Not to be confused with its prequel Comet (Williams, 1985), its sequel Hurricane (Bally Williams, 1991) or the early flipper game also called Cyclone (Gottlieb, 1951).
Cyclone is a game all about ramp shooting. 4 or 5 shots to the center ramp within 20 seconds of each other and collecting the 100,000 ramp value will light the center ramp for 1,000,000 points for ten seconds. Three shots to the right ramp within 15 seconds of each other score 50,000, then 100,000, then a progressive jackpot of up to 4,000,000 (usually around 1,500,000). If you make it part of the way through a ramp's sequence but then it times out, you must relight the ramp to try again completing the left standup targets for the center ramp or the right standup targets for the right ramp. Both ramps are generally easier to shoot from the left flipper. Bumpers increase the ferris wheel mini-jackpot, which you can collect by going through an in lane then shooting to the left of the center ramp. Completing the top lanes lights 2x Playfield scoring for 20 seconds, which can be used to double everything except the right ramp (yes, even the million shot can be doubled).
The skill shot is a precise-power plunge to any of the five holes on the right, just above the plunger. From near to far, the holes score 10,000, 25,000, 100,000, 25,000, and 5,000. Making it into any hole increases the multiplier on the skill shot for the next ball you play, up to a maximum of 5x. After going in a hole, the ball will be kicked up to the top lanes. If you full plunge past all the holes, the ball will just go up to the top lanes anyway, so there's no reason not to try for the skill shot.
Going through any top lane scores 1,000 points and adds 5,000 points to the jackpot. Rolling through an unlit lane will light it. Lit lanes can be rotated via lane change; both flipper buttons can be used, but both rotate the lights in the same direction.
Completing the 1-2-3 lanes instantly starts Double Scoring, where all scoring on the playfield except the right ramp's awards is doubled for 20 seconds. This 2x playfield chance even includes the ferris wheel bonus and all center ramp values including the Million Shot. Completing the 1-2-3 lanes again before the time runs out will add 20 more seconds to the double scoring timer; the playfield multiplier cannot be increased higher than 2x.
Score 1,000 points and add 3,000 points to the ferris wheel bonus.
Shooting the Ferris wheel will cause the ball to ride up a rotating toy, then take a habitrail back down to the left in lane. If the Ferris wheel was not lit, this shot scores 25,000 points. Rolling through the right in lane will light the Ferris wheel for 15 seconds. Shooting the Ferris wheel when lit scores the current Ferris Bonus. The Ferris Bonus is equal to 50,000 points plus 3,000 points per bumper hit since it was last collected, and can be doubled during Double Scoring. Each player builds their own Ferris Bonus; it carries over from ball to ball but not from game to game, and resets to 50,000 whenever it is collected. If there is a maximum value for the Ferris bonus, it is at least 125,000 points (pre-double).
A very weak shot to the center ramp will roll back down toward the flippers and is an SDTM risk. A somewhat weak shot will fall into the bumper area. A full shot follows the ramp all the way around, ending up in a squiggly habitrail before falling in the right inlane. Only a full shot scores the ramp points. If the Comet ramp is lit by the nearby arrow on the playfield, its current value can be seen on the back panel of the game. If the Comet ramp is not lit, any shot to the ramp will score 10,000 points, and you'll need to complete the Ball Toss standup targets in the left of the game to light it.
After making a shot to the lit Comet ramp, you have about 20 seconds to shoot the ramp again for its next value. The ramp value is 20,000 - 40,000 - 60,000 - 80,000 - 100,000 - 1,000,000. If the ramp times out when it would have been worth 60,000 points or less, the value will go back one level and the ramp will stay lit. If the ramp times out when its value is 80,000 points or more, it will unlight completely and go back to base value. If you collect a 100,000 point Comet ramp, you only have 10 seconds to make the ramp again to collect the 1,000,000 rather than the usual 20. At the start of the game, the base value for the ramp is 40,000, and it will never be reset below that amount; once you collect the 1,000,000 once, the base value will be 20,000, meaning it takes one more shot to get back to the million. All Comet ramp values can be doubled by making a lit center ramp during Double Scoring.
For the Ball Toss standup targets on the left, hit an unlit target to score 5,000 points and light that target. Already lit targets score 1,000 points. Light all three targets to score 30,000 points and relight the center ramp to be worth the increasing value toward 1,000,000 rather than a flat 10,000 points. Completing the Ball Toss targets once also lights the word Hold; if the word Bonus is also lit by completing the Shooting Gallery targets once, your bonus will be held to the next ball.
As far as strategy is concerned, it's generally a little easier and a little safer to shoot the center ramp as a backhand from the left flipper. If you try to shoot the Comet from the right flipper, it's a little too easy to shoot it early, bank the ball off the large yellow rubber post to the right of the ramp, and end up in the center drain. If you can make that shot on the fly consistently, great! You've basically mastered this table. If not, you can do a couple things:
Shoot the lit Cyclone ramp for 50,000 points. Shoot it again with 15 seconds for 100,000 points. Shoot it a third time within 15 seconds of the second shot to score the game's progressive jackpot. If you fail the 100,000 point shot, the ramp will stay lit but reset to 50,000 value. If you fail the jackpot shot, the ramp will unlight entirely, and you'll need to complete the Shooting Gallery standup targets on the right to relight the ramp for its 50,000 base value. The right ramp puts the ball in the right in lane, but the ramp can only be shot from the left flipper, so you'll need to use one of the transfer methods mentioned above to help you out. Unlit shots to the Cyclone ramp score 25,000 points.
The progressive jackpot starts at 500,000 points. Any time the ball rolls through any top lane, 5,000 points are added to the jackpot. If, when a game ends, there are no credits left on the machine and the jackpot is less than 1,000,000 points, the game will add 1,000,000 to the jackpot as an incentive to play. This means that in most cases, the first jackpot awarded in a game is worth about 1,500,000, while any subsequent jackpots awarded in the same game are unlikely to be worth more than about 550,000-600,000 points. Uncollected jackpots build up from game to game and eventually max out at 4,000,000 points.
The three standup targets in the Shooting Gallery bank in the lower right are always worth 1,000 points. Hit an unlit target to light it. Light all three to complete the bank. Any completion of this bank will relight the Cyclone ramp if it is not lit, and also award the word Bonus toward Hold Bonus (the Ball Toss targets give the word Hold). The first completion of these targets on a ball scores 25,000 points; the second scores 50,000; the third lights an extra ball in one of the out lanes; further completions after that award 50,000 again.
The Ghost drop target scores 5,000 points and reveals the Spook House hole. Shoot the hole within 15 seconds and you'll get a spin of the Mystery wheel on the backglass. After 15 seconds, the drop target will pop back up. The mystery wheel contains 13 different point values ranging from 5,000 to 200,000 points, or it can award an instant extra ball, an instant special, or Zilch (absolutely nothing, 0 points). The ball will then be kicked out of the Boomerang scoop on the left. Speaking of which...
This scoop in the far left advances your bonus multiplier when lit. If it is not lit, light it by going through either in lane. On default settings, the light isn't timed, so you'll probaly get a bonus multiplier whenever you end up here. Kickouts from this spot are usually fairly weak and flop to the left flipper.
Slightly to the right and slightly above the Spook House is a target semi-obscured by the squiggly right habitrail. It is red, and spots one of the Ball Toss targets for you when hit. It takes a lucky bounce to find this target at all. I believe it scores 5,000 points?
Cyclone has a conventional in/out lane setup. In lanes score 5,000 points and one bonus advance. Both in lanes relight the Boomerang for a bonus multiplier; the right in lane also lights the Ferris wheel. Out lanes score 10,000 points and 3 bonus advances, and can be lit for extra ball by the Shooting Gallery targets or as a consolation. If just one out lane is lit, lane change with either flipper will alternate which one is lit. If two extra balls are lit at once, both out lanes will be lit.
There is a small center peg between and below the flippers. It tends not to come into play often, but can sometimes save a SDTM ball that was rejected from the center ramp or hit one of the posts on the sides of the center ramp.
Top lanes, in lanes, and standup targets each award 1 bonus advance. Out lanes award 3 bonus advances. Max base bonus is 99,000 points. Bonus multiplier is advanced by shooting the Boomerang scoop in the far lower left when it is lit. Max bonus multiplier is 7x. If your bonus multiplier reaches the flashing number on the table, you are awarded an instant special; this can reflex, but is usually 5x by default. If you drain the ball during Double Scoring, your bonus is doubled on top of the regular bonus multiplier. A theoretical max bonus collect is 2x 7x 99,000 = 1,386,000 points. In practice, though, bonus advances and trips to the Boomerang end up being few and far between, and bonus collects of more than about 100,000 are pretty rare. There is no mid-ball bonus collect. Bonus multipliers are held from ball to ball on default settings. Base bonus is only carried over between balls if you complete the Ball Toss and Shooting Gallery target banks once each on that ball, which lights Hold Bonus.
In competition/novelty play, specials can be set to award points, but I have not determined exactly how many. I would guess somewhere between 200,000 and 500,000 points. Extra balls cannot be set to a point value.
The Comet ramp (20 sec), Cyclone ramp (15 sec), Double Scoring (20 sec), Spook House (15 sec), Ferris Wheel (15 sec), Million shot (10 sec) and Bonus X (untimed) can all individually be set to between 1-99 seconds, or no time limit.
The base value of the Comet ramp up until the first Million shot is collected can be set to anywhere from 20,000 to 80,000.
Bumpers can be set to advance the Ferris Bonus by anywhere from 100 to 9,900 points. Default is 3,000.
Top lanes can advance the jackpot by any multiple of 1,000 up to 99,000 points. Default is 5,000.
The number of Shooting Gallery completions needed to light extra ball can be from 3 to 5. Default is 3.
The bonus multiplier required to score a special can be between 3x and 7x, default 5x.
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