First priority should always be to clear the in line drop targets on the left flipper to max out the bonus multiplier. From there, if the ball is on the left flipper, shoot the right orbit with the intention of having the ball go up the lane and across the table, landing in the collect bonus saucer. If the ball is on the right flipper, continue to shoot the in line drops lane to get a repeatable 50,000 from the target at the back.
On the plunge, the ball can end up in 3 places: the A or B lanes, or a saucer. The lanes give 500 points and a bonus advance. The saucer gives 3,000 points and kicks the ball downward.
Collecting both A and B once lights the collect bonus saucer for free. A second collection lights an alternating special on the in lanes, and a third completion awards the special directly.
The first target lights 2X bonus, scores 1,000 points, and adds 1 bonus advance. Each of the other three targets increase the bonus multiplier, score 1,000 more points than the previous target, and award one more advance than the previous target. The standup target behind the 4 in line drop targets is lit first for Special, then for a repeatable 50,000.
If the ball is ever in control on the right flipper during a game of Viking, it is only ever correct to shoot for this lane, whether to hit a drop target or go for a 50,000 standup in the back.
Completing the in line drop targets also lights the out lanes for 25,000 points, and lights an extra ball or special at the star rollover.
Just to the right of the in line drop lane is a single red standup target that scores 1,000 points. At various intervals throughout the game, a siren noise will go off, indicating that this target is lit for 50,000 points for a brief time. I honestly have no idea what triggers this hurry-up score opportunity; the game manual itself does not even acknowledge the existence of this target.
Scores 5,000 points. Completing the in line drop targets lights the rollover for extra ball, or special if it was already lit for extra ball. Not worth shooting for.
Starts out at 10 points per spin. After 10 spins, a bonus advance is awarded and the spinner value increases to 100 per spin. After 10 further spins, another bonus advance is given and the value increases again to 1,000 per spin. Every 10th spin is another bonus advance while the value is 1,000. If no spins are recorded on the spinner within 7 seconds after it stops spinning, the value and the progress toward the next advance completely reset.
This spinner can be an okay way to build bonus early in a game, especially if it spins well. A shot through the spinner up the center and into the top saucer will go back through the spinner after the eject, helping build the value further. A missed spinner shot is extremely dangerous, though. Do this at your own risk, knowing that the in line drop lane and the right orbit are always viable (and usually better) options.
Each target down scores 100 points and advances the bonus. All targets down scores and advances the lit value on the table- starting at 2,000, and increasing in 2,000 point increments up to 10,000.
If the individual targets are hit in order of 1-2-3, the reward for completing the bank will be 10 times the lit value. When the sequence is still intact, an insert reading "10X" will be lit on the table.
Even with the 10X award, these drop targets are not worth going for; the risk is too high and the 10X is too difficult. Especially if a couple multipliers have been picked up already, the bonus advances from these drops are more meaningful than the score feature itself.
The right orbit scores 1,000 points, 1 bonus advance, and lights the collect bonus saucer. If this lane is shot well, the ball will go up, across the playfield to the left, and into the saucer in the far upper left of the game.
If the saucer is not lit, it will score 3,000 points plus a bonus advance and kick the ball downwards towards the left pop bumper. If the saucer is lit, it scores the entire bonus including multiplier (but does not reset the bonus) and send the ball upwards toward the top lane area.
A right orbit shot that does not make it all the way to the collect saucer has still done its job, because the saucer will stay lit for a bonus collect- it will not unlight if interrupted by another switch, as you might expect. It's possible for the ball to bounce into this saucer off the left bumper (such as from the A lane) or even be shot there directly.
Aside from the rollover switch in the right orbit, the saucer can also be lit for a bonus collect by completing A and B for the first time on a given ball.
Viking has a conventional in/out lane setup, with one exception. Part of the structure separating the in and out lanes is a one way gate, and a small angled rubber exists at the bottom of each out lane. A ball can bounce back into play off this rubber and through the one way gate. It takes a pretty fast moving ball to make this happen naturally, but with a well timed upward nudge, the utility is increased dramatically, and a skill player can save a significant portion of out lane drains.
The out lanes score 1,000 points, or 25,000 when lit. They are both lit simultaneously when the four in line drop targets are completed.
The in lanes score 500 points. They are lit alternately for a special by collecting A and B twice in a single ball.
The A-B lanes, unlit collect bonus saucer, right orbit, each individual right drop target, and every 10th spin of the spinner score a single bonus advance. The in line targets score 1, then 2, then 3, then 4 advances, and the target behind the in line drops scores 5 advances. There are super bonuses available at 20,000 and 40,000. Reaching either of these thresholds serves as a checkpoint, allowing that much bonus to be carried to future balls. Otherwise, bonus count does not carry over. Base bonus maxes out at 59,000.
Each in line drop target advances bonus multiplier. Hitting all 4 targets maxes the multiplier at 5X. Bonus multiplier cannot be carried over from ball to ball in any way. Max bonus is 5x 59,000 = 295,000 points.
The full bonus, with multiplier, can be collected mid-ball at the bonus collect saucer in the upper left. Doing so does not reset the base bonus count or the multiplier. This saucer is lit by completing A-B once or by the right orbit rollover switch. Collecting the bonus repeatedly mid-ball is the most efficient way to score points once 5X multiplier and a high bonus count are built up.
In competition/novelty play, specials score 50,000 points and extra balls score 25,000 points.
Progress on A-B lights, including completions, can be carried over from ball to ball.
The 1-2-3 drop targets can have their value reset between balls instead of being carried over.
The in line drop targets can have their value remembered, meaning that on subsequent balls, the targets can start at values higher than 1,000 + 1 advance.
The star rollover can keep an award lit from ball to ball. Turning this setting on is the only way to light the star rollover for a special, since in line drop targets cannot be reset mid-ball in any way, and completing those targets is the only way to advance the star rollover's award.
The standup target behind the in line drop targets can be set to give no bonus advances, instead of 5.
The pop bumpers around the game can be set to score 100 or 1,000 points (independently of the 3/5 ball setting, unlike Stern Electronics games of the era).
The 25,000 point out lanes can stay on for the whole game once lit or be turned off at the end of the ball.
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