[Note: This text file automatically generated from a formatted document.
As a result, formatting may not be perfect for textual screens. See the
accompanying PostScript file for a more professional-looking document.]
Professional and Amateur Pinball Association's Guide to
Sega/Data East's The Who's Tommy
Version as of January 12, 1995
DISCLAIMER: This rule sheet is meant as a guideline only, and is
not an official documentation. To the best of our knowledge, the
information contained in this rule sheet is accurate. However, due to
various ROM editions, operator setup options, and tournament
modes, the rules of any particular game may deviate from those
listed below. The rules of the game are always final, and any dis-
crepancies between this rule sheet and the actual game rules cannot
be used as a basis for protest.
This rule sheet has been derived from Stewart's Guide to The Who's
Tommy, by Dave Stewart <dstewart@eng.umd.edu>, available in the
rec.games.pinball archive, and modified by Dave Stewart for distribu-
tion at PAPA-5.
1. Playfield Layout
In this section, the layout is described with the terminology used for
the rest of the rules sheet. Going from left to right:
Left inlane: Lights the right spinner for double-value. Also, if there
is no UJ feature currently running and the Union Jack (UJ) is not
lit, then it will light it for about 2 seconds unless you have already
been through Pinball Wizard UJ.
Left-bank-targets: Three plastic targets, with triangular lights point-
ing to them. Hitting a target lights the light. Lighting all 3
increases the left spinner value by 25K a spin, and scores 5M,
10M, 15M, then 20M for all subsequent completions. It resets
back to 5M between balls. The unlit left scoop spots a left side tar-
get. These targets are also used in some UJ features.
Left scoop: When the union-jack is lit, it starts the flashing UJ. UJ's
can be started from this scoop only until Pinball Wizard has been
reached. Tommy Multiball can also be started here (see Section
3). This scoop is also used in the acid queen UJ.
Left and Right spinners/orbits: Each spin scores the current spinner
value, which begins as 25K a spin, and increases each time the left
bank targets are completed, to a maximum value of 1M. The value
is doubled (thus max 2M per spin) if the ball just went through the
right inlane. At the top of the lane is a switch, which is the `orbit'
switch. This switch relights the UJ. Normally the ball loops
around the orbit feeding the right flipper quite fast, but not too
fast, so it is possible to make these loops, which are worth 1M,
2M, 3M, 4M. After the 4th loop, all loops are worth 5M for the
rest of the game. Note that to score these loop values does not
have to be continuous loops. There is also an orbit diverter, which
is active at various times in the game to send the ball into the pop
bumpers, instead of orbiting all around.
Left ramp: This ramp is quite easy to hit from the right flipper. It is
used to count down the captain walker mode, to collect the single
jackpot(s) during Tommy Multiball, and during the Sally Simpson
UJ feature and Captain Walker (non-UJ) mode. On a shallow
table or with very strong flippers, the left ramp can be backhanded
from the left flipper.
Silver ball targets: these are 3 white targets with the picture of a pin-
ball on the playfield. Two of them are on either side of the left
ramp, while one of them is just above the right ramp. Hitting each
one twice lights the silver ball for 20M. Initially the lights for
these targets are off. After one hit, they are flashing. After two hits
they are solid. These targets are also used during the Silver Ball
and Cousin Kevin UJs.
Genius lane: Easiest way to feed the upper left flipper. Each hit
(while not in Multiball) awards the next letter in the following
words: OK, WOW, GOOD, SUPER, and GENIUS. Collecting
each word awards the point value of 5M, 10M, 15M, 20M, and
25M respectively, and 25M for each subsequent spelling of
GENIUS. The first completion of GENIUS lights special at the
outlanes. There is sometimes an extra ball awarded for completing
one of these, instead of the points. This lane is also used to collect
Extra Balls, collect Mystery, and is used in the Acid Queen UJ.
Silver ball: This ball scores 20M when flashing. When not flashing,
it spots one hit on one of the silver ball targets. It is also used in
the Silver Ball UJ, and is part of a combo which results in the
Sigma Bonus (See Section 6). Hitting this target also advances the
next UJ to be awarded to be the next one that has not yet been col-
lected.
Pop bumpers: The pop bumpers rotate the ready UJ and are used in
the There's a Doctor UJ. Pop bumpers start off at 100K per hit,
and increase by 100K for every 10 hits to a maximum of 1M per
pop. This resets on each ball. The Super Pops mystery award sets
the value immediately to its maximum of 1M.
Parachute: A very wide hole at the top-right of the playfield, which
is for the skill shot. The ball often lands in here during normal
play (especially during multiball) in which case the value of the
next skill shot is increased by 5M.
Tommy mirror: This is a mirror which is similar to the tombstone in
TFTC. Unfortunately the mirror doesn't register half the hits to it,
so it can get frustrating. Each hit spots a letter in T-O-M-M-Y.
Completing TOMMY lowers the mirror, and exposes the Tommy
Hole. The mirror is also used in a couple of the UJs.
Tommy hole: this is a hole behind the mirror, and it is well designed
in that balls sent to it do not bounce out! Generally this is only
exposed when Tommy multiball is lit; shoot it to start multiball.
During Tommy multiball it is also a mini-jackpot which must be
collected five times to light the super jackpots. Any ball in this
hole is fed to the right flipper.
Right ramp: this ramp can only be hit by the upper left flipper. Dur-
ing normal play, it counts down to the Mystery feature, which
becomes lit at the GENIUS lane. To light the Mystery feature, you
need 2 ramp shots the first time, 3 the second time, etc. During
Tommy multiball, the double jackpot(s) is collected on this ramp.
The ramp is also used in the Sally Simpson UJ.
More-time target: This is a single plastic target below the right
ramp, which when hit resets the timer in most timed modes.
Resetting the time can only be done once per mode. If multiple
modes are running concurrently, it resets the timer for the most
recent mode only.
Right scoop: This scoop awards the flashing UJ when lit. The scoop
is also used in the Acid Queen UJ.
Captive Ball: The captive ball advances the end-of-ball bonus multi-
plier by 1x for each hit, to a maximum of 7x, and spots a right-
bank target. After 7x, you get 10M a shot. It is also used during
the Holiday Camp UJ.
Right-bank-targets: Just like the left-bank-targets described above,
except that they increase the value of the right spinner instead, and
targets are spotted with the captive ball.
Right inlane: Lights the left spinner for double-value. Also, if there
is no UJ feature currently running and the UJ is not lit, then it will
light the scoops for about 2 seconds unless Pinball Wizard UJ has
been reached in the game.
Blinders: You can't see them, and when you can see them, you can't
see the flippers! The blinders are a fan which come out and cover
the flippers, up to about two inches above the flippers. The idea
with the blinders is that you are playing blind, just like Tommy.
The blinders are used during the Tommy Scoring and Pinball Wiz-
ard UJ features, as well as after collecting a super jackpot. You
can also start a game such that the blinders are active for the entire
game by holding the EB-buy-in button when you press the Start
button.
2. Union-Jack
As with many of the modern games, there are many modes, which are
called Union-Jack (UJ) features. The UJ is bright blue and red on the
playfield, so you can't miss it! The game always starts with Christmas
UJ flashing; the flashing UJ changes with the pop bumpers and the sil-
ver ball.
To collect the flashing UJ, shoot either the left or right scoop when lit.
After collecting a UJ, you must shoot one of the orbits to relight it.
You can normally relight the UJ during another mode; the only excep-
tions are if you have a multiball mode going, in which case starting
other modes is disabled, and you can't relight the UJ either. If there is
no UJ running, and the scoops are not lit, then either inlane will light
the scoops for about 2 seconds. The UJ is automatically lit at the
beginning of each ball.
At the completion of each UJ, you are told how many points you got
for the UJ, but the points are awarded when you get them, not when
this final tally is displayed.
Following are the 12 UJs. Collecting all 12 starts the Pinball Wizard
UJ. They are listed in the order that they rotate when the pop bumpers
or silver ball are hit. Note that if ball time on the last few games is
low, then at the start of the 2nd or 3rd ball the lit UJ may change such
that the next UJ is Light EB.
Christmas: This is a 20-second round, during which all playfield
switches score 300K. Hitting any 3-bank target increases this
value by 100K. The roving flashing target on the 3-banks adds 5M
to the Christmas total. The orbit diverter is active during this
round, and the more-time target resets the timer.
Cousin Kevin: This is a 20-second round, during which the three
ramp targets are flashing. The first time each ramp target is hit, it
becomes lit and an additional ball is launched into play (thus you
can get a maximum of 4 balls in play). When the timer has
expired, play continues until fewer than two balls remain in play.
The ramp targets are worth 5M throughout this round. No other
rounds can be started during Cousin Kevin. The more-time target
resets the timer. If multiball is lit, then it becomes unlit until this
feature ends.
Holiday Camp: This is a round during which the captive ball is ini-
tially worth 1M, counting up to 20M. The value may be collected
repeatedly. The round expires after the value reaches 20M.
Lite Extra Ball: This feature lights an Extra Ball at the Genius Lane.
If extra balls are disabled, then EB is still lit, but collecting it
scores 25M instead.
Silver Ball: This is a 20-second round, during which the Silver ball
is initially worth 10M, and the ramp targets score 5M. Collecting
the Silver ball value increments all of these values by 5M. Values
may be collected repeatedly. The more-time target resets the
timer. It is possible to score over 100M in this round by pounding
on the Silver Ball, and hitting the more-time target with only 1 or
2 seconds to get another 15 to 20 seconds with the higher silver
ball value.
Captain Walker: This is a video mode, during which the flipper but-
tons steer your bomber on-screen. The left button moves up, the
right button moves down. Hit anything (bombs, planes, and build-
ings) Firing is automatic. The maximum value of this mode is
19M.
Smash The Mirror: This is a two-ball Multiball, during which the
raised Mirror is lit for Jackpots of 5M, 10M, 15M, 20M, and 25M,
after which the Mirror lowers and the Tommy hole is lit for 50M,
after which the sequence repeats. This round ends whenever at
least one ball drains. If multiball is lit, then it becomes unlit until
this feature ends.
Fiddle About: This is a 20-second round, during which the 3-bank
targets (all six) are lit for an initial value of 5M. Hitting any target
increases its subsequent value by 1M, to a maximum of 10M per
target.
Acid Queen: This is a round during which the right scoop, left
scoop, and Genius lane are lit for an initial value of 25M, counting
down to 10M. Collecting any one of these shots adds 10M to the
running value for the remaining two shots. Collecting another shot
adds 10M to the remaining value. The round ends after the shots
have counted down to 10M. There is about a 3 second delay once
the counter has reached 10M. The more-time target does not
apply.
There's A Doctor: This is a 20-second round where you start with
5M; the pop bumpers and sling shots are lit for 1M per hit. After
20 hits, 25M bonus is awarded (for a total of 50M in the round)
and the round ends. Also, as long as you are in the pop-bumpers
the timer does not expire (it will give you at least 2 more seconds,
although the timer will still show 0). The orbit diverter is active
during this round. The more-time target resets the timer.
Tommy Scoring: This is a 3-ball Multiball, during which the blinder
is active and all playfield switches score 500K. The round ends
when fewer than two balls remain in play. No other rounds can be
started during Tommy Scoring. The orbit diverter is active during
this round. If you lose all balls while the blinders are still on, then
the ball saver kicks in and you get the last ball back. If multiball is
lit, then it becomes unlit until this feature ends.
Sally Simpson: This is a 20-second round, during which the ramps
are lit for an initial value of 5M. Hitting the left ramp increases the
subsequent value by 2M. Hitting the right ramp doubles the subse-
quent value. The more-time target resets the timer.
Pinball Wizard: This is a 6-ball Multiball, during which the blinder
is active and all playfield switches score 1M. Collecting 20 switch
closures awards an additional 20M and the letter W. The next 30
switch closures awards 30M and the letter I. This continues for all
letters in WIZARD, (Z: 40 switches for 40M, A: 50 switches for
50M, etc.). Completing a letter also launches an additional ball
into play. The round ends when fewer than two balls remain in
play.
3. Multiball
Multiball is lit by hitting the Mirror to spell TOMMY during single
ball play. When completed, the Mirror lowers and Multiball is lit at
the Mirror scoop and the left scoop. Regular Multiball is 4-ball play;
starting Multiball from the left scoop is only 3-ball play. Subsequent
Multiballs are not lit at the left scoop.
Until you get the first multiball, 1 letter is spotted at the beginning of
ball 1, 3 letters at the beginning of ball 2, and 1 letter at the beginning
of ball 3, thus guaranteeing that multiball is lit by the 3rd ball.
For the 2nd multiball, TOMMY letters carry from ball to ball, and no
letters are spotted at the beginning of a ball. For the third and subse-
quent multiballs, you must spell TOMMY with 5 mirror hits on the
same ball.
Modes continue running during multiball (but they do pause the tim-
ers during the multiball opening animation!), except for quick-multi-
ball modes (Cousin Kevin, Tommy, and Smash the Mirror modes).
There are several stages to multiball, and completing one stage lets
you move on to the next.
Stage 1: Jackpots: At the start of multiball, the left ramp is lit for
Jackpot, and the right ramp for Double Jackpot. Initial jackpot
value is 20M if you start at the Tommy hole, 15M if you start with
the left scoop (or 40M and 30M for Double Jackpot). All playfield
switches increase the Jackpot value by 200K, and the Double
Jackpot value by 400K. Collecting any Jackpot launches an addi-
tional ball into play. When BOTH Jackpots are completed, both
are relit.
Stage 2: 3rd Jackpot. Collect either the single or double jackpot by
shooting one of the ramps. Jackpots continue to rise by 200K/
400K a switch, and the initial value is carried over from stage 1.
After ONE of the two jackpots, an additional ball is launched into
play, and you move on to the next stage.
Stage 3: Spell Tommy: The Tommy hole spots the letters T-O-M-M-
Y and each one scores a 20M jackpot (which does not increase).
No balls are added to play for collecting these jackpots. Complet-
ing TOMMY moves you to Stage 4. In newer ROMs, each switch
adds 1M to the Super Jackpot and 2M to the Double Super Jack-
pot.
Stage 4: Super Jackpots: The left ramp is lit for the super jackpot,
and the left ramp is lit for the double super jackpot. The initial val-
ues are 250M and 500M respectively, and go up by 1M and 2M
respectively for each playfield switch. You can only collect ONE
of these two. When you collect one of the super jackpots, you
move to Stage 5.
Stage 5: Blind Multiball. You go back to stage 1 of the multiball, but
the blinders are active. In older ROMs, you do not get any new
balls added if you collect a jackpot. In newer ROMs, you do get a
new ball shot out for each jackpot when you repeat Stage 1 and 2.
Initial jackpot values return to their base values.
If you don't collect at least one jackpot, then the left scoop and mirror
are relit for 2-ball or multiball respectively.
For the second and subsequent multiballs, only the Tommy hole is lit
to start/restart multiball. Note, even though the left scoop is not lit to
start multiball, it doesn't let you collect UJ modes if multiball is lit at
the Tommy hole.
4. Other Modes
There are some modes/features which are not started as UJ features.
Captain Walker: During single ball play, the left ramp advances
towards Captain Walker mode (not the same as the Union Jack
feature). 2 ramp shots required to start it first time, 3 for second
time, etc. The Captain Walker round is a 20-second round, during
which the left ramp is worth 5M, the right ramp is worth 10M, and
the spinners are initially worth 100K, increasing by 100K for each
ten spins, to a maximum of 1M per spin. Hitting the more-time
target resets the timer.
Mystery: During single ball play, the right ramp advances towards
lighting Mystery at the GENIUS lane. The possible awards are the
following:
Max Bonus X: Set the end-of-ball bonus multiplier to 7x.
Max Skill Shot: Raise the value of all subsequent skill shots to
50M.
Double Scoring: Scoring is doubled for next 20 seconds; how-
ever you cannot start Tommy multiball nor start a UJ, so
what's the point?
Super Pops: Pop bumpers are worth 1M a hit for rest of ball.
Million Spinners: Set spinners to maximum 1M per spin for rest
of ball.
Silver Ball Lit: The silver ball is lit for 20M, same as completing
2 hits of each silver ball target.
Extra Ball: haven't seen it myself, but apparently it's possible.
Special Lit: ditto what I said the previous line!
5. Skill Shot
You have the choice of using either the manual or automatic plunger
To use the automatic plunger, flip both flippers at the same time. Be
careful though; if you have a habit of flipping the flippers before
launching the ball just to loosen up your fingers, you'll accidentally
launch the ball. If you want to check the status report, hold down one
flipper and don't press the other one. When the status report starts,
then you can hit the other one to page through the status; but do it
before the status report starts and you launch the ball.
There are several possibilities for the skill shot:
Parachute: the parachute is lit on ball 1 for an initial value of 10M.
Hitting from the plunger shot awards that value, and raises the
next value by 5M. Hitting the parachute at any time during normal
play advances this skill shot value, but does not score the value.
This skill shot maxes out at 50M.
Right ramp: this is a flipper skill shot. Instead of shooting for the
parachute (or if you over shoot by too much) the ball is fed to the
upper left flipper, for a shot at the right ramp. Hitting it scores
10M, and advances you one notch closer to the mystery award.
Tommy hole: if multiball is ready and the parachute skill shot is lit,
then shoot the ball around the orbit to the top left flipper. If you hit
the Tommy hole with that shot, you score the One Way Combo
(Section 6), and start multiball. If you choose to go for this skill
shot, make sure that the mirror is all the way down before launch-
ing the ball. The mirror takes about 4 seconds to lower, so if you
launch too quickly, it might not be all the way down.
6. Combos and Bonuses
There are various combos and bonuses in this game, and they are not
the kind you expect as in Williams and Bally games. Most of them are
quite unique. Here are the ones I've seen. Let me know if you find any
others:
One Way Combo: This is worth 5M, and it is scored by shooting the
Tommy hole when Tommy multiball is lit instead of a skill shot.
Extra Ball Combo: This is worth 5M. It is scored by lighting the UJ
extra ball, and immediately collecting it without hitting any other
switch. It works after light EB from either left scoop or right
VUK.
Sigma Bonus: This is worth 10M, and is scored when you shoot the
silver ball, and deflect into the Tommy hole when multiball is lit.
Lyman Bonus: This is worth 2M ... but a BIG 2M! It is named after
PAPA-3 champion Lyman Sheats. If you drain and are within 2M
of the replay, you will be awarded an extra 2M, and hence you
will get your replay.
Inlane/Spinner combos: Shooting a spinner after going through the
inlane on the opposite side doubles the value of that spinner for
that shot.
Silver-Ball Bonus: Hitting the silver ball after hitting each of the sil-
ver ball targets twice scores 20M. The silver ball is flashing when-
ever lit for this bonus.
End-of-Ball Bonus: 100K per left ramp, 200K per right ramp, and
600K per UJ feature that you've started throughout the game,
multiplied by the Bonus Multiplier, which is a maximum of 7x.
The multiplier is reset at the beginning of each ball.
There are also other combos, such as 3-way, 4-way and 5-way, worth
a few million points each.
7. Scoring Level
Grand Champion scores on Tommy typically range between 1B and
2B. In tournament mode, it is expected that the top A division player
may score about 500M to 1B, and the average game be on the order of
200-300M. In the B and lower divisions, top scores will probably be
under 300M.
8. Strategy Summary
Here are some basic strategies for tournament play on SF2:
7 Multiball is the most lucrative scoring in this game, but after get-
ting two multiballs, it is very difficult to achieve.
7 Until the first multiball is achieved, the game automatically spots
TOMMY letters as follows: spots one letter before ball 1, spots 3
letters before ball 2, and spots 1 letter before ball 3. Because of this,
on ball 1, try to hit the mirror once, so that multiball will be lit at the
start of ball 2. Don't waste your time hitting it more than once on
ball 1, because you'll get the 3 free letters at the start of ball 2.
Instead, concentrate on modes for the remainder of ball 1.
7 Some modes are worth shooting for, others are not worth much.
However, it is worth collecting as many modes as possible, because
the final Tommy mode can me worth a few hundred million points.
7 The more lucrative modes (where it is possible to get 50M or more)
include Cousin Kevin, Tommy Scoring, Silver Ball, Sally Simpson,
and Acid Queen. For the Silver Ball and Sally Simpson modes, you
should try to hit the "reset timer" target just before it times out,
which resets the timer, but the next-shot value is not reset.
