This is a solid state remake of Fireball (Bally, EM, 1972). It is not to be confused with that game or Fireball II (Bally, SS, 1981).
Know where the skill shot is and be able to hit it every time you get to plunge to score 70,000 points, 3 bonus advances, and make the top two bumpers flash for 3,000 points each. Lock balls in the two side saucers; use the opposite side's yellow mushroom bumper to release a locked ball. The captive ball releases all locks, or advances bonus multiplier if there were none. All playfield scoring is doubled with 2 balls in play or tripled with 3 balls in play.
Any plunge allows a precise power skill shot. The goal is to plunge partway around the back of the game, but have the ball come back down beneath the rail and hit the switches before falling off the raised playfield area. A partial skill shot hits just the lower switch, which scores 20,000 points and lights the top two bumpers solidly for 1,000 points. A full skill shot hits both switches, which scores a total of 70,000 points and three bonus advances, while also making the top two bumpers flash for 3,000 points. A plunge that is too hard ot too soft falls into the bumpers and scores no points. Scoring from the skill shot isn't quite as overpowering in this game as it is in the original EM Fireball, but it is still quite strong, and the skill shot should never be ignored.
The lower bumper with the face on it is always lit and scores 10 points only. The upper two bumpers score 100 points when not lit, 1,000 when lit, or 3,000 when flashing. They start off at the beginning of each ball, are lit by making a partial skill shot, and start flashing by making a full skill shot. Pop bumpers can never be downgraded by additional skill shots made on the same ball, but they can be upgraded.
Balls can be put in the two saucers for a lock at any time.
Mushroom bumpers score 3,000 points and a bonus advance. If there is a ball in the left lock, the right mushroom bumper releases it. If there is a ball in the right lock, the left mushroom bumper release it. The value of releasing the left lock is a nearly-random scanning value that can be 10,000, 20,000, 30,000, 40,000, or 50,000 points. The value of releasing the right lock is 30,000 points for each mushroom bumper that was hit while the right lock was empty, and can be as high as 90,000 points. A full shot to the captive ball releases all locked balls.
Whenever there are 2 balls on the playfield, all scoring is doubled. Whenever there are 3 balls on the playfield, all scoring is tripled. Balls can be relocked at any time during multiball, at which point they are considered to be removed from the playfield. The best things to try to do during multiball are hit the captive ball or get balls stuck in the flashing bumpers.
If multiball was started at the captive ball and there was a ball in the right lock, a gate will be opened that directs the ball to the shooter lane. Multiball scoring will still be in effect, but one ball will be out of the way in the shooter lane. Generally, it is an illegal move in tournament play to leave that ball there during multiball, and you must plunge the ball at the earliest opportunity; however, for this game specifically, some tournament operators may explicitly list it as an approved multiball scenario. Be sure to check the rules before playing.
Fireball Classic is a game where it is very easy to play out of order by accident. If multiball is in progress and one ball is locked very close to when a second ball drains, watch the game very closely to see if the bonus counts down and the play control is passed. If the ball in the drain registered first, the next ball to be spit out will be yours, because the game thinks the last thing you did was lock a ball. If the ball in the lock registered first, the next ball in the shooter lane will belong to the next player, because the game the last thing you did was drain.
It's not reliable enough to do on purpose, but sometimes, if you drain the last two balls or all three balls of a multiball in very quick succession, the double or triple playfield scoring multiplier will be applied to the end of ball bonus as well, and will act as a compound multiplier on top of the conventional bonus multiplier. Don't rely on this, but know about it as a possibility.
Hitting the captive ball always scores 30,000 points. If there are any balls in the locks, they will all be kicked out. If there are no balls in the locks, a shot to the captive ball will advance the bonus multiplier. Depending on game settings, when the bonus multiplier reaches either 2x, 3x, 4x, or 5x, the next shot to the captive ball can be lit to light the right out lane for special.
In the center of this table is a roto-disc that is always spinning during gameplay. This disc can wildly affect the movement of the ball, so you need to constantly be on your toes. A ball moving slowly when it comes into contact with the disc could end up going in literally any direction. Surrounding the roto-disc are 8 rollover buttons that all score 1,000 points. The "north" button activates the automatic kickback in the left out lane, and the "southeast" and "southwest" buttons deactivate the kickback. The kickback does not turn off once used; it is only turned off by the ball draining or an Off Kicker button being pressed.
There are no in lanes, and the flippers back up directly to the slingshots. There is no center peg or post and, unlike the original EM Fireball, the flippers cannot zip together. The left out lane scores 1,000 points, or 5,000 when the kickback is lit. The right out lane scores 1,000 points and can be lit for special.
A full skill shot scores 3 bonus advances. Any hit to any mushroom bumper scores 1 bonus advance. A single bonus advance is worth 5,000 points, rather than the usual 1,000. Max base bonus is 345,000 points. Specials can be given for reaching certain thresholds of base bonus: the first can be at any multiple of 50,000 points up to 200,000, and additional specials can be disabled or be given for each additional 50,000 or 100,000 in bonus beyond the initial level. Full shots to the captive ball when there are no balls in the locks advance the bonus multiplier. Max bonus is 5x 345,000 = 1,725,000 points. Rarely, if multiball is running and the last two/all three balls drain in very quick succession, the bonus with multiplier can be doubled or tripled, for a theoretical max bonus of 5,175,000 points, but do not rely on this for scoring! It's just a nice boost if it happens.
Base bonus can be set to carry over from ball to ball. Bonus multiplier never carries over from ball to ball. There is no mid-ball bonus collect.
In competition/novelty play, specials score 50,000 points. There are no extra balls available.
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