Shoot the ramp to always be playing modes, and follow the directions the game gives you during the modes. After playing all 6 modes, the 7th is Pool Ball Mania, a 3-ball multiball that acts like a wizard mode. Pool Ball Mania scoring is awarded in bonus, so don't tilt! After Pool Ball Mania, shoot the ramp one more time to start Nine Ball Play, where the goal is to complete the 1-7 drop targets and then hit the 8 ball at the Side Pocket to light the 9 drop target for 500,000,000 points for a few seconds.
An actual literal cue ball from a game of pool is held in the center of the table by a rail, and in a pseudo-upper playfield area, a constantly swiveling kicker holds an 8-ball, which is fired toward a selection of yellow, blue, and red standup targets on the plunge and whenever the cue ball at playfield level is hit into the Side Pocket targets, which are green standup targets raised off the playfield. These are used in my modes and scoring features throughout the game.
The skill shot is pure timing. When the pinball passes behind the coloured targets in the back of the game, the 8 ball will fire from its kicker. If the 8 ball hits one of the blue targets in the center, a 5,000,000 point skill shot is scored.
Any ball that goes all the way around the lane in the back of the game either lights the ramp if it was not already lit, or starts a mode if the ramp was lit. The six modes to be played are:
Playing all 6 modes (you do not need to complete the ones that can be completed) lights the ramp for Pool Ball Mania, a wizard mode 3-ball multiball. During Pool Ball Mania, all drop targets and standup targets score 5,000,000 points until two of the three balls in the multiball are drained. Pool Ball Mania scoring is given to the player in their bonus at the end of that ball, so don't under any circumstances tilt the game on a ball where Pool Ball Mania was played.
After Pool Ball Mania is completed, the ramp is lit for 9 Ball Play for about 90 seconds. 9 Ball Play is the final progression award in the game. During 9 Ball Play, the objective is to complete the left bank of drop targets corresponding to the 1-7 pool balls, then make a Side Pocket shot to register the 8 ball. Doing this successfully lights the 9 drop target (the one nearest the flippers on the right) for 500,000,000 points for 15 seconds! Draining at any point during this sequence, or letting the 9 Ball Play ramp or 1/2 Billion target time out, ends the progression and the 6 main modes must be replayed.
The in and out lanes have letters in Pool. Going through a lit lane unlights it. Knocking out all of the letters in Pool lights the Sweet Spot target in the back of the game, and lights the ramp for Video Mode. The Sweet Spot target is in the center of the back of the game and can only really be hit with a lucky ricochet or pop bumper luck, but hitting it scores 50,000,000 points.
There are two video modes that the game will randomly pick between when the ramp is shot while video mode is lit. The first is Catch Pool Balls: use the flippers to move a pool pocket to catch a falling pool ball. You get 4 chances at this, with awards of 2,000,000 for the first success, 5,000,000 for the second, 10,000,000 for the third, and 20,000,000 for the fourth. The pocket doesn't move very quickly, so this mode can be outright impossible to win.
The second video mode is Where's the King, where you have 3 seconds to pick one of three panels, receiving the reward on other side, except it has been determined that just like the treasure boxes from Super Mario Bros. 3, the reward you'll get no matter which one you pick is predetermined when the mode starts. Possible rewards are:
A Bank Shot is scored whenever the ball enters either saucer in the back of the game. The Bank Shot is a mystery award that can give a great many things, including (but possibly not limited to):
If the ball goes into the Bank Shot directly from the flippers without hitting a bumper, a Clean Bank Shot is awarded, which gives increasing points alongside the regular Bank Shot mystery. The first through seventh Clean Bank Shots award, in order, 1,000,000 - 2,000,000 - 5,000,000 - 7,000,000 - 10,000,000 - 15,000,000 - 20,000,000. An extra ball can be awarded by making it a certain way up the chain, usually alongside the 7,000,000 (aka, fourth) Clean Bank Shot.
Completing the flashing bank of drop target (1-7 or 9-15) then making a Side Pocket shot to add the 8 ball will light the ramp for standard 2-ball multiball. 2-ball multiball is also given for free at the start of the final ball of the game if it was not been played in the game to that point by the current player. During multiball, there are red, yellow, and blue jackpots on offer to collect. Making a Side Pocket shot collects the jackpot of whichever colour the 8 ball hits in the upper playfield area. All three jackpots start at 5,000,000 points: all jackpots that are not collected yet are increased by 1,000,000 points each when any drop target is hit on the side of the table that says Raise Jackpot. If all three of the red, yellow, and blue jackpots are collected, the ramp is lit for a 100,000,000 super jackpot; collecting the super jackpot restarts the whole sequence.
Any mode can be started and played during multiball: however, if you start Pool Ball Mania during a standard multiball, a third ball does not kick out, so PBM is played with only 2 balls, which kinda sucks.
Letters in the Wizard carryover award are given from Bank Shot awards, or by hitting No Way outside of a mode (when Spell Wizard is lit). Completing Wizard increases the value of the No Way target to 10,000,000 points for the rest of the current ball in play, and lights both Bank Shot saucers for a special.
End of ball bonus is calculated as 500,000 points, times the number of racks completed, times the bonus multiplier. Multipliers are advanced by shooting the Corner Pocket lower left saucer. Racks are advanced by completing banks of drop targets, or by hitting Side Pocket shots during Side Pocket mode. Both racks and multipliers can also be awarded by the Bank Shot mystery. Max bonus is 7x 7x 500,000 = 24,500,000 points. Neither the rack count nor the multiplier can be carried from ball to ball.
If Pool Ball Mania was played on the ball, score earned during that mode is added to the bonus (not multiplied). Pool Ball Mania scoring is equal to 5,000,000 points for each target hit during the PBM multiball, or 3,000,000 per target on hardest settings.
Advancing the racks to 4 starts the hurry-up extra ball at the lower right standup target. Advancing the multiplier to the max of 7 lights the specials at the Bank Shot saucers.
Cue Ball Wizard has a conventional in/out lane setup. Each of the in/out lanes corresponds to a letter in Pool. All four letters are lit to start; going through a lit lane will unlight it. Unlighting all 4 letters to spell Pool lights the Sweet Spot target for 50,000,000 points and the ramp for a video mode. Lit Pool lanes can be rotated with lane change. Both flippers operate the lane change, but both more the lit lanes in the same direction.
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