Star Race

Quickie Version:

UTAD, except finish the center target bank if you only have one drop target left to advance your bonus multiplier.

Go-to Flipper:

Balanced

Risk Index:

High; see Key Feeds

Skillshot(s):

Plunge any lane you need. As usual, if balls shot to the top tend to go in some lanes more than others, plunge for the one(s) those shots drop into least.

Full Rules:

Top lanes and return lanes each score 5000 when lit, which is how they start. Once scored, they’re unlit and then worth only 1000. The lanes will also advance your base bonus by 1000. Drop targets also advance your bonus and score 5000 (the instruction card says 3K, actual gameplay was 5K). There are two separate bonus multiplier lights, yellow and green. You have to collect BOTH of them to advance the multiplier. Bonus multiplier is raised by scoring bottom lit lanes, the drop target 4-bank and the collect bonus saucer AFTER scoring selected top lanes. Top lane #1 lights the left-most return lane. Lane #2 lights the right return lane on the left side. Lane #3 lights the right side return lane. Lane #4 lights the right outlane. Score either #1 or #2 to light the collect bonus saucer to advance yellow. Score either #3 or #4 to get the saucer to advance green. Get both #1 and #2 to light the center drop targets to advance yellow. Scoring the #3 and #4 lanes lights it to advance green. Scoring all four lanes means that either shooting the saucer or completing the center drop targets will advance both yellow and green multiplier progress by one step. The far upper left horseshoe also raises the yellow and or green bonus multipliers; I think it’s always lit to advance both colors. All advance multipliers for a color will go unlit once that color is at the maximum of 5X. Multiplier progress is held from ball to ball. The two vari-targets each score points and add bonus depending on how far back you push them: 1,000 + 1 bonus, 2K and 2, 3K and 3, and 5,000 and 5 bonus advances. The handful of Star Races I’ve played have not had flippers strong enough to get the full 5 advances. Like other Gottlieb machines of this time, StarRace’s Collect Bonus saucer in the upper right corner activates when you have maximized your base bonus, at 20,000 in this case. When you collect it, the base bonus resets but the bonus multiplier is preserved for the rest of the ball. To not waste bonus, try to wait to collect it until you have a good bonus multiplier; it collects bonus at the multiplied value. Strategy: UTAD via the right orbit to collect all four top lanes, then UTAD either side just to keep the ball out of trouble. Don’t shoot the center drops unless you need only one more target to complete the set AND have the needed color lit (or both lit) to advance your bonus multiplier. Key feed: balls coming out of the upper left area of the game below the horseshoe loop. When the ball falls softly in front of the rubber cushion below that loop, it often will drain down the center. The way the game plays, most of your drains will be center drains. Play accordingly.