Hercules is best known as the largest pinball game ever produced, at 3 feet wide by 8 feet deep by 7 feet tall (including backbox). It will almost never be seen in a tournament, but should absolutely be played on location for the novelty if you come across one. Note that due to the machine's large size and weight and the added inertia of the ball itself (the pinball is the size of a pool or billiards cue ball), nudging skills are far less effective. This game also tends to play much more slowly than conventional pinball.
There are three phases to progression/score on Hercules:
The left top lane corresponds to the yellow path (double bonus), the center top lane corresponds to the orange path (extra ball), the right top lane corresponds to the red path (special). Going through a lane awards a step on the respective path and lights that lane, in addition to 3,000 points and a bonus advance. Each time a set of all three lanes is made, the value of the left spinner increases. The top lanes cannot award any of the Path of Victory's prizes: the final step must be earned at the proper Path of Victory shot at the right loop.
This loop shot starts on the right, stretches across the table above the bumpers, and comes down the left spinner lane. Rollover switches at the beginning and end of this path each score 500 points. If the ball makes it all the way around the Path of Victory shot, you will be award one step of progress toward each of the major awards that correspond to lit top lanes. Then, the path will award you 1,000 points for each lit step on all three paths in addition to the value of the entrance and exit switches. 4 steps on the yellow path lights Double Bonus; 5 steps on the orange path lights the in lanes for extra ball; 6 steps on the red path lights the out lanes for special. Each of the three paths' awards can only be collected once per ball. Progress on each path is carried over from ball to ball, unless a path was completed on a given ball, at which point it will be reset when the next ball begins. A shot to the right loop that falls into the bumpers rather than making it all the way to the left spinner lane does not count as a Path of Victory shot, and you will not receive any steps or points.
The left spinner starts out being worth 100 points per spin. Each time a set of top lanes is made by having the ball roll through each of the three lanes once, the left spinner value is increased in the order of 1,000 - 2,000 - 3,000 points per spin. The spinner value persists, even ball to ball, until the next time any Path of Victory award is collected, at which point it instantly resets back to 100/spin. If you start completing top lanes after collecting all three path awards, then, the spinner will stay at high value for at least the rest of the current ball. There is no flipper lane change at the top lanes, nor is there any indicator for which ones you still need to complete a set after all three have been lit for Path of Victory purposes, so this feature is somewhat obscure. Since the nature of the game's construction means it's hard to earn more than about 4 or 5 spins with a single spinner rip, it's difficult to recommend spinner as a viable strategy unless everything else on the table is already maxed, lit, or claimed.
Bonus is advanced by 1,000 points with every top lane, standup target, or in/out lane. Base bonus maxes out at 49,000 points. However, whenever your base bonus is a multiple of 10,000 points, you must collect that bonus by hitting a flashing standup target before you can increase it further. The bonus collect does not drain your bonus, nor does it incorporate the 2x multiplier if you have lit double bonus already; it just scores your current base bonus before allowing you to continue to advance the bonus. The 10,000 bonus target is to the left of the Path of Victory entrance; the 20,000 target is somewhat hidden, above and to the left of the left pop bumper; the 30,000 target is on the far right; the 40,000 target is on the far left. The only bonus multiplier is 2x, obtained by completing the yellow path as described in the above sections. Base bonus count carries over from ball to ball unless you max the base bonus at 49,000 points. Double bonus never carries over from ball to ball. Max bonus is 2x 49,000 = 98,000 points.
Hercules has a conventional in/out lane setup. In lanes score 3,000 points, and award an extra ball once per ball in play after the orange path is completed. Out lanes score 5,000 points, and award a special once the red path has been completed.
The manual for Hercules as I have found does not describe in detail the available game settings. While extra ball and special can presumably be disabled, I have not been able to find for sure what point value may substitute for them.
The only setting explicitly mentioned within the manual's rules description says that on hard settings, the top lanes can be set not to spot steps on the three paths for you; instead, all they will do is light up, and all steps must be collected from Path of Victory shots.Back to top
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