Black Knight: Sword of Rage

Stern Pinball, 2019 — shot-by-shot rules and strategy guide.

Open Black Knight: Sword of Rage in the Pinball Genie app →

Designer Steve Ritchie, code Tim Sexton, art Kevin O'Connor/Zombie Yeti. Spike 2 hardware in Pro / Premium / LE editions. Premium/LE add a transparent upper playfield with a 3rd (right) flipper and the Catapult ball-launcher, enabling Catapult Multiball and Last Chance; the Pro is a lower-playfield-only game. The central toy is a motorized Black Knight with a spinning flail on one face and a raise/lower shield hiding the shield scoop/VUK behind it. Reputation: brutally punishing because shot guides are bouncy rubber posts close to the flippers — hence the mantra "backhand, backhand, backhand" (orbits are the safe exception).

Skill Shots

• Pro Standard: plunge into the lit W-A-R top lane (750K, +250K each).
• Pro Super: hold left flipper, hit a center shot (1.5M, +500K each).
• Prem/LE Standard: hit the light-lock target under the Catapult (1M).
• Prem/LE Super: full plunge to lock in the upper Catapult (2M).

Monster Battles (the modes)

Five color-coded battles — Mud Bog (Hydra), Molten Fire (Magma Beast), Burning Sands (Sandworm), Wicked Cavern (Hell Hand), Deep Freeze (Lich Lords). Hit the three center shots to light a battle (the monster is set by the lightning wheel), shoot the flail ramp to raise the shield, then shoot the shield scoop to start. Battles carry ball-to-ball on a ~65s timer; win one for a KNIGHT letter and a lit Extra Ball. Win all five to qualify the Black Castle wizard mode.

Sword of Rage / "The Power"

Charge the meter with right 3-bank drop hits (bank completion ≈ +20%, individual ≈ +1%). When full, POWER lights at the center target — collect it during a battle for 2x scoring the whole battle plus that mode's power upgrade.

Multiballs

• Triple Knights Challenge (all): hit the light-lock shield standup to light locks, lock 3 at the scoop, then jackpot phases culminating in a Super Jackpot worth 3x + a KNIGHT letter.
• Catapult Multiball (premium-le): lock 3 in the upper Catapult; lower shots pay 250K jackpots, Super Jackpot at the Catapult with a multiplier up to 4x.
• KNIGHT Multiball (all): spell K-N-I-G-H-T (from battles, WAR hurry-ups, Triple Knights super jackpots), start at the left spinner lane. Retro 3-ball MB with playfield scoring x balls-in-play (up to 3x) — the game's biggest scoring window.
• The King's Ransom (2nd KNIGHT): ~60s 3-ball MB, unlimited ball save, +5x Bonus X, Extra Ball lit.
• RAGE Multiball: the final phase of Black Castle — a 6-ball frenzy with the center target lit for 1M+/hit.

Combos & money

BKSOR has no conventional combo system: the only true combo is the U-Turn (orbit→orbit loop that lights an Extra Ball at the shield scoop). Real points come from farming Super Features (esp. the Super Spinner — light SUPER at the center target via the spinner, boost at the left lane until purple) and cashing them via a Magna-Save Super Jackpot inside the 3x KNIGHT Multiball, using Triple Knights as the base MB and always stacking a mode. WAR hurry-ups (complete the W-A-R top lanes) are repeatable and escalate.

Awards & defense

Mystery (complete R-A-G-E inlane/outlane rollovers) lights the scoop for a random award. Magna-Save (action button) catches the ball at the right outlane and cashes any active Supers as a Super Jackpot — relight it by completing the right drops. Bonus X advances via WAR-lane completions.

Wizard — Black Castle → RAGE Multiball

Win all five battles, start at the scoop (~200s): hit the three inner shots to light four outer loops, complete the loops, then a final shield-scoop shot delivers the killing blow and starts 6-ball RAGE Multiball. After it resolves the five battles reopen — the repeatable capstone.

Edition tags: Catapult MB, upper-playfield shots/3rd flipper, Last Chance, and Prem/LE skill shots are premium-le; everything else is all.

Goals in Black Knight: Sword of Rage

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

• Super Skill Shot skillshot · Medium

  Hold the left flipper during the plunge and hit one of the three center shots without changing the lit lane for 1.5M (+500K each successive skill shot).

  Reward: 1.5M +500K each additional

• Catapult Super Skill Shot skillshot · Hard

  On Premium/LE, full-plunge to lock the ball directly in the upper-playfield Catapult for 2M and a head start on Catapult Multiball.

  Reward: 2M +500K each additional (premium-le)

• U-Turn Loop combo · Medium

  The game's only true combo: shoot an orbit to arm a red U-Turn, then loop the orbit repeatedly without any other shot to escalate points and light an Extra Ball.

  Reward: Escalating points; lights Extra Ball at the shield scoop

• Super Spinner Farm combo · Hard

  The #1 money maker: light SUPER at the center target via the spinner, start a Super Mode, then boost all active Supers at the left lane — repeat to pump the value sky-high before cashing in a 3x multiball.

  Reward: 200-300M when cashed at 3x

• WAR Hurry-Up combo · Medium

  Complete the W-A-R top lanes to advance Bonus X and light the three center shots for a decaying hurry-up; escalates in value every restart.

  Reward: Each shot from 3M rising to max 25M; KNIGHT letter on completion

• Mode + Multiball Stack combo · Hard

  The structural money multiplier — because mode-start and the Triple Knights lock are both at the shield scoop, you start a Monster Battle and multiball with essentially the same shot.

  Reward: Modes award 20-35M inside multiball

• Magna-Save Super Jackpot Cash-Out combo · Medium

  Bank and boost several Super Modes, then press Magna-Save as the ball heads for the right outlane — saving the ball also cashes every active Super as one Super Jackpot.

  Reward: Banks all Super values as a single jackpot (multiply inside KNIGHT MB)

• Triple Knights Challenge multiball · Medium

  The main lock multiball: hit the light-lock standup to light lock, lock 3 balls at the shield scoop, then run the jackpot phases to a 3x Super Jackpot.

  Reward: Super Jackpot = 3x jackpot value + a KNIGHT letter

• Catapult Multiball multiball · Hard

  Premium/LE only: relight and lock 3 balls in the upper-playfield Catapult, shoot lit lower-playfield shots for jackpots, and collect a multiplied Super Jackpot at the Catapult.

  Reward: Super Jackpot up to 4x via the standup (premium-le)

• KNIGHT Multiball multiball · Hard

  The money feature: earn K-N-I-G-H-T from battles, WAR hurry-ups and Triple Knights super jackpots, then start at the left spinner lane for a retro 3-ball MB with playfield scoring multiplied by balls in play (up to 3x).

  Reward: Playfield x balls-in-play up to 3x — the biggest scoring window

• The King's Ransom multiball · Hard

  The 2nd K-N-I-G-H-T completion: a ~60-second 3-ball multiball with an unlimited ball save, an immediate +5x Bonus X, and the Extra Ball lit — a huge, low-risk points-and-safety window.

  Reward: Unlimited ball save, +5x Bonus X, Extra Ball lit

• Mud Bog (Hydra) mode · Medium

  Cut off the Hydra's 4 heads across five shots — seal a shot to start its timer, then hit it again to cut a head.

  Reward: KNIGHT letter + lit Extra Ball on win

• Deep Freeze (Lich Lords) mode · Medium

  Defeat 4 Lichs on three blue shots — freeze a Lich blue-to-red, then hit a red shot to kill it plus any other lit red shots.

  Reward: KNIGHT letter + lit Extra Ball on win

• Molten Fire (Magma Beast) mode · Hard

  Complete 8 total shot sequences across the 7 major shots — best played single-ball since it is a long shot-heavy mode.

  Reward: KNIGHT letter + lit Extra Ball on win

• Wicked Cavern (Hell Hand) mode · Hard

  Make 8 alternating side shots — a random left-side shot lights, hitting it lights a random right-side shot, repeating with an extra shot each cycle.

  Reward: KNIGHT letter + lit Extra Ball on win

• The Power (Sword of Rage 2x) multiplier · Medium

  Charge the Sword of Rage meter with right 3-bank drop hits, then collect POWER at the center target during a battle for 2x scoring the entire battle plus the mode's power upgrade.

  Reward: 2x battle scoring + power upgrade

• Bonus X (WAR Lanes) multiplier · Easy

  Advance the playfield-persistent Bonus X multiplier by completing the W-A-R top lanes; it multiplies the end-of-ball bonus and King's Ransom drops +5x for free.

  Reward: +1 Bonus X per WAR completion; multiplies end-of-ball bonus

• Black Castle (Wizard Qualification) wizard · Hard

  Win all five monster battles to unlock Black Castle at the scoop, then defeat the Black Knight: clear the three inner shots to light four outer loops, complete the loops, then land the final scoop shot.

  Reward: Triggers RAGE Multiball + a time-based completion bonus

• RAGE Multiball wizard · Hard

  The Black Castle reward: a 6-ball multiball with the center target always lit for a frenzy bonus starting at 1M per hit, scaled to the Black Castle time remaining.

  Reward: 6-ball frenzy, 1M+ per center hit + time-based completion bonus

• Tournament Opener (Pro) strategy · Medium

  A concrete first-30-seconds sequence: land the Super Skill Shot, light both saves, complete WAR, then start a mode and lock together at the scoop.

  Reward: Both saves online, first hurry-up, and a mode+MB stack building

• Backhand Everything (Safe Play) strategy · Easy

  The core survival rule: cradle and backhand nearly every shot because the close rubber posts make missed forehands drain down the middle — orbits are the only safe forehands.

  Reward: Dramatically lower drain rate on a punishing layout

• Build Supers, Cash in KNIGHT MB strategy · Hard

  The high-score engine: level Super Spinner and other Supers to purple before KNIGHT Multiball (boosting is disabled during it), then hammer the spinner at 3x while keeping Magna-Save armed.

  Reward: Hundreds of millions in a single 3x window