Mars God of War has a lot of cool features, but most of them are outclassed by simply shooting for a bonus + bonus multiplier strategy. Find the left orbit whenever possible to get back to the top of the table and collect more top lanes, or shatz/alley pass the ball back and forth to get Mars letters from the in lanes. Base bonus is not difficult to max out, but multipliers take some effort. If no ball is locked, the right in lane causes the left orbit to become a left ramp, and shooting it as a combo scores 50,000 points. Only after bonus and multiplier are high should multiball be a focus; complete a drop target bank to light a lock and shoot the lowered left ramp to start multiball. 3x playfield with 2 balls in play, 5x with 3 balls in play.
There are four top lanes. Roll through a lit lane to unlight it. Lit lanes score 1,000 points and a bonus advance. Unlit lanes score 100 points. Lane change is available from the right flipper only. Collecting all 4 lanes to spell Mars increases the bonus multiplier. When the top A lane is lit, the left in lane will be as well, and the right in lane is tied to the R top lane similarly: use this liberally to collect Mars letters from the in lanes, making it much easier to finish spellings and build a bonus multiplier.
Completing a spelling of Mars lights one bumper. Bumpers score 100 points when not lit and 1,000 when lit.
Hit an unlit drop target to score 100 points and light it. Hit a lit drop target to score 1,000 points. Any drop target down always gives a bonus advance. Each spin of the left spinner causes the position of the lit drop targets to rotate, and some may unlight entirely. The center drop target bank lights the left lock when completed, and the right drop target bank lights the right lock when completed.
Complete a bank of drop targets to light a lock. Locking a ball scores 1,000 points times the current bonus multiplier. If the bonus multiplier is at least 3x, locking a ball will light an extra ball- the upper left in lane for the left lock, and the lower right standup target for the right lock. If the bonus multiplier is at least 4x, locking a ball lights the corresponding out lane for special. When at least one ball is locked, the left ramp lowers, allowing for a ramp shot through the tube into the Launch hole. Making the Launch hole with at least one ball locked starts multiball.
At the beginning of multiball, all drop targets unlight. During multiball, all playfield scoring is 3x when there are 2 balls in play, or 5x when there are 3 balls in play. Take advantage of lit bumpers and drop targets being worth 3,000 or 5,000 points each.
Locks cannot be stolen. If a ball is locked but that player center drains before starting multiball, all locked balls will be ejected and allowed to drain before the next ball or player's turn begins. If a ball is locked and then a player drains down an out lane, one ball will be ejected and the player's turn continues as a Last Chance feature. Last Chance is not awarded if the player has played multiball or collected an extra ball at any point during the game so far; in this case, locked balls will be allowed to drain, just like in the center drain case. A tilt also ejects all locked balls. If a player qualified a lock but did not actually lock a ball there, the qualified lock will be available on the next ball.
Whether multiball is ready or not, the Launch lane scores 5,000 points, a bonus advance, and a bonus multiplier. The lane can be accessed from the playfield just above and right of the upper right bumper.
In single ball play, the left ramp is typically raised, allowing it to be a left orbit up to the top lanes. Going through the right in lane lowers the ramp. At this point, if the ball ends up in the Launch lane without hitting a pop bumper along the way- regardless of whether it happened by way of the ramp + tube or the playfield entrance- a 50,000 point Stargate bonus is scored. Hitting any pop bumper in single ball play raises the left ramp and disables the Stargate.
Typical of Gottlieb's early solid state widebody games, there's a lot to take in at the bottom of the table. At first glance, Mars God of War appears to have a conventional in/out lane setup, but with rubber walls and upper flippers taking the place of the slingshots. On the left, there is an additional structure above this, with an actual slingshot pointed toward the center drop targets and an alternate in lane that feeds the ball to the upper left flipper. Posts on the very left edge of the table allow the player to nudge the ball toward the upper in lane or regular in lane, avoiding the left out lane. Above the right in/out lane is a standup target, and above that- facing the right lock eject- is the right slingshot.
The out lanes score 5,000 points and a bonus advance. They can be lit for special by locking a ball at the lock on the same side of the table as said outlane once the bonus multiplier is at least 4x. If a ball is locked and an out lane drain occurs while the current player has not yet played multiball or earned an extra ball, Last Chance begins: see Locks and multiball section for more.
The standard in lanes score 100 points when not lit, 1,000 points and a bonus advance when lit, and serve as duplicates of the A and R top lanes.
The upper left in lane scores 500 points, and is lit for extra ball by locking a ball at the left lock after bonus multiplier is advanced to at least 3x. The lower right standup target also scores 500 points and extra ball when lit, and is lit by locking a ball at the right saucer with at least 3x bonus multiplier.
Base bonus is advanced by lit top lanes, lit in lanes, any drop target, and the Launch lane. Max base bonus is 29,000 points. Bonus multiplier is advanced by completing the Mars lanes or accessing the Launch lane. Max bonus is 5x 29,000 = 145,000 points. Each bonus multiplier increase lights one pop bumper. At 3x bonus, the locks are lit for Light Extra Ball, and at 4x bonus, the locks are lit for Light Special. Neither base bonus nor bonus multiplier can be carried from ball to ball and there is no mid-ball bonus collect. Unless your copy of Mars God of War is very friendly and you are able to consistently play 5x multiball, most of your points on this game will come from bonus. Always start a ball by focusing on bonus multipliers unless you begin your turn with at least one lit lock that was qualified on the previous ball.
In competition/novelty play, extra balls and specials both score 50,000 points if they are not disabled outright.
On 5-ball settings, the max base bonus is 19,000 instead of 29,000; locks are lit for light extra ball at 4x instead of 3x; and locks are lit for light special at 5x instead of 4x.
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