Try to always be in multiball. The right ramp spells Diner which lights the lock under the left ramp, but don't ever shoot the right ramp when it's lit for Stir the Cup so that Diner letters are preserved and it only takes one shot to re-light locks after multiball instead of 5. Dine-Time, this game's Jackpot, is raised by left ramp combos or lit in lanes, and is lit at the spinner or right saucer after all 5 customers have been served via the drop targets or ramps that have been lit for Food by completing the top lanes.
The skill shot is pure timing, and awards whatever point value is lit times the current ball number. There is no "spot customer" option at a lower value like there is for the Spinout on Taxi, so there's no reason not to go for the no. 1 option every time for 150,000 points. The plunge should end up in the top left saucer, and if it does, the skill shot value will be awarded then, but if somehow the ball misses that saucer, the skill shot will be awarded when the ball goes through a top lane. Every plunger strength can vary, but letting go of a full plunge right when the lit moves from 75,000 to 50,000 usually works in my experience.
Spelling E-A-T advances the bonus multiplier, lights one of the in lanes for Advance Dine-Time, and lights both of the ramps for Food. If the bonus multiplier is maxed out at 5x, completing E-A-T will score 100,000 points, or 200,000 during multiball. Both flippers can be used to move the E-A-T lights via lane change, but they both move the lights in the same direction; there is no backwards lane change.
There are 5 characters across the playfield: Haji, Babs, Boris, Pepe, and Buck. Each one has a different diner order that consists of two food items; it will always be one food item corresponding to each of the two banks of drop targets, center and left. Completing one bank awards that food, and completing both banks finishes their order. (The current customer always flashes, while the lit one have been served.) Making a ramp that is lit for Food spots one food item, aka one drop target completion.
Each customer served adds a 1% tip to the end of the ball, explained later during the Bonus and bonus multiplier section. Serving all 5 customers immediately lights Dine-Time for 15 seconds, which is this game's jackpot. If Dine-Time is failed, the 5th customer will send their food back and need to be re-served. If Dine-Time is collected, all characters will unlight and can be worked through again, building up an end of ball tip of 5% or higher.
Awards a cash register bonus. The cash register starts at 20,000 points, and advances by an additional 20,000 if the ramp is made again within 10 seconds. The cash register maxes out at 100,000 points. If the 100,000 level is reached, the Grill target to the left of the bumpers is lit for an extra ball (once per ball in play), and subsequent loops to the left ramp will score 100,000 points plus a Dine-Time value advance until the ramp times out.
This ramp is lit to spot Food by completing the E-A-T lanes.
The right ramp lights Diner letters, scoring 25,000 for the D, 50,000 for I, 75,000 for N, 100,000 for E, and 250,000 for R. Completing the word Diner lights the lock under the left ramp and lights this ramp for Stir the Cup for a few seconds. During Stir the Cup, the ball will spin around the whirlpool in the back of the playfield, scoring big points based on how much the cup spins- 250,000 at base level, an additional 250,000 for every two spins, 2,500,000 for ten spins, and an additional 100,000 for every two spins after that. Stirring the Cup is decent points, but it also unlights all of the Diner letters, meaning 5 more right ramp shots are required to light the lock again. However, if Diner is spelled but the cup is never stirred, it will take just 1 shot to this right ramp to relight the lock after the next multiball. In competition play, most players will elect to do this. Some will take the strategy even further, waiting for Stir the Cup to time out and not starting multiball just to take advantage of this ramp being worth 250,000 a shot when the lock is lit but Stir the Cup is not.
When not lit, this saucer just sends the ball up to the top of the playfield. The left in lane lights this saucer for Today's Special for a few seconds, which gives a random award: 25,000 points, 50,000, 75,000, 100,000, 250,000, serve customer, advance Dine-Time, or extra ball. If a ball is locked, though, Today's Special will always give Start Multiball, unless it decides to give an extra ball instead. This saucer is also lit for Rush-2 during multiball. Today's Special is intended to eject directly to the upper saucer at the top of the table, which is also the endpoint of the Spinner lane shot, so Today's Special can also be used to collect Rush-1 during multiball, or the Dine-Time jackpot.
After a ball is locked under the left ramp, Multiball is eligible to begin. The standard multiball start is to shoot the spinner lane between the center drop targets and the right ramp, so that the ball lands in the top saucer. However, multiball can also be started at Today's Special saucer, since that shot sends the ball up to the top saucer as well.
During multiball, all scoring is in play, and there is no playield multiplier. Progress on Food, customers, and Dine-Time can still be made. The only multiball-specific scoring feature is Beat the Rush. comparable to the Express Lane on Taxi. Shooting Rush-1 at the spinner lane starts Beat the Rush, which lights Rush-2 for a few seconds. Making both Rush-1 and Rush-2 means you have indeed beaten the rush, and you are rewarded by both ramps having their value increased to 500,000 points for the rest of multiball. If you can start multiball, beat the rush, hold one ball on the left flipper, and use the other ball to loop the right ramp all day with the right flipper, you are living the good life.
Remember that the Today's Special saucer sends the ball into the same top saucer as the spinner lane, so anything that the spinner lane would give you can be collected at Today's Special. If you start multiball at Today's Special to begin with (and it is lit), the kickout from Today's Special into the top saucer will give you Rush-1 for free, meaning all it takes to beat the rush is one more Today's Special shot! Even if Rush-1 is not given for free at the start of multiball in this way, the regular Rush-1 can be collected during multiball at Today's Special as well.
Dine-Time is this game's jackpot. The value of Dine-Time is 1,000,000 points times whatever hour the clock hand on the backglass is pointing to. Dine-Time is advanced by lit in lanes, the appropriate Today's Special award, or by continuing to loop the left ramp after the Cash Register has been advanced to 100,000. The maximum Dine-Time value is 12,000,000 points.
As soon as the 5th customer is served, Dine-Time is lit for 15 seconds at the spinner lane. The ball must go all the way through the lane into the top saucer. But remember, everything the spinner lane gives can also be collected by Today's Special, so shoot the much safer Today's Special shot to collect the Dine-Time instead!
Once Dine-Time is collected, all 5 customers will reset, and can be served again toward a new Dine-Time (and sets of served customers are remembered, so the end of ball tip will reach or exceed 5%). If Dine-Time is failed, one of the customers will send their food back and need to be re-served for Dine-Time to light again.
A red standup target just to the left of the bumpers, shootable between the left ramp and center drop targets. It is briefly lit immediately after completing a drop target bank to collect Food. Hitting this target when lit scores the sum of all the lit values, which totals 100,000 the first time, 250,000 the second time, 500,000 the third time, and 1,500,000 the fourth time, after which it resets to 100,000 for the fifth. There's okay points here, but the angle into the pop bumpers is incredibly dangerous.
Advancing the Cash Register value to 100,000 lights this target for an extra ball, once per ball in play.
The end of ball bonus for a single ball is just 1,000 points, plus an additional 1,000 for every pop bumper hit during that ball, multiplied by the bonus multiplier. The bonus multiplier is advanced by the E-A-T lanes, up to a maximum of 5x (additional E-A-T lanes still light ramps for Food and such, but only directly award points).
More interesting than the end of ball bonus is the tip. After the bonus is added, you receive a tip of 1% for each customer served throughout the entire game. This tip is effectively a multiplier applied to your entire score up to that point, which can get pretty sizable after a Dine-Time has been collected, and is reason enough not to tilt on its own. If there is a maximum tip percentage, it is at least 12%. The tip ends up serving as a way to keep ball 1 important without being a simple carryover for the base bonus or the bonus multiplier, as it means customers served on a good ball 1 will continue to pay you off for the rest of the game.
Diner has a conventional in/out lane setup. The out lanes can be lit for extra ball, but this is purely a consolation extra ball that only lights if a player's first two balls were extremely short (and indeed if the consolation extra balls setting is on). The in lanes can be lit for Advance Dine-Time after competing the E-A-T letters. Both the consolation EB and the Dine-Time light can be moved with flipper lane change. The left in lane only also lights Today's Special on the right for a few seconds.
Settings that change how the Diner near you plays include the following.
Yes, the customers do always order the same things, sadly. Haji wants a hot dog and a root beer; Babs wants an iced tea and a frankfurter; Boris (who plays the same sound effect as Gorbie from Taxi) wants a burger and fries; Pepe wants the chili and a root beer; Buck wants the (Texas) chili and fries. The left drop targets always give the iced tea, root beer, or fries, while the center drop targets always give the hot dog, hamburger, or chili.
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