The Addams Family
Bally, 1992 — shot-by-shot rules and strategy guide.
Open The Addams Family in the Pinball Genie app →The best-selling solid-state pinball machine ever made (~20,270 units), designed by Pat Lawlor with the Mansion-tour theme driving every rule. There is no Pro/Premium/LE split — the only variant is the 1994 gold-cabinet Special Collector's Edition ("TAF Gold," ~1,000 units), which is cosmetically different but shares the identical physical playfield, with a handful of ROM-level rules tweaks noted below.
Skill shot
The plunger feeds a curving lane toward Thing's Eject. A soft plunge that just crests the ramp drops into Thing's Eject for the skill shot: 2M the first time, +1M per consecutive success, capping at 5M. Too soft falls short into the Swamp (no skill shot, but banks a lock if one is lit there); too hard flies past into the pop bumpers for nothing but bumper value.
The core shot loop
Four shots form the spine of the entire ruleset: the Bear Kick (center) ramp, the left orbit ("Adv X" loop, the hardest shot on the table), the Million Plus (left/side) ramp, and the Swamp (a wide sinkhole scoring the Graveyard jet-bumper value, boosted 5x when "5X Graveyard" is lit). Chaining these scores the game's two named 3-way combos (5M each) and the 4-way combo (10M, plus the embedded 3-way — 16-25M total once built up). The "Chopping Wood" loop (Thing Ramp → Million Plus ramp → Swamp) is the most-repeated money sequence once ramp value and Graveyard are maxed.
Mansion rooms & Tour the Mansion
Shooting the flashing Electric Chair or Swamp collects whichever of 12 mansion rooms is currently lit: three flat point rooms (3M/6M/9M), five 20-30 second timed rooms (The Mamushka, Hit Cousin It, Fester's Tunnel Hunt, Seance, Raise the Dead), the Quick Multiball and Thing Multiball rooms, Graveyard at Max, and Light Extra Ball. Clearing all 12 lights the "?" insert; shooting it starts Tour the Mansion, the game's wizard mode — an instant 50,000,000 points, relit 3M/6M/9M, Special lit in the outlanes, Quick Multiball lit, Graveyard maxed, and a temporary Extra Ball at Thing's Eject, followed by all five timed rooms run automatically back-to-back. The Vault is locked shut for the whole thing.
The Vault / Multiball
Hitting the Bookcase standups spells G-R-E-E-D, swinging it open to reveal the Vault and lighting a lock. On the very first multiball of the game, locks 1 & 2 can come from either Thing's Eject or the Vault; every multiball after that requires re-spelling GREED and only the Vault locks. Lock 3 is always at the Vault and releases all three balls, activating The Power magnets. Multiball is started at the Electric Chair or the lit Vault. The Jackpot lights at the Train Wreck target and climbs +1M per Bear Kick ramp or Bookcase hit (capping at 25M); the Super Jackpot at the Million Plus ramp pays double on the first multiball, triple thereafter, and relights the regular Jackpot.
Two smaller multiball modes also exist: Quick Multiball (lit at Thing's Eject, opens the Vault for direct 5M-10M scoring) and Thing Multiball (a DMD hurry-up countdown from ~15M to a 3M floor — shoot Thing's Eject before it bottoms out to lock in the value and start a 2-ball multiball).
Multipliers
TAF has no global playfield multiplier — only Bonus X (1x-5x, lit by the right inlane, advanced at the left orbit, applied only to the end-of-ball bonus) and the shot-specific 5X Graveyard, which pays 5x the Graveyard jet value on a single Swamp shot when lit.
Extra balls
Multiple independent paths all serve the ball at Thing's Eject: Bear Kick milestones (~8 and 50 kicks), the Light Extra Ball mansion room, Train Wreck completions, and a temporary EB during Tour the Mansion.
Strategy in one line
Soft-plunge skill shot, loop Bear Ramp into the Million Plus ramp to build value and THING letters, bank a Train Wreck early to carry the built Graveyard value into the next ball, clear every mansion room before ever spelling GREED (rooms can't be collected during multiball), and save the Vault/GREED multiball as the endgame farm after Tour the Mansion.
Goals in The Addams Family
Every goal below is tracked step-by-step, with shot paths drawn on the playfield map, inside the app.
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Soft-Plunge Skill Shot
A gentle plunge crests the ramp and trickles into Thing's Eject for an escalating skill-shot bonus — the highest-EV free shot in the game.
Reward: 2M first time, +1M per consecutive success, capping at 5M + advances a THING letter
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Bank a Lock Off the Plunger
When a Vault lock is lit, deliberately under-plunge into the Swamp instead of taking the skill shot to bank a free multiball lock.
Reward: Banks a free multiball lock at the Swamp (only when a lock is lit there; no points)
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"Chopping Wood" Money Loop
The single most-farmed sequence in the game: Thing Ramp into the Million Plus ramp into the Swamp, fully repeatable and worth 30M+ per rep once maxed.
Reward: 30M+ per rep once maxed (1M-10M escalating ramp + current Graveyard value, 5x if 5X Graveyard lit)
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3-Way Combo — Bear Ramp Opener
The game's first named combo: Bear Ramp into the left orbit into the Million Plus ramp for a flat 5M combo award.
Reward: Flat 5M combo award
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3-Way Combo — Loop Opener
The alternate 3-way: left orbit into the Million Plus ramp into the Swamp, same 5M award via a different opener.
Reward: Flat 5M combo award (interchangeable with the Bear Ramp opener)
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4-Way Combo
The full chain — Bear Ramp, left orbit, Million Plus ramp, Swamp — stacks the 10M 4-way award on top of the embedded 5M 3-way for 16-25M in a single rep.
Reward: 16-25M total once built up: embedded 5M 3-way + 10M 4-way bonus + ramp/Swamp values + a THING star
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THING Letters & Star Farm
Loop the left orbit through the pop bumpers into the Million Plus ramp to bank THING letters and Stars for free alongside any combo you're running.
Reward: Up to 2 Stars at 5M each + Thing Bonus (5M/10M/15M, escalating) once THING is spelled
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The Vault Multiball — First Lock
Spell GREED to open the Vault, then bank all three locks (the first two can come from either Thing's Eject or the Vault on this one occasion) and start multiball.
Reward: Releases all 3 balls, activates The Power magnets, and starts multiball
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The Vault Multiball — Repeat Lock
Every multiball after the first requires re-spelling GREED, and only the Vault locks balls — Thing's Eject no longer counts.
Reward: Jackpot at Train Wreck (+1M per Bear Kick ramp/Bookcase hit, caps at 25M) + Super Jackpot at Million Plus ramp pays triple
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Quick Multiball
A fast, separate award track at Thing's Eject that opens the Vault for direct scoring instead of a full lock sequence.
Reward: 5M per Vault hit, +1M each repeat, capping at 10M, for the duration of Quick Multiball
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Thing Multiball (Hurry-Up Countdown)
A mansion room that starts a fast-counting DMD hurry-up; shoot Thing's Eject before it bottoms out to lock in the value and start a 2-ball multiball.
Reward: Locked-in countdown value (~15M down to a 3M floor), paid for the whole 2-ball multiball
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The Mamushka
A 20-second frenzy mode where every switch scores a flat 250K — pure speed, no precision required.
Reward: 1M mode-start bonus + flat 250K per switch hit for 20 seconds
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Hit Cousin It
A 20-second mode where the Cousin It standups pay a premium over any other switch.
Reward: 1M mode-start bonus + Cousin It standups pay 2M plus a 50K per-hit bonus each (vs 200K base elsewhere) for 20 seconds
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Fester's Tunnel Hunt
Hit all three scoops in any order for escalating values before the 20-second timer runs out.
Reward: 5M (Chair/Swamp) then 10M (Swamp) then 15M (Vault) for all three scoops, any order, before the 20-second timer runs out
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Seance
Three Million Plus ramp shots in a row score 5M, 10M, 15M while The Power magnets actively fight your ball control.
Reward: 5M, 10M, 15M for three straight Million Plus ramp shots (Gold: ~50% Super Seance chance for 10M/15M/20M)
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Light & Advance Bonus X
The game's only general multiplier — advance it via the left orbit every time it's lit; it applies only to the end-of-ball bonus.
Reward: +1x Bonus X (up to 5x) applied to the end-of-ball bonus; resets every ball
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5X Graveyard at the Swamp
A shot-specific multiplier: build the Graveyard value in the jets, then cash it at 5x with a single Swamp shot.
Reward: 5x the current Graveyard value instead of 1x + Swamp Millions standups light for 1M each under the same timer
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Qualify & Start Tour the Mansion
Clear all 12 mansion rooms to light the "?" insert, then shoot it to trigger the game's wizard mode.
Reward: Instant 50,000,000 + relit 3M/6M/9M + Special in outlanes + Quick Multiball lit + Graveyard maxed + temp Extra Ball at Thing's Eject
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Tour the Mansion: The 5-Mode Gauntlet
Once Tour the Mansion starts, the five timed rooms run automatically back-to-back — clear as many as you can before the ball drains.
Reward: Points from each timed room cleared (Raise the Dead alone up to ~20M) + Thing Multiball if all five are cleared
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Best Opener: Plunge, Bear Ramp, Left Ramp
The highest-percentage opening sequence of the game, chaining the skill shot straight into the two most reliable ramp shots.
Reward: 2-5M skill shot + THING letter progress + possible lock, then an escalating 1M-10M per Million Plus ramp shot
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First 30 Seconds — Beginner Progression
A safe, concrete progression for a fresh ball that banks value while learning the flipper geometry.
Reward: Skill-shot value, early THING letters, and Bonus X banked safely while learning the flipper geometry
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Tournament Priority: Rooms Before Vault
Competitive players delay GREED/Vault multiball until every mansion room is cleared, since rooms can't be collected during multiball.
Reward: All 12 mansion-room awards plus Tour the Mansion's 50M and extra balls banked before Vault Multiball becomes the endgame farm
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Light and Collect the Extra Ball
One of the twelve mansion rooms lights an extra ball at Thing's Eject — collect it before the ball ends, because the lamp does not survive a drain.
Reward: One extra ball (a second is typically lit by Tour the Mansion)
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Raise the Dead
A jet-bumper room: each of the five bumpers must be hit four times inside the timer. Finishing it pays big and instantly maxes the Graveyard value.
Reward: Up to roughly 20M for a full clear, plus the Graveyard value maxed out
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Jackpot into Super Jackpot
During multiball the Train Wreck target holds the jackpot; collect it and the Super Jackpot opens up on the Million Plus ramp, paying triple on any multiball after the first.
Reward: Jackpot up to 25M at the Train Wreck, then a Super Jackpot at triple that on repeat multiballs
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