This sheet will outline some of the strategies/hints I've picked up during my several hours (and dollars) playing JP.

See "Sigma's Guide to Jurassic Park" if you need an explanation of the playfield and/or rules to JP.

Random "Shoot Out":
After killing the dinosaur during the random shoot out that occurs during play, Super Pops are activated. If you have functioning pop bumpers, it might be worth shooting the ball into them, if you have no other shot from the right flipper. A lit control room or Mr. DNA should take precedence over the super pops though.

Advance X: (Visitors Center)
The left orbit shot (Visitor's Center) is a very dangerous, shot IMHO. On all JP's I've played, the ball will most of the time hit the piece of rubber sticking out above the last pop bumper and come screaming back towards the flippers, usually SDTM. If your machine doesn't do this, feel extremely lucky.

Computer Screens:
There are definitly some CRT rounds that can be ignored. The rounds, for the most part, require making dangerous shots that just aren't worth the points awarded. These are:

Mosquito

Hard enough shot, and only worth 5M to start. (Sometimes you can hit the captive ball when shooting for the T-Rex saucer.)

Raptor Rampage

Sometimes the ball saver isn't enough if you drain and the ball rolls up behind the flippers. (Cool music though.)

Electric Fence

Usually, the bumpers aren't working well enough to generate the 15 hits needed. If yours are, then definitly go for it.

Bone Busting

The ramp is very difficult to hit 3 times in the 20 seconds you are given. (See below)

• Trap the ball when its shot out of the bunker after starting escape. Shot the boat dock.
• Boat dock saucer kicks the ball out..Make a shot for the helicopter pad.
• Finally, when the ball returns to the upper flipper, shot it into the pop bumpers.

Spitters

An easy 30M, if you get the shots. The ball will get somewhat out of control shooting the Spitter targets, but sometimes you'll get lucky and the ball will fall into the Bunker or (even better) the Control Room.

System Boot

This is a good computer screen because you can collect points while relighting and collecting other CRT's.

Feed T-Rex

Excellent chance to pick an additional 30M, plus get another letter in T-REX.

Anytime you have a shot at a lit control room, take it. Getting system failure should be your first goal of the game. This includes a ramp shot that gets returned to the left flipper...Backhand the ball into the control room. (The ramp really does nothing useful outside of TriBall, besides light Mr DNA. Therefore, multiple ramp shots really aren't worth the trouble.)

MULTIBALL ROUNDS: (Raptor 2-Ball, Tri-Ball, CHAOS)

Raptor 2-Ball:
Try to keep one ball trapped at all times, if possible. Wildly shooting at the raptor pit with both balls is likely to net you two quick drains. The ball saver is active for about the first 10 seconds of two ball. (I assume this adjustable.) After that, even a raptor pit shot that drains will not be returned. I'm not at all sure what increases the raptor jackpot, besides hitting the raptor pit. I've had raptor jackpots as high as 19M, and really have no idea why!

Tri-Ball:
Hitting the raptor pit is the preferred way to start your first Tri-Ball. This will sometimes allow you an immediate shot at the ramp jackpot, if the ball comes out of the raptor pit just right. During Tri-Ball, every target increases the Jackpot values. (Some probably more than others.) Always try to keep an eye on the upper half of the machine for a possible double jackpot shot. The ideal situation is to try to trap one or two balls on the right flipper, and hope you get lucky and can get an easy ramp shot from the left flipper. If you start Tri-Ball with TRex, it might be possible to "speed pass" the ball to the left flipper when it is returned from TRex to the right flipper. This will allow you a shot at the ramp before the other two balls get autolaunched into play.

Note: For a double jackpot, the ball does NOT have to complete the helicopter loop. It's enough to trip the two rollovers in the beginning of the loop. It also possible, if you get extremely lucky, to have the ball go through the helicopter loop in reverse. This will also score the double jackpot.

If you fail to score a jackpot during Tri-Ball, you will have 15 seconds for a two ball restart. Be careful, because when you restart two-ball, there is NO ball saver active, even if you hit the raptor pit to restart it. After your first Tri-Ball, the best way to start subsequent Tri-Balls is the TRex shot.

CHAOS:
If your machine has a newer ROM, it will start awarding CHAOS letters immediately after you get a jackpot. If this is the case, try to hit the ramp for the O and the power shed for S as quickly as possible. After 5-6 balls get launched, it's next to impossible to get a clean shot at anything in the upper half of the playfield. You will probably get the C-H-A letters by just flailing around trying to save balls.

If you machine does not award letters until all balls have been launched, try to trap as many as you can on the flippers until you see the H awarded from the pop bumpers. You should get the C and A letters easily, but the O-S will probably be very difficult unless you only have 2 or 3 balls on the playfield.

It's been my experience that getting the TRex shot is more or less blind luck if you have over 3 balls on the table after spelling CHAOS your second time. Just make as many shots as you can toward the egg. Eventually, one of them will bounce into the TRex saucer for 50M. Then comes the super jackpots. Tri-Ball tips apply here. (And if you have your smart missle at this point, use it!)

Victory Ramps:
When you win a replay, the victory ramp feature becomes active. There is an odd quirk during Victory ramps that is very helpful. While the victory ramp timer is counting down, all other timers for all other rounds that you had going at the time of the replay are suspended! This includes any CRT's you start during the victory ramp round. (The only one I am unsure of is System Failure...I would think that this would be the one round that the timer would NOT be stopped on.) It has been confirmed that the Victory Ramps CANNOT be collected with the smart missile.

System Failure:
Obviously, the place to be during System Failure is the pop bumpers. If you have active pops, your system failure total will probably be in 150M range. Otherwise, expect totals around 60-80M. Using the smart missile will add exactly 50M to your SF score. Be patient after SF ends. Sometimes, JP has a hard time locating all the balls in the trough. Eventually, a ball will be launched and play will resume normally.

Smart Missile:
IMO, the smart missile should be saved for (hopefully) your second CHAOS, or at the very least to start Tri-Ball on ball three. Another good use for it is to max out the Escape round or if you have three or more good computer screens running at the same time. (Good meaning you actually score some points from them.)

Send corrections, updates or large sums of American Currency to duffy@mik.uky.edu