This is the far more commonly seen solid state version of the playfield from Space Walk (Gottlieb, EM, 1979).
Hit drop targets. Targets start at 500 points and a bonus advance. Completing a bank will light that bank, upgrading the value of each target to 5,000 for the rest of the ball. Focus on banks of targets in the order green-yellow-red-blue since that's the order bonus multipliers are given to you, but you'll want to complete all 4 banks eventually anyway. When base bonus is maxed at 20,000, try to work your way up to the top saucer via the upper flippers or a ricochet shot to collect your bonus so you can start building it up again.
The top saucer scores either 500 or 5,000 points, alternating with each 10-point switch hit anywhere in the game. If the base bonus is currently maxed out at 20,000 points, this top saucer will also be lit for a bonus collect. This collect scores the entire bonus including multiplier, then resets your base bonus back to 1,000 while keeping your multiplier intact. It's never bad to collect your bonus here, but it shouldn't be a drop-everything priority until you have a few multipliers- definitely at least 3x, preferably the full 5x, because if your ball has lasted long enough to actually get 20,000 bonus built up, you're probably pretty close to finishing all four banks once each.
Green is the upper left; yellow is upper right; red is lower left; blue is lower right. All drop targets in all banks start at 500 points and a bonus advance. Completing a bank lights that colour around the playfield; targets in that bank now score 5,000 each instead of 500, and the corresponding lit in/out lane will score 5,000 instead of 1,000. Lighting either 1 or 2 colours (depending on game settings) will light the upper left side lane for extra ball. Lighting either 2 or 3 colours (again based on settings) will light the upper right side lane for a special.
Bonus multiplier is based on specifically which colours are lit. It's a progressive system with rules very similar to Sinbad, among others. Lighting Green is worth 2x bonus. Lighting Green and Yellow is worth 3x bonus. Lighting Green+Yellow+Red is 4x bonus, and lighting all four colours gives 5x bonus. However, you don't need to redo your work if you skip one; if you've completed Yellow and Red, for example, simply going back and finishing Green will jump you all the way from 1x to 4x.
In addition to being lit for extra ball and special as described above, the upper side lanes score 500 points and a bonus advance, and feed the upper flippers, These lanes cannot be shot directly and require a lucky bounce involving the pop bumper or a ricochet off one of the red or blue targets.
Count-Down has a conventional in/out lane setup. All lanes score 1,000 points, or 5,000 when lit. From left to right, the lanes are lit by the red, green, yellow, and blue drop target banks being completed.
Bonus is advanced by any drop target or side lane. Max base bonus is 20,000 points. See the Drop targets section for a description of bonus multiplier. There is no carryover for base bonus or multiplier. Bonus can be collected mid-ball from the top saucer whenever the base bonus is maxed out at 20,000. Collecting the bonus mid-ball resets the base bonus back to 1,000 points but keeps the multiplier intact.
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