I think it's fairly rated. I don't care for it.

3 Wizard modes (a la Stargate)
Entertaining quotes & music
Deep multiball mode (just try and get that Super Duper Mega Extreme Jackpot)
Well-utilized toys (roulette, slot machine)

Just released for pinball arcade. Go play it!?

Didn't you get enough gambling theme and torture with your WPT?

- Casino Frenzy = complete all 6 casino games and then shoot centre ramp. All shots lit for casino game Jackpot, complete all shots for light Casino Super Jackpot
- Break the Bank = collect 100 chips and then shoot any major shot. All shots lit for break the bank Jackpot, make shot past slot machine to collect Super Jackpot and light the rest of the shots for SJ
- Super Surprise = complete Roll 'n Win 4 times. 4-ball multiball with switches scoring random values

The multiball is deep because even though there are only 4 Jackpots, it provides a reasonable challenge as you have to make all Jackpots 3 times. You then need to shoot the slot machine 3 times to light the Super Jackpot, which itself can be multiplied up to 50x by 3x Jackpots

oooohhhhhh k, now I'm under the impression you actually have the machine! Mind my last post if so. Or maybe not. PA is usually pretty good at explaining the rules for all their releases.

What is the directors cut on Stern games? I have always seen it in the menus but have never explored it.

I used the term "Director's Cut" in a loose interpretation of what it means in movies... The way the game was meant to be played but for various reasons couldn't be released that way (usually because certain settings were more detrimental to location play and/or earnings, but sometimes because I was forced against my will to do something to a game I didn't agree with).

You are right that often it is in the presets/installs menu (starting with LOTR, I believe, which was certainly a game I had a lot of disagreements with people on)... Actually WPT may be the only other game that I did that used it (that was more the location/earnings reason, not making me go against my will). Most games probably don't do anything for the DC install. It's in most games (from LOTR on) because it's easier to leave it in there and not do anything than take it out.

The case of HRC, however, was much much different. That game was originally built on Stern's existing codebase that Dwight and I added a lot to during the first few games. However, the way it was written, the game spent way too much time in interrupt (realtime) and not doing enough game processing. I basically rewrote the interrupt routine and a lot of other stuff to make the game (and everything after it) run better. You'll see a rather large difference between Sharkey's Shootout and TSPP, for example (the change is very noticable to me between 2.x and 3.0 on HRC too).

So, to summarize, yeah 3.0 was the director's cut in that it was the way the game should've played all along (though it got released long after production). LOTR is probably the only game where Director's Cut was invented out of pure spite for everything that was going on at the time.

I think it's a great game. And probably underrated slightly. My father in-law got one and that's what got me hooked on pinball. The game has lots to do which keeps it interesting. You can go for slot machine multiballs and some big points or try and finish off all of the Casino games, which I usually end up one short (craps), or go for 100 chips and break the bank. There's the roll and win too, so plenty to do. Games can be pretty quick or last a while if you get in a groove. The theme is a little cheesy but it works I think. I also think it's good for casual players too since you pretty much hit something every time you flip, but a bit of skill is required to finish things off. I wouldn't put it up against the A-list games but it's a good fun playing machine.

Well there's not really much stacking per se. The only "modes" are really RNW super awards, so obviously good to pair those with multiballs. Other than that, setting up the best usage of Cheat Game is about as far as the strategy is going to go.

The multiballs however (particularly slot machine multiball and break the bank) I'm pretty proud of because I think they offer a lot of reward for really good risk & execution. In BTB, if you play it right, you can score 1.25B in 5 shots.

It was a) the first game I was lead on (that got finished) and b) the first full game I programmed on 6809. That combined with the nature of the playfield, I'm pretty happy with how it came out. Still have mine. It's not as depth-y as the rest, but it's a solid game I feel.

I'd be more inclined to use cheat game on craps since it's purely random, and you can affect your success at poker by hitting the right targets.

In BTB, it's all shots but the slot machine ramp (moving ramp all the way down). It does build faster the longer you go, but after the super, all 4 shots light to recollect the super. So you're much better off building a higher value and collecting it 5x than locking out the build phase at a paltry 10-20M or so.

Every triple jackpot in smmb increases the super from 5->15->30->50x. So it's about holding off on collecting the super until all shots are made. I guarantee you this is not as easy as it sounds.

Fun and underated pin. Just love the callouts on this pin. Have fun!~SpOoKy

Is there a list of differences somewhere for those of us that haven't tried it? I have never tried it because I was afraid I would lose my audits as I have the game on location.

Not that I'm trying to speak for Keefer (I wouldn't *dare*...), but one of the things that makes BTB so great *on location* is that the risk/reward quotient is so much more in-your-face than it is in the home setting. Here's why:

When you start BTB, it's important to know that getting your first BTB Super Jackpot *also* lights Special at the associated standup target. This is a *very* interesting dilemma on location, then: if you're like me, and you like to hear that knocker as often as possible, you definitely want to get that Special lit quickly, since you never know how long you'll actually be able to keep that multiball going, and if you never collect your BTB Super Jackpot, Special doesn't actually light. *However*: if you decide to collect your BTB Super Jackpot early in order to light the Special, you're forcing yourself to forego the massive points available on your first "round" of BTB Supers (the 5 250M shots which would equate to Keefer's figure of 1.25B). You're stuck with a very low, very limited score in that first round, and you *must* collect all 5 shots before the whole shebang resets and you can start building the value again. As you can imagine, it's important to build the value high (for points) on the initial round because you have that ever-so-important ball save timer on, giving you plenty of time to hit the three other major shots (Slot Machine ramp not included) to build that value up to the 250M. It is *so* satisfying when you do it...believe you me.

In a non-location environment, the Special has no major value at all (I don't honestly even remember what its point value is if you set Special = points in the settings), but suffice it to say that it's very ignorable in the home setting, for the very reason that games are free, and the knocker doesn't mean as much. As a result, the risk of not lighting the Special isn't there, and it's quite obvious that the points are the goal.

Especially for on-location play, this is a great, great balance of risk/reward.

There are 2 combo shots. The only real multipliers are for consecutive orbits

Agreed.

You sir, are an officer and a gentleman. Don't know how I overlooked this masterpiece all these years. Perhaps because there weren't any around here until now.

Thank you!