Make the skill shot when the uppermost light in the shooter lane is lit to start a Diamond Hurry-up right away. (If you don't make the skill shot timing, clear all banks of drop targets to start a Diamond Hurry-up.) Now, complete the Diamond drop targets on either end of all three banks as many times as you can. As long as you continue to do this without completing the Royal Flush standup targets behind the drops, only the Diamond targets will reset, and you'll be able to repeatedly play the Diamond Hurry-up.
The left spinner feeds the lane behind the left targets, which lights the left kickback. The two bottommost targets of the left and right side banks raises the center blocker. Both of these are available for about 30 seconds only.
Anytime after completing a set of Diamond targets you can start Multiball at the right orbit, but the playfield multiplier doesn't affect the Diamond Hurry-up or the All Diamonds Down scores, so use this only to have a second ball help you complete Hurry-ups.
The skill shot is simple timing of a full plunge. Three inserts in the shooter lane rotate very quickly, and when the ball trips the rollover switch in the shooter lane, the lit insert will be the feature you receive. From bottom to top, the awards are Light Spinners, Spot Top Targets (which starts Ace of Hearts round), and Spot All Targets (which starts a Diamond Hurry-up). All of these are discussed in more detail below, but it's almost always best to go for Spot All Targets.
Various features are available from completing specific combinations of drop targets. There are three banks in total: a 4-bank in the center and two 5-banks on either side. The drop targets on the ends of each bank are Diamonds, and the targets between them are Spades.
Completing the Spades (or having all of the Spades spotted for you) lights the left ramp for a few seconds for Advance Jackpot. Making the ramp during this time adds a letter to Jackpot on the backbox of the game. Letters in Jackpot carry over from game to game; you win the Jackpot if you are the one to finish the word. The Jackpot value resets to 10,000 points whenever it is collected or the game is power cycled; I have not been able to determine what raises the jackpot and by exactly how much, but it typically tends to be worth somewhere in the 300,000 - 500,000 range when collected.
Making the left ramp spots all of the Spade targets in the right bank. Making the lane behind the left drop targets spots all of the Spades in the left bank. Hitting the two bottommost Diamond targets spots all of the Spades in the center bank.
Clearing both of the bottommost Diamond targets in the left and right banks also raises the center drop target blocker and starts Ace of Hearts round. The center blocker is a one-time-use center drain defense, and it lowers when the ball hits it. The Ace of Hearts round is a 10-second round where the red standup target behind the center drop targets is worth 100,000 points per hit. This is somewhat of a sucker target, and hitting it straight on is a very high center drain risk, so the Ace of Hearts round is best ignored.
Clearing all of the Diamonds targets at any time lights the right orbit for Capture, which is effectively a multiball start. See the Multiball section below. Completing the Diamonds also scores and advances the All Diamonds Down value shown on the playfield- 100,000 the first time, increasing by 100,000 each subsequent time up to a maximum of 700,000. The 8th Diamonds completion scores an instant Special, which is worth just 500,000 points, before additional Diamond clears score the full 700,000 value. The All Diamonds Down value resets between balls.
Knocking down all targets in the game starts a Diamond Hurry-up. All targets will reset, then all Spade targets will drop automatically, leaving just the 6 Diamond targets. A hurry-up starts at 5,000,000 points and counts down quickly, losing about 200,000 per second. Hitting all 6 of the Diamond targets collects the value currently remaining in the hurry-up. Even if the hurry-up was failed, completing all of the Diamonds immediately starts a new Diamond Hurry-up as well, which is the loop you want to get yourself in; this happens repeatedly until the end of the ball or until you finish a Royal Flush (see next section), which resets all drop targets including the Spades. If you lock a ball at the right orbit while Diamond Hurry-up is running, you will not get a chance at a skill shot on that plunge, and the Diamond Hurry-up value will continue to count down while the ball is in the shooter lane.
There are five red standup targets behind the banks of drop targets. 10 and Jack are behind the left drops; Queen and King are behind the right drops; Ace is behind the top drops. Hitting all 5 to complete the Royal Flush scores and advances the lit value on the table in the order of 100,000 - 250,000 - extra ball - special. In competition play, the extra ball and the special both score 500,000. The special is not awarded immediately Completing a royal flush resets all of the drop targets, including the Spades, so if you're close to a Royal Flush it can get you a couple hundred thousand points in a pinch, but it's usually better where possible to avoid hitting these and stay in the Diamond Hurry-up loop.
Supposedly, if all of the drop targets are raised and you are able to hit all 6 Diamonds without knocking down any of the Spades, your entire score is doubled. The drop targets are set up to deflect from the side banks into the center bank, though, so this is slightly to the left of impossible to actually pull off. Only go for it as a super hail mary long shot if you're far behind at the end of a tournament game.
The right orbit pops the ball into the top lanes. Going through the lit top lane advances the multiball playfield multiplier by 1, up to a maximum of 15x. The lit top lane cannot be moved with flipper lane change; only the bumpers can switch which of the two lanes is lit. After 15x is achieved, the next lit top lane scores a Special. The multiball playfield X is reset from ball to ball. To start multiball, complete all of the Diamond targets, then shoot the right orbit. The ball will be locked, you'll be served a new ball, and 2-ball multiball will begin as soon as the new ball hits a switch. Everything in the game has its scoring multiplied by the playfield X for as long as two balls are in play, except for the Diamond Hurry-up, the All Diamonds Down value, and the Royal Flush value. The best use of multiball is to either keep throwing balls into the orbit to continue to increase the multiplier and get points from the very active pop bumpers, or use the second ball in play as an aid to more quickly complete Diamond Hurry-ups.
Both spinners always score 1,000 points per spin. After going through either in lane or making the Light Spinners skill shot, both spinners will be lit for Add Bonus for a couple seconds. I am not sure of the extent bonus formula, but it seems like most switches add between 100 and 300 points to the base bonus, while lit spinners add 1,000-2,000 per spin.
The left spinner is somewhat hidden between the left ramp and the center drop target bank. This lane makes a u-turn, comes down the table diagonally left, ends up in the lane behind the left drop targets to light the left kickback, and then is fed to the left in lane. The kickback in the left out lane is on for about 20-30 seconds depending on settings and can be used multiple times before the timer expires without needing to be relit (i.e. using it once does not immediately turn it off).
Diamond Lady has a conventional in/out lane setup. The left out lane is lit for a reusable automatic kickback for a limited amount of time by the lane behind the left drop targets. The right out lane can be lit for a special and I have absolutely no idea how- couldn't get this to happen myself no matter what I did (my best guess is that it comes from something to do with the Jackpot). Both in lanes light the two spinners for increased bonus advance for a short time (3-5 seconds).
There is no bonus multiplier at all. Bonus itself is a count of switch hits. As mentioned in the Spinners section, I have not been able to find the exact formula for the bonus, but lit spinners seem to add 1,000-2,000 each, while most other switches give 100-300. Max bonus is 500,000 points. Bonus cannot be carried over from ball to ball and there is no mid-ball bonus collect.
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