Notes and Disclaimers

This rule compilation and tips sheet is, to the extent possible (in light of the subject matter being the property of Williams Electronics), freeware. It can be modified, updated, or revised, provided only that credit to the original author(s) remains intact. It can be published or otherwise distributed, provided only that such distribution is effectively free.

Jungle Lord the pinball machine is the property of Williams, and a trademark of the licensor. The author disclaims all interest in any trademarks or other intellectual property referenced herein.

Game History, Artwork and Design

Released in February, 1981, Jungle Lord is the second of the four two-level playfield games Williams released.

Design by: Barry Oursler

Art by: Constantino Mitchell

Playfield Layout

Described from the flippers, going clockwise:

Upper Playfield

Flippers

two flippers, more or less in the centre of the upper playfield.

Left Ramp

from the lower playfield, a stainless ramp to the upper playfield. Curves a bit clockwise from bottom to top.

1 Standup

of the "1-2-3-4-5" standup targets. Complete the series for "double scoring" where everything on the playfield doubles.

L-O-R-D

a pachinko-like arangement that uses up about 1/3 of the upper playfield real estate. When the ball is caught in either saucer, a mini ball is kicked out and will fall in to one of four lanes. Complete spelling "L-O-R-D" to start multi-ball.

"Double Trouble"

a five-bank of drop targets. Rules below.

Upper saucer

a ball saucer off to the upper right corner of the playfield. Catch it here to kick the mini ball and attempt to spell L-O-R-D.

Slingshot

a slingshot kicker.

Lane

the ball is launched from the plunger, up a scoop, and on to the upper playfield. It comes out via this lane and is fed more or less to the upper right flipper.

Lower saucer

another ball saucer. Same rules as the upper one.

Right ramp

Similar to the left ramp, but curved counter-clockwise, bottom to top. It ends at the Lower saucer.

Centre ramp

between the flippers. Slightly curved, but essentially straight.

Lower Playfield

Flippers

two normal flippers, about where you'd expect to find them.

Left slingshot

a regular slingshot

Left inlane

an inlane, feeding to the left flipper. The rollover enables the Lower Loop to increment the Bonus X, and the Lower Saucer on the upper playfield for two kicks of the mini ball. The rollover is also the "4" in the "1-2-3-4-5" series.

Left outlane

normal outlane. Can be lit for "drain shield" via the Lower Loop.

Left magnasave

There are extra "flipper" type buttons on the cabinet that can be used to save the ball via an electromagnet mounted under the playfield. Up to five magnasaves can be stacked and used.

Left Drop Target bank

a 3-bank of drop targets. Dropping a target adds a magnasave to the left side. It also starts a timer. Completing the bank before the timer expires spots one letter for L-O-R-D.

Lower Loop (left)

The left entrance to the Lower Loop. This goes under the upper playfield, around the Left Ramp. Completing the loop via the left entrance turns on the ball saver.

Left Ramp

leads to the upper playfield.

2 Standup

another standup target, part of the "1-2-3-4-5" series.

Lower Loop (right)

The right entrance to the Lower Loop. Completing the loop from the right entrance, when lit, adds a Bonus X multiplier.

Centre Ramp

to the upper playfield.

3 Standup

another standup target, part of the "1-2-3-4-5" series.

Right Ramp

to the upper playfield, Lower Saucer.

Right Drop Target Bank

another 3-bank of drop targets. Same as the Left ones, but adds a magnasave to the right side. Complete to spot "L-O-R-D" letters.

Right outlane

normal outlane, can be lit for "drain shield" by the Lower Loop.

Right magnasave

like the left one, a magnet you can use to try so save the ball.

Right inlane

like the left one. Is the "5" in the "1-2-3-4-5" series. Enables the Lower Loop for Bonus X, but does not enable the Lower Saucer on the upper playfield for two mini ball kicks.

Gameplay

Jungle Lord has two primary scoring features, multi-ball, and Double Trouble.

Multi-Ball

To start two-ball multi-ball, the player must spell L-O-R-D on the upper mini-playfield area. This can be done by catching the ball in either ball saucer on the upper playfield to fire the "mini-ball" which will randomly get a letter from the pachinko arrangement, or by completing one of the two sets of lower drop targets. The lower drop targets have a timer, so that once one target is hit, only a few seconds are allowed before the bank is reset and the player has to try again. Completing a drop target bank spots one letter toward L-O-R-D. Once L-O-R-D has been completed, the player can lock one ball in either upper ball saucer to start multi-ball. The second ball is fed to the plunger, and a 35-second timer is started. During the 35-second timer, the player must spell L-O-R-D again, but can regain a drained ball by locking the remaining ball in one of the ball saucers again.

Double Trouble

To start this feature, the player must complete the upper drop target bank five times, with different targets being raised for each time that the bank must be completed. Once Double Trouble is started, it carries over from ball to ball. For Double Trouble, a single drop target is raised on the upper target bank, and a timer is started. Hitting that drop target within the timer scores 10K points, and raises another target. Each time the player manages to hit the raised target, without the timer expiring, the awarded score doubles (20K, 40K, 80K, 160K). If the timer expires, though, the currently raised target is lowered, the awarded score resets to 10K, and a new target is raised. Doing well in this feature, especially when combined with multi-ball and double scoring can lead to very high scores.

Magna-Save

The lower left and right banks of drop targets, when a target is dropped, award a "Magna-Save" to the player. Up to five, per side, can be collected and used. There are two large electromagnets mounted under the playfield in a place where the player can use them to save a ball from draining down the outlanes. There is an extra flipper type button on each side of the game that activates these Magna-Save magnets when pressed.

Sounds and Speech

Like other 1980s games, Jungle Lord features those cool 80s Williams sound effects, and rudimentary speech with several phrases. They are clear enough to be understood, things like "FIGHT JUNGLE TIGER AND WIN!". There is also a bell, and a buzzer, used for more sound effects.

Opinion

I really like some parts of this game. The "Double Trouble" feature on the upper drop target bank is a cool idea and a lot of fun to shoot for. Multi-ball is pretty good, with an actual goal (spell L-O-R-D for special), and a time limit. The multiple levels, in multi-ball, especially with Double Trouble running, is a lot of fun. The magnasaves are cool, and frustrating; overall I don't think that they actually help the player, but they do give the illusion of control.

On the down side, the L-O-R-D pachinko game thing uses up a lot of space and isn't all that useful. They'd have done better with another drop target bank or some other thing over there to keep the ball in play, instead of catching the ball in a saucer and waiting for the mini ball to drop.

As it is, my Jungle Lord is a lot of fun, but there is one design feature that I'd have done differently.

Editor's Notes

• HTML converted by Kevin Martin