HARLEM GLOBETROTTERS (Bally 1979)
Quickie Version: right standup target to open the gate, then the four right inline drop targets to maximize your bonus multiplier and the spinner value, then spinner all day.
Go-To Flipper: Left until spinner value maxed and gate open, then Right
Risk Index: High; while hitting the inline drop targets is the best path to high scores, hitting the far right recessed standup target to open the right gate is very useful as a defensive measure
Shots to Master: Inline drop targets, spinner.
Harlem is one of the most popular classic games ever. It’s a spinner-and-bonus game, like many of that era. Simple but fun.
Skill Shot: make the top saucer, to collect a letter in G-L-O-B-E. Finishing Globe scores 50K each time, might as well make progress towards it. Globe also lights the left outlane for 25k.
Once you get the ball, you want to shoot the inline drops on the right side. Besides being worth 5K each, these do three things: they increase your bonus multiplier to 2X-3X-5X; they increase your spinner value to 100-200-1000-2000; and they spot a letter in Globe. They are your top priority until finished the first time.
You may also want to hit the right-side standup target to open the gate on the right to return a ball heading into the outlane; some people like to do this before shooting the inline drops, others prefer to do the drops first, and a few don’t shoot it at all. I like to get it early as a safety measure.
Once your bonus X and spinner are maxed out, it’s spinner all day. At 2K per spin, plus a likely letter in Globe each trip, you can get over half a million on a ball even before your maximum of 245K [5X49] in bonus.
The top saucer, inline drops and the two central spinners advance your bonus. Don’t bother shooting at the central spinners unless you’re just below a Bonus Hold threshold; even then, most players wouldn’t.
Important setting #1: whether or not the Bonus Hold feature is on. If it is, when you get to 20K in base bonus, the 20K is held for future balls. Same thing for 30K and 40K.
Important setting #2: how G-L-O-B-E letters are scored. May be sequential, in which case 5 shots to the saucer scores Globe, or may be random, in which case it will take longer to finish it. If set to sequential (“easy”), consider sending all balls from the right flipper up top through the spinner regardless of its value rather than trying to tap pass or otherwise transfer to the left flipper for shots at the inline targets.
Important setting #3: whether or not Extra Balls are on. If they are, you get one by competing the standup targets on the left, then shooting that recessed gate target on the right.
Important setting #4: whether the in-line drop targets come back up once completed. The saucer behind them is worth 25k base, 50k when lit for special, so if the drops stay down, that’s a valuable and easy shot.
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