Monopoly Strategy Guide
(Compliments of Bowen Kerins)
--- The Monopoly Board ---
Traveling around the Monopoly board and playing the rounds earned from
landing on property is a way to earn varying points, and progress toward
Land Grab. There are eight different property groups, and each gives a
different type of round or award.
Landing on property to collect it can be done one of three ways:
- Shooting the right ramp, then shooting the lane to the left of the center
ramp while no round or multiball is running
- Shooting the Electric Company when lit for "Roll" (after 15% and 60% power
levels)
- Advancing directly to property through a Chance award
You can also advance around the board by shooting any ramp. The center ramp
advances 1 space, the right ramp advances 2 spaces, and the side ramp
advances 3 spaces. The railroad ramp
Whenever you land on property, you score 1000 times the Monopoly purchase
price of the property. If you land on an unlit property group, you will
earn that group's round or award. The group will then be lit until the game
ends, or until you start Land Grab.
Any Monopoly board round which is interrupted by a multiball will not score
during the multiball, and will pick up where you left it when the multiball
ends.
Here are the eight groups and their awards. The award for landing on the
individual property is in parentheses.
- Purple Group -
Mediterranean Avenue (60,000)
Baltic Avenue (60,000)
Landing on Mediterranean Avenue sets the lower (Water Works) jets to their
maximum point value. It does not change how quickly the jets add to the
Water Works value.
Landing on Baltic Avenue sets the upper (Electric Company) jets to their
maximum point value, and changes how quickly the jets advance the Electric
Company power level.
- Light Blue Group -
Oriental Avenue (100,000)
Vermont Avenue (100,000)
Connecticut Avenue (120,000)
Landing on any of these properties when unlit starts Token Chase. Token
Chase is similar to "Catch Me" from Corvette; shoot any shot to advance your
car, and beat the dog to the finish. Finishing the round earns about 1
million points. Losing to the dog awards a consolation prize of 150,000.
Generally, you can ignore this mode and concentrate on advancing to
multiball, lighting the next Roll & Collect, or advancing toward Cash Grab
by shooting the closed Bank Vault. By making these shots you are likely to
win the race anyway.
- Magenta Group -
St. Charles Place (140,000)
States Avenue (140,000)
Virginia Avenue (160,000)
Landing on any of these properties when unlit starts Free Money. During
Free Money, the Electric Company message board will be rolling numbers.
Hitting the Bank Vault will lock in each digit, from right to left: the
first shot locks in the thousands digit, then ten thousands, then hundred
thousands. The hundred thousands digit will always be between 5 and 9, so
the worst possible Free Money award is 511,000 (?), and the best is 999,000.
There is a 15-second time limit. When time runs out or the ball drains, you
earn whatever points you have earned from hitting the Bank Vault, so it is
possible to earn as little as 1,000 from this round.
An unconfirmed report said that earning 3 of a Kind from these wheels gives
a bonus.
Since the Bank Vault is not a safe shot, and you are not advancing to Cash
Grab by shooting it during Free Money, this is a good round to skip. Go for
it if you hit the Vault by accident; or, you could try shooting the Vault
from the upper flipper.
- Orange Group -
St. James Place (180,000)
Tennessee Avenue (180,000)
New York Avenue (200,000)
Landing on any of these properties when unlit starts Tax Refund. During Tax
Refund, each shot to the Bank Vault scores a decreasing value from 500,000
to 100,000. The round lasts about 20 seconds.
500,000 is probably worth going for, but 100,000 is not. Try to hit the
Vault as many times as you can right away, then ignore it as it times out.
It is more important (and worth more points!) to light the next Roll &
Collect by shooting the right ramp.
- Red Group -
Kentucky Avenue (220,000)
Indiana Avenue (220,000)
Illinois Avenue (240,000)
Landing on any of these properties when unlit starts Cop Chase. Cop Chase
is very reminiscent of Clock Chaos from Twilight Zone. During Police Chase,
one light on the Monopoly board will be lit. The lights move clockwise, and
if they reach "Go To Jail", the round is over.
Hitting the Cop standup target stops the light, reverses its direction, and
moves a little faster. The first Cop target hit scores 250,000 (?), and
each additional target hit is 50,000 more.
Since the Cop target is a very unsafe shot, this round is generally not
worthwhile, but try it if you dare. No matter what happens during this
round, the Cop standup will be up at the end of the round.
- Yellow Group -
Atlantic Avenue (260,000)
Ventnor Avenue (260,000)
Marvin Gardens (280,000)
Landing on any of these properties when unlit starts Utility Overload.
During Utility Overload, all bumpers score 10,000 (?), and either Utility
shot (Electric Company or Water Works) adds 5,000 to the value and scores a
small bonus.
This can be a very lucrative round, and a fairly safe one. From the left
flipper, shoot the spinner to hit both bumper groups. From the top flipper,
shoot the Electric Company to add to the value and feed the Water Works
bumpers. From the right flipper, shooting into the Water Works may work,
but it may be more useful to feed the upper flipper.
- Green Group -
Pacific Avenue (300,000)
North Carolina Avenue (300,000)
Pennsylvania Avenue (320,000)
Landing on any of these properties when unlit awards a substantial number of
points. Pacific Avenue awards 1 million, North Carolina Avenue is worth 2
million, and Pennsylvania Avenue is worth 3 million. No questions asked.
- Dark Blue Group -
Park Place (350,000)
Boardwalk (400,000)
Landing on either of these properties when unlit lights a major award.
Landing on Park Place lights extra ball. Landing on Boardwalk lights
special. In tournament play, my initial guess is that these would award 4
and 5 million, but that is a pretty poor guess.
--- The Cop Standup and Drop Target ---
Hitting the Cop Standup target (just below the Electric Company shot)
anytime during single-ball play raises the Cop Drop Target. This is
generally not a good thing, since you cannot shoot the Roll & Collect lane
when this target is raised. Dropping the target scores 125,000 the first
time, then 25,000 more each time, to a maximum of 250,000. There does not
seem to be any special award for a large number of Cop Drops.
BUT if you are playing any round other than Cop Chase, the Cop Drop Target
also adds 5 seconds to the timer for that round. This can be especially
useful during Cash Grab and Utility Overload, but is convenient all around.
For the most part, aiming for the Cop Drop Target is only done when you want
to get at the Roll & Collect lane. This is done most safely from the upper
flipper, but can also be done from either lower flipper.
--- Advancing to Go ---
To light a lock, you must advance once around the board to Go. There are
several ways to advance around the board, but one of the quickest is to
shoot the Railroad ramp. This ramp moves you forward up to 8 board spaces,
and the ramp can be shot comfortably from either lower flipper.
A second option is to hit the Advance To Go award from the standup target
between the right ramp and spinner. It is worthwhile to wait until you are
just past Go, since Advance To Go will then light the next lock immediately.
--- Monopoly Multiball ---
Start Monopoly Multiball by locking two balls through the center ramp, then
shooting the right ramp. During Monopoly Multiball, the side ramp is worth
a 1,000,000 Jackpot, and the Electric Company is lit for a 2,000,000 Double
Jackpot. The Jackpots can be relit by shooting the Railroad ramp; listen
carefully for the Railroad noise so you will know when to expect the ball.
I was unable to figure out the rules which decide which Jackpots are lit
when, so check for yourself. If the side ramp is lit, the Electric Company
message board will point an arrow up the ramp. This is pretty convenient,
since the light which tells you whether the Jackpot is lit is blocked from
easy view.
The side ramp is much easier to hit than the Electric Company (at least for
me), and the Electric Company on the machine I played had a tendency to
reject hard shots. If either of these applies to you, you might want to
ignore the Double Jackpot shot.
Overall, this is a multiball where ball control is very important. Don't
forget that you can shoot the Railroad ramp from either flipper.
Any Monopoly board round started before multiball will pause during it, but
Cash Grab will continue. So, you should try to start Cash Grab just before
multiball. Cash Grab during multiball can be worth over 3-4 million, which
is a lot of points in this game.
--- Cash Grab ---
Cash Grab is started by completing B-A-N-K from the closed Bank Vault, which
blocks the center ramp. The Bank Vault is initially closed; when open,
close it by shooting the side ramp. You do not have to hit the Free Parking
target to close the Bank Vault.
Cash Grab is a 15-second timed mode where all major shots (ramps, loops,
lanes, and holes) score. The first shot is worth 250,000, and each
additional shot is 25,000 more.
Cash Grab is the only round which can be played during multiball. This is a
very important strategy note, since Cash Grab is started with the same shot
used to light locks. It is not too difficult to make sure that multiball is
ready whenever Cash Grab is started, and vice versa.
Indeed, the combination of Cash Grab, Monopoly Multiball, and the Cop Drop
Target is one which can earn a remarkable number of points, and is exceeded
only by Land Grab.
--- Railroads and Railroad Multiball ---
Shoot the Railroad ramp when lit to advance to the next railroad and light
it. If the Railroad ramp is unlit, shoot the right loop to relight it.
Lighting a Railroad scores 200,000. Lighting all four railroads lights
Railroad Multiball. During Railroad Multiball, all Railroad shots are worth
250,000. I don't know if there is a way to raise the value of the jackpot
in Railroad Multiball.
Railroad Multiball isn't really worth that many points. You should use the
Railroad ramp to your advantage in lighting locks, since Railroad shots
advance you 8 spaces. You need to have lit all four Railroads to light Land
Grab.
--- Electric Company ---
The Electric Company power level is raised by one of three things:
- the "Power Up" award on the standup target between the spinner and right
ramp
- the Electric Company shot
- upper bumper hits
Upper bumper hits award a small percentage. I believe that this is 0.2%
when unlit, 0.4% when solidly lit, and 0.6% when flashing, but I am unsure.
The Electric Company shot awards a value which is
(1000 x # lit upper bumpers) x (Power Level)
The # of lit upper bumpers is between 1 and 6 (each flashing bumper counts
twice, like Twilight Zone). This award can be between 1,000 and 600,000.
The Electric Company shot then adds 5% to the current Power Level.
In general, the Power Level is raised so slowly that the Electric Company is
rarely worth more points than the side ramp. Additionally, the side ramp is
a safe shot when made, while the Electric Company is not.
--- Water Works; Skill Shot ---
The Water Works value starts at 25,000, and raises by 1,000 for each lower
bumper hit. The value is scored by hitting the Water Works hole, which is
guarded by the spinning flipper.
The value is multiplied by anything from 1x to 7x, depending on the
multiplier value lit next to the Water Works hole. This multiplier can be
raised by an award from the standup between the right ramp and spinner.
When each ball is put into the plunger, you have the opportunity to score a
Skill Shot by plunging the ball into the Water Works hole. This awards the
same points that the Water Works hole gives during regular play, so this can
be anywhere from 50,000 to over a million. Judge for yourself based on this
whether it is more valuable to try for the Skill Shot, plunge the ball for
an upper flipper shot, or plunge hard to reach the bumpers.
--- Side Ramp; Free Parking ---
The side ramp advances you 3 spaces around the Monopoly board, and closes
the Bank Vault if it is open. If you hit the Free Parking target at the top
of the ramp (which happens more than half the time, I'd say), you score an
award which starts at 150,000 (?) and raises by 25,000 for each additional
hit. Also, hitting the Free Parking target adds 5,000 to the Free Parking
value which carries over from player to player, and game to game. This
value can be collected repeatedly during Free Parking Multiball.
How do you get Free Parking Multiball? I don't remember. I think it was an
award from Chance.
--- Other Multiballs ---
Chance can also award Ripoff Multiball and Breakout Multiball. I could not
see a difference between the two. In each, one ramp shot is lit for an
award. The award starts at 400,000 and raises by 50,000 for each shot.
Perhaps a future software revision will make these two more different, or
already has.
--- Bonus; Bonus Multiplier ---
Like No Good Gophers, either inlane will light the opposite inlane for bonus
multiplier. Additionally, completing the A-B-C lanes above the Electric
Company bumpers will advance the bonus multiplier (and advance 8 board
spaces). The highest multiplier is 6x. The first time you reach 6x, Extra
Ball will light.
End-of-ball bonus is based on the number of properties you own, the number
of times you have visited Railroads, and the number of times you have passed
Go. All this is multiplied by the bonus multiplier. If your game has
lasted a long time, the bonus multiplier becomes more and more important. I
have seen end-of-ball bonus worth over 3 million.
--- Chance; Community Chest; Loose Change ---
The Chance scoop is lit by shooting the center ramp (?). Falling into the
Chance scoop, or shooting it on purpose, will give a random award. There
are a lot of awards, many of which are standard Monopoly fare:
- Advance to Illinois Ave.
- Advance to St. Charles Place
- Advance Token to Nearest Railroad
- Advance to Boardwalk
- Award points to EACH player
- Ripoff Multiball
- Breakout Multiball
- Several more I forgot
Well-substantiated rumors claim that you will soon be able to light
Community Chest awards, and score them at this scoop. In the game I played,
there was no way to light or score Community Chest.
If neither Chance nor Community Chest is not lit and you shoot the scoop,
you will be awarded Pocket Change. Pocket Change plays exactly like Odd
Change, and like Water Hazard. It is a low-point random award. Someone
mentioned that Pocket Change behaves differently during some rounds,
awarding more points.
--- Land Grab ---
Light Land Grab at the Roll & Collect scoop after lighting all property and
railroads. Land Grab is a timed round with a short ball saver. All balls
will be sent onto the playfield. The goal of Land Grab is to add as many
houses and hotels to property as possible. The center ramp adds 2 houses to
a property group; the side ramp adds 4; and the Electric Company adds a
hotel. The right ramp advances 2 spaces toward more valuable property
groups. Additionally, you will move ahead automatically if you place a
hotel on a property group.
I am unsure of scoring, but each house is worth an award (hotels are worth
5x the base award). More valuable properties are worth higher awards. I
believe the highest award is the Dark Blue group (Park Place and Monopoly),
which is worth 1 million per house.
In my best Land Grab, where I got everything except a hotel on the Dark Blue
group (darn, 4 houses!), the total score for the round was around 17
million.
It would appear that reaching and playing Land Grab is a strong strategy.
It is definitely achievable in 3 balls, and may even be reachable a second
time.
Unlike other wizard modes, Land Grab has a very short ball saver, so be
careful. It is much easier to earn hotels with 3 balls than with one.
You can earn more time during Land Grab, an additional 10 seconds. I
believe this happens when you shoot the side ramp, but I'm not sure.
--- High Scores ---
My best score is 87 million, with one Land Grab. I have heard of people
coming close to 100 million, and am sure that someone out there has reached
and passed it. Default high score is about 24 million.
--- Other Notes ---
All players start a Monopoly game with 1500 points, since they start a real
Monopoly game with 1500 dollars.
I hope this strategy guide is helpful. E-mail me if you have anything to
add or correct. Enjoy!
Bowen Kerins
(Compliments of Jim Hicks)
Please feel free to send comments, updates, suggestions to me (for now to Jim Hicks.) I will also have a section on game observations on the web version - let me know if I can use your comments in that section.
Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.
Jim Hicks
---------------------------------------------------
Monopoly Pinball Rule Sheet
Version 0.9 - October 2001 by Jim Hicks - jimhicks@justbecauseican.com
Contributors: Bowen Kerins bkerins@massed.net
Updates: preliminary version. All rules below are based on game software level 1.1
This rule sheet may be freely distributed or reproduced in any form, provided the above credits remain. Please e-mail me with any corrections or updates. The most current version of this rule sheet can be found at http://www.justbecauseican.com/monopoly/rules.html with pictures to illustrate key points or game areas. (pictures will be added to the web version soon)
Overview
Monopoly is the first game designed for Stern Pinball by Pat Lawlor Design and features a more varied and deeper rule set than the earlier Stern offerings. The game is bright and inviting and offers a wide variety of shots and modes. Multiple mulitball modes are available and none are of the "newbie-friendly-hit-the-flashing-shots-for-continuous-multiball" modes that have been traditionally featured on Stern pins.
Credits
Design: Pat Lawlor
Software: Louis Koziarz, Greg Dunlap
Artwork: John Youssi, Kurt Andersen
Music: Chris Granner
Mechanical Engineering: John Krutsch
Additional Support: Stern Pinball, Incorporated (add)
Artwork
Backglass: The backglass, (actually a translite), features a Monopoly board against a rich blue background, with "Mr. Monopoly" (a.k.a. Rich Uncle Pennybags) striding along the outer edge, with his cane in his right hand and the title card for Boardwalk in his left. There is a wake of houses, hotels, money and tokens trailing behind his right foot. To the left of his front foot, adjacent to the first Community Chest space past GO is a chest open with moneybags inside. Two houses and a hotel partially cover the Income Tax and Reading Railroad spaces. Two dice are cover the light blue bar of Oriental Avenue, two houses on Vermont and a large race car token between St. Charles and the Electric Company. The traditional Monopoly logo is featured at the top, with "Own it all" in italics between the logo and the top left edge of the board. The Pat Lawlor Design logo is featured in the lower left corner and the Stern Pinball logo in the lower right hand corner.
Playfield: The playfield features a modified Monopoly game board oriented on the diagonal as the major feature on the lower half of the playfield. Mr. Monopoly appears to be climbing over the top right side of the board, with his cane in his left hand, rolling the dice with his right. Smaller images of Mr. Monopoly are scattered about the playfield. Water Works pipes are featured under the lower jet area. The top center alley shot to the Roll & Collect lane feature two large dice over a white arrow. There are major areas of yellow/orange, pink, green, blue, orange and light purple. The artwork is bright and inviting and suggests the Monopoly theme very well.
Cabinet: The cabinet is predominately black, with crisp looking artwork. The lockdown bar is black, as is the speaker panel. The backglass/translite is backlit by a single fluorescent tube located slightly below the Monopoly logo. The front has a standard coin door. The red start button is on the upper left. Directly below it is the GO square offset up from a red diamond. On the right, under the plunger is a similar offset square with a picture of Mr. Monopoly pushing a wheelbarrow. There is a Monopoly logo directly underneath the door. To the left of the logo is Mr. Monopoly holding his cane rolling a large pinball. In the bottom right corner, is the game slogan "Own it all". The side art features a colorized version of the traditional Monopoly logo, with a pinball flying away from Mr. Monopoly, as if he pushed it away. Just above the top left of the logo is a large "Own it all." Below the logo for the length of the cabinet is a repeating pattern of four game icons (Water Works spigot, The cop, Electric Company light bulb, Free Parking car), linked on the diagonal by dice, across two rows.
The head side art features the Monopoly logo at the top, drawn as if Mr. Monopoly was rolling two dice toward the viewer, over a background of alternating black and multicolored squares. The colored squares feature Water Works, Electric Company and Railroad icons. A red border frames the checked pattern.
Goal
Each player starts the game with 1500 points. Each player moves around the Monopoly board, attempting to collect all eight of the property groups. Once all the monopolies are obtained, LAND GRAB is started. LAND GRAB is a timed, four ball multiball mode where the object is to build houses and hotels to acquire points.
Game Instruction Card
OBJECT Own it all Collect as much property as possible.
SKILL SHOT The Water Works hole collects Skill Shot COLLECT PROPERTY Shoot for ROLL & COLLECT when lit. This will move you around the board & collect any property. When you collect any property watch the display for instructions on how to play that mode. ROLL & COLLECT is RE-LIT on RIGHT RAMP.
EXTRA BALL Extra Ball is awarded by getting the ELECTRIC COMPANY to a higher power %.
The upper POPS (bumpers) raise the ELECTRIC COMPANY'S power.
BONUS X Awarded on the outer loop shots when lit or when completing the A B C lanes.
MULTIBALL Advancing around board to GO lights LOCK. LOCK 2 balls by shooting for the center ramp. Then start MULTIBALL by shooting up the RIGHT RAMP.
CASH GRAB The LEFT RAMP closes the bank door. Hitting the closed door spells "B-A-N-K". This starts CASH GRAB. IN CASH GRAB, ALL RAMPS WORTH BIG POINTS!
JACKPOT While in MULTIBALL shoot for the LEFT RAMP or the ELECTRIC COMPANY.
The TRAIN ramp RE-LITES JACKPOT.
CHANCE Shoot for the left CHANCE ? CARD scoop when lit for random awards.
HINT: Collect all property to play LAND GRAB!
Note to Beginners: To score better, shoot at the ( FLASHING SHOTS ) !! Be sure to LOOK UP at the Dot Display for instructions when possible.
Playfield layout and basic rule set
Flippers: There are four flippers on the game, three are controlled by the players by the flipper buttons. Two standard size flippers are in the normal position at the lower part of the playfield between the slings. There is a standard size flipper about halfway up the playfield on the right side (similar to the layout on Whirlwind or No Good Gofers) and a small, game-controlled rotating flipper, which protects the WATER WORKS saucer.
Ramps: There are four ramps on the game. The left ramp, protected by the BANK vault door, has a diverter that allows the ball to be returned to either the left flipper inlane or to JAIL, where balls are locked for multiball. The right ramp also has a diverter and will return the ball to either the right flipper inlane or to the shooter lane (to activate Multiball). The "Free Parking" ramp is actually a second entrance located mid-way on to the left ramp, prior to the diverter. At the top of this ramp entrance is the "Free Parking" space and yellow standup target on the far top left of the playfield. "Free Parking" can be made only from the upper right flipper. Shooting the "Free Parking" ramp collects available Jackpots. The "Railroad Ramp" is an open silver wire ramp that quickly returns the ball to just above the left flipper. This ramp can be shot to either "Relight Jackpot" or "Advance to Next Railroad" as when the corresponding light on the sign immediately above the entrance is lit.
Major playfield areas, targets or shots, clockwise from bottom center
OUTHOLE / FLIPPERS - Main flippers are here in standard position, above Mr. Monopoly in a pile of money. On some European games, Mr. Monopoly's head is the center ball save post, activated by the second set of flipper buttons. Standard left and right sling bumpers and inlanes. The SHOOT AGAIN lamp is directly above Mr. Monopoly's head and five Bonus Multiplier lights (2X, 3X, 4X, 5X, 6X - Light Extra Ball), each in the side of a hotel, are arranged in a row above that.
MONOPOLY BOARD - Animated game board, rotated 45 degrees, with the GO! space centered between the flippers, is directly above the Bonus Multiplier inserts and occupies the main open portion of the lower playfield area. The board has fewer spaces than the board game, with only 9 spaces on a side (32 total space, rather than the normal 40). The "Income Tax", "Electric Company", "Water Works", "Luxury Tax", all but the first "Community Chest" and last "Chance" spaces are not represented. All other property groups, railroads and the four corner spaces (GO, Jail/Just Visiting, Free Parking, and Go to Jail) are depicted as in the standard American version of the Monopoly board game. Each space and the Chance and Community Chest card locations in the center of the board are lit and are animated as each player moves around the board.
Each time the dice are rolled, you hear the token move accompanied by a flashing light moving across the board spaces on the playfield with animation of Mr. Monopoly hopping across the dot matrix display (DMD). The effect on the playfield is particularly well done.
LEFT OUTLANE - Special is available here (when lit)
JAIL - Multiball lock area to the far left of the playfield. Accessed when the left ramp diverter is active. Balls are dropped from the ramp and physically locked here.
CHANCE and COMMUNITY CHEST - Scoop located about 1/3 way up on the far left side of the playfield, similar to that found on Whirlwind. There is a sign above with two sections and lamps ("COLLECT CHANCE CARD w/LIT" and "COLLECT COMMUNITY CHEST w/LIT").
CHANCE - Award one of the following awards:
 |
Advance to Illinois |
|
Advance to Boardwalk |
|
* (add other items) |
CHANCE is re-lit by shooting the "Free Parking" ramp.
COMMUNITY CHEST - No rule is currently implemented for COMMUNITY CHEST.
This lamp should only be illuminated during light shows, multiball modes or jackpot sequences.
RAILROAD RAMP - The ramp entrance is located just above the orange property group on the board. The ramp takes a sharp right turn and drops the ball back on to the playfield just above the left playfield.
See additional information in Ramps section above. Shooting the outer loop lights "Advance to Next Railroad". Collect all 4 railroads to light Railroad Multiball.
LOWER JETS - Three jet bumpers with red caps are located about mid-way up the playfield on the far left. There is a an outer loop shot when the ball follows a path from the lower right flipper through the lower jets up and around the back of the playfield. There is a large lamp insert "5000 when flashing" (check wording) in between the jets.
UPPER JETS - Three jet bumpers with white caps are located just below the top left A B C lanes, centered around a large lamp insert labeled "5000 WHEN FLASHING"
A B C INLANES - Three lanes in the top left hand corner of the playfield. When completed, the Bonus Multiplier is advanced.
"COP" TARGET - Angled slightly off-center between the Roll & Collect lane entrance and the Bank door in from of the "B" insert. The target can be made from any of the three player controlled flippers and generally blocks shots to the Roll & Collect lane.
ROLL & COLLECT LANE - Immediately to the left of the Bank door. Ball guides direct the ball around the Bank, under the left and right ramps and into he Roll & Collect saucer. This shot is also used to collect the Extra Ball when the Extra Ball light is lit. A sign above the Roll & Collect lane indicates whether Roll & Collect and/or Extra Ball is available.
BANK VAULT - A small door that guards the primary entrance to the left ramp. The door is opened when B-A-N-K inserts directly in front of the door are lit, which then starts CASH GRAB. The door is closed when the left ramp shot is made.
ROLL & COLLECT SAUCER - Located in the upper right section of the playfield, this saucer can be made from either the shooter lane or the Roll & Collect lane.
TOP RIGHT SQUARE STANDUP TARGET - This target is directly in front of the Roll & Collect saucer and immediately to the right of the right ramp entrance. There are four awards indicated on lamp inserts in front of
the target:
|
"Advance to GO" |
|
"Water Bonus X" |
|
"Power UP" |
|
"Lite Spinner" |
|
"100K" |
RIGHT SPINNER - Silver spinner on the upper right of the playfield starts the right outer loop shot, which feeds to the A B C lanes (?).
MID-PLAYFIELD STANDUP TARGETS - Two yellow standup targets located on the right side of the entrance to the Railroad ramp entrance. Made from the upper right flipper.
ELETRIC COMPANY - One of the primary shots from the upper right flipper. A small "speed bump" ramp feeds the ball into the lower jets. Each shot into the Electric Company increases the accumulated voltage and each subsequent jet hit raises the voltage slightly. Extra Ball is lit when an (operator selectable?) % level is reached. Directly above the ELECTRIC COMPANY is a three position red LED display that is used to augment information displayed on the main DMD. This sign is also used in attract mode to display over one hundred sometime humorous messages.
WATER WORKS SAUCER - See Skill Shot
Skill Shot
Monopoly features perhaps the most unique skill shot yet in a pinball game, the WATER WORKS shot. There is a saucer immediately to the left of an entrance from the shooter lane, about 1/3 up the playfield from the plunger. A small orange flipper continuously rotates over the hole that can both block the shot or clear the ball once the shot is made. The Skill Shot bonus multiplier starts at 1X for the first WATER WORKS shot made, 2X for the second, and 4X for the third. Once the shot has been successfully made the flipper will change speeds and directions. The shot can be harder than it looks, as you have to have both the right touch to make the shot and have timed the action of the flipper movement to be successful.
If the ball misses the entrance to WATER WORKS when launching the ball, it can make the Roll & Collect saucer or go all the way up to the A-B-C top lanes. Unlike most skill shots, the shot can also be made with the ball is in play and successful saucer shots are scored the same as if made on a skill shot.
Ball saver
There is a timed ball saver at the beginning of each ball.
Video Mode
As in all Pat Lawlor games, there is no video mode. The closest is "Token Race", started when you land on the light blue property group. You are the silver racecar token, racing against the dog token. Each playfield switch that is hit advances your token to the other side. Sparks fly if you shoot the ball into the ELECTRIC COMPANY during the mode.
Modes
When a player lands on a property, the corresponding mode or award for that color property group is activated. There are eight game modes in Monopoly, and each is started when a player lands on the corresponding property group color. Once any property in a property group has been landed on, the entire monopoly is obtained. Some groups have multiple options (Purple, Green, Blue). For these groups, the award corresponding to the property landed on is activated. For example, if you land on "Park Place", EXTRA BALL is lit. If you land on "Boardwalk", SPECIAL is lit. However, you may only get one or the other the same game (property state may get reset once LAND GRAB is reached - need to check this). Collect all eight monopolies to start LAND GRAB.
Purple: Lower Jets to Max or Upper Jets to Max
Just as the description implies. All three pop bumpers in the corresponding jet group award maximum points (value?)
Light Blue: Token Race
Your token (the race car) races the dog across the DMD display. You advance every time a playfield switch is made. See note in Video Mode section above.
Violet: Free Money
Timed mode. Make BANK shot multiple times for Free Money. Each shot locks a digit in the amount of cash available, shown scrolling on the ELECTRIC COMPANY ticker (thousands, 10Ks, 100Ks). When amount displayed, shoot the Bank door to collect.
Orange: Tax Refund
Shoot Bank. Collect Pocket Change at CHANCE/COMMUNITY CHEST scoop.
Red: Board Chase
Cop chases Mr. Monopoly around the board. Hit "COP" (drop) target to ...
Yellow: Utility Overload
Green: Millions
Collect 1M points (Pacific), 2M points (North Carolina), or 3M points (Pennsylvania), depending on the square landed on. Blue: Extra Ball (Park Place) or Special (Boardwalk)
CASH GRAB: Started when Bank door is opened. Each COP target hit adds 5 seconds to the mode duration. Shoot ramps, loops and lit shots to collect displayed values. Value starts at 250K and increases by 25K for each shot made.
LAND GRAB: Timed, four ball multiball mode, available when all eight property groups have been collected. (Do what) to build houses and hotels.
Multiball
There are five (?) multiple multiball modes - four corner modes (Breakout, Free Parking, Ripoff), Railroad, and regular "Multiball". Shooting the "Free Parking" ramp collects jackpots.
(add detail from page 3 notes)
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Regular multiball |
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BREAK OUT |
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FREE PARKING |
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RIPOFF |
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RAILROAD |
Attract mode ticker quotes
There are over 100 quotes that scroll by on the ELECTRIC COMPANY display in attract mode:
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* "The ELECTRIC COMPANY keeps the Bank from Safe Crackers" |
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* "Become Lost in a Zone - Play Pinball." |
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* "Game tip - collect all property to play LAND GRAB" |
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* "NASDAQ +230 DOW JONES +410 ... We Wish" |
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* "Never Panic" |
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* "A Jackpot a day keeps boredom away" |
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* "Hey, it's only Pinball" |
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* "The future of Solar Electricity is Bright" |
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* "This sign is fun to watch" |
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* "Did you know famous people play MONOPOLY?" |
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* "Take a Chance - Play MONOPOLY" |
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* "Boardwalk, Park Place ... Not just for rich folks" |
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* "The ball is always wild" |
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* "How many messages does this sign have, anyway?" |
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* "Electric Company reports POWER ON in game" |
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* "Did you know that RACECAR spelled backwards is RACECAR?" |
Jody's Monopoly Game and Shot description
Game & bar were well lit. Easy to see the whole playfield. 4 different ramp shots on the game.
The short Railroad ramp above the left kicker just dumps the ball very quickly to the left flipper. You have to be quick to recover from that.
Decent sound and good flow to the game.
Pop bumpers were very strong.
Red flipper rubber - yayyyy !!
Some things a little monotonous - like having to pound the Bank shot four times after aquiring property.
Visiting jail gives you Break Out multiball.
Free Parking also give multiball. Forget what it was called. Cool Dot Matrix animation at beginning of multiball. Shows pinballs smashing houses & hotels on a Monopoly board on the DM display.
Most of my drains consisted of balls hitting the tops of the kickers & heading out the opposite drain.
Some ramp shots that only make it half way up tend to go SDTM.
Problems & complaints:
Multiball Jackpot sound effects are weak.
The machine should say "JACKPOTTTTT!!!" not "jackpot".
The saucer that holds the ball above the UR flipper holds the ball too long during multiball. You have to wait forever for it to release so that you can shoot the left side ramp with the UR flipper for jackpot.
Teeny tiny LED light for extra ball. Machine told me extra ball was lit, but it took me a while to figure out where to shoot.
The Bank Door that opens & closes in front of the center ramp gets out of position sometimes when you hit the edge of it while the door is open. You have to smack the door closed with another ball to get it to pop back open.
During the Cash Grab mode the machine would not recognize ball locks. Machine would cycle & search & then end the ball. Employee pulled a business card out of the cash register & made a phone call. He came over & said they told him they were still trying to fix that software bug. But if you turned the machine off & on it should recognize locks again. We did, it did.
Guy gave us 5 freebie credits because of the problems, Yessss!!
I ended up getting about 3/4 of the board properties and high score 6. Played for 2 hours.
High score 1 was DGH @ 60 mil
HS 2 was PML cant remember how many mil, maybe 45?
HS 3 & 4 KOZ, one was actual score & other was even # of mil
HS 5 was machine generated, (even # of mil) 35 I think?
HS 6 AFD (me) @ 32 mil
First replay @ 18mil
Second replay @ 36 mil
Sound effects after Match are similar to TZ multiball jackpots.
(Match sound effect was better than multiball jackpot)
Overall I liked the game & want to play again.
Didn't understand what to shoot during some of the modes but more time at the flippers will fix that.
The playfield is a little cluttered so some of those that prefer more open playfields may not like the game.
I think the game will be well received by the pinball community.
Can't wait to play again & collect all the properties for the Land Grab. If you get the chance, go play it !!
Brian
Bannon's Monopoly Experience
September 19, 2001 - MONOPOLY®, the best-selling board game of all-time is now the hottest pinball machine on the boardwalk. Brought to you by Stern Pinball, Inc., Hasbro, Inc. (NYSE:HAS) and Pat Lawlor Design, the MONOPOLY pinball is designed by Pat Lawlor and his team of mechanical and programming engineers. Pat Lawlor has designed some of the most famous titles in the history of pinball, including The Addams Family®, Twilight Zone®, Funhouse™, Whirlwind®, and Earthshaker™. These machines, even today, consistently rank among the top earners on both the RePlay and Play Meter Pinball Polls. This MONOPOLY-themed game is made in the great tradition of these classic pinball machines
The MONOPOLY game has a grand history. In 1934, during the height of the United States' Great Depression, Charles Darrow sold his board game to Parker Brothers (now a part of Hasbro), who in turn brought it to the public. Within a year, MONOPOLY became the best-selling board game in the country. The MONOPOLY game has since sold an estimated 200 million copies in 80 countries, and has been produced in 26 languages. Stern Pinball, Hasbro, and Pat Lawlor Design are proud that the MONOPOLY game is now their newest pinball machine title.
Some of the MONOPOLY pinball machine's classic features include: an Electric Company billboard, a bi-directional, rotating mini-flipper in the Water Works, and a Ride on the Railroad ramp. Also, you can take a lesson from MR. MONOPOLY and break the Bank, start the cash grab, and shoot the upper ramps for big MONOPOLY points. The goal of the MONOPOLY pinball machine is to move your piece around the game board, collect properties, and lock balls. When you pass GO, multi-ball will start and you can become the millionaire you've always dreamed of being!
The MONOPOLY pinball machine also features an outstanding art package by John Youssi, fantastic sounds and music by Incredible Technologies, and the voice of MR. MONOPOLY, who makes all sales final. Pat Lawlor says, "We have designed an outstanding street piece with a timeless theme that should be a strong earner for a long time to come."
"We're very excited to have Pat Lawlor designing this pinball," adds Gary Stern. "We really feel that this will be our biggest game yet." To get your MONOPOLY pinball machine, contact your nearest Stern Pinball distributor. Visit Stern's website at www.sternpinball.com for more information on Stern Pinball.
The MONOPOLY pinball machine will begin shipping in October, 2001.
"MONOPOLY" and "MR. MONOPOLY" are trademarks of Hasbro, Inc.
"FUNHOUSE", "ROADSHOW" and "WHIRLWIND" are trademarks of Williams Electronics Games, Inc.
"THE ADDAMS FAMILY" is a registered trademark of Paramount Pictures Corporation
"THE TWILIGHT
ZONE" is a registered trademark of CBS, Inc.
Don Coon's Playfield Description
Haven't done this in a long while, but here goes........Monopoly Pinball Platinum Owners Chrome Saving (Compliments of Rob Fleischman)
A tip for Platinum Monopoly owners to preserve their chrome.
After getting my Platinum Monopoly, I noticed that the acid in the sweat from my hands was discoloring the chrome on the side and bottom rails. I fixed this by doing the following:
1. Removing the chrome side and bottom rails.
2. Polishing the rails with Noxon (or your favorite metal polish). It is *IMPORTANT* to make this fix before you've worn through your chrome. Otherwise, you will not be able to preserve the original condition.
3. Spray the rails with Clear coat. Spray cans can be obtained from your local auto parts store for $3-4 dollars. I used 2-3 thin coats. Clear coat is a great choice because it is commonly used to cover chromed automobile rims. Considering the excessive abuse auto rims take, the clear coated rails should last forever.
Additionally, it looks great!
-Rob
