Cyclone

Williams, 1988 — shot-by-shot rules and strategy guide.

Cyclone is a 1988 carnival game with two flippers, no multiball, and a surprising amount going on. Everything worth having sits on one of three tracks: the Comet ramp ladder, the Cyclone ramp jackpot, and the Bonus X multiplier. Learn which target bank relights which ramp and the machine opens right up.

Plunge softly

The skill shot is five pockets above the top lanes, and this is one of the few machines where a full-power plunge is the wrong answer. Bottom to top the pockets pay 10K, 25K, 100K, 25K and 5K, so the centre one is the target and the back one is the punishment for overshooting. The award is also multiplied by which ball you are on, up to five times — and extra balls advance that multiplier, so a fourth-ball skill shot is possible.

The two ramps, and what relights them

The Comet ramp sits just left of centre and climbs a value ladder on the back panel in 20K steps, from 20K to 100K. Collect the 100K step and the Million lights.
The Cat targets to the left of the Comet relight it. They pay 20K each and light the HOLD half of Hold Bonus.
The Cyclone ramp is right of the Spook-House and set further back. Three shots while lit before the timer expires pays the jackpot.
The Duck targets above the right outlane relight the Cyclone. First completion pays 25K, second 50K, and the third lights the extra ball on the outlanes. Every completion also lights BONUS.
Both ramps return down the right lane, which lights the Ferris Wheel for free every time you make one.

There is a shortcut most players never spot: a small, half-hidden target on the right side of the Spook-House island spots one of the Cat targets for you. That turns relighting the Comet from a three-target job into a two-target one.

Double Score, and the biggest shot on the machine

Completing the 1-2-3 rollovers starts Double Score — twenty seconds on a factory machine, though operators can set it anywhere from off to ninety-nine. It doubles every point value on the playfield, including the Comet Million, which becomes two million with its own sound effect. It does not double the jackpot, so save the Cyclone ramp for outside the window.

That gives you a clear order of operations for the best score available here: build the Comet ladder to the top first, then complete 1-2-3, then make the ramp while the clock runs. Building the ladder after starting the doubler wastes almost all of it.

The jackpot is partly the machine's

Three Cyclone ramps before the timer expires pays the jackpot displayed in lights next to the Mystery Wheel. Collecting drops it back to 500K, so a second jackpot in the same game is worth far less. You can grow it a little as you go — every 1-2-3 rollover hit adds 5K.

The oddity is what happens between games: a game in which somebody collected the jackpot adds a million to the machine's jackpot once the credits run out. Look at the backglass before you start — a high number means the last player collected, and you are walking into a bigger prize.

The Spook-House lottery

A single drop target guards a sinkhole. Knock it down, put the ball in the hole behind it, and the Mystery Wheel on the backglass spins. Awards run from nothing at all up to 200K, and both the extra ball and the special live on it, which makes every trip worth taking. The drop target stands back up on a timer, so the two halves of this shot need to come close together. Your ball returns from the boomerang kickout on the far side of the playfield.

Multiplier, Hold Bonus and the special

The boomerang hole advances your bonus multiplier, but only when its Advance X light is on. That light is cheap: either return lane relights it, and so does any ramp or the Ferris Wheel. Since you are already shooting ramps, the multiplier costs almost nothing to build.

Hold Bonus is spelled across two banks: Cat targets light HOLD, Duck targets light BONUS. Get both and your bonus carries into the next ball instead of resetting — on a machine with no multiball, one of the few ways to compound a good ball. One number on the Bonus X ladder above the flippers is also flashing; drive your multiplier up to it and the special lights. That number varies from machine to machine, anywhere from three to seven.

Two things that make this game safer than it looks

An underhit Comet ramp does not come screaming back at your flippers — it falls through a second hole into the jet bumpers. So you can attack the Comet harder than the layout suggests, and a short shot still pays, because bumper hits build the Ferris Bonus at 3K each. The Ferris Wheel is lit by the right return lane, pays a 50K base plus everything the bumpers added, and returns the ball to the left return lane, relighting Advance X on the way.

The extra ball lights on both outlanes but only one is on at a time, and it toggles constantly as the ball hits flippers, slingshots and bumpers. If a drain is coming anyway, glance at which side is lit and nudge toward that one.

Goals in Cyclone

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

Soft Plunge Skill Shot skillshot · Medium

Five pockets sit above the top lanes and the middle one pays 100K. It takes a soft, measured plunge — too hard and the ball sails past the good pocket into the 5K one at the back.

Reward: 100K multiplied by ball number, up to 5X
The Comet Million progression · Medium

The Comet ramp climbs a ladder of values on the back panel in 20K steps, from 20K up to 100K. Collect the 100K step and the Million lights on the ramp. There is no limit on how many you can collect in a game as long as you keep relighting and rebuilding.

Reward: 1M once the ladder is topped out
The Cyclone Jackpot mode · Hard

Three shots up the Cyclone ramp before the timer expires pays the jackpot shown in lights on the backglass. There is no cap on how many you can collect in a game, but every collection drops the value back to 500K.

Reward: The current jackpot, minimum 500K
Double Score multiplier · Medium

Complete the 1-2-3 lanes at the top and everything on the playfield doubles for a short window — twenty seconds on a factory machine, though operators can set it anywhere from off to ninety-nine. The jackpot is the one thing it does not double.

Reward: All playfield values doubled
The Two Million Shot combo · Hard

The biggest single score on this machine is a Comet Million collected inside a Double Score window. That means building the Comet ladder to the top first, then completing the top lanes, then making the ramp — in that order, with the clock running.

Reward: 2M in one shot
Ride The Ferris Wheel mode · Easy

The right return lane lights the wheel, and the wheel pays a bonus that grows in the bumpers: a 50K base plus 3K for every jet bumper hit. Since both ramps return down the right lane, a made ramp lights the wheel for free.

Reward: 50K plus 3K per bumper hit, typically 100K-250K
The Spook-House mode · Medium

Knock down the single drop target, then put the ball in the sinkhole behind it to spin the Mystery Wheel on the backglass. The drop target stands back up on a timer, so the two halves of this shot have to come close together.

Reward: One Mystery Wheel spin
The Mystery Wheel secret · Medium

The wheel on the backglass is the only route to several of this machine's best awards. Values run from a flat nothing up to 200K, and both the extra ball and the special live on it — which makes every Spook-House shot a genuine lottery ticket.

Reward: 0 to 200K, or an extra ball or special
Advance Bonus X multiplier · Medium

The boomerang hole advances your bonus multiplier, but only when its Advance X light is on. That light is cheap to bring back — either return lane does it, and so does any ramp or the Ferris Wheel.

Reward: One multiplier step per lit shot
Light The Special secret · Hard

One number on the Bonus X ladder above the flippers is flashing, and driving your multiplier all the way up to it lights the special. Where that flashing light sits varies from machine to machine — anywhere from three to seven — and a low one usually means a generous operator.

Reward: Special
The Duck Targets progression · Medium

Three standups above the right outlane that do more than relight the Cyclone ramp. The first completion pays 25K, the second 50K, and the third lights the extra ball on both outlanes. Every completion also lights the BONUS half of Hold Bonus.

Reward: 25K, 50K, then an extra ball light
The Cat Targets combo · Easy

Three standups left of the Comet ramp, worth 20K each. They relight the Comet and light the HOLD half of Hold Bonus — and there is a shortcut, because a small target tucked on the right side of the Spook-House island spots one of them for you.

Reward: 20K each, plus a Comet relight
Hold Bonus strategy · Medium

Hold Bonus is spelled out across two different target banks: the Cat targets light HOLD and the Duck targets light BONUS. Get both and your accumulated bonus carries into the next ball instead of resetting — which on a machine with no multiball is one of the few ways to compound a good ball.

Reward: Bonus carried into the next ball
The Toggling Extra Ball strategy · Medium

Both outlanes carry an extra ball light, and only one of them is on at a time. It flips sides constantly as the ball hits flippers, slingshots and bumpers — so the side you are protected on is changing while you play, and it is worth a glance before you nudge.

Reward: Extra ball
The Safe Miss strategy · Easy

An underhit Comet ramp does not come back down the ramp at you. It falls through a second hole into the jet bumpers instead — which is why you can attack the Comet far more aggressively than the layout suggests.

Reward: A missed ramp that feeds the bumpers
The Jackpot Between Games secret · Medium

The jackpot on this machine is not entirely yours. Collect it and it drops back to 500K — but a game in which somebody collected the jackpot adds a million to the machine's jackpot once the credits run out. Look at what the backglass is showing before you decide how hard to chase it.

Reward: A larger jackpot on a machine that has been played

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