This is the twelfth installment of a 20 part series of tiny tips to help improve your fortunes in pinball. I hope you find it useful, and share with friends if inspired!
Point Scoring Strategies
Scoring lots of points requires skillful ball control and nudging skills, but it also helps to have a game plan. Each game yields point rewards for achieving specific objectives, but to generalize - there are common strategies to yield big points across a variety of different games.
THE THREE “M’S”
“The three M’s” describe phases of gameplay that all yield big points across all machines that feature them: modes, multiballs and multipliers.
modes (result in higher target values and potential jackpots)
multiballs (present potential jackpots and more point-scoring target strikes by virtue of additional balls on the playfield)
multipliers (result in higher target values)
Over the next three newsletters we’ll break down each of the three M’s to describe how they work and why they matter.
MODES
Modes are specific timed or rules based states started by hitting specific targets, during which designated shots yield significantly higher point values. Learning how to trigger these modes is fun and will yield great rewards.
SUPER-MODES
While standard modes usually task you with shooting a sequence of different shots, super-modes isolate a single component—like a spinner, bumper, or switch—and turn it into a high-priority scoring target.
A variety of common super-modes found across modern and classic pinball machines include the following:
Super Slings: Upgrades the scoring of the slingshots located above the flippers, rewarding you with points for engaging targets that risk the loss of ball control
Super Spinner: Boosts the value of each individual spin of the target gate. This is often one of the most lucrative super-modes in pinball, and especially satisfying when ripped with a high-velocity shot.
Super Ramps: Multiplies the points awarded for looping the table's main ramps, encouraging a smooth, repeatable flow of shots.
Super Orbits / Super Loops: Drastically increases the value of full loop or orbit shots, frequently requiring alternating left and right orbit completions to award combinations
MODE STACKING
Modern games allow multiple modes of the game to run simultaneously. Instead of playing modes one after another in sequence, multiple modes can be triggered to run at once. Advanced players will "set up" multiple modes and trigger them together, but to accomplish this reliably it is critical to learn the rules.
A typical stack looks like this:
The Base Mode: Start a timed mode where specific target values are boosted.
The Super-Mode: Simultaneously activate a super-mode like the super spinner mode or super pops mode, boosting the value of each target strike
The Multiball: Launch 3 extra balls onto the playfield at once.
The result is higher point scoring targets that are triggered in rapid succession by an array of pinballs blasting around the playfield, causing points to accumulate quickly, many without the need for precise aiming.
Maximizing Target Values
BOOSTING POINTS
The chart above illustrates the concept that a single target valued at 100 points in once scenario can expand to 9 times it’s value when boosted to a mode value of 300 points when a playfield multiplier of 3x is active. Learning the rules and being attentive to these details will yield great rewards.
We’ll pick up this topic again in the next newsletter when we dive into the topic of multiballs.
Stay tuned for more tips to help you improve your game, and for deeper dives check out my forthcoming project published with Schiffer Books: Pinball: A Quest For Mastery, hitting book stores July 28, 2026.
Stay curious, practice with intention, and keep it fun: your fortunes in pinball (and in life) are sure to improve.
AVAILABLE IN BOOKSTORES JULY 28. PRE-ORDER AVAILABLE NOW →
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