Not to be confused with El Dorado, the 1975 EM original that this game is a remake of. Similar or identical playfields were also used in Target Alpha, Solar City, Gold Strike, Lucky Strike, and Canada Dry (all Gottlieb, 1975-76).
Bonus is everything. All rollover lanes advance bonus, and a single advance is worth 10,000 points. Complete the upper 10-bank of targets as soon as possible to light Hold Bonus for the rest of the game, then complete the lower 5-bank of drop targets twice per ball to max out the bonus multiplier at 3x (which does not carry). If you've done both of those things, there's not much left to do in the game; completing the 10-bank again when Hold Bonus is already lit will light one upper drop target for special (once per game) and one lower drop target for extra ball (once per ball in play).
There are 10 around the playfield: three in the upper right, one in the upper left, two in the middle-right, and then the four in/out lanes at the bottom of the table. All lanes advance bonus, whether lit or not. Unlit lanes score 500 points, lit lanes score 5,000. Only one lane will be lit at a time; the yellow standup targets in the near-left of the table rotate which lane is lit.
Ten of them in one big line. Each target down scores 500 points if not lit, or 1,000 when lit. The yellow standup targets rotate which is the lit target. This bank will automatically reset once completed. The first completion of this bank lights Hold Bonus for the rest of the game, make it very important to clear the whole bank on your very first ball for best scores. Completing this 10-bank when Hold Bonus is already lit will light one of the upper drop targets for Special (once per game) and one lower drop target for extra ball (once per ball).
Very similar to the upper targets: each target down scores 500, except the lit target which scores 5,000. Lit target is once again rotated by yellow standup targets. Completing this bank increases the bonus multiplier, to 2x for the first completion and 3x for the second. Bonus multiplier is not held from ball to ball, so you'll need to complete this bank twice on each ball even if Bonus Held is on. If the upper 10-bank of drop targets is completed after Hold Bonus is lit, one of the drop targets in this lower bank will be lit for extra ball.
Score 1,000 points.
There are two: one in front of the lower left bumper, and one behind it. These targets score 1,000 points and a bonus advance, and rotate which rollover lanes and drop targets are lit. It is not particularly important to try to optimize hitting only drop targets that are lit for 5,000 points, since the end of ball bonus will dominate the rest of the game's scoring anyway.
El Dorado City of Gold has a conventional in/out lane setup. In and out lanes are treated like all other rollover lanes: 500 points when not lit, 5,000 when lit, a bonus advance no matter what. Slingshots score 30 points.
There is a center peg between the flippers to help protect against faster center drains.
Bonus is advanced by yellow standup targets and any rollover lane. A single bonus advance is worth 10,000 points in end of ball bonus rather than the traditional 1,000. Max base bonus is 190,000 points. Completions of the lower drop targets increase multiplier to 2x then 3x. Max bonus is 3x 190,000 = 570,000 points, which is often an order of magnitude more than the playfield points you got for that ball in play. Absolutely never tilt! Completing the upper drop targets once will hold the base bonus to every ball for the rest of the game, but there is no way to hold bonus multiplier to the next ball. There is no mid-ball bonus collect.
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