Demolition Man

Williams, 1994 — shot-by-shot rules and strategy guide.

Open Demolition Man in the Pinball Genie app →

Demolition Man is a widebody five-ball game with two gun-grip handles mounted forward of the flipper buttons. Each handle has a trigger that acts as a flipper button and a thumb button on top used by some modes. It is a busy playfield, but the ruleset comes down to two systems: combos, and the Cryo-Claw.

Combos are the game

A combo is any sequence of the seven major shots taken while its flashing red arrow is lit. The elegant part — and the reason this game still plays so well — is that the machine lights the next shots for you. Hit any major shot and it lights whatever is easily reachable from where the ball is about to end up. The left inlane lights the right ramp, right loop and AcMag ramp; the right inlane lights the left orbit and left ramp; the right orbit lights the Computer and Side Ramp.

Values climb 5M, 6M, 7M and onward with no apparent ceiling, dropping back to 5M only when the lit arrows time out. Shots you make in between do not break anything — the lit arrows stay lit. Combos light the Computer every ten, and an extra ball at twelve and again at fifty.

This is why the skill shot matters more than it looks. Plunge full strength so the ball travels all the way to the upper left flipper, then shoot the Side Ramp. It is technically the first lit combo, which is why it pays 5M — and every skill shot you make permanently raises the base value of every combo for the rest of the game.

Explodes, and the counter-intuitive way to light them

The left and right loops and left and right ramps carry Explode lights worth 10M each. You light them by hitting the Underground while it is NOT the current lit combo shot. It may still be lit for the Computer or Demolition Time — that does not disqualify it. Only being the active combo shot does.

The Retina Scan drives an Explode Hurry-Up: one hit triggers the first, four the next. All four Explode ramps light at 15M and start counting down, and every one you collect adds 10M to the next. The round ends when the countdown reaches 5M.

The Cryo-Claw and its five lanes

Access is a two-step people often get the order of wrong. Completing the M-T-L rollovers lights the LEFT INLANE — not the claw. Rolling that lit inlane is what lights Claw Ready on the right ramp. Only then does the right ramp divert the ball up the elevator to the magnetic claw, which you steer with the two gun triggers before dropping into one of five lanes.

• Lock Freeze — the most valuable lane when you are near multiball. It locks as many Freeze lamps as you still need, or starts multiball outright — and when it starts one it adds an extra frozen ball on top.
• Start AcMag — repeated Center Ramp shots for a climbing award, 5M up to 12.5M then 6M up to 13.5M, adding a million per successful ramp.
• Prison Break — fast and reflex-based. The ball drops above the upper left flipper and hands you 15M; a quick Underground doubles it and a quick Side Ramp triples it. Also lights Car Chase, alternating ramps at 5M each.
• Super Jets — bumpers light for 25 hits at a million each, and the ball is dropped straight into the bumper area. Every yellow target adds to the hits remaining.
• Capture Simon — the seven major shots light at 5M but only three shots are offered, with a 25M completion bonus for a 40M total. A left loop into the top lock counts as two Simon awards at once.

All five claw awards increase the second time around.

Four multiballs, each shaped differently

Freeze lamps are lit by the yellow standup targets, balls are locked via the left ramp or the Claw, and multiball starts at the Top Lock off the left loop. Fortress needs one frozen ball and runs three jackpots into a triple Super Jackpot on the right ramp. Museum needs two and lights every shot for a jackpot simultaneously. Wasteland is Fortress with bigger numbers and more than one jackpot lit at a time.

Cryo-Prison is the one to understand before you play it. All the jackpot shots are lit, but they pay nothing directly — they only ADD to a Super Jackpot collected at the right ramp. After each Super you must re-hit a regular jackpot shot to relight it, and you cannot collect another until the current animation finishes.

The two end-games

Completing all five Claw modes lights Demolition Time at the Underground under a blue lamp. It opens with a flat 50M, every major shot lights for 15M, and unusually those shots STAY lit for as long as you keep more than one ball alive. Completing the yellow targets adds a ball and raises the award by 5M; losing a ball lowers it. The total is banked to its own high-score table.

Separately, completing all four multiballs lights a Demolition Jackpot on the right ramp. The game takes your best jackpot from each multiball mode and multiplies it by how many jackpots you scored in that mode — so both quality and quantity of your multiball play are being recorded the whole game.

Two warnings

The Car Crash target has a well-earned reputation for deflecting the ball straight down the middle. There is a short ball saver to compensate, but it can be disabled in LA-4 ROMs, so do not count on it.

And the outlanes are unusually hostile: the divider posts ship without rubber, the ball takes wild spins in that area, and there are no Specials or awards down there at all. There is nothing to gain from the outlanes on this machine — play away from them.

Goals in Demolition Man

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

• Skill Shot skillshot · Medium

  Plunge full strength so the ball travels all the way round to the upper left flipper, then shoot the Side Ramp. It is technically the first lit combo, which is why it pays 5M — and every skill shot you make permanently raises the base value of every combo for the rest of the game.

  Reward: 5M, +5M per repeat, and +1M to all combo values

• Combos — The Heart Of The Game combo · Medium

  Combos are what Demolition Man is actually about. Seven major shots, each with a flashing red arrow, and the elegant part is that hitting a shot automatically lights whatever shots are reachable from where the ball ends up. You can keep going indefinitely.

  Reward: 5M, then 6M, 7M... with no apparent limit

• Explode Shots multiplier · Medium

  The four loop and ramp shots carry Explode lights worth 10M each. The trick is how you light them: you have to hit the Underground while it is *unlit* as a combo. It may still be lit for Computer or Demolition Time — that is fine, it just must not be the current combo shot.

  Reward: 10M per Explode shot

• Retina Scan strategy · Medium

  Drive the captive eyeball into the upper target. The value starts at 5M and every jet bumper hit adds 100K, so the bumpers are quietly building this shot the whole game. Three Retina Scans light an extra ball.

  Reward: Retina value (5M base, +100K per jet), extra ball at three

• Explode Hurry-Up mode · Hard

  Started off the Retina Scan — one hit for the first, four for the next. All four Explode ramps light at 15M and start counting down, and every one you collect adds 10M to the value of the next.

  Reward: 15M countdown, +10M per collect

• Car Crash combo · Medium

  Two captive cars behind an impact target. Each hit adds to the value and lights another Car Crash light; with all three lit, the next hit collects. Worth 3M, 6M then 10M — and doubled if the top car reaches the end of the captive lane.

  Reward: 3M / 6M / 10M, doubled on a full car travel

• M-T-L Rollovers multiplier · Medium

  Three rollovers hidden behind the ramps that step the bonus multiplier 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x. Reaching 5x lights the extra ball on the left loop, and every completed sequence lights Access Claw — which is the real reason to care about them.

  Reward: Bonus multiplier, extra ball at 5x, lights Access Claw

• The Computer mode · Medium

  This game's random award, in the same family as Twilight Zone's Camera. Lit every ten combos and collected at the Underground. The table is unusually strong — two of the awards are effectively free progress toward multiball and Explodes.

  Reward: Random award

• Access The Cryo-Claw strategy · Medium

  Two steps that people often miss the order of: completing the MTL rollovers lights the *left inlane*, and rolling that lit inlane is what lights the claw on the right ramp. Only then does the right ramp divert up the elevator.

  Reward: Claw available — pick your mode

• Claw: Lock Freeze strategy · Easy

  The most valuable claw lane and the one to take when you are close to multiball. It locks as many Freeze lamps as you still need, or starts multiball outright — and when it starts one, it does so with an *extra* frozen ball on top.

  Reward: Instant locks, or multiball with a bonus ball

• Claw: Start AcMag mode · Medium

  Repeated Center Ramp shots for a climbing value, in the same shape as Judge Dredd's Safe Cracker. Awards run 5M up to 12.5M, then 6M up to 13.5M, adding a million for every successful ramp. The ball returns to the left inlane.

  Reward: 5M-12.5M climbing, +1M per ramp

• Claw: Prison Break mode · Hard

  Fast and reflex-based. The ball drops above the upper left flipper and you are handed 15M immediately — but a quick shot into the Underground doubles it, and a quick Side Ramp triples it. It also lights Car Chase.

  Reward: 15M, doubled or tripled on the reflex shot

• Claw: Super Jets mode · Easy

  The bumpers light for 25 hits at a million each, and the ball is dropped straight into the bumper area so none of it is wasted. Every yellow target you hit adds to the hits remaining, so this mode is longer than it first appears.

  Reward: 1M per bumper hit, 25 hits

• Claw: Capture Simon mode · Hard

  The seven major shots light at 5M each, but only three shots are on offer. Each 5M also builds toward a 25M completion bonus, so finishing all three is worth 40M rather than 15M. A left loop into the top lock counts as two.

  Reward: 5M x3 plus 25M completion = 40M

• The Yellow Targets strategy · Medium

  Twilight Zone's Greed targets in spirit. Worth 1M plus 1M per hit up to twenty, resetting each ball. Their real job is lighting Quick Freeze — depending on the operator setting that takes one, two or three complete sets.

  Reward: 1M-20M, and lights Quick Freeze

• Fortress Multiball multiball · Medium

  The entry multiball, needing just one frozen ball. Jackpots are Center Ramp, Underground and Left Ramp, then the Right Ramp lights for a Super Jackpot worth triple. Base runs 20M to 35M depending on how many balls you froze.

  Reward: 20M-35M jackpots, triple Super Jackpot

• Museum Multiball multiball · Medium

  Needs two frozen balls. Every shot on the playfield is lit for a jackpot at once, and once you have made them all the Right Ramp lights for the Super. Base is 25M minimum and the bumpers add a million each.

  Reward: 25M+ jackpots on all shots

• Wasteland Multiball multiball · Hard

  Structurally the same as Fortress but with bigger jackpots, because you needed more freezes to get here — and more than one jackpot can be lit at a time, which makes it far friendlier during chaotic multiball.

  Reward: Larger jackpots, multiple lit at once

• Cryo-Prison Multiball multiball · Hard

  The odd one out, and worth understanding before you play it. Every jackpot shot is lit but none of them pay — they only ADD to a Super Jackpot that you collect at the right ramp. After each Super you must re-hit a regular jackpot shot to relight it.

  Reward: Accumulating Super Jackpot at the right ramp

• Demolition Time wizard · Hard

  The reward for completing all five Claw modes, collected at the Underground under the blue light. Every major shot lights for 15M and — unusually — they STAY lit for as long as you keep more than one ball alive. It opens with a flat 50M.

  Reward: 50M start, 15M on every shot, separate high-score table

• Demolition Jackpot wizard · Hard

  The other end-game, earned by completing all four multiballs and collected on the right ramp. The game takes your best jackpot from each multiball mode and multiplies it by how many jackpots you scored in that mode.

  Reward: Compounded across all four multiballs