Much of the layout and scoring rules for this table were reused for Star Light (Williams, 1984).
Collect bonus multipliers from the left bullseye target lane or upper right saucer until 5x is reached and the spinners are lit, then shoot the orbits all day, nudging into the top lanes to complete sets of 1-10 and relying on the pop bumpers to take care of BALL drop targets. Let the star rollovers happen on their own without picking them off directly, unless there's just one left. Ignore the LASER drop targets completely. Try to avoid ever ending up in either side kickback lane.
Each of the 5 top lanes corresponds to 2 of the numbers in 1-10, and each of the star rollovers in the center of the table correspond to one of the numbers as well. Going through a top lane collects both of the numbers assigned to that lane (as well as scoring 1,000 points and a bonus advance). Star rollovers score 100 points, and collect the corresponding number when they are not lit. Completing a set of 1-10 lights one of the AE symbols at the bottom of the playfield and resets the 1-10 to be collected again. Lighting 5 of the AE inserts will light the bullseye lane on the left for an extra ball, and lighting all 6 will make a special available in the left bullseye lane as well.
Progress on the 1-10 numbers as well as AE completions do carry over from ball to ball, unless you tilt! Tilting resets you all the way back to 1 AE symbol and no 1-10 numbers lit, so maybe don't do that.
Flash when they are hit, cannot be lit. Score 100 points each.
The upper right saucer advances the bonus multiplier (2x-3x-5x). Reaching 5x also lights both spinners. Completing the LASER drop targets 4 times over the course of the game lights this saucer for an extra ball.
Each target down scores 500 points and a bonus advance. Completing the bank scores 10,000 points times the number of AE symbols lit at the bottom of the playfield, for a maximum of 60,000 (if no AE symbols are lit, 5,000 points are scored for completing the drops).
The spinners score 100 points per spin when not lit, or 1,000 per spin when lit. The spinners are lit by advancing the bonus multiplier to 5x.
There is a one way gate at the top of the left orbit, but not at the top of the right one, so the ball can come down the right orbit from a trip to the top lanes or off the plunge, which is not ideal.
A rather narrow lane just to the inside of the left orbit, shootable only with the lower right flipper. The bullseye target advances the bonus multiplier, and can be lit for an extra ball or a special by lighting 5 or 6 of the AE symbols, respectively.
The L and A are left of center, while the S-E-R are right of center. L and A can only really be shot by the lower flippers, but S-E-R can be shot by any of the three flippers and are in fact right in front of the upper right flipper. Each target down scores 500 points, but does not advance the bonus. Completing Laser scores and advances the lit value shown by the inserts near the upper right flipper (or 5,000 points, if none of them are lit). Collecting the 20,000 award for the first time (typically 4 completions of Laser) also lights an extra ball at the upper right saucer and lights both out lanes for a special.
The center of the table bottom is a conventional in/out lane setup, with in lanes that score 3,000 points plus a bonus advance, and out lanes that score 5,000 points plus a bonus advance (and can be lit for a special after 4 completions of Laser). Even closer to the edges of the table than the out lanes, though, are curved kickback lanes on both sides. Entering one of these lanes scores 1,000 points for each star rollover lit in the current set of 1-10 numbers, and kicks the ball back into play. Try to avoid using the kickback lanes at all, as entering them means you were nearly at risk of an outlane drain and exiting them puts the ball out of control with too much horizontal momentum.
Bonus serves as a decent but not worldbreaking proportion of the scoring on Laser Ball. Bonus is advanced by the top lanes, BALL drop targets, and the in/out lanes. Bonus multiplier is advanced by hitting the standup target in the bullseye lane or making the upper right saucer. Max bonus is 5x 29,000 = 145,000 points. There is no 4x: the multiplier advances are 2x-3x-5x. In true Williams fashion, bonus multiplier is carried over from ball to ball unless it is maxed out at 5x. Base bonus can never be carried between balls.
In competition/tournament play, specials score 50,000 points. There is no score setting for extra balls, they are either on or off.
The game can start with the 10,000 insert lit for the Laser targets, meaning only 3 completions of Laser are required to light the out lane specials and saucer extra ball. Also, the Laser value can be reset between balls instead of carrying over, meaning the Laser completions for the special/extra ball must be done all in one ball.
There are 3 settings for the AE initialization at the start of the game. On Easy, the 1st symbol is lit at the start of the game, and the 2nd and 3rd are lit together after one completion of 1-10. On Medium, the 1st symbol is lit at the start of the game, but the 2nd and 3rd are not awarded together. On Hard, no symbols are lit to start, nor are any two symbols awarded at once.
AE symbols and 1-10 progress always carry between balls unless a tilt occurs.
Bonus multiplier can be set not to carry over between balls at all. Even if the multiplier is set to carry, it will always reset once maxed out at 5x, no way to get around that.
The top lanes can be set up such that if both of the numbers in a lane are uncollected, going through that lane only spots one of the two numbers.
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