Preliminaries

Dr. Dude is the coolest dude in the known pinball universe, hands down. If you have any hope of hanging with his Dudeness, you'll have to become as cool as he is. Collect the three Elements of Coolness, mix them all together in the Mix Master, shake well, and Dr. Dude will reward you with a round of Multiball and a chance at some super cool jackpots.

There is a really neat comic-strip-like drawing on the backglass that gives Dr. Dude's personal history. If I still had access to the pin, I'd put the text here, it's really neat. HINT HINT If anyone can help me out here, I'd really appreciate it. :)

Once again, I'm writing a rules sheet entirely from memory (I think it's my calling in life), so please forgive any colossal goofs. If there's something that I'm unsure of, I'll flag it with a question mark, so you'll know it's a guess.

#include <std-disclaimers.h>

Before we begin your tour of Dr. Dude, it will be helpful to know that I'll use the abbreviations "K" for a thousand points, and "M" for a million points. Also, when I refer to parts of the game that are named, I'll capitalize them so you know you can find info about them here.

General Layout

Starting at the lower-left corner and going clockwise, here's what you'll find on Dr. Dude:

Left In/Outlane

Nothing special here. There is no kickback! The inlane doesn't light anything, and I don't -think- the outlane can be lit.(?)

Magnetic Personality

This is one of the Elements of Coolness. There is a single standup target at the end of a short curved lane. You must hit the target to get credit for a shot to Magnetic Personality. The cool thing is that there's a magnet halfway up the lane that catches the ball when the target is hit. When the ball rolls out of the lane, it should land on the left flipper, but if the slingshot is sensitive it may fire and send the ball zooming off across the board. See the Rules section for more info on the Elements. This is also the Reflex 3 shot.

Left Lane

The ball can exit the bumpers down this lane. Shoot the ball up this lane to reach...

Left Saucer

This saucer can score Bag O' Tricks, Reflex 1, Special, Extra Ball, and Lock. The ball exits by a vertical upkick onto a winding habitrail that feeds the left inlane. Several awards may be lit at once here, but one shot will collect all of them.

Ramp

A very, very steep ramp. It can only be shot with the right flipper. It loops around the back side of the board and leads to the Mix Master. The ramp collects the Million award when lit. Did I mention how steep it is?

Heart of Rock 'n Roll

The second Element of Coolness. It is a single standup target just to the right of the ramp entrance.

Bumpers

Three bumpers in a triangle. They don't build towards anything, but they do give you points. The ball can exit down the Left Lane, or down the middle of the board. If the one-way gate at the end of the Right Lane is busted/stuck the ball can exit that way too.

Top Target

This is a single standup above the bumpers. A ball that is plunged or shot strongly up the Right Lane will hit the target and fall into the bumpers (or maybe roll back down the Lane if the one-way gate is out of action). The target's value is determined by the lights on the back panel above the target; the value cycles through 5 awards, from 5K to 100K(?). This target is always available.

REFLEX Targets

These 6 standup targets are to the right of the bumpers. They are angled to the left, so you can shoot them with the flippers as well. Completing them lights or increases the value of the Reflex award. The targets you hit are saved between balls.

The Gift of Gab

The third Element of Coolness. There is a big yellow box with a bow on top that covers a short straight lane. The lane leads to a saucer, which you must hit to get credit for a shot to the Gift. The ball exits by a vertical upkick onto a habitrail that feeds the right inlane. This is also the Reflex 2 shot.

The Mix Master

This contraption is suspended above the board, but it doesn't hide anything on the playfield except the top portion of the Right Lane. Inside the Mix Master is a spinning disk with a post attached. The sides of the Mix Master form a figure that resembles a triangle with the corners cut off to form a six-sided shape. The ball is dropped off the Ramp on to the center of the disk, and there is a hole in the bottom side that leads to a habitrail that feeds the Right Inlane.

Scoring is controlled by 9 standup targets placed around the sides of the Mix Master. Each bank of 3 targets corresponds to an Element of Coolness: red for the Heart of Rock 'n Roll, yellow for the Gift of Gab, and green for Magnetic Personality. These targets spot shots to the Elements, light Lock, and build towards the Jackpot during Multiball.

Right Lane

This is a half-orbit shot that leads to the Top Target and the Bumpers. The Plunger also sends balls up this lane.

Drop Targets

Four drop targets, facing directly left, placed below the entrance to the Right Lane. Completing them awards bonus multipliers the first three times (2x, 4x, and 6x), lights Million the fourth time, and awards points after that. During Multiball, they also double the current Jackpot.

Right In/Outlanes

Nothing special here either, as far as I can remember.

Plunger

A manual plunger. The plunger sends the ball up the Right Lane.

Flippers/Slingshots

2 of each, in the regular spots.

Now on to the rules...

The Elements of Coolness

Each Element of Coolness has three lights on the board to indicate the number of times it's been hit and its value, and a globe light somewhere on the surrounding plastic that is flashing when the Element has not been collected, and steady when it has been collected.

The first shot to an Element scores 5K and lights the "5,000" light. The second shot scores 10K and lights the "10,000" light. The third shot collects the element, scores 25K, and resets the scoring lights. Once an Element is collected, you can continue to shoot it for points; its value cycles between 5K-10K-25K.

The values of all three Elements are held between balls, and none of the values time out.

You can also get credit for a shot to an Element by hitting the corresponding targets in the Mix Master several times, 5 maybe(?).

Once you collect all three Elements, hitting any target in the Mix Master lights Lock at the Left Saucer. Note that shooting the Ramp is not enough; the ball must hit at least one target in the Mix Master to light Lock.

Multiball

Multiball is pretty simple: shoot the Mix Master as much as possible. The display shows a counter, which is the number of Mix Master target hits you need to collect the jackpot. During Multiball, all 9 targets work the same; a hit to any target decreases the counter by 1.

The jackpot is worth from 1M to 5M. The value seems to be random from one jackpot to the next. Completing the Drop Targets doubles the value of the current jackpot.

The target counter starts at 15 for the first jackpot, and goes up by 10 for each subsequent jackpot on the same Multiball. The counter is reset to 15 at the start of each Multiball round.

During Multiball, the Elements of Coolness are available, but they just score points -- you can't collect Elements for later Multiballs.

Once one ball drains, regular play resumes. There is no restart shot. All scores are doubled as long as you keep the remaining ball in play.

REFLEX

The Reflex round is a sequence of three shots in quick succession. First, complete the Reflex targets to light Reflex 1 at the Left Saucer. Reflex 1 stays lit until you hit it. Shoot the saucer to light Reflex 2 at the Gift of Gab. Reflex 2 times out *very* quickly; if you miss it on the first try you don't often get a second chance. Shooting Reflex 2 lights Reflex 3 at Magnetic Personality. Reflex 3 has a slightly longer timer, and you will usually have time for two or three shots. Shooting Reflex 3 awards completes the round and awards the Reflex bonus.

The Reflex value starts at 500K. Completing the Reflex Targets when Reflex 1 is already lit adds 250K to the value, and completing the Reflex sequence adds 500K to the value. The Reflex value carries over throughout the entire game.

If you miss Reflex 2, Reflex 1 is re-lit immediately. But if you miss Reflex 3, the Reflex round ends and you must hit the Reflex Targets to relight Reflex 1.

Reflex is available during Multiball, but the timers on Reflex 2 and 3 are much much longer.

Bag of Tricks

The Bag of Tricks is a random award. Collect it by shooting the Left Saucer. It is lit at the start of each ball, and is relit by the Drop Targets. It is not available during Multiball, but if you complete the Drop Targets during Multiball, it will be lit once Multiball ends. Possible awards are:

• A measly 10 points
• Slingshots score 100,000: This can be worth a bundle if you don't mind giving up control of the ball to the slingshots.
• Added 1 tilt warning: This is NOT an April Fool's joke!
• Lit Magnetic Personality
• Received the Gift of Gab
• Found the Heart of Rock 'n Roll
• Light Mix Master: This spots all unlit Elements.
• Million is lit: Shoot the ramp for 1M.
• Jackpot at max: The next jackpot is worth 5M.
• Bonus X at max: The end-of-ball bonus multiplier is raised to 6x. A side effect is that the next time you complete the Drop Targets, Million will be lit.
• Extra Ball is lit: Shoot the Left Saucer for an extra ball.
• Special is lit: Shoot the Left Saucer for a special.

The Elements of Coolness are always awarded in the order Magnetic Personality, Gift of Gab, Heart of Rock 'n Roll.

Miscellaneous Stuff

Right Lane Scoring

The Right Lane has three values, similar to the Elements. I don't remember the values themselves, but I think they are different than the 5/10/25K values of the Elements.(?)

Free Extra Ball

If, at the start of ball 3, you're not doing too well, Dr. Dude will take pity on you and light Extra Ball at the Left Saucer.

Double Scoring

When all scores are doubled, awards are displayed as their doubled values.

Strategies

There aren't too many awards to go for on the way to Multiball. If you feel confident in shooting the Drop Targets, you can go for the million award.

Reflex is always good to shoot for. If you miss Reflex 2 on the first shot, let the timer run out. The timer is so short that in order to get a second shot at it you need to make an uncontrolled shot, and if you miss again a drain is more likely. So, if you miss it the first time, take your time, get the ball under control, and start over with Reflex 1.

Try not to get both balls in the Mix Master. They tend to hit each other more often than the targets, and if both of them come out together, it's very tough to get either one back up the ramp.

Another Multiball tip: If you catch one ball on the left flipper, keep it there! Then keep looping the Ramp with the other ball. When I get one ball in the Mix Master, I always try to catch the other ball right away.

Don't take your attention off a ball that's in the Mix Master. More than once I've been surprised by a ball that hit the post on the spinning disk and was sent zooming out the exit and down the habitrail. If you send a ball up the Ramp and you're sure it'll make it all the way around, you can take your attention away from it for 2 or 3 seconds, but that's about the only time a ball is totally safe to ignore.

Closing Credits

Well, I don't have anyone to credit. All you see above came from me! But I'm sure I forgot something about the game, so if you help me out your name will appear here, for all to see. :>

P.S.: Did I mention how steep the ramp is?

By the Same Author

Rules sheets for:

• "Back to the Future"
• "Banzai Run"
• "Rollergames"

Editor's Notes

• HTML added by David Gersic dgersic_@_niu.edu
• E-mail addresses have been expunged to prevent web-bot spamming, and Web links have been updated where possible.