Hippo. Spelling Hippo adds 1,000,000 points to the current Hippo bonus. If the ball is thrown out of the bumpers to the right, it will go through the Hippo lane and score the current Hippo value. If the ball is thrown out to the left toward the center of the playfield, the Volcano ramp will be lit for a 3x Hippo collect. If the Hippo value is currently 0, the Volcano ramp scores 10,000,000 points instead of 3x Hippo.
The game keeps track of the number of Volcano ramps made over the course of a game. At 5 and 55 ramp shots (and presumably every 50 after that), the right ramp is lit for an extra ball.
Congo has a conventional in/out lane setup. The in and out lanes have the letters Z-I-N-J; light all four to light the mystery at the center saucer. Lane change with either flipper can be used to move the lights.
There is a kickback in the left out lane. It unlights itself once used. Relight the kickback by hitting all 3 of the lower left standup targets during gameplay. There is no way to upgrade the kickback to be a super kickback of any kind.
Bonus is 500,000 points for each diamond collected over the course of the game, times the bonus multiplier. That's it! Bonus multipliers are awarded by completing the Amy top lanes or as a mystery award. There is no mid-ball bonus collect. Bonus multipliers can never be carried from ball to ball. Max bonus multiplier is 5x. The first time you reach 5x in a game, an extra ball will be lit at the left orbit.
Extra balls cannot be set to have a point value as far as I could find in the game manual. Specials are (presumably incorrectly) listed to be worth 1,000,000 points in novelty/competition play, but I am not aware of anywhere in the game that an outright special can be won.
On default settings, the beginning-of-ball ball save can only be used once per game, and does not come on after that. This can be changed so that ball save is available never, or on anywhere from 1-5 balls.
The left kickback can be on at the start of each ball, on at the start of each game with or without memory, or off at the start of each game with or without memory. Default is on at the start of each game with memory.
Amy letters can be set not to carry over between balls.
Multiball can be set up so that locks are lit for free at the start of each ball or start of each game. Also, Diamond shots can be set to not all light up when a ball starts.
Gray letters can be set to have their progress erased between balls.
Bonus multiplier can be set to carry over between balls.
All copyrighted names and terms in this document belong to their respective owners. The information provided in this document is for educational purposes only and no infringement is intended.
Back to top To game list To main page