"Disco Fever," released by Williams in 1978, is a pinball machine that encapsulates the spirit of the disco era. Designed by Tony Kraemer with artwork by Christian Marche, the machine features a solid-state electronic system and is notable for its unique banana-shaped flippers.
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Quickie Version:
Build up bonus with drop targets and lanes, build up multiplier with DISCO letters from the top two side bullseye targets. Once bonus is maxed, shoot the 5000 lane or go UTAD from the right, hit the far right bullseye from the left.
Go-to Flipper:
Right
Risk Index:
High; Very High if you have trouble adapting to the banana flippers
Skillshot(s):
Make the lit lane, A or B. The lane lights flash back and forth when you plunge until the ball triggers one of the top small soft-sling switches. It then stops on one and changes to the other and back whenever another switch is triggered. This means you won’t know the correct lane until the last moment unless you can correctly gauge how many remaining bounces it will take before entering a lane.
Full Rules:
Disco Fever, one of the rare banana-flipper games (Time Warp is the other). The two primary elements here are bonus and the bullseye standup target in the small alcove on the right. We’ll do the bonus first. For bonus, base is built by the lit top lane, the two return lanes, two center and three left drop targets and the bullseye target next to the top B lane. Bonus multiplier is earned by spelling DISCO by hitting the two upper side bullseye targets. You can also advance your multiplier if you make the upper left horseshoe shot when the “spots X” light is on in the lower left arc of it. That light alternates on and off with slingshot hits. Base bonus goes from starting value of 2K up to 20K in 2K increments, so you only need 9 advance bonus hits to maximize your base, just 8 if you make the skill shot. Multiplier goes to 5X for 100K potential. Completing A-B advances the value of the alcove bullseye target on the right in steps up to a maximum of 30K. You get A and B in the top lanes and the return lanes. A or B is also scored by the far left side lane, which spots whichever one you need next, the A if you need both. You can shoot up it from the bottom, and at 5K it’s the second-most valuable shot on the game, but it’s a challenge with the curved flippers. Once your bonus is maxed out, the highest value comes from building up and hitting the bullseye. The bullseye target value is reset to 5K after you make the shot, so try to build it up to 30K before you shoot it. Partial completions of A-B and DISCO are held to the next ball. Bonuses and multipliers reset. Ball control: don’t shoot at the two center drops, focus on the left three. When the ball is on the left flipper, go for the DISCO bullseye target up top unless it’s time to hit the alcove value bullseye target lower down. Transfer from the left flipper to the right whenever possible; your best play overall is to shoot the left drop targets and left DISCO advance target. You’ll find that many flipper techniques don’t work at all on the curved flippers, and aiming takes some getting used to. Treat it as a novelty rather than a nuisance and your game will go better.
via Bob's Guide