Aerosmith
Stern Pinball, 2017 — shot-by-shot rules and strategy guide.
Open Aerosmith in the Pinball Genie app →Designer John Borg; code/rules Lonnie Ropp. Three editions: Pro, Premium, and LE (500 units, cosmetic-only vs Premium). Central toy is Jacky the jack-in-the-box on the Toy Box (an air-ball ball lock).
Core loop
Pick one of nine song modes at ball start via Jacky the Jukebox (timed, default 50s). Make a shot, then shoot the left scoop for Crank It Up to boost the mode and unlock its Super feature. Feed the Toy Box between mode shots to bank locks. Chip the nine AEROSMITH standup targets to qualify shot multipliers and Mystery.
Multiballs
- Toy Box Multiball ("Toys in the Attic"): shoot Toy Box to light lock, shoot the lock saucer to lock. 3 locks start it (stack up to 6 for 2x base jackpots). Goal: all 8 major shots twice; 8th = Super Jackpot. Relock during MB for 1 ball = 20s of 2x / 2 balls = 3x playfield scoring — the only multiball with a playfield multiplier, and the game's highest ceiling.
- Elevator Multiball ("Love in an Elevator"): shoot both orbits (Premium/LE can also use the drop target) to light the elevator lock; 3 locks start it. Super Jackpot = % of all jackpots collected (100/75/50%). No playfield multiplier.
Multipliers
- Shot X (AEROSMITH targets): spell A-E-R-O-S-M-I-T-H to qualify flashing "X" inserts; next major shot hit with an X scores 2x for the rest of the ball. Light every X on one ball → roving 3x.
- Bonus X: the three DUDE inlanes (cycle with flippers) raise end-of-ball bonus (max 9X–10X per code).
- 2X Playfield (Premium/LE only): backhand the five upper mini-playfield targets, then shoot the loop exit → 2x scoring for 60s. On Pro this exists only as a Mystery "Double Scoring" award.
- Combos: the standard modern-Stern strobing-arrow system — after a major shot, the other arrows strobe; hitting one inside the window scores 2x (and 2x coins in modes). Stacks multiplicatively with shot-X and playfield multipliers.
Money sequences
- Walk This Way alternating ramp loop (left↔center ramp) is the biggest repeatable — best saved until the center/left ramp is X-loaded (and 2x playfield lit on Prem/LE).
- Toy Box Multiball with a 3x window banked, farming the 8-shot jackpot ladder.
Wizard modes
- Medley Multiball (mini-wizard): earn ≥1 award in all 9 songs (+ both multiballs); start at left scoop; replay unfinished songs. +10M per song completed beforehand.
- Final Tour (grand wizard): complete all 9 songs; advance 24 Cities (8 shots each, 10M/20M/30M tiers); 100M Super Jackpot at the left scoop.
Skill shots
- Hidden: soft plunge into the lock saucer → 500K (+500K per repeat) + 1 Smart Missile, and it progresses a lock.
- Super: hold left flipper, short-plunge to the right flipper, shoot one of three lit shots → 1M (+1M per repeat) + 2 Smart Missiles.
Extra balls (all at the left eject/scoop)
Start 3 song modes; collect 5 (+variable) Dead Shot Jackys; or percentage-based Mystery. VIP Pass ball save lights at the right outlane by completing the two Toy Box-flanking targets.
How Aerosmith plays
Run the show: choose songs at the record scoop, spell the band name for shot multipliers, and stack balls in Jacky's Toy Box. Clear all nine songs to earn the Final Tour grand wizard.
The loop
- Choose a song at the left scoop, run its lit shots, then Crank It Up and close it out for that song's Super.
- Spell the band name across the standups to arm the X inserts, then drop an X onto a ramp.
- Trade the left and center ramps back and forth for Walk This Way, spending your multipliers on the loaded ramp.
- Beat the Toy Box to arm the lock, lock at the saucer for Toy Box Multiball, and run both orbits for Elevator Multiball.
- Flip the DUDE lanes to build your bonus multiplier, and finish every song for Final Tour.
Reading the lights
- AEROSMITH Standups (letters) — lit: Every dark standup is a band-name letter still owed, spread over a bank of three on the left, a pair in the center, and four on the right. · then: Finish the name to arm the X inserts, then run a major shot wearing a flashing X and it stays doubled the rest of the ball. Put an X on all the majors for a roving triple you can drop wherever you like.
- DUDE Inlanes (lanes) — lit: A lit return lane is a DUDE letter you have yet to bank; roll a ball through a lit one to collect it. · then: A collected letter stays banked, so you only ever hunt the lanes still lit, and finishing the word bumps your bonus multiplier across the whole end-of-ball tally. Dude Looks Like a Lady lights every lane when you Crank It Up. · control: Either flipper button: a flick of either flipper button slides the lit DUDE inserts across the return lanes, letting you park the letter you still owe under the lane the ball is dropping toward (any moment before the ball drops into the return lanes)
- Record Scoop Songs (mode) — lit: The record insert at the left scoop blinks when a song is yours to pick or swap, and every song burns its own set of shots. · flashing: Thumb the flipper buttons to roll through the choices before you take the scoop, which locks whatever is highlighted. · then: Run the song's shots, then come back to the scoop to Crank It Up and finish it for its Super. Rats in the Cellar off the spinner and Back in the Saddle off the pops make the gentlest openers.
- Walk This Way Ramps (shot arrows) — lit: Finishing any major shot lights the arrows on the rest for a beat or two, and the two ramps are the pair you swing between for Walk This Way. · flashing: A strobing arrow is a live combo -- catch it before the beat closes to bank it doubled, and each catch feeds the next. · then: Rock the left and center ramps back and forth for combos that snowball, and hold it for a ball where a ramp is already carrying a multiplier. That loaded ramp under Super Ramps and a doubled playfield is the source of the game's monster shots.
- Toy Box Multiball (status) — lit: Beat the Toy Box to arm the saucer lock, and Jacky's magnet dunks each ball you feed it into the box. · then: Launch on three for the deepest-scoring multiball on the game, then re-lock two mid-play to crack open a twenty-second tripled playfield. Grind the eight-shot jackpot ladder while it lasts. · control: Action button: once three or more sit locked, a tap kills the multiball start so you can keep piling on locks -- the box takes six, and a six-ball launch doubles the base jackpots (when the game asks whether to launch the multiball)
- Elevator Multiball (shot arrows) — lit: Both orbits arm the elevator lock, and a lit Elevator banks the locked ball -- Premium and LE can substitute the drop target. · then: Stack three at the Elevator to open a three-ball round, then swap between the majors and the Elevator for jackpots that climb. There is no playfield multiplier here, so it tops out under Toy Box.
- VIP Pass Ball Save (status) — lit: The pair of targets hugging the Toy Box arm the VIP Pass, and dropping both lights the right-outlane save. · then: Nudge them down with soft, measured left-flipper taps beside the magnet rather than swinging full. Once the save glows, a right-outlane drain kicks the ball back to the shooter instead of ending the ball.
- Mini-Playfield 2X (multiplier) — lit: On Premium and LE only, the five standups tucked behind the upper mini-playfield flipper light for backhands. · then: Backhand the lot, then run the loop exit to double every point for a minute; stack it over a loaded ramp and a multiball for the compounding total. Pro tables only ever see this as a Mystery Double Scoring award.
Lane change: the flipper buttons move the lit lane. A flick of either flipper button slides the lit DUDE inserts across the return lanes; park the letter you still owe under the lane the ball is dropping toward, roll through to bank it, and completing the word bumps your bonus multiplier for the end-of-ball tally. Dude Looks Like a Lady lights the lanes when you Crank It Up.
Start scoring
- Ball one — Lean on the soft plunge into the lock saucer for the Hidden Skill Shot and a Smart Missile. Take a gentle song like Rats in the Cellar, arm the VIP Pass save on the two Toy Box targets, and start stacking locks. — Hidden Skill Shot, Rats in the Cellar, Arm the Outlane Ball Save
- Building — Spell the band name to arm the X inserts and drop one onto a ramp, then farm the two-ramp combos of Walk This Way. Stack Toy Box locks for the deep multiball, run the orbits for Elevator, and flip the DUDE lanes to build your bonus multiplier. — AEROSMITH Shot Multiplier, Walk This Way Ramp Loop, Toy Box Multiball (Toys in the Attic), Dude Looks Like a Lady
- The big one — Clear all nine songs to earn Final Tour, the grand wizard, where you tour twenty-four cities in sets of eight shots under every multiplier for a hundred-million Super Jackpot. Medley is the mini-wizard on the road there, and a fully loaded ramp under Super Ramps and a doubled playfield is where the eight-figure single shots live. — Final Tour (Grand Wizard), Medley Multiball (Mini-Wizard), Loaded-Ramp Mega Shot
The Action Button on Aerosmith
Center of the lockdown bar.
Think of it as your ammo clip. The button holds Smart Missiles earned from skill shots and mystery awards, and each one spots a lit shot in a song mode for free. Its other job is quieter but worth more: it aborts a Toybox Multiball start so you can keep stacking locks.
- Song mode running with shots still lit: Fires a Smart Missile to spot a lit shot, and you also collect whatever else was lit there.
- A nasty left-side shot is holding you up: Missiles always take the leftmost lit shot, so save them for the ones you'd rather not risk.
- Three or more balls locked in the toybox: Press to abort the multiball start and keep locking — the game holds up to six.
- Sitting on six toybox locks: Stop pressing and let it rip: six-ball Toybox Multiball runs at double base jackpot value.
Goals in Aerosmith
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 into the lock saucer for guaranteed value plus a Smart Missile.
Reward: 500K (+500K per repeat), +1 Smart Missile
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Hold the left flipper and short-plunge to the right flipper, then shoot one of three lit shots.
Reward: 1M (+1M per repeat), +2 Smart Missiles
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The single biggest repeatable: alternate the left and center ramps for compounding combo value.
Reward: 2x combo x 2x coins, stacks with shot-X (2x/3x) and 2x playfield; single shots reach 20M-40M+
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Learn the base combo engine: make a major shot, then hit a strobing arrow within the window for 2x.
Reward: Each combo'd shot worth 2x normal value (2x coins in song modes)
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Same Old Song and Dance Ricochet
Start the mode, Crank It Up, then bang the right-wall targets that ricochet into the Toy Box for a fast ~30M.
Reward: ~30M completed in roughly 6 shots
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Work the ejects then the major shots; after four lit-shot hits everything lights for 1-2M each, plus a 60s super.
Reward: 1-2M per shot; 60-second all-scoring super feature
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Stack an AEROSMITH X insert onto the center ramp, start Super Ramps, and combo under every multiplier.
Reward: Documented stacks of 80M+ per shot (shot-X x playfield x Super Ramps)
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Toy Box Multiball (Toys in the Attic)
Light the lock at the Toy Box, lock at the saucer, and start with 3 balls; the game's highest-ceiling multiball.
Reward: Base jackpot 500K (+50K each); 8th shot = Super Jackpot
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Elevator Multiball (Love in an Elevator)
Shoot both orbits to light the elevator lock, lock at the elevator, and start with 3 balls.
Reward: Super Jackpot = % of all jackpots collected (100%/75%/50% by attempt)
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Delay the start to lock up to 6 balls, then relock during play to bank a 3x playfield window.
Reward: 6-ball MB = 2x base jackpots; relock = 20s of 2x (1 ball) or 3x (2 balls)
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The beginner-friendly spinner song and the best mode to overlap with a multiball.
Reward: Super Spinner — spinner lights for 100 spins
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Pop-bumper-focused easy song: hit the lit spinner then a bumper-driven random shot.
Reward: Super Pops — bumpers light for 100 hits
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Two lit shots at a time (left shifts right when made); Crank It Up lights the DUDE inlanes.
Reward: Super — inlanes light for 10 completions
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Orbit/ramp song: shoot the lit orbits, relight via both orbits or both ramps.
Reward: Super — loops light for 10 loop shots
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Spell A-E-R-O-S-M-I-T-H to qualify the X inserts; the next X'd major shot doubles for the rest of the ball.
Reward: 2x on the next X'd shot for the whole ball; light every X → roving 3x
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Backhand the five upper mini-playfield targets, then shoot the loop exit to double all scoring for 60s.
Reward: 2x scoring for 60 seconds (Premium/LE only)
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Medley Multiball (Mini-Wizard)
Earn one award in every song plus both multiballs, then start at the left scoop to replay unfinished songs.
Reward: +10M per song completed beforehand (perfect 200M); Medley Super Jackpot at the scoop
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Complete all 9 songs to qualify, then tour 24 Cities by clearing sets of 8 shots.
Reward: Cities 1-8 = 10M, 9-16 = 20M, 17-24 = 30M each; 100M Super Jackpot to finish
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Beginner Opener — Survive and Build
A safe first-30-seconds loop: soft-plunge, easy song, Crank It Up, bank locks into Toy Box Multiball.
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High-Score Opener — Stack the Big Game
Super Skill Shot, bank Toy Box locks, start Elevator MB via the orbits, load the roving 3x on the ramp, then combo.
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Hold the shot-X and playfield windows for a comboable ramp — never a one-off single shot.
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Knock down both targets flanking the toy box to light the right-outlane save, then keep playing knowing one drain is covered.
Reward: Ball save at the right outlane; the ball is returned to the shooter lane
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Every ball on Aerosmith opens with a song choice, and most players just let the machine pick for them. Each song lights a different pattern of shots, so choosing on purpose lets you steer the ball toward a layout you are actually good at instead of a random one.
Reward: Lets you choose which of the seven songs runs for the ball — Rats in the Cellar, Dude Looks Like A Lady, Back in the Saddle, Sweet Emotion, Walk This Way, Same Old Song & Dance, or Last Child — each lighting a different shot pattern
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