Hit any of the three upper drop targets to lock in the top spinner value until the upper drops are completed. If the spinner value is high (at least 3,000), aim for it exclusively, but if the spinner value is low, finish the upper drops to roll again. The other drop targets only give bonus multiplier. Standup targets advance zodiac, but it's more common and easier to get most of them (and light the side spinners) with the star rollovers near the flippers.
There are 12: four surrounding the upper pop bumpers, six surrounding the right pop bumper, and two in the middle-right of the table just below the spinner. Hitting any target scores the zodiac value lit in green at the top of the game, which starts at 1,000 and increases by 1,000 to a maximum of 4,000 each time the 12 zodiac signs are completed. Hitting an unlit zodiac target will light it and add 1,000 points to the base bonus.
Zodiac targets can be spotted by the star rollovers near the flippers.
Any completion of the zodiac lights the center drop target within the left bank for an extra ball. Completing the zodiac 3 times lights a special that alternates between the out lanes and the right drop targets. Progress toward zodiac lights and past completions are carried over from ball to ball, until the bonus has been maxed at 4 completions: at this point, the 4th completion will be reset for the next ball, allowing for one more set of zodiac targets and one more extra ball, but once the 4th zodiac has been completed, no more zodiac targets or extra balls are available for the rest of that ball in play.
There are 8 inserts that a light will move between. Hitting any drop target in the top bank will stop the light on wherever it is lit; doing this locks in the value of the top spinner and the next completion of the drop targets. The spinner can be shot freely during this time, but as soon as the drop targets are completed once, the light will begin to move again. The eight possible value combinations are:
If no value has been locked in at all and the light is still moving, the top spinner scores only 200 points per spin.
The most efficient use of this feature is to hit a drop target to lock in 4,000 a spin on the spinner, then only go for the top spinner until the drops accidentally get completed by the pop bumpers. Even the 100,000 drop target completion at the opposite end of the spectrum doesn't really compare to a spinner worth 3,000 a spin or more. If the value stops on something you don't want, it's not a huge deal to roll again; the upper drops can be completed somewhat easily with a very hard shot to the left spinner or, sometimes, a backhand from the left flipper. In the latter case, though, be mindful off the possibility of completing the bank, bouncing into the bumper, and then immediately getting bumped back into the drops, knocking one down and locking in the same value as before.
If the game is set to Fast settings, the light in front of these targets will move faster as the zodiac is closer and closer to being completed. At max speed, it's pretty much a crapshoot to get what you want, but continue to pay attention to the value so you know vaguely when to complete the drops if the spinner value is low or dial in the top spinner if the value is high.
Each target scores 1,000 points. All targets down in either bank advances the bonus multiplier, up to a maximum of 10x. A setting in the game also allows a zodiac sign to be spotted for you upon completing either bank.
After 1 full zodiac is completed on the current ball, the center target only in the left side bank will be lit for an extra ball. If this extra ball is collected before the next zodiac is completed, it will be able to be relit and collected again when that zodiac is finished- this game does support players having multiple extra balls built up at once.
After 4 full zodiac completions, the right drop targets will be lit for a special, along with the out lanes. To be collected, the right drop targets must be completed while the special is lit, not just the center one. Completing 4 zodiacs, draining so that the game resets the 4th one, and then finishing the 4th zodiac again does not relight the special.
The extra ball and special can both be set to be lit alternately on 10-point switch hits instead of being always on. The extra ball shuts off if the ball drains, but the specials do not.
Score 200 points per spin, or 2,000 a spin when lit. They are lit by star rollovers near the flipper on the opposite side of the table, so the right star rollover lights the left spinner. They also are only lit for one rip, so if about 1 full second goes by after the lit spinner registers a spin, it will unlight. It's decently common to get screwed into a 1 or 2 hit spin, but these spinners are easy enough to relight that there won't be hard feelings about it.
Through the left spinner lane is probably the most reliable way to pick up top drop targets, as well, but be careful of a ball coming back down through the left spinner, because it frequently ends up being on the center drain train.
The out lanes are conventional in their location, if somewhat taller than normal. They score 5,000 points, and can be lit alternately for special after completing 4 zodiacs.
There are no in lanes. The bottom of the table would just consist of out lanes, flippers, and some very large slingshots, except a portion of the slingshot has been carved out just above the flippers, with a star rollover in its place, on each side. These star rollovers score 2,000 points and alternate being lit white or yellow. Hitting a star rollover when it is white spots one of the symbols in the current zodiac. Hitting a star rollover when it is yellow lights the opposite side spinner for one rip at 2,000 points per spin.
To make it more difficult to microflip a ball back and forth and get awards from these rollovers all day, the flippers on Star Gazer are a little different from other tables as well- they start out at a much lower angle than is typical, and (ideally) are only barely angled above the horizontal when raised. This makes Star Gazer a rare table where the flipper gap is smaller when the flippers are raised than lowered, and may affect flipper skills and shotmaking more than you'd expect, so get some practice on this table if possible.
Each zodiac symbol collected adds 1,000 points to the base bonus. The lights in the center of the table always rotate, and don't correspond to specific symbols. Max base bonus is 48,000 points, from 4 full zodiac completions- all 12 star lights plus the 12,000 and 24,000 inserts light to show this. All base bonus is carried from ball to ball, unless it is maxed out at 48,000, in which case on the next ball, the bonus will revert to 36,000 to allow the player to complete the zodiac again and continue to have an opportunity at an extra ball.
Clearing either the left or right drop target banks (not the top one) adds a bonus multiplier. Bonus multiplier is also carried from ball to ball, and maxes out at 10x. Collecting the full bonus is 10x 48,000 = 480,000 points gives a cool light and sound show both before and after the bonus burns down.
480,000 bonus that carries over between balls is nothing to sneeze at, but it takes so many drop targets to get the bonus X up to a reasonable value that I still prefer high value top spinner shots for efficiency and safety in scoring rather than going for bonus, and it isn't super optimal to shoot directly at the drop targets on the sides unless there's only 1 left in a bank, or the extra ball is lit on the left.
In competition/novelty play, special can score 100,000 points or nothing. Extra balls are either on or off, no point value.
The maximum extra balls a player can hold at any one time can be set to 1, 3, or 5. The extra ball at the center target of the left bank can be set to be always on, or toggle on/off with every 10 point switch hit.
The special can be lit after 2, 3, or 4 completions of the full zodiac. When the special is lit, it will always alternate between the two out lanes on 10-point switch hits, but the drop target special can be set to always be on, or only be on when the left out lane is where the alternating special is. Collecting any of the three specials always un-lights all of them.
The speed of the moving light at the top drop targets can be set not to increase as more of the zodiac is finished.
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