From LittleWingPinball

Pinball is not a luck testing game but a game in which you can test your "Technique". Because LittleWing pinball is a real time simulation game which calculates ball motion in accordance with the physical law, a ball rolls on the playfield reflecting the player's skill accurately. When you get familiar with the basic techniques introduced here you will be able to enjoy another charm of pinball which you have never experienced when you played without exact objects. A player can control a ball by three methods that are; 1) Plunger shot, 2) Flippers, 3) Nudging (shaking the playfield). The flipper techniques which are introduced here are actual techniques that are used for arcade pinballs. When you master these techniques by LittleWing pinball, please try your technique with arcade machines. You will be surprised that the arcade pinball machine responds so differently with your "improved" techniques. Also we recommend you to watch a game if you find a "pinball wizard" in an arcade from his back. Maybe he pretends he is unaware of you watching. But he will be pleased to show you his super techniques if he finds you reflected in the back glass. Pinball is also a game to watch.

Contents 1 General Pinball Technique 1.1 How to Defense 1.2 Deflection Post Transfer 1.3 Intercept 1.4 Holding 1.4.1 Tips 1.5 Holding Lift 1.6 Trapping 1.7 Tapping 1.8 Slide and Hit 1.9 Power Shot 1.10 Reverse Pass Flip 1.11 Dead Flipper Bounce 2 Monster Fair Playing Tips 2.1 Getting Started 2.1.1 To start a new game 2.1.2 You can change any of the control keys in MONSTER FAIR 2.2 Getting High Scores 2.3 Nudge, Nudge! (How to nudge in Monster Fair) 2.3.1 How to nudge in MONSTER FAIR 2.4 The Voyage Home 2.5 A Final Word (for now ...) 2.6 Playing Tips from the JINNI ZEALA World Champion 2.6.1 Preface 2.6.2 How to practice 2.6.3 My Strategies

General Pinball Technique

How to Defense

"Double Flip" is a typical flipper operation of novices which means to flip up both flippers at the same time (fig. 1). With Double Flip, a big gap appears in center though It looks easy to hit a ball to do it. Please compare the gap made when you flip a one of flippers (fig. 2). Double Flip doesn't do any good. Only considering this should make the score much higher.

fig.1 Double flip		fig.2 Good defence

Deflection Post Transfer

Passing a held ball to the flipper of the other side is called "Deflection Post Transfer". It can be done by flipping the flipper which holds a ball down and up very quickly. Missing the timing to flip may cause dropping the ball between the flippers. To avoid this, only "practice" is the solution.

Intercept

This is a defensive technique for multiball. When a ball is going out of the reach of flippers, you can change its course by hitting the ball by another ball.

Holding

It is called "Holding' to hold a ball with a flipper as fig. 6. It is a basis of the attack. Please practice to aim at the target from this position.

Tips

When you are aiming at targets in the left direction and a ball comes from the left return lane, it is not possible to aim at the targets with an ordinary shot. In this case, you can shoot the right sling shot to bounce the ball to the left targets.

Holding Lift

With a ball coming to a flipper in a certain course, catching it with a flipper up can make the ball go to a return lane.

Trapping

This is a technique to stop the motion of the ball which comes to a flipper with much force. You wait the ball with a flipper up and flip down at the very moment of impact. To make it is very difficult but it is very impressive to see the success because the ball looks like "sticking" to a flipper as it trapped. It is not very effective for slow balls. It is called "Stop Shot" to shoot the ball with a flipper down from the trapping position.

Tapping

You can shoot a ball like "floating" by continuous quick flipping. The timing is also critical. In LittleWing pinball series, this technique works well as tapped ball from the right flipper can pass the ball to the right position for the left flipper. Slide and Hit When a ball is dropping to the out hole so close to a flipper, nudging playfield timely can send the ball to a position where flippers can reach. It is very effective to use this technique with other technique such as Pass Flip. In arcade pinball, sometimes a ball can be slid over six inches.

Slide and Hit

When a ball is dropping to the out hole so close to a flipper, nudging playfield timely can send the ball to a position where flippers can reach. It is very effective to use this technique with other technique such as Pass Flip. In arcade pinball, sometimes a ball can be slid over six inches.

Power Shot

You can give a ball more force by nudging at a very moment of a shot by a flipper. It is called Power Shot. Deflect Pass When a ball is rolling downwards in dangerous course, you can save the ball by the Deflect Pass. Hold a flipper up to touch the ball to change its course and shoot it by another flipper. If you feel there will not be enough power by the touch, you should flip the right flipper (example of fig. 10) at the very moment of the touch to give it more power. The point of this technique is to flip down as quickly as possible at the moment of touch. Otherwise, the ball may be shot down to out hole by the flipper shown as fig. 11 (Beat down ).

fig.10		fig.11 Beat down

Reverse Pass Flip

When a ball is rolling downwards in dangerous course but a flipper on the same side can not reach it to do the Deflect Pass, you can save a ball by the Reverse Pass Flip. Flip the opposite flipper to pass the ball to another flipper.

Dead Flipper Bounce

This is a technique that requires bravery. Just keep a flipper down to bounce a ball to another flipper. You should arrange the operation for each aspect. For example, flip the right flipper to hold the ball after bouncing it on the left flipper. Nudging is also useful with this technique.

Monster Fair Playing Tips

Getting Started

MONSTER FAIR is a pinball game. Use the flippers to hit the ball at targets on the playfield to activate features, score points, and win awards.

To start a new game

• Press the ESC key to show the game menu.
• Select "NEW GAME", then press Enter (or Return).
• If necessary, use the up/down arrow keys to select the number of players, then press Enter (or Return).
• Launch the ball by pressing Enter (or Return).
• Operate the flippers by pressing the Z and / (slash) keys.

You can change any of the control keys in MONSTER FAIR

• Press ESC to show the game menu.
• Use the up/down arrow keys to select "OPTIONS", then press Enter (or Return).
• Select a key that you want to change, then press Enter (or Return).
• Press the key that you want to use.

You can activate MONSTER FAIR's features by repeatedly hitting the targets with blinking lights. Lights that blink fast indicate important features. Lights that blink in strange ways are even more important; hitting them is a top priority! When you activate a feature, the display at the right shows the feature's name, how you can complete it, and the number of points you'll win. When you start a feature, you'll also hear special sound effects and music. MONSTER FAIR includes seven special music tracks and over 100 sound effects. You can enjoy MONSTER FAIR by simply shooting at blinking targets, completing features, and winning awards. However, if you take a bit of time to learn its rules and some of the tips below you'll get higher scores and have even more fun.

Getting High Scores

MONSTER FAIR is a pinball game. Use the flippers to hit the ball at targets on the playfield to activate features, score points, and win awards.

The basis of making big scores in MONSTER FAIR is to start and complete each SHOW When you complete a show, you win its FULL HOUSE FINALE. Completing all five FULL HOUSE FINALES is the game's ultimate goal. Start one of the five SHOWS by repeatedly hitting a group of flashing targets or going over a flashing ramp. Completing a SHOW launches FULL HOUSE FINALE multiball. (The Ball Saver feature is also activated for a while, so the multiball action doesn’t end too quickly.) Having multiple balls in play is always a good chance to score lots of points?but also look for the special flashing awards, and hit them if you can.

Get a bucketful of Extra Balls! To get your highest scores, it’s important to gain Extra Balls. There are several ways to activate the Extra Ball feature?usually during a SHOW or a FULL HOUSE FINALE. At any point in the game, you can see a special status report by holding down one of the flipper keys for several seconds. (During play, you can do this by catching and holding the ball on one of the lower flippers.) This report shows the current game’s status, including how may times each target has been hit, and how close you are to activating the Extra Ball feature.

Nudge, Nudge! (How to nudge in Monster Fair)

You can "nudge" (bump) the MONSTER FAIR playfield the same way you can nudge a real pinball machine. It's an important technique for controlling the ball--in particular, to avoid losing the ball. When you nudge, timing is important. When the ball is heading for an exit (the side exits or between the flippers), nudging is often the only way to save it.

Nudging in MONSTER FAIR works like a real pinball machine

• The ball must be touching a wall, post, or other object that can bump it when you nudge.
• If you nudge too much, you'll see a "WARNING". Another nudge will "TILT" and you lose the ball.

How to nudge in MONSTER FAIR

When a ball exits one of the red courses (A), it can drop between the flippers. You can often avoid this by nudging. (picture 1). When you see the ball is about to enter a red course, press the / (slash) key when the ball reaches position N. This nudges the playfield to the upper left, and can give the ball enough force to jump to a green course (B). Remember--press the nudge key only briefly, to avoid a TILT.

Sometimes a ball bounces against a sling shot and drops to a red outlane course (A). Press the / (slash) key when the ball reaches position N, when the ball hits the sling shot. This causes the ball to hit the sling shot with more force and it may roll into the green return-lane course (B).

A slowly-traveling ball may bounce at the entrance of the outlane and enter it as shown with red line(A). In this case, press the X key when the ball reaches position N (while the ball is touching the wall between the return lane and the outlane) to push it to the upper right. The ball may then hit the upper wall and bounce out the outlane (B). An important time to nudge is when you shoot a ramp without enough force, and the ball rolls back. You can often nudge while the ball is rolling down the ramp, to avoid losing the ball between the flippers. You can use nudging to avoid the dreaded "dead flipper" effect (when the ball lands on the joint between the flipper and its ramp, and suddenly "drains" between the flippers).

There are many other uses for nudging. but remember: Nudging works only when the ball is touching an upright object. If it's just rolling on the playfield, nudging may do nothing, or it may cause an undesired effect. Good nudging will bring a tremendous improvement in your scores--- so try it!

The Voyage Home

MONSTER FAIR's grand goal is the RETURN VOYAGE. When you light the five FULL HOUSE FINALES (by completing each of the five SHOWS), RETURN VOYAGE multiball begins.. When you achieve the RETURN VOYAGE, you enable the "monster" aliens in the story to return to their home planet!

Remember: More balls are not always better, especially when you need to make a crucial shot--so in SHOWS with multiball, use the ADD-A-BALL feature selectively. (Sometimes you will want to use ADD-A-BALL just to activate the BALL SAVER function.)

You can enter multiball mode during a single-ball SHOW by activating POPCORN MULTI or GHOST MULTI. This may help you complete the SHOW by extending the time limitation or activating the BALL SAVER.

An advanced strategy is to plan the order in which you start and complete the shows. If you have only a couple of balls left to play, you should choose multiball SHOWS to try to get Extra Balls. (Multiball play is also "safer" than single-ball play, because you have more balls to lose!)

A Final Word (for now ...)

When you start getting FULL HOUSE FINALES, you'll see your scores go higher and higher. Sometimes, however, you'll find that you don't score quite as much, even with the same amount of SHOWS and FULL HOUSE FINALES. Why? I'll explain that--and many other strategies--in our upcoming tips.

But here's a final tip just for you who have read to the end of this article: There's an easy way to start a SHOW with a precise flipper-shot. The key words are "Franken" and "Witch." ;?)

Have a fun MONSTER FAIR!

Playing Tips from the JINNI ZEALA World Champion

Preface

This article aims at getting high scores. Therefore, please note some of the contents may spoil the fun of the game play itself(Of course there is no cheats though). Also I recommend to read game rules and tips provided by LittleWing in advance of reading mine.

How to practice

The first thing to do is to learn shooting the ball into Dracula Tent. It is the most important skill as it enables you to get SHOWTIME, Extra Ball, and JACKPOTS. Also you will find it easy comparing to other targets. Try it with the following procedures:

1. Hold the ball with the lower right flipper. Be sure to hold it steady before shooting. 2. Flip down and shoot when the ball rolls down one third of the flipper. If the ball goes to the right of the Tent, you should have shot slower. If it goes to the left, vice versa. 3. When you succeed, repeat the practice until you acquire the skill to shoot in the same timing. 4. Next thing is aiming at the Center Ramp. Hold the ball with the lower right or left flipper, then shoot just after flipping down. If the ball hits the lower corner of the sling shots, the timing is too early. Accurate shots to the Center Ramp will dramatically increase the success rates of SHOWTIME and amount of JACKPOTS though leaning it may be harder than Dracula Tent.

My Strategies

(for the moment. the contents may be updated as I'm still on my way...)

Remarks:

A miss shot instantly causes center drain or ball lost in the out lane.

How to aim at:

	PopCorn Drop Targets A standard way... From the lower right flipper. A risky way ... Hard shot with the tip of the upper left flipper. When COUNT DRACULA has been started, be sure to get one with one shot. In a multi ball play, shoot two balls at a time with the lower left flipper. It is useful when you wish to start Popcorn Mania during another multi ball play.
	Witch Drop Targets A standard way... From the lower left flipper A risky way... From the upper right flipper In a multi ball play, shoot two balls at a time with the lower right flipper. Hold the upper right flipper and wait when a ball rolls down from the Werewolf Roller Coaster(clockwise). The ball will be bounced to the targets without doing anything. (the ball must have enough force to bounce)
	Ghost Drop Targets A standard way... From Center ramp(Witch Rodeo) > the upper right flipper A risky way... The lower left flipper > Witch Drop Targets > the upper right flipper. It is useful when Center Ramp can not be used as Wheel is turned on. Naturally the two targets in the back can be aimed at from the lower right flipper using the holding technique, but the fore target may look impossible to aim at with it. But don't be discouraged. A weak ball sometimes drops all three targets just like an avalanche.

When should we go for Ghost Myst?

The most effective timing may be during THE SUMMON WEREWOLF SHOW. During the show, the way to Ghost Wheel is closed even if the WHEEL LOCK is on. Therefore, a ball never goes there before getting Myst. However, Myst can not be got until the SHOWTIME ends.

Takashi Kawamura - JINNI ZEALA World Champion