# Go For a Spin: A Rundown on Williams’ High Speed Pinball by [solar_espeon](/author/solar-espeon) · May 19, 2026 · [Pinball Tutorial](/news/category/pinball-tutorial) > Learn how to play the 1986 Williams release, High Speed, in our latest tutorial. Designed by [Steve Ritchie](https://www.kineticist.com/people/steve-ritchie) and released by [Williams](https://www.kineticist.com/manufacturers/williams-electronic-games-inc) in 1986, [High Speed](https://www.kineticist.com/games/pinball/high-speed) is commonly cited as one of the best and most innovative pinball games of all time. Features taken for granted by modern players and operators alike, such as full background music, multiball jackpots, auto-percentaging, and compensation for broken switches, trace their history back to this game. Williams also used High Speed to debut their new alphanumeric displays, turning High Speed into a complete sound, light, and gameplay package that was able to go toe-to-toe with even the biggest names in arcade video games. As High Speed celebrates its 40th anniversary and as rumors abound regarding a new game from the Master of Flow himself, solar\_espeon–author of [The Pinball Primer](https://pinballprimer.github.io/)–is here to hand you the keys to one of pinball’s all-time classics. ## Playfield Overview ![High Speed Pinball Playfield Overview](https://admin.kineticist.com/assets/7971b26b-9654-4968-8cc5-b40cb693cef5.png?width=1200&height=628) High Speed is a 3-flipper game with relatively few major shots. Two flippers are located in a conventional position at the bottom of the playfield, while the third flipper is located on the right, about halfway up the playfield. The easiest ways to get the ball to the upper flipper are by shooting the left orbit with the lower right flipper, or shooting the upper right saucer with the lower left flipper. The saucer kicks the ball to the right, where it comes down toward the upper right flipper at a controlled speed. High Speed’s most iconic shot is its side ramp, which can only be made with the upper flipper. A series of diverters can deflect a ball shot up the side ramp to locks on the left or right, or allow the ball to fall back onto the orbit to be shot with the upper flipper again. The locks kick the ball out to the flippers in front of the slingshots, not through the inlanes. Three separate 3-banks of standup targets appear in the upper third of the playfield; these are sometimes called stoplight targets, since each bank has one red, one yellow, and one green target. These banks of standup targets are primarily used to advance towards multiball. The uppermost bank of stoplight targets can only be shot directly with the lower right flipper, though hitting these targets usually requires the assistance of the jet bumpers. The other two stoplight banks can be shot with any flipper. High Speed’s flipper area features a standard [Italian bottom](https://www.kineticist.com/news/understanding-the-italian-bottom), with one flipper, one inlane, one outlane, and one slingshot on each side in a symmetrical layout. The left outlane has an automatic kickback, which is available when the triangle insert in the left outlane is lit. The 1-6 standup targets, positioned just above the inlane entrances, with 1-2-3 on the left and 4-5-6 on the right, serve to relight the kickback and increase the value of the next side ramp shot. There is no center post or right-outlane save feature. High Speed has a 7-digit score display. Replay scores usually start at around 1,400,000 points by default, with the factory high score being 4,000,000 points. The score rolls over at 10,000,000 points with no compensation or indication; rolling the score on High Speed is a significant feat with lots of wood-chopping required. ## Abridged High Speed Tutorial ![Getting Started With High Speed](https://admin.kineticist.com/assets/a79bbaf8-0dc9-44db-a321-dbe66d5c8fa6.png?width=1200&height=628) - The side ramp is always the most important shot on High Speed. If you’re not super comfortable with side ramp shots, use this game to practice them; the left orbit and upper right saucer feed the upper flipper. - To qualify multiball, complete all of the stoplight targets (first all the greens, then all the yellows, then all the reds), then shoot the side ramp to run the red light. From here, shoot the side ramp again to get away and start multiball, or complete all 9 stoplight targets again in any order to light the Escape at the saucer for an alternate multiball start. - In multiball, shoot the side ramp to score a jackpot. Only one jackpot is available per multiball. If extra balls are enabled, completing all 9 stoplight targets during multiball lights an extra ball at the upper right saucer. - Freeways are scored by making two consecutive shots to an orbit, or an inlane -> orbit combo. Freeways score an increasing value, culminating in 100,000 points plus a lit extra ball, and also light the inlanes, the spinners, and Hold Bonus. If the side ramp is inconsistent or unviable for any reason, turn Freeways into your main strategy, especially if you can shatz/alley pass well. - The left kickback on High Speed gets a lot of use. To relight it, make the lit 1-6 target near the bottom of the table or make a lit inlane; inlanes are lit after making 1 Freeway on a ball. ## Skill Shot High Speed does not have a skill shot in the conventional sense. A full plunge should go up the side ramp and feed the upper right flipper, where the side ramp can immediately be shot again for a Ramp Bonus and a bonus multiplier. Plunging the ball up the ramp at the start of a ball will spot one of the stoplight targets toward qualifying multiball, but only if multiball has not been played yet in the current game. It is possible to precise-power plunge the ball up the side ramp so that it falls down one of the habitrails instead of feeding the upper right flipper, but there’s no reason to do so. ## Running the Red Light: Reaching (and Playing) Multiball ![Running the Red Light Reaching (and Playing) Multiball](https://admin.kineticist.com/assets/9feeaec3-2b85-498d-9f5e-d2feab8cf7ba.png?width=1200&height=628) At the start of the game, or immediately after playing multiball, the three green stoplight targets will flash. Hit a flashing target to light it solidly. Light all 3 green targets to cause the yellow targets to flash; light all 3 yellow targets to cause the red targets to flash; light all 3 red targets for a chance to Run the Red Light. Stoplight targets can be spotted for you by shooting the side ramp or the upper right saucer. When the red light is ready to be run, the small stoplight above the side ramp will change to red. Shooting the side ramp here will successfully run the red light. Progressing to the point where the side ramp will Run the Red Light twice in a single game lights the outlanes alternately for a Special. Once the red light has been run, there are 2 ways to start multiball. Option 1 is Getaway, which is triggered by shooting the side ramp once more at any time. Option 2 is Escape, which is enabled by hitting all 9 stoplight targets in any order and is collected at the upper right saucer. Starting multiball with the Escape method scores a 100,000-point bonus, but usually isn’t worth the effort; just shoot the side ramp one more time for your multiball.  In multiball, the top priority is to collect the Jackpot with yet another shot to the side ramp. In casual play, the Jackpot is progressive–it starts at 250,000 points, increases with every switch triggered during multiball, maxes out at 2,000,000, carries over across players and games, and resets once collected. In competition, the Jackpot is always a flat 750,000 points. Only one Jackpot is available per multiball. Also, hitting all 9 stoplight targets during multiball lights an extra ball at the upper right saucer. There is no ball save during multiball or quick restart if you fail to collect the Jackpot–those features didn’t exist yet in 1986. As soon as you’re back down to one ball in play, the stoplight sequence resets back to needing to hit the three green stoplight targets. The only way in which qualifying multiball gets harder is that, if multiball has been played at least once, plunging the ball up the ramp at the start of your turn will no longer spot a stoplight target for you. ## Freeways and Spinners ![Freeways and Spinners](https://admin.kineticist.com/assets/20ee10f5-0374-4cd0-b9e0-fd8bc2ac8439.png?width=1200&height=628) There are two ways to light an orbit for a Freeway: 1. Making the left inlane lights the right orbit for Freeway, and making the right inlane lights the left orbit for Freeway. 2. Making a full shot to either orbit will light that orbit for a Freeway. An orbit will only stay lit for Freeway for about 9 seconds. To score the Freeway, score at least one spin on the spinner located at the front of a lit orbit. Collecting a Freeway scores and advances the lit value on the bottom of the table near the flippers, whose sequence is 25,000 - 50,000 - 75,000 - 100,000 - Light Extra Ball. The extra ball is collected at the upper right saucer. After the extra ball is lit, all future Freeways on that ball score 100,000 points. The current Freeway value is preserved from ball to ball until the Freeway extra ball has been lit once; after that, the Freeway value resets to 25,000 points at the start of each ball. In addition to the Freeway value, scoring Freeways lights other features around the game. Making 1 Freeway on any ball lights the inlanes to score 20,000 points and relight the kickback for the rest of the ball. Making 2 Freeways in a single ball lights the game’s three spinners for 1,000 points per spin instead of 100 for the rest of the ball. Making 3 Freeways in a single ball qualifies Hold Bonus, which carries the base bonus (but not the multiplier) to the next ball. ## Kickback ![Kickback](https://admin.kineticist.com/assets/966b9f30-4b08-4100-a3cd-34b7d887b70e.png?width=1200&height=628) The kickback is very useful, acting as a one-time drain shield in the left outlane when it is lit. Using the kickback unlights it. To relight the kickback, shoot the lit numbered target in the lower left or lower right of the playfield, or make either inlane if you have already scored at least one Freeway on the current ball. The kickback commonly fires the ball toward the upper right saucer or right orbit and often serves as another way to feed the ball to the upper right flipper. ## Side Ramp Summary ![391a245fa82f9ffd42c647f097bceb226e3c0fd9](https://admin.kineticist.com/assets/4fd7e081-0640-4a1f-9396-84610ce275ea.jpg?width=3024&height=4032) A shot to the side ramp does all of the following things: - Scores the current Ramp Bonus. The Ramp Bonus starts at 50,000 points, can be increased by 25,000 at a time with each shot to the lit 1-6 target at the bottom of the table, maxes out at 250,000 points, and resets when collected. - Advances the bonus multiplier toward the maximum of 5x. Making a side ramp shot when 5x bonus has already been earned will light Hold Bonus.  - Spots one stoplight target toward qualifying multiball. - Lights Getaway if the stoplight above the side ramp is currently red. - Starts multiball if the red light has been run. - Scores the Jackpot during multiball. ## End of Ball Bonus Base bonus is advanced in 1,000-point increments. - Inlanes, the star rollovers in the orbits, flashing stoplight targets, and shots to the side ramp score 1 bonus advance each. - Making the upper right saucer or hitting the lit 1-6 target awards 2 bonus advances. - Outlanes award 3 bonus advances. The maximum base bonus is 69,000 points. Bonus multipliers are earned by shooting the side ramp. The bonus multiplier can be increased up to 5x, for a maximum total bonus of 345,000 points. Bonus multipliers are never held from ball to ball. To hold the base bonus over from one ball to the next, either shoot the side ramp one more time after reaching 5x bonus, or score 3 Freeways in a single ball. There is no mid-ball bonus collect. ## Difficulty Adjustments This article, so far, has considered the factory settings for High Speed. Below are ways the game can be made easier or harder for arcade or competition play. The Freeway value can be set to always or never carry over from ball to ball, instead of being dependent on whether or not a Freeway Extra Ball has been lit. The side ramp and upper right saucer can be set not to spot stoplight targets when made. By default, both these features do spot stoplight targets. The Outlane Special can be lit after qualifying Run Red Light 1, 2, 3, or 4 times. The factory default is 2. The Outlane Special can also be set to carry over from ball to ball if not collected; by default, it will not carry over. According to the game manual, a Special scores 250,000 points in competition/novelty play. The factory setting for the left-outlane kickback is that it is on at the start of each ball. From easiest to hardest, other options include: kickback is always on; kickback is on at the start of the game with ball-to-ball memory; kickback is off at the start of the game with ball-to-ball memory; or kickback is off at the start of every ball, no matter what. The ability to light a Freeway by shooting an orbit can be disabled. If this option is turned off, only the inlanes can be used to light the orbits for Freeways. The Freeway timer can be 6 or 11 seconds instead of the usual 9. The stoplight sequence can require lighting just 6 targets (2 of each color) instead of all 9 to qualify Run Red Light. ## espie’s Recommendations ![Espie’s Recommendations](https://admin.kineticist.com/assets/742c7db5-9642-4a91-88ac-21a10154c56a.png?width=1200&height=628) - Always try a side ramp strategy first. If you’re playing casually or you get the chance to practice the game before competition, test out the side ramp shot by trying to find the timing on the upper flipper (from both a saucer kickout and a left orbit shot) and gauge if the flipper is powerful enough to consistently make the ramp. - Beware High Speed’s intended drains. Shots to the center bank of stoplight targets can point the ball directly to the left outlane, while missed ramp shots can spike the ball down the center (if you activated the upper flipper slightly too early) or reject into the right outlane (if the ball didn’t go all the way up the ramp). - If the ramp can be made comfortably, it’s reasonable to have it be the only thing you shoot for intentionally over the course of the game. The side ramp progresses toward multiball (on standard settings), starts multiball, and scores the Jackpot–which is the entirety of the game’s major progression. - If the ramp is unviable for any reason, pivot to a strategy of Freeways all day. It’s possible to shatz/alley pass from a flipper into the opposite inlane, which sets up an orbit shot for a Freeway. If you take this route, know how to get the ball under control following a fast orbit feed in either direction. - It is always worth having the left kickback available, but shooting directly at the 1-6 targets introduces a lot of potentially dangerous side-to-side ball movement. Aim at the 1-6 targets if you have to, but remember that making just 1 Freeway means the inlanes will relight the kickback for the rest of the ball. ## Related - Game: [High Speed](/games/pinball/high-speed) --- _Canonical URL: https://www.kineticist.com/news/high-speed-tutorial_