Spin-a-Card / Hearts and Spades (Gottlieb, 1969)

Spin a Card is the replay version, while Hearts and Spades is the add-a-ball version. Playfields are identical. Spin a Card is the focus for this guide; scoring and rules changes for Hearts and Spades are mentioned at the end.


Quick strategy synopsis

If playing for points, light the green and yellow bumpers and try to keep the ball at the top of the playfield. If extra balls and specials matter to you, try to complete the five card hands to light them on the center target and out hole (!), using the Spin feature of the saucers to light hard-to-get cards.


Shots and table features

Top lanes and bumpers

From left to right: 100, 3 of spades, light green bumpers - 100, 2 of spades - 500 - 100, king of hearts - 100, queen of hearts, light yellow bumpers. If playing purely for points, go for the 500 unless one or more bumper sets is not lit. If playing for specials, get any card you need.

All bumpers score 1 point, or 10 when lit.

Other card targets

At the top of the table are jack of hearts, 5 of spades, 10 of hearts, and 4 of spades. In the middle of the table are side lanes for the 3 of spades and queen of hearts, along with standups for the 2 of spades and king of hearts. The out lanes contain the jack of hearts and 4 of spades, and the in lanes contain the two aces. Every single one of these card targets scores 100 points.

The 3 of spades and queen of hearts side lanes also light the green and yellow bumpers respectively, just as the top lanes for those same cards do.

Completing both A-K-Q-J-10 of hearts and A-2-3-4-5 of spades lights the center target and the out hole alternately for a special. (The fan target also always scores 100 points.)

Spin saucers

Landing in either Spin saucer will spin the light in the backglass, landing on a random card. Then, 200 points are scored, the card that was landed in gets lit if it was not already collected, and the ball kicks out towards the bumpers. I don't know the specifics behind how the wheel works, so treat it as random chance whether you get the card you need.

Bottom of the table

Conventional in lane/out lane setup. All lanes score 100 points, and award cards as described above. If all 10 cards are collected, special is lit on the drain hole, alternating with the center target.

Differences between Spin-a-Card and Hearts and Spades

Scoring: All card targets and lanes score 500 on Hearts and Spades. The center top lane scores 1,000 instead of 500. The bumpers score 100 when lit and 10 when not lit. The center target scores 1,000 instead of 100. The Spin saucers score 1,000 instead of 200.
Rules: Completing the spades lights an extra ball on the out hole only. Completing the hearts solidly lights an extra ball on both the center target and the out hole. The center target extra ball can be collected multiple times. When the ball drains, any completed sets (hearts or spades) are reset and their corresponding extra balls are unlit. When the hearts are finished, take advantage of the center target extra ball while you can.

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