Amigo is an electro-mechanical pinball machine released by Bally Manufacturing Co. in May 1974. This was the first pinball game designed by Greg Kmiec, who later became well-known for designing several popular pinball machines such as Xenon and Captain Fantastic. The machine has a Mexican theme, featuring artwork by Dick White that includes vibrant imagery of a Mexican bandito and a donkey on the backglass.
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Quickie Version:
Right u-turn to light the spinner, left orbit to open the gate, center target to raise the post, then spinner all day.
Go-to Flipper:
Right
Risk Index:
High
Shots to Master:
Spinner.
Full Rules:
Skill Shot is the center saucer, to light both bumpers and get three bonus advances; the top side lanes each score only 1K, one bonus advance and light one bumper. On your first shot with the left flipper, shoot the upper right lane arc to light the spinner. On your first shot with the right flipper, shoot through the left orbit spinner to open the gate at the lower right outlane. Whenever the ball is up top, you want it to drop into the center saucer rather than go through either side lane. But note that it can rim out of the center saucer and not score it, while passing through the side lanes is guaranteed to score those. On your next shot with either flipper, shoot the center target to raise the post. You have now protected yourself from both center drains and right side drains until you trip a “down post” switch [center] or actually use the outlane gate on the right (gate closes once used). All shots with the right flipper should now be at the spinner. Once the spinner is lit and the post is up, if the ball is on the left flipper, transfer it to the right flipper if able to do so safely, otherwise reshoot the right lane arc at the top. Key feed is out of the right side arc lanes: the ball should lightly bounce off the rubber on the post at the bottom of the gate and fall to the right flipper. If it tends to fall to the left one, let it dead-bounce back to the right flipper; whichever it does, you want the ball back on the right flipper to shoot the spinner. If it tends to drain, find the timing for a nudge when it reaches that exit post to prevent this. Fine print on center “up post” target: when you hit it, the ball will rebound off of both it and whichever of the posts to its side the ball contacts. Watch out for side drains! If this shot turns out to be drainy on your Amigo, ignore it and just stick with the spinner. Fine print on “down post” buttons: accurate shots to the right lane arc [light spinner] and left orbit [spinner] will miss these buttons to the inside. Your greatest risk of the post dropping is when the ball falls out of the bumpers, and perhaps when it comes out of the right arc lanes. On some Amigos, you can get the balls going through the top right lane to bounce off of the top right bumper into the u-turn chute. If this works a high percentage of the time, one strategy for the game is to shoot the spinner up top, nudge the ball into the right lane, nudge it off the right bumper into the chute, catch or dead bounce the ball exiting the chute to the right flipper, repeat.
via Bob's Guide