Quoted from michi:I've had it only for a year, not tired of it yet Space doesn't allow me to have more than one machine (well, two at the absolute most). I don't think I'll ever be a big collector. I bought the machine because I like it, and because I wanted something to practice with.
If big points is what you are after, it's simple: Tortuga and chest all day. Ignore everything else. If extra balls are on, it can pay to complete Jack and one kraken, to get the West compass award. Otherwise, ignore Jack (it's a dangerous and low-value shot), and pretty much ignore the ship and the kraken too (except when lit for jackpot).
POTC really is a one-ball game when it comes to points. The ball that collects the South compass award is the one that counts. The idea is to stay in multi-ball as much as possible, getting the multipliers by sending additional balls into Tortuga, and cycling balls through the chest enough to re-light the jackpots. I ignore the chest super jackpot too, unless I happen to be able to collect it as a convenience while re-lighting jackpots. (The super is not worth enough points compared to the other scoring opportunities to make it worth chasing.) Sending balls into Tortuga is useful not just for the multipliers, but to get balls out of the way and park them for a while.
Once the ball that collects the South compass award drains, the same strategy applies, but for fewer points. It's possible to work up the jackpot value to well over a million (I've managed 1.8 million once). But that takes a long time and, if you get the jackpot value that high, you are having a stellar game already anyway. Once above 1 million, the jackpot value resets back to 1 million at the end of each ball, and it takes too much effort and risk to work it back up again. I never shoot at the center saucer because it's a tight shot that can easily cause a drain. Instead, get your Liar's Dice awards during multi-ball, where balls end up in the saucer by accident, and the award is collected even if it goes into the saucer from the bumpers. (In single-ball play, getting into the saucer from the bumpers does not give you the award.) The accidental saucer hits also raise the jackpot value as a side-effect.
I try to avoid stacking Tortuga and chest multi-ball. There is no scoring advantage to be had this way. If the multi-balls are stacked, when multi-ball ends, you end up in a waste land with no progress towards either the chest or Tortuga. Generally, I try to use one multi-ball to make progress towards the other one, without starting the other multi-ball. That way, when multi-ball ends, I have next multi-ball ready or nearly ready.
Ship multi-ball can be useful as an add-a-ball feature. If the ship is ready or nearly ready, and Tortuga or chest multi-ball are down to two balls, shoot the ship to get a third ball.
Work the lane completions at the top, they add to the bonus multiplier. Bonus can get large on POTC. (The largest I remember getting is a little over 80 million.)
The Davy Jones strategy of not defeating DJ to keep getting big points is definitely interesting. My best score on POTC on factory settings is well over 600 million. In that game, I never defeated DJ, but tried and failed three or four times. All the hits to the ship during these attempts worked up the score a fair bit. (With two balls in Tortuga, a shot at DJ can be worth 9 million or more.)
So..... You're somewhat familiar with the game?
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