Batman 66

Stern Pinball, 2016 — shot-by-shot rules and strategy guide.

Open Batman 66 in the Pinball Genie app →

Batman 66 is a George Gomez layout carrying Lyman Sheats code, and that pairing tells you most of what you need to know before you put a coin in. The playfield is open and fast — two ramps, two orbits, a scoop, a rotating turntable in the middle and a crane that swings a wrecking ball over five spots — but the code stacked on top of it is enormous. Modes do not queue up politely and wait their turn. They all run at once, on separate television channels, and you choose which one is in front. Sold only as Premium and LE, so every machine you find has the full mechanical package.

The four major villains

Everything starts with qualifying a villain, and each one has its own price. Catwoman wants one shot to each ramp. Joker wants the Villain-Vision targets flanking the Batmobile spinner. Penguin wants the scoop — but only from a flipper, because a ball that falls in out of the pop bumpers does not count. Riddler wants the orbits. Every time you play a villain, that villain's qualifier gets more expensive next time around.

Qualifying rotates the turntable until the Bat-Phone is exposed, and shooting the phone converts the qualification into a running mode. Here is the rule most new players miss: you do not have to cash it immediately. The hurry-up starts at 1.5M and climbs 250K for every additional villain you qualify before answering, reaching 12M with all four ready. That number is not just a payout — every increment adds 50K to every single shot you make inside the mode that follows. Padding the phone is the difference between a two-million mode and a twenty-million one. Hitting the Commissioner Gordon target also pushes the value up.

Inside a mode, each lit shot is worth 500K plus 50K per shot already made plus 50K per hurry-up increment, and all of it banks into a super jackpot waiting at the scoop. You can cash out at the end of any stage or keep going for another 1x on the whole mode. The single strongest opening move is the Batcave Combo: shoot the scoop, then the left orbit while it glows orange, before you touch a single mode shot. Every base value in the mode doubles.

Minor villains and their perks

Complete the three TV standup targets and the left orbit lights for a minor villain. Fourteen of them span three seasons, each 45 seconds long, and each one you finish hands you a perk. This is the half of the machine casual players never touch, and it is where the real leverage lives.

• Mr. Freeze stops every timer in the game — hurry-ups, mode clocks, playfield multipliers, Bat Turn, the Villain Escape build phase. Take it every time it appears.
• Bookworm makes minor villain awards last the whole game instead of the ball, so its value depends entirely on taking it early.
• Shame adds a ball to every multiball and ten seconds to the ball save, and starts as a two-ball multiball the first time you play it.
• King Tut protects your minor villain progress and stacks the main channel multiplier.
• Mad Hatter lets you replay minor villains you lost.
• Egghead banks a frenzy total straight into your end-of-ball bonus.

Multipliers and multiball

Three separate multiplier systems overlap. Both standups flanking the Batmobile spinner light the Atomic Pile for a 2x playfield multiplier lasting 30 seconds; repeat the pair and shoot it again while it runs and you get 3x with a fresh clock. Three hits to Commissioner Gordon arm the white X inserts, and the next shot you make keeps that multiplier for the rest of the ball — 2x for the first, climbing to 6x for the fifth. Aim those at the shots your current villain actually needs, not at whatever you happen to hit next.

Villain Multiball only exists inside a major villain mode. Hit a turntable target to light locks, stack three balls at the right orbit, and every major shot goes green for jackpots starting near 300K and climbing 50K each. Twelve jackpots swings the turntable to its Batcave face and lights a super jackpot at the Atomic Pile; each one after that costs two more shots, up to twenty. Mystery becomes a guaranteed add-a-ball while multiball runs.

Bat Turn and the wizard modes

Bat Turn is a hurry-up mode you build before you start. Every pass of the Batmobile spinner adds 25K to a value opening at 500K, and ten spins lights it at the Atomic Pile. Once running, any major shot pays the current value and goes dark; the spinner relights everything and pushes the value higher again. With Mr. Freeze captured and the timer dead, this becomes the most lucrative loop on the machine.

There are two endings. Capture one minor villain from each season and the left orbit offers a choice of three chaotic six-ball multiballs. Arrest all four majors and the same shot starts Villain Escape — thirty seconds of switch-hitting to build the jackpot value at 10K a hit, then a four-ball frenzy in which you have to defeat all four villains again to light the super jackpot. Drain to a single ball and the whole progression resets, so get your gadgets banked and your multipliers locked in before you go.

How Batman 66 plays

Play the campy 1960s TV Batman: qualify each of the four major villains at their own shots, answer the Bat-Phone to start their modes, and run them all at once across the channel system. Arrest every major villain to reach Villain Escape, the game's true ending.

The loop

1. Qualify a villain at its shots -- send both ramps for Catwoman, the Villain-Vision standups for Joker, the scoop for Penguin and an orbit for Riddler -- to spin the turntable and expose the Bat-Phone.
2. Cash the Bat-Phone hurry-up to start that mode, and bank several villains first since each one lifts the hurry-up and every mode shot after it.
3. Open a major mode with the Batcave combo -- scoop, then the orange left orbit before any mode shot -- to double every shot for the whole mode.
4. Hit a Villain-Vision target to light the locks, stack three at the right orbit, and run Villain Multiball on top of the mode.
5. Capture all four majors to light Villain Escape at the left orbit saucer.

Reading the lights

• Villain Qualifiers and Bat-Phone (status) — lit: Each major villain has its own qualifier shot, and a flashing insert shows one is ready; a qualified villain stays banked, so you can stack several before cashing any. · flashing: A flashing qualifier means that villain is ready to convert at the Bat-Phone. · then: Finishing a qualifier spins the center turntable until the Bat-Phone shows. Shoot the phone to cash a hurry-up and begin the mode -- the more villains you have banked first, the larger that hurry-up and the richer every shot inside the mode.
• Villain Multiball Locks (shot arrows) — lit: Only while a major mode runs, a Villain-Vision target hit lights the locks and the glowing right orbit swallows each locked ball. · then: Stack three balls to start Villain Multiball with every major shot lit for jackpots. Bank a dozen and the turntable turns to its Batcave face, lighting the Atomic Pile for a super jackpot. · control: Action button: with Lock lit, press the button the instant the left orbit saucer kicks a ball out and the diverter steals it for a free lock -- the same press catches a plunged ball at the shooter-lane gate (Lock lit)
• Return Lane Mystery (lanes) — lit: A lit return lane is one you have already rolled, while the unlit one is the half of the pair you still owe. · then: Roll both inlanes to arm Mystery, then collect it at the left orbit saucer. What it pays turns on whatever is running -- as much as five million or an extra ball, and always an add-a-ball during any multiball. · control: Either flipper button: a tap of either flipper button slides which return lane is unlit, so you can steer the ball coming back down into the one you still need rather than the one already done (any time the ball is heading back to the flippers)
• Bonus X Top Lanes (lanes) — lit: The three lanes across the back feed your end-of-ball bonus multiplier, and which of them begin lit on a plunge is set by the arrows down in the shooter lane. · then: Finish the set to step the multiplier that scales everything your combos are worth when the ball ends. Time a skill-shot plunge with all three arrows lit and you can close the lanes out in one go.
• Bat Turn (ladder) — lit: Each Batmobile spin pushes the Bat Turn value up and, once you have spun it enough, lights a blue insert at the turntable. · then: Start it behind the spinner at the Atomic Pile for a run of hurry-up shots, and every pass back through the spinner relights the shots and lifts the value. Catch the turntable on its Villain-Vision face and the value freezes while every lit shot pays double.
• Commissioner Gordon Shot X (multiplier) — lit: Land three Commissioner Gordon hits to arm the white X inserts, and the very next shot you make locks that multiplier in until the ball drains. · then: Point each armed multiplier at a shot your running villain actually wants, climbing from double up toward six times. While the inserts are already lit more Gordon hits do nothing, so spend before you rearm.
• Atomic Pile Playfield X (multiplier) — lit: The Atomic Pile lights for a playfield multiplier once you clear the pair of standups on either side of the Batmobile spinner. · then: Take it behind the spinner for a stretch of doubled scoring, then re-clear the targets and shoot the pile again while it runs to reach triple. Capture Mr. Freeze first and that multiplier can ride the entire ball.
• Minor Villains (mode) — lit: Finish the trio of TV targets and a minor villain lights over at the left orbit, and clearing them again inside one of those modes lifts its shot values. · then: Each minor villain you beat hands you a perk for the rest of the ball -- freeze every timer with Mr. Freeze, or make awards last all game with Bookworm. Capture one from each of the three seasons to open a six-ball wizard multiball. · control: Either flipper button: at the menu, cycle the villain choices with the flipper buttons and lock in your pick with the action button (the minor villain menu is open at the left orbit)

Lane change: the flipper buttons move the lit lane. Tap either flipper button to swap which return lane is unlit, then guide the ball coming down through the one you still need. Completing both inlanes arms Mystery -- collected at the left orbit saucer, worth up to five million or an extra ball, and a guaranteed add-a-ball in any multiball.

Start scoring

• Ball one — Take a skill shot on every plunge, since each one is a cheap five-times boost to your bonus, and close the top lanes and cycled return lanes to build that multiplier further. Qualify a villain, answer the Bat-Phone, and put two Gordon hits on the board before your first mode shot. — Top Lane Skill Shot, Super Skill Shot, Mystery, Bat-Phone Hurry-Up, The Gordon Opener
• Building — Open each major mode with the Batcave combo to double it, then stack Villain Multiball on top by locking three at the right orbit. Arm the playfield and shot multipliers onto the shots the running villain needs, and work the overlooked minor villains for game-long perks. — The Batcave Combo, Villain Multiball, Playfield Multiplier, Shot Multipliers, Minor Villains
• The big one — Arrest all four major villains to start Villain Escape at the left orbit saucer -- thirty seconds of switch-hitting builds a jackpot you then defend across a four-ball frenzy. Capturing one minor villain from each season instead opens a six-ball wizard multiball of your choosing. — Villain Escape, Minor Villain Wizard Modes

The Action Button on Batman 66

Center of the lockdown bar.

This button carries more weight than on most Stern games, because Batman 66 runs every mode you start at the same time and only one of them owns the display. A quick tap spends a banked gadget; a hold of just over a second changes which mode is on the main channel. It also confirms menu picks and can steal you a free ball lock.

• Gadget banked with a mode running: A tap spends it and spots a mode shot — it favours left-side shots and only serves the mode on the main channel.
• Several modes running at once: Hold past one second to swap the main channel, which is also the only channel your King Tut multiplier pays on.
• Minor villain menu is open: Cycle the choices with the flipper buttons, then press to confirm the villain you want.
• Lock lit, ball in the left orbit saucer: Press exactly as the saucer kicks out and the diverter grabs the ball for a free lock. Costs one gadget.
• Lock lit, just after a plunge: Press once the ball trips the gate switch near the top of the shooter lane and it diverts straight into the lock.

Goals in Batman 66

Every goal below is tracked step-by-step, with shot paths drawn on the playfield map, inside the app.

• Top Lane Skill Shot skillshot · Easy

  Down in the shooter lane sit three arrows, each one paired with a top lane above. Roll the ball across the switch beneath them while they are lit and every lane whose arrow was on comes on too. Pays 600K plus 200K for each skill shot already banked this game, and hands your end-of-ball bonus another 5x.

  Reward: 600K + 200K per skill shot, +5x bonus

• Penguin Skill Shot skillshot · Medium

  Ease the plunge so the ball settles into the Penguin scoop from behind; if it carries on down to the flippers instead, send it back up the scoop before the window shuts. Payout runs 1M to 1.2M according to how many arrows are lit, your end-of-ball bonus gains 5x, and the shot still counts toward qualifying Penguin.

  Reward: 1M-1.2M, +5x bonus, Penguin progress

• Super Skill Shot skillshot · Medium

  Hold the left flipper as you plunge and any flashing major shot becomes live for five seconds. Around 550K plus 100K per skill shot, and it qualifies whichever major villain that shot belongs to — or hands you a gadget instead if a villain is already running.

  Reward: ~550K + 100K per skill shot, qualifies a villain or +1 gadget

• Qualifying The Four Majors progression · Easy

  Each of the four major villains has its own qualifier, and each one costs more shots every time you have already played that villain. You can qualify several before cashing them in, and that is usually the right move.

  Reward: Turntable rotates to expose the Bat-Phone

• Bat-Phone Hurry-Up mode · Medium

  Qualifying a villain rotates the turntable to reveal the Bat-Phone. The hurry-up there starts at 1.5M and climbs 250K for each extra villain you qualify first, topping out at 12M with all four ready — and that number is not just points, it raises every shot you score inside the mode that follows.

  Reward: 1.5M base up to 12M, and a permanently richer mode

• Catwoman mode · Medium

  A ramp mode. Both versions open by asking for three shots to each ramp, then move through hurry-ups and lit-shot clears. The first version runs four stages and its final stage un-lights shots as you hit them, so it will not let you farm points forever.

  Reward: 500K+ per lit shot, banked into a super jackpot

• Joker mode · Medium

  Turntable-first. Both versions open by asking for the turntable, which lights both orbits and both ramps. The second version scores completion as a percentage — lit shots are worth 10 percent each and any switch adds 1 percent, so the bumpers genuinely help.

  Reward: 500K+ per lit shot, banked into a super jackpot

• Penguin mode · Hard

  The crane mode. The wrecking ball parks over one of five purple inserts and you have to hit it at every position. Later stages hand the turntable magnet the ball, which is as unpredictable as it sounds — expect to lose shots to it and plan accordingly.

  Reward: 500K+ per lit shot, banked into a super jackpot

• Riddler mode · Easy

  The friendliest of the four. Shoot either orbit and it lights a batch of playfield shots — roughly five in the first version, about seven in the second. Clear them, take the super jackpot, repeat. Good mode to have running when you start Villain Multiball.

  Reward: 500K+ per lit shot, banked into a super jackpot

• The Batcave Combo combo · Hard

  The single best thing you can do at the start of any major villain mode. Shoot the scoop, then the left orbit while it glows orange — before you make any mode shot at all — and every shot in that mode is worth double its base value.

  Reward: 2x base value on every shot for the whole mode

• Villain Multiball multiball · Medium

  Only available while a major villain mode is running. Hit a turntable target to light locks, then lock three balls at the right orbit. Jackpots start around 300K and climb 50K each; after twelve, the turntable swings to the Batcave face and the Atomic Pile lights for a super jackpot.

  Reward: Escalating jackpots plus Atomic Pile super jackpots

• Gadgets strategy · Easy

  Spell GADGET on the left bank to bank one, then press the action button to spend it. In a mode it spots a shot for you — but it picks left-side shots first and only serves the mode on your current TV channel, so a badly aimed gadget is a wasted one.

  Reward: One spotted mode shot per gadget

• Minor Villains progression · Medium

  Complete the three TV targets and the left orbit lights for a minor villain. There are fourteen of them across three seasons, each 45 seconds long, and each one you finish hands you a perk that lasts the rest of the ball. This is the half of the game most players ignore.

  Reward: A lasting perk per completed villain

• Which Minor Villains To Chase progression · Medium

  The perks are not equal, and picking well changes the shape of your whole ball. Two of them are worth going out of your way for, and one of those two is arguably the strongest single award on the machine.

  Reward: Game-altering perks

• Bat Turn mode · Medium

  Spin the Batmobile ten times to light Bat Turn at the Atomic Pile. Each spin adds 25K to a value that starts at 500K, so build before you start. Once running, every major shot pays the current hurry-up and goes dark; hitting the spinner relights them all and resets the value upward.

  Reward: 40 seconds of hurry-up shots, 250K minimum each

• Playfield Multiplier multiplier · Medium

  Complete both standups flanking the Batmobile spinner and the Atomic Pile lights for 2x playfield scoring for 30 seconds. Do it again while the multiplier is still running and you get 3x with a fresh timer. Capture Mr. Freeze first and that 3x can survive the entire ball.

  Reward: 2x, then 3x playfield for 30 seconds

• Shot Multipliers multiplier · Medium

  Three hits to the Commissioner Gordon target arm the white X inserts. The very next shot you make keeps that multiplier for the rest of the ball. Your first is 2x, then 3x, up to 6x for the fifth — so aim them at the shots your current villain actually asks for.

  Reward: Up to 6x locked onto a shot for the ball

• The Gordon Opener strategy · Medium

  A small habit with a real payoff. Hit Commissioner Gordon twice at the very start of a major villain mode, before you take a single mode shot, and you bank 2x bonus plus a permanent extra multiplier on Villain Multiball scoring.

  Reward: +2x bonus and +1x Villain Multiball scoring

• Mystery strategy · Easy

  Complete both return lanes and the left orbit saucer lights for a mystery award. The lanes cycle with the flipper buttons, so this is almost free. What it gives depends entirely on what is running — and during any multiball it is always an add-a-ball.

  Reward: Context-sensitive, up to 5M or an extra ball

• Combos combo · Medium

  Any ramp or full orbit arms the major shots for a combo. Cross the playfield with your next shot and that link pays 125K, and so does every shot you keep chaining onto it. Each combo is worth another 250K in end-of-ball bonus too, which is where they quietly add up.

  Reward: 125K per combo shot, 250K each in bonus, extra balls at 20/50/100

• Changing Channels secret · Medium

  Modes here do not queue — they all run at once, and the display only shows the most recent one. Keep the action button pressed for a beat past a second and a different mode takes over the main channel, a choice with real scoring consequences most players never discover.

  Reward: Directs gadgets and the main channel multiplier

• Minor Villain Wizard Modes wizard · Hard

  Capture one minor villain from each of the three seasons and the next left orbit shot opens a menu of three six-ball multiballs. All three are chaotic and all three add balls on super jackpots, but they light those jackpots in completely different ways.

  Reward: A six-ball multiball of your choice

• Villain Escape wizard · Hard

  The game's real ending. Capture all four major villains and the next left orbit saucer starts it. Thirty seconds of pure switch-hitting builds the jackpot value at 10K a hit, then a four-ball multiball asks you to defeat all four villains again for a super jackpot.

  Reward: A four-ball frenzy with a jackpot you built yourself

• End-Of-Ball Bonus strategy · Easy

  Bonus is built from your per-shot value in each of the four villains plus 250K for every combo, all multiplied by your bonus multiplier. Skill shots and completed lane sets are what raise that multiplier, which is why the top lanes matter more than they look.

  Reward: A multiplied payout at the end of every ball