Cue Ball Wizard

Gottlieb, 1992 — shot-by-shot rules and strategy guide.

Open Cue Ball Wizard in the Pinball Genie app →

Cue Ball Wizard is a ramp game with a checklist bolted to it. The ramp up the middle is the key to nearly everything, and the wagon wheel above the flippers tells you what the next ramp shot will do. Glance at that wheel before every ramp attempt — the round you start is the one flashing, not the one you were hoping for.

The Wagon Wheel loop

One ramp shot lights the ramp for a Wagon Wheel award, and the next ramp shot starts it. If the ramp goes dark, the Corner Pocket on the left relights it. The wagon wheel target above the right outlane changes which round is queued, so you have real control over what you get.

• Rowdy Ramp — repeat the ramp for 2, 5, 10, 20 and finally 40 million, and the 40 can be collected again and again.
• Horseshoe Extra Ball — one shot into either mouth of the horseshoe. Take this the moment it comes up.
• NO WAY — 30 million a hit on a target the cue ball sits in front of.
• Spell DOUBLE — Corner Pocket first, then the ramp for more letters. Completing it doubles every score, extra ball and special for the rest of the ball.
• Combo Shots — ramp counting down from 10 million, then either bank shot from 20 million, then the Corner Pocket from 50 million.
• Side Pocket — 10 million per cue ball into the side pocket, and a rack toward your bonus each time.

NO WAY deserves a note. The cue ball is parked directly in front of the target, so a straight shot rarely works. The reliable route is to let the ball roll to the very tip of the left flipper before you flip; it comes off the right slingshot at an angle that finds the target far more often than anything you aim at it.

Bank shots are free money

Two ejects sit across the top of the playfield, and there are two kinds of shot into them. A clean bank shot reaches the hole without touching a bumper, and it pays points on a climbing ladder — 1, 2, 5, 7, 10, 15 and 20 million — as well as a random award. An ordinary bank shot only gives the award. The bank shot lamps flash when the next one will count as clean.

The awards are genuinely useful: multiplier advances, racks, spotted letters in DOUBLE and WIZARD, video mode, an extra ball, or starting the current wheel round for you. There is also a window where every bank shot counts as clean — from the end of Pool Ball Mania until Nine Ball Play finishes. That is the cheapest 20 million on the machine.

Two Ball Multiball

The lamps above one drop target bank will be flashing — that is the bank that counts. Clear it and the side pocket starts flashing 8 Ball; hit that and the ramp lights for multiball. Once you are in, jackpots come from driving the 8 ball into the three colour sets on the platform. They start at 5 million each, and every drop target you hit adds a million to whichever jackpots you have not collected yet, so it pays to knock targets around before you cash anything. All three colours light the ramp for a 100 million super, and taking it resets the cycle.

Pool Ball Mania and the half-billion shot

Complete all six Wagon Wheel rounds and the ramp lights for Pool Ball Mania — three balls, with every target on the playfield worth 5 million. Targets, not lanes: the NO WAY shot, both drop banks, the change targets and the side pocket all count, while slingshots, bumpers and the in-and-outlanes do not. The round ends when two of your three balls drain, and none of the total is banked until every ball is gone. Do not tilt during Pool Ball Mania. You will lose the lot.

When Mania ends, the ramp lights for Nine Ball Play, and it only holds that for about 99 seconds before reverting. Start it, clear the 1 through 7 drop targets, sink the 8 ball in the side pocket, and the 9 ball target lights for 500 million — a full billion if you have DOUBLE running. You get roughly fifteen seconds to take it.

The shortcut worth learning

There is a sequencing trick that removes most of the work. Clear the flashing drop bank before you start Pool Ball Mania, which lights the 8 ball at the side pocket. Carry that lit 8 ball into the multiball and then refuse to shoot the side pocket for the whole round. When Mania ends and you start Nine Ball Play, the 8 ball is already banked, so you skip the drop targets entirely and the 9 ball target is sitting there lit. One shot, half a billion.

Bonus, and where the specials hide

Your end-of-ball bonus is 500,000 multiplied by your racks and then by your multiplier, so neither half is optional. The Corner Pocket raises the multiplier; racks come from the Side Pocket round and from clearing either drop bank. Four racks lights a hurry-up extra ball at the wagon wheel target. Push the multiplier to 7 and the two red targets in the top corners light for Special — only one is live at a time, and every bumper hit swaps which.

Goals in Cue Ball Wizard

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

• Break Skill Shot skillshot · Medium

  The 8 ball on the upper platform swings left and right before you plunge. Time the plunge so your ball drives the 8 ball into the blue targets. It takes practice because you have to lead the swing rather than shoot at it.

  Reward: 5 million

• The Wagon Wheel progression · Easy

  The spine of the whole game. One ramp shot lights the ramp for a Wagon Wheel round, and the next ramp shot starts whichever round is flashing on the wheel above the flippers. Work through all six and the ramp lights for Pool Ball Mania.

  Reward: Six timed rounds, then Pool Ball Mania

• Rowdy Ramp mode · Easy

  The simplest round and one of the best. Keep shooting the ramp before the timer runs out. The awards climb steeply — 2 million, then 5, 10, 20 and 40 million — and the ceiling can be collected more than once.

  Reward: 2M, 5M, 10M, 20M, then 40M repeating

• Horseshoe Extra Ball mode · Easy

  The shortest round in the game. Once it starts, put the ball into either mouth of the horseshoe and you have an extra ball. There is nothing else to it, so if this is the flashing award, take it immediately.

  Reward: Extra ball

• NO WAY mode · Hard

  Thirty million per hit on a target the cue ball is deliberately parked in front of. You either knock the cue ball aside and shoot the gap, or find a bank that goes around it.

  Reward: 30 million per hit

• Spell DOUBLE mode · Medium

  The highest-leverage round on the machine. The Corner Pocket takes the first letters and the ramp adds more until time runs out. Complete the word and all scoring, every extra ball and every special is doubled for the rest of that ball.

  Reward: Everything doubled until the ball drains

• Combo Shots combo · Medium

  Three countdown shots in a fixed sequence. The ramp counts down from 10 million, either bank shot from 20 million, and the Corner Pocket from 50 million. Let any of those countdowns reach zero and the round is over.

  Reward: Up to 80 million across three shots

• Side Pocket Round mode · Medium

  Ten million every time you drive the cue ball into the side pocket before the timer stops, and each one also advances a rack toward your end-of-ball bonus. Angle your hits — a square shot into the cue ball is a drain waiting to happen.

  Reward: 10 million per shot, plus racks

• Two Ball Multiball multiball · Medium

  Clear the flashing drop target bank, hit the side pocket when it flashes 8 Ball, then shoot the ramp. Jackpots come from driving the 8 ball into the three colour sets on the platform, and any drop target adds a million to whatever jackpots are left.

  Reward: 5M jackpots rising, then a 100M super

• Pool Ball Mania multiball · Hard

  Finish all six Wagon Wheel rounds and the ramp lights for a three-ball multiball where every target on the playfield is worth 5 million. It ends when two of the three balls drain — and the whole total only pays out once your balls are gone, so a tilt costs you everything.

  Reward: 5M per target hit

• Nine Ball Play wizard · Hard

  After Pool Ball Mania the ramp lights for the biggest shot in the game. Clear the 1 through 7 drop targets, hit the 8 ball in the side pocket, and the 9 ball target lights for 500 million — a full billion if DOUBLE is running.

  Reward: 500 million, or a billion doubled

• The Nine Ball Shortcut secret · Hard

  A sequencing trick that removes most of the work from the half-billion shot. Set up the 8 ball before Pool Ball Mania starts, refuse to spend it during the multiball, and Nine Ball Play collapses into a single target.

  Reward: 500M for one drop target

• Work the Bank Shots strategy · Medium

  The most consistently profitable habit on the machine. A clean arrival that touches no bumpers pays points on a rising ladder — 1, 2, 5, 7, 10, 15 and 20 million — plus a random award. The bank shot lamps flashing tell you the next one will be clean.

  Reward: Up to 20M plus a random award

• Spell POOL progression · Easy

  One letter sits in each inlane and outlane, and either flipper button rotates which ones are lit — so there is no excuse for wasting one. Completing the word lights the ramp for a video mode and lights the Sweet Spot.

  Reward: Video mode and a lit Sweet Spot

• Spell WIZARD progression · Hard

  Letters come from the NO WAY target, but only while the red Spell Wizard lamp behind the cue ball is on. Complete the word and NO WAY pays 10 million a shot for the rest of the ball, and both red Special targets become worth 5 million.

  Reward: 10M per NO WAY shot, 5M per Special target

• Racks and Multiplier multiplier · Medium

  Your end-of-ball bonus is 500,000 times racks times multiplier, so both halves matter equally. The Corner Pocket raises the multiplier, the Side Pocket round and cleared drop banks raise racks, and four racks lights the hurry-up extra ball.

  Reward: 500,000 x racks x multiplier

• Horseshoe Values combo · Medium

  The lamps leading into each mouth of the horseshoe run 2, 5, 10 and 20 million. Shoot into whichever side is flashing to collect that value, and the next value up lights on the opposite side — so a full climb means alternating left and right.

  Reward: 2M climbing to 20M

• Scratch Shots secret · Easy

  Putting the cue ball in the side pocket with the 8 ball unlit is a scratch. It is not a penalty — the game counts them, and the third scratch quietly pays 10 million with another award waiting at eight.

  Reward: 10 million at three scratches

• Stack Rowdy Ramp with Multiball strategy · Hard

  The single biggest scoring trick on the machine. With multiball lit and Rowdy Ramp queued on the wheel, one ramp shot starts the round and then the multiball, and you end up feeding two balls through a ramp that tops out at 40 million a shot.

  Reward: Repeated 40M ramps with two balls