To give a little more detail: Yes, the spinner is a key shot that you have to hit a lot to progress through the game. If this is the same Bowen video that I saw a long time ago, he specifically emphasizes hitting the spinner over and over again as the best *tournament* strategy, i.e. most reliable/safest way to get the most points.

However, if you're trying to play the whole game, there are a lot of other shots to hit. Like Guinnesstime said, the spinner lights the swamp, and the swamp starts the modes. The modes themselves force you to shot all the different shots in various combinations and for different reasons. Dragon Multiball requires you to hit every possible shot in order to get a super jackpot, The regular multiball (started at the drop targets) requires a # of switch hits for a jackpot, which leads to a whole different strategy.

We really enjoy our Shrek. The rules are very deep and challenging- it is extremely rare that I ever get to the swamp wizard mode, and I don't know if i'll ever get to the final "Far Far Away" wizard mode. The music is good, the voice call-outs are well done and generally funny. Also, I find the Shrek/FG layout to be very unique. The shots and general geometry feel different than most other games. Hope that helps!