Quoted from konjurer:So I'm a very crappy player and I'm loving it. My secret to fun games as a crappy player is to...
- make sure I start a mode the second the red light comes on
- not get lured into trying for an almost completed combo or other non-mode objective
- set the ball saves to be longer that the default settings
- get the extra ball lit asap by hitting the ramp 5 times then get the time machine multi-ball started
This is good advice and when I've done this it generally helps. I like getting the Weapon set up when I can, as it can assist in completing modes but I'm definitely not good enough to keep risking those shots in lieu of getting into modes.
I was having a typical string of crappy games yesterday. On my avowed "last game of the night" I got to ball 3 with a score of about 5 million. Then I mistakenly got into a time machine multiball mode without first triggering a song mode. That sucks because you cannot trigger a song mode once you've started a multiball mode. I flubbed around in that mode for a bit, probably scoring about 20 million points.
Immediately upon coming out of that multiball, I got into Spirit of Radio. That's an awesome mode and an awesome song. I love that even Geddy and Alex talk about loving that song in their callouts. I like the mode because it's relatively easy to complete, but you can also score decently in it if you're willing to risk hitting the mode shots other than the dead end to raise the value of the dead end jackpot. I didn't waste a ton of time in that mode, but probably scored another 30-40 million and completed the mode.
I came out of that mode and jumped right into Tom Sawyer, which is a tough mode for me to complete. I managed to make the first phase shots relatively easily and then got back into a time machine multiball mode. That helped me get through the second phase of Tom Sawyer. While still trying to complete Tom Sawyer, I got into Far Cry multiball. Far Cry helped me complete Tom Sawyer and get an extra ball. I didn't do much from there, but at the end of the game I'd scored just north of 300 million and got one of my high scores on the machine. I played one more game and got over 100 million. That was a good way to end the night on the game. Maybe there's hope for me after all...