# Kick Off the Summer with Bally’s World Cup Soccer Pinball by [solar_espeon](/author/solar-espeon) · June 10, 2026 · [Pinball Tutorial](/news/category/pinball-tutorial) > Get ready for the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup with our expert guide to Bally's 1994 classic, World Cup Soccer. The FIFA Men’s World Cup is returning to North America this summer for the first time in 32 years. What better way for pinball fans to celebrate than with a retrospective of [Bally’s World Cup Soccer](https://www.kineticist.com/games/pinball/world-cup-soccer)? Released in early 1994, World Cup Soccer was designed by [John Popadiuk](https://www.kineticist.com/people/john-popadiuk) and [Larry DeMar](https://www.kineticist.com/people/larry-demar); it was the first Popadiuk design to reach full production, and the 11th game in DeMar’s legendary career. Often referred to as “Dog Soccer” due to its prominent use of World Cup ‘94 mascot Striker the World Cup Pup, the game also stars iconic voice actor [Tim Kitzrow](https://www.kineticist.com/people/tim-kitzrow), coming fresh off the success of NBA Jam. If you’re in the soccer spirit ahead of the 2026 World Cup’s kickoff on June 11, here’s a trip around one of the most memorable sports-themed pinballs of all time.  ## Playfield Overview ![World Cup Soccer Pinball Playfield Overview](https://admin.kineticist.com/assets/196db111-1ca7-4661-a3b3-017947dd96a9.png?width=1200&height=628) World Cup Soccer is a 2-flipper game that is technically described as a fan layout, but feels very unique in its design nonetheless. The most eye-catching pieces of the layout are the large soccer ball toy in the upper right, which spins furiously and sends the pinball flying in various directions, as well as the alley to the Goal in the back center, which governs many of the game’s features. On either side of the Goal are Striker’s saucer to the right, which collects mystery awards and extra balls, and the Assist saucer to the left, which allows the player to use the flippers to shoot the pinball into the Goal from close range. There are two ramps, one on each side, which give progress toward multiball and light jackpots during the multiball. The left ramp can divert the ball to either inlane, while the right ramp diverts the ball to the left inlane. The left orbit advances through Cities, which are the route to Final Match wizard mode, and sends the ball up to the top lanes and pop bumpers. Next to the right ramp is the TV scoop, which starts multiball once it has been qualified and is somewhat infamous in tournaments for being very difficult to hit at the exact moment you need it.  This game has a left-outlane kickback and a magna-save. The kickback is lit by shooting the Corner Kickback target in the lower left immediately after rolling through the right inlane, and up to 3 uses of the kickback can be stacked at a time. The magna-save does not trap the ball above an inlane; rather, the magnet is located at the tip of the raised left flipper. Only one magna-save can be lit at a time, and it is relit by shooting the lower-right standup target with a magnet immediately next to it after making the left inlane. World Cup Soccer features an [Italian bottom](https://www.kineticist.com/news/understanding-the-italian-bottom), with one flipper, slingshot, inlane, and outlane on each side in a symmetrical arrangement. World Cup Soccer was released in 1994, when score inflation was reaching a fever pitch. Points are often given out tens of millions at a time, and a quality score will reach into the low or mid-10-figures. During the game and attract mode, the score appears to roll over at 10,000,000,000 points, but the high score table does not remove the ten billions digit. ## Getting Started with World Cup Soccer ![Getting Started With World Cup Soccer](https://admin.kineticist.com/assets/2465288a-9d45-4da3-b772-ccb745b76b7b.png?width=1200&height=628) - A common approach to World Cup Soccer for players focused only on points is to play multiball as much as possible. Shots lit for Build Lock (the left orbit, either ramp, or Striker’s saucer) add a panel to the soccer ball shown in the center of the table. When it is complete, lock one ball at either ramp and a second ball at the TV scoop for multiball. In multiball, the Goal is a jackpot, and shooting either ramp relights the Goal. - To earn game progression towards Final Match wizard mode, you need to advance through Cities. To light Travel at the left orbit, shoot the two ramps or complete the two top lanes to buy a ticket. Cities score increasing points and occasionally start modes. Advancing 9 cities all the way to Los Angeles qualifies Final Match.  - Simply playing for Goals is fun, satisfying, and surprisingly valuable. Press all 4 rollover buttons leading up to the Goal to light the Goal and make the soccer ball toy spin. Rollover buttons can be spotted by hitting the Striker standup target to the right of the goal and the top saucer, or by shooting ramps on easy settings. Scoring Goals starts Ultra features, which activates increased scoring at the spinner, bumpers, ramps, or Goalie target. Every 4th Goal scored qualifies a mode at the TV scoop as well. Increased scoring from Ultra features is awarded in bonus, so don’t tilt. ## Skill Shot ![Skill Shot](https://admin.kineticist.com/assets/ed1bb873-a707-4baf-9fea-406a55177215.png?width=1200&height=628) The skill shot is the Coin Toss, a mechanism located above the shooter lane. The ball will go up a ramp, flip back on itself, and land in one of three holes. Try to get the ball to land in a flashing hole; solidly lit holes have been made already. Making a flashing hole scores 5,000,000 the first time, 10,000,000 the second time, and 30,000,000 plus one City if you complete the set. Making a hole that was already lit scores 1,000,000 points only. ## Multiball: the Final Draw ![Multiball the Final Draw](https://admin.kineticist.com/assets/55ced6d1-2370-4f15-a831-09ea3c29b92a.png?width=1200&height=628) To light a lock for multiball, you must first complete the soccer ball shown on the center of the playfield by lighting Stamina, Skill, Spirit, Speed, and Strength. To earn one of these skills, make a shot that is lit for Build Lock. Build Lock can be lit at the left orbit, either ramp, or the Striker saucer to the right of the Goal. As multiball is played more times, fewer shots will be lit at a time for Build Lock, and shots may unlight the Build Lock arrow after they are made. Once a ball is locked, the TV scoop is lit for the Final Draw, which starts multiball.  Multiball can also be started as a Striker mystery award, which is lit by hitting 7 Striker targets to spell Striker (on either side of the left ramp, or to the right of Striker’s saucer) and cashed in by shooting Striker’s saucer itself. Multiball can begin at different points on the rankings ladder. The lowest possible rank is #16, which can only be seen if you start multiball from Striker’s saucer before locking a ball. For the first multiball, you earn 4 ranks just for locking a ball, and if you started multiball at Final Draw, you get an additional rank for every 2 Goals you scored before starting multiball. After multiball has been played once, subsequent multiballs start you 2 ranks higher than where you left off after the previous multiball. Ranks determine who your World Cup opponent is and, more relevantly, how much your Jackpot is worth. The list of opponents and their jackpot value looks like this: - #15: USA, worth 20,000,000 - #14: Russia, also worth 20,000,000 - #13: South Korea, worth 25,000,000 - #12: Saudi Arabia, worth 30,000,000 - #11: Morocco, worth 35,000,000 - #10: Austria, worth 40,000,000 - #9: Canada, worth 45,000,000 - #8: Holland, worth 50,000,000 - #7: Italy, worth 55,000,000 - #6: England, worth 60,000,000 - #5: Sweden, worth 65,000,000 - #4: Spain, worth 70,000,000 - #3: Australia, worth 75,000,000 - #2: France, worth 100,000,000 - #1: Germany, worth 250,000,000 To score a Jackpot, simply shoot the Goal to defeat your current opponent and earn their jackpot value. Once an opponent is defeated, shoot either ramp or the Assist saucer just left of the Goal to qualify the next opponent. Repeat this process, working your way up through the ranks as high as possible. If multiball ends before a Jackpot is scored, there is a quick multiball restart at either ramp, Final Draw, or the Assist saucer. After defeating Germany and claiming their 250,000,000 Jackpot, Victory Laps begins. The next 5 shots to either ramp or the Goal score a Victory Lap worth 50,000,000 points. After 5 Victory Laps are scored, you need to alternate between the left ramp and the Goal for further Victory Laps, which still score 50,000,000 each. If you make it to this point and multiball ends, your next multiball will start you against Germany again, and just one Jackpot restarts Victory Laps; at this point, Germany is considered rank #2, since you–the player–previously unseated them from their #1 rank, which is a nice touch. ## Goals, Ultra Features, and TV Awards ![Goals, Ultra Features, and TV Awards](https://admin.kineticist.com/assets/18fb0f22-c44a-4024-b1ec-ec544ddcacc4.png?width=1200&height=628) Shooting into the Goal when lit scores 10,000,000 points and, appropriately, one Goal. The Goal is lit at the start of each ball and unlights when a Goal is scored. To relight the Goal, press the 4 rollover buttons in front of the Goal. The standup target next to Striker’s saucer and (depending on game settings) a shot to either ramp will spot a rollover button for you. Scoring a Goal also activates one of 4 Ultra features, as shown on the display or near the right slingshot.  - Ultra Spinner causes the spinner in the left orbit to score 1,000,000 points per spin. - Ultra Jets causes each pop bumper to score 2,000,000 points. - Ultra Ramps causes each ramp shot to score 5,000,000 points.  - Ultra Goalie causes each hit to the Goalie target in front of the Goal to score 5,000,000 points. Earning 30,000,000 points from any Ultra feature scores a 10,000,000 bonus and ends that feature for a maximum of 40,000,000 possible per Ultra feature. Crucially, all scoring from Ultra features is awarded at the end of ball bonus. Since Goals and scoring from the ensuing Ultra rounds are rather common, there is high incentive not to tilt on a game of World Cup Soccer. The TV scoop next to the left ramp, where Final Draw is lit, can also be lit for a TV award. The TV award is lit at the start of each game and after every 4 Goals scored during normal gameplay. All TV awards score 25,000,000 points and start their own mode. All modes are single-ball only and last for 20 seconds. Modes are always played and replayed in the following order. - Big Goal Round: shoot the Goal 3 times to score 15,000,000, then 15,000,000, then 30,000,000 points. - Extra Ball Round: shoot Striker’s saucer to score an extra ball. Further shots to Striker’s saucer within the time limit score 50,000,000 each. If extra balls are disabled, the 1st shot to the saucer within this round scores 50,000,000 as well. - Shoot the Goalie: the mode value starts at 10,000,000 points. Shoot past the Goalie and into the Goal to increase the mode value by 10,000,000. Shoot the Goalie itself to score the current mode value. The Goalie moves after any shot to the Goal or the Goalie target. - Where’s Striker: shoot the 3 Striker standup targets (on either side of the left ramp, or to the right of the Goal and Striker’s saucer). Each hit will either show Striker on the screen and score 25,000,000 points, or a different person/character worth 15,000,000. ## Advancing Cities ![Advancing Cities](https://admin.kineticist.com/assets/217f1aa5-1f57-438e-b554-3da62011d790.png?width=1200&height=628) There are 2 ways to earn a Ticket, which lights the left orbit to Travel to the next city. - Shoot each ramp once. The purple inserts just above the soccer ball indicate which ramps have been made toward the current Ticket. Depending on operator settings, you may need to specifically shoot the left ramp, then the right to get a Ticket, instead of being able to score them in either order. - Complete the two top lanes, which can be accessed with left orbit shots. Lane change is available to switch which lane is lit. When a Ticket is complete, Travel will be lit at the left orbit, and the next city in the sequence will (from bottom to top) will flash. If you collect multiple Tickets, multiple cities can be flashing at the left orbit at once, but each left orbit shot can only convert one city from flashing to lit.  Advancing to Chicago, Dallas, or Boston scores 10,000,000 points. Reaching Boston also starts Boston Tea Party, a hurry-up that can be collected at the left orbit, which starts out worth 40,000,000 points and counts down to 10,000,000. Advancing to New York/New Jersey, Orlando, or Washington D.C. scores 15,000,000 points. Reaching Washington D.C. also lights an extra ball, which can be collected at Striker’s saucer. Advancing to San Francisco, Detroit, or Los Angeles scores 20,000,000 points. Reaching Los Angeles also lights Final Match wizard mode at the TV scoop. Traveling to any city also lights the Tackle target, which is located just below the Assist saucer and faces to the right, for 10,000,000 points for one hit. Final Match is a timed multiball with unlimited balls for 45 seconds. World Cup Soccer does not have an autoplunger, so balls need to be plunged manually. Up to 5 balls can be in play at a time. It may be desirable not to have all 5 balls in play all the time, as they can sometimes get in the way of each other as you attempt to make shots. Shoot the Goal as many times as you can. Every so often, your opponent, Germany, will score a goal as well. After 45 seconds, if you have more goals scored than Germany, you earn a 500,000,000 point bonus. If Germany has more goals scored, the mode ends. If the score is tied, you get about 10 seconds of overtime to score one more goal and win before Germany scores to end sudden death. It usually takes about 5 Goals to beat Germany. No matter the result, you score 75,000,000 points per goal scored during Final Match, and all balls will be allowed to drain when it ends before you continue your turn. ## Striker’s Awards ![Striker’s Awards](https://admin.kineticist.com/assets/d6c7b143-6cb2-47eb-9d37-ebe233079f5f.png?width=1200&height=628) When the red LED above Striker’s saucer is lit, shooting that saucer will give one of Striker’s Awards. If the red LED is not lit, it can be lit by spelling Striker; letters in Striker can be earned by shooting one of Striker’s standup targets, located on either side of the left ramp or just to the right of Striker’s saucer. Striker’s Awards are a mystery feature, which can award any of the following: - Penalty Kick: the ball is fed to the right flipper. Immediately shoot the Goal for 30,000,000 points. - 3 Goals: which includes qualifying 3 Ultra features, and lighting the TV scoop if a 4-goal threshold was hit - 20,000,000 points - 3 Cities, including other features corresponding to reach Boston, Washington D.C., or Los Angeles - Multiball: begins 2- or 3-ball multiball, depending on whether a Lock has been made or not - Unlimited Kickback: the left outlane kickback can be used infinitely for the remainder of the current ball and will not unlight - Super Free Kick: a 20-second mode where the Free Kick target, located just left of the TV scoop, scores 10,000,000 for the first hit and an additional 5,000,000 for each subsequent hit - Extra Ball: this can either be awarded directly, or lit so that it needs to be collected with another shot to Striker’s saucer ## Free Kick, Corner Kickback, and Magna-Goal ![Free Kick, Corner Kickback, and Magna Goal](https://admin.kineticist.com/assets/aa573f2c-5db7-4fc0-a20f-42511a8b3241.png?width=1200&height=628) Shooting either of the saucers in the lower half of the playfield lights the Free Kick target to the left of the TV scoop to score 10,000,000 for about 10 seconds. Corner Kickback is the left-outlane kickback. It usually starts each ball lit, but this can be changed with operator settings. Up to 3 uses of the kickback can be built up at once, indicated by the three triangle inserts in the left outlane. The kickback lane extends upward behind the left Free Kick saucer, often directing the pinball toward the soccer ball toy. To add 1 use of the kickback, shoot the Light Corner Kickback target next to the left Free Kick saucer immediately after rolling through the right inlane. Magna-Goal is a magnet save feature located at the tip of the left flipper. To activate it, press the second button on the left side of the game cabinet, behind the normal flipper button. The magnet attempts to steady the ball at the tip of the raised left flipper. Unlike the kickback, only 1 use of the Magna-Goal can be held at a time. To relight it, shoot the Light Magna-Goal standup target next to the right Free Kick saucer immediately after rolling through the left inlane. The right outlane is lit for Special after reaching Germany during multiball. The game manual indicates that, when set to points, a Special scores 30,000,000. ## End of Ball Bonus ![End of Ball Bonus](https://admin.kineticist.com/assets/f49f4dd3-470d-495f-a402-3f7f981fd971.png?width=1200&height=628) The end-of-ball bonus is not to be overlooked on World Cup Soccer. It consists of: - 5,000,000 points for each Goal scored in the entire game so far - 5,000,000 points for each City travelled to in the entire game so far - All points earned from Ultra features on the current ball only There is no way to multiply the bonus or collect it mid-ball, but the fact that Ultra features are not awarded until the bonus means you should absolutely avoid tilting all but the shortest balls on World Cup Soccer, since a tilt can easily forfeit several hundred million points in bonus.  ## Difficulty Adjustments ![Difficulty Adjustments](https://admin.kineticist.com/assets/0a02068f-c847-4213-8c73-aaba89e50eb3.png?width=1200&height=628) Some of the ways that your local World Cup Soccer may play differently from the default rules outlined in this article so far include the following. - The starting multiball rank can be higher than #16, making it easier to be higher on the rankings for the start of your first multiball and making it easier to reach the match with #1 Germany and the associated Victory Laps as well. - Striker’s Awards may be able to be collected by shooting the Goal when it is not lit. - Some cities can be given for free at the start of the game, making it easier to reach the first Final match. - Final Match itself can be made easier or harder. On the default settings, Germany will average 3-5 goals per Final Match. Final Match gets harder if it is played more than once in a game. - Shooting a ramp can spot 0, 1, or 2 of the rollover buttons that qualify the Goal. - The Corner Kickback can hold a maximum of 1, 2, or 3 charges at a time, or it can be disabled entirely. It can also be set to be on permanently, making a left-outlane drain impossible. - The kickback can be on at the start of every ball, off at the start of every ball, or have its status held in memory from one ball to the next. ## espie’s Recommendations ![Espie’s Recommendations](https://admin.kineticist.com/assets/132810a2-d481-4d50-a42d-f5c08f0989ec.png?width=1200&height=628) - Multiball is often the most consistent route to a high score. Know where the ramp shots and the TV scoop are so that you can reliably qualify and start multiball and relight jackpots. - Playing for Cities and Final Match wizard mode is a major undertaking. Only go for this strategy if you’re confident enough in your skills to get to the end, since it takes a lot more work to reach Final Match than a multiball. - In general, take care not to tilt, especially if you scored a lot of Goals and were able to cash in on Ultra features. Many a competitive game of World Cup Soccer has been decided by the tens or hundreds of millions of points earned from Goals and Ultra modes in bonus. - The left kickback gets used often, so take the time to relight it whenever possible. The right habitrail from the left ramp drops the ball below the right inlane switch, so shoot the Goal or Striker’s saucer to reliably trigger the right inlane switch and light the Light Corner Kickback target. - Don’t overlook the skill shot. The points that come from it are mediocre, but it’s an easy way to qualify an extra city or two without going out of your way. ## Related - Game: [World Cup Soccer](/games/pinball/world-cup-soccer) --- _Canonical URL: https://www.kineticist.com/news/bally-world-cup-soccer-tutorial_