Dungeons & Dragons: The Tyrant's Eye

Stern Pinball, 2025 — shot-by-shot rules and strategy guide.

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Designed by Brian Eddy (playfield) with code by Dwight Sullivan, released February 2025 in Pro ($6,999), Premium ($9,699) and LE ($12,999, 740 units honoring D&D's 1974 origin). The theme is the Dragonshield Guild's campaign across Faerun to stop a dragon war led by Tiamat, with Xanathar the beholder — "the Tyrant's Eye" — as the concrete final boss.

Layout

A dense three-flipper playfield (two lower + one upper "third" flipper) with no pop bumpers, deliberately echoing Eddy's The Shadow. Cascading ramps and loops feed the upper flipper, and a central Magnetic Narrow Path grabs the ball for a slow, controlled upper-flipper setup. Key shots: left orbit (Gel Cube lock / damage), right orbit (starts Dragon MB), left ramp (right-flipper only), Road to Town right ramp (extra balls, choose-action), side/bridge ramp, Red Cave upper loop behind Rath, the central Tiny's Tavern spinner, the 3-bank standups under Rath the Relentless (animatronic red dragon bash toy), Fizmo's left eject, the Gelatinous Cube electromagnet lock, a Critical Hit captive ball, dungeon standups, the secret door + Hidden Temple (2x scoring), and the between-flippers Shield. Premium/LE add a pop-up dungeon scoop, multi-axis Rath that spits balls, and 8-ball (vs 6-ball Pro) Dragon Multiball.

Multiballs

• Dragon Multiball: spell D-R-A-G-O-N on the 3-bank, start at the right orbit (or side ramp). Loop 3-bank -> Rath for jackpots; four 1x jackpots light the upper-loop super. Defeat Rath before draining to continue into Town Celebration Multiball (500k jackpots, 4x side-loop super, 50%-off Fizmo).
• Gelatinous Cube Multiball: lock via left orbit -> left ramp (1-4x, operator-set) at the cube magnet. Four rotating lit shots pay jackpots (5M, +3M each to 25M); all four light the 20M side-loop super, which resets. Pros rate this the most lucrative multiball. Relights by completing any campaign mode.
• Tavern Brawl (2-ball mini-wizard) and Tiny's Dice are the other multiball-adjacent modes.

Modes & Campaign

Pick a class and starting city at plunge. Each location has numbered quests (Orange/White/Blue/Purple, roughly level 1/2/3) plus a Town Dungeon, started from the yellow choose-action shot. Battles use red-arrow damage shots that roll a d20 for each of four party members; the captive ball twice = a Natural 20 / Critical Hit that spots shots or advances DRAGON/lock/2x progress. A Dungeon Crawl roguelike sub-game (lit at the dungeon standups, started at the spinner on Pro or the pop-up scoop on Prem/LE) explores procedural rooms for XP, gold, extra balls and legendary equipment.

Wizard Modes (the 3 campaign endings)

Reached by clearing a Dragonspear Castle or Gauntlgrym Town Dungeon and picking a branching CHOICE, then starting via three blue shots (side ramp / center / right ramp): The Undermountain (Xanathar boss, unlocks the Ranger), Ritual of the Chosen (five chromatic-dragon battles, unlocks the Bard), and Rescue the King (unlocks the Barbarian). Two mini-wizard modes — Tiny's Dice Game (3 modes to qualify) and Tavern Brawl (Dragon MB + Gel Cube MB + a Dungeon Crawl to qualify) — start at the center spinner.

Multipliers, Shield & Skill Shots

• Hidden Temple 2x: hit the secret-door target then the Hidden Temple to bank 20 sec of 2x on all scoring (+5s per re-hit). Stacking this over multiball is the single biggest score lever.
• Bonus X: buy +1x / +3x items at Fizmo (end-of-ball bonus is otherwise modest).
• Shot multipliers: jackpots ramp 1x -> 2x -> 3x in Dragon MB and Tavern Brawl.
• The Shield: a post between the flippers raised with the action button when it flashes; charged by completing the return lanes. Beyond saving center drains, shield-staging the ball off the right flipper enables repeatable left-ramp loops — the game's core farming trick.
• Skill shots: short plunge to upper loop or gelatinous-cube switch (2M x ball number); Super Skill Shot (left eject -> side ramp -> right ramp, 6M); MXV into the Hidden Temple (6M + lights 2x).

Strategy

There is no traditional combo counter — "combos" are really mode-based jackpot loops plus shield-staging. Tournament consensus: focus on Tavern Brawl, lighting it by playing Dragon MB, Gel Cube MB and a Dungeon Crawl; favor Gelatinous Cube over Dragon Multiball for value; stack 2x scoring over everything; take extra balls (they permanently raise the skill-shot multiplier). Beginners should pick Ardor (Paladin) and open in Arabel or Kobold Town, banking the MXV skill shot and using captive-ball crits and ranged weapons to avoid risky shots. A good game clears ~200M.

Editions

Pro: no pop-up scoop (spinner starts the crawl), single-axis Rath, 6-ball Dragon MB. Premium/LE: pop-up dungeon scoop, multi-axis ball-spitting Rath, 8-ball Dragon MB. The Gelatinous Cube and its electromagnet lock are on all three models, as are the Magnetic Narrow Path, the Shield, the Critical Hit captive ball and the Hidden Temple. LE adds cosmetics only (mirrored backglass, shaker motor, upgraded audio, 740 numbered units).

How Dungeons & Dragons: The Tyrant's Eye plays

Lead a party through a Forgotten Realms campaign - spell DRAGON to wake Rath, lock balls in the Gelatinous Cube, run town quests and dungeon crawls, and light Tavern Brawl for the biggest points. Beat the chromatic dragons or the Xanathar beholder to end the campaign.

The loop

1. Rip the center Tavern spinner and work the Dragon standups; spelling D-R-A-G-O-N qualifies Dragon Multiball while the spinner and standups start town, dice and dungeon features.
2. Backhand the left orbit so its ramp drops, then fire the left ramp and let the ball ride through into the Gelatinous Cube magnet to lock for Gel Cube Multiball.
3. Double-tap the Critical Hit captive ball for a Natural 20 to safely spot letters, locks and progress, and open the secret door to roll the Hidden Temple for 2x on everything.
4. Play Dragon Multiball, Gel Cube Multiball and a Dungeon Crawl to light Tavern Brawl at the spinner, then push the campaign to a wizard-mode finale.

Reading the lights

• DRAGON Standups (letters) — lit: Each lit letter of D-R-A-G-O-N is one you have banked on the standups beneath Rath, and spelling the whole word qualifies Dragon Multiball to start at the right orbit. · then: Feed the standup bank to add letters - the first comes every couple of hits, then each letter wants the whole bank - and double-tap the Critical Hit captive ball for a Natural 20 to spot one safely. With DRAGON complete, the lit right orbit starts the headline multiball under unlimited ball save, or use the side ramp when nothing else is running.
• Gelatinous Cube Lock (status) — lit: The cube magnet lights to freeze and hold a ball once you have run the orbit-into-ramp chain that reaches it, and a locked ball stays frozen in the cube until enough are banked to release them. · then: Send the ball up the left orbit to drop its ramp, then fire the left ramp so it rides through into the cube and locks. The first lock starts a hurry-up, and banking the rest spills every held ball into Gelatinous Cube Multiball, the most lucrative one to invest in.
• Hidden Temple 2x (multiplier) — lit: The Hidden Temple behind the upper flipper lights once the secret-door bar target that guards it goes down, and it stays lit for only a short window for you to roll the lane. · flashing: The doubler insert winds down over about twenty seconds once it is running, and each re-hit tacks on more time. · then: Hit the secret-door target to light the temple, then roll the Hidden Temple lane to double every point you score for about twenty seconds. Re-hit the door or temple to extend it, and stack it over a multiball or Tavern Brawl for the single biggest score swing on the machine.
• The Shield (status) — lit: The Shield insert lights once you have charged the post by rolling through the return lanes, and a lit Shield is a stored center-drain block waiting between the flippers. · flashing: The Shield insert flashes when the post is armed and ready for the action button. · then: Charge it through the return lanes, then press the button to block a center drain - or settle the ball on the raised post off the right flipper and re-fire the left ramp, turning one shot into a farmable Tavern Brawl loop. Each use asks for more return lanes than the last. · control: Action button: press while the Shield is flashing to raise the metal post between the flippers, stopping a ball headed straight down the middle so you can settle it for a repeat shot (as the ball heads for the center drain)
• Tavern Brawl Loop (status) — lit: The left ramp lights as the Tavern Brawl jackpot loop after you rip the center Tavern spinner to lower it, and the lit ramp pays escalating jackpots until its short timer runs out. · then: Rip the center spinner to lower and light the left ramp, then loop it for its climbing 1x, 2x and 3x jackpots, staging the ball on the raised shield so you can keep firing the ramp. Spell DRAGON on the standups to light a one-time super at the upper loop, and each time you relight the ramp it demands another center hit on top of the last.
• Town Quests (mode) — lit: The yellow choose-action shot at the right ramp lights whenever your party is standing in a town with no mode running, and shooting it launches whichever quest that town is holding. · then: Take the right-ramp action shot to start a quest, then follow its colored shots - red rolls the party's dice for damage, orange chases the objective - to a hurry-up finish. Clearing the lower quests opens the level-three quests that award the campaign's permanent artifacts.
• Dungeon Crawl (mode) — lit: The dungeon lights at the standup targets near the right orbit, and once lit the center spinner - or the raised pop-up scoop on Premium and LE - is where you drop in. · then: Light it at the dungeon standups and start it at the spinner or scoop, then chase flashing orange shots to press deeper and purple shots to pick your route, choosing the door with a flipper or the action button. A hidden treasure room down the lower levels hands over game-changing legendary gear.
• Campaign Finale (mode) — lit: After you clear a qualifying Town Dungeon, three blue shots light back in town - the side ramp, the center spinner and the right ramp - and taking all three starts the wizard mode you unlocked. · then: Shoot the three blue shots to begin the ending you earned: the Undermountain pits you against Xanathar the beholder - the title's Tyrant's Eye - at the upper loop, while Ritual of the Chosen runs the five chromatic dragons. Finishing one permanently unlocks a new hero for the next campaign.

Lane change: not verified for this machine yet.

Start scoring

• Ball one — Open safe with the MXV skill shot - a short plunge into the Hidden Temple for points that also primes 2x. Start an easy town quest at the right ramp and lean on the Critical Hit captive ball to spot DRAGON letters and progress instead of taking risky battle shots. — MXV Skill Shot, Safe Beginner Opener (First 30 Seconds), Critical Hit Window
• Building — Bank the big features - Dragon Multiball off the standups, Gelatinous Cube Multiball off the orbit-into-ramp lock, and a Dungeon Crawl - while stacking the Hidden Temple 2x over the top. Those same features light Tavern Brawl, the most reliable points engine, at the center spinner. — Dragon Multiball, Gelatinous Cube Multiball, Dungeon Crawl, Light Tavern Brawl (The Priority Path)
• The big one — Push the campaign to its finale: the Undermountain ends at Xanathar the beholder while Ritual of the Chosen battles all five chromatic dragons, and either one closes out the campaign. Get there on the back of Tavern Brawl, looping the left ramp under a live 2x for the fastest points the machine offers. — The Undermountain (Xanathar), Ritual of the Chosen, Tavern Brawl — Left Ramp Jackpot Loop

The Action Button on Dungeons & Dragons: The Tyrant's Eye

Center of the lockdown bar.

Two systems hang off this button. The Shield is a metal post that rises between the flippers and stops a center drain dead. Ranged attacks are the other half: a held press sweeps a blue arrow across the playfield, and whatever shot it's sitting on when you let go takes the damage.

• Ball headed straight down the middle: Press while the shield insert flashes to raise the post; the ball stops against it instead of draining.
• Ball resting on the raised shield: Settle it off the right flipper, then flip again for a clean, repeatable left ramp.
• Battle shots are too dangerous to take: Hold to sweep the blue arrow, release over the shot you want, and deal the damage without shooting it.
• Purple shot made during a dungeon crawl: Picks one of the doors on offer at a junction; the flipper buttons pick the others.
• Character select with a saved character: Hold here to run a one-shot campaign from the start instead of resuming saved progress.

Goals in Dungeons & Dragons: The Tyrant's Eye

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

• Super Skill Shot skillshot · Hard

  The highest-value plunge award: a three-shot combo out of a short plunge for 6M base plus combo value.

  Reward: 6M base + combo, scaling with ball multiplier

• MXV Skill Shot skillshot · Medium

  The best safe skill shot for beginners: short-plunge straight into the Hidden Temple for 6M and it primes 2x playfield scoring.

  Reward: 6M, plus progress toward lighting the Hidden Temple for 2x scoring

• Tavern Brawl — Left Ramp Jackpot Loop combo · Hard

  The game's #1 money sequence: feed the center Tavern shot to lower the left ramp, then loop the left ramp for escalating 1x/2x/3x jackpots.

  Reward: Jackpots start ~4M (+200k each); spelling DRAGON lights a one-time super jackpot at the upper loop

• Gelatinous Cube — Four-Shot Jackpot Cycle combo · Medium

  Inside Gel Cube Multiball, four shots are lit at a time; collect all four to light the side-loop super, which resets and repeats. Pros rate this above Dragon MB.

  Reward: Jackpots start 5M, +3M each to 25M max; side-loop super = flat 20M

• Dragon Multiball — 3-Bank -> Rath Loop combo · Medium

  The core repeatable damage loop during Dragon Multiball: light Rath by hitting the 3-bank, bash Rath for a dragon-hit jackpot, then chase the upper-loop super.

  Reward: Dragon-hit jackpot starts 1.5M (+0.5M/hit); super starts 3M +500k/level + prior jackpots

• Shield-Stage the Left Ramp combo · Hard

  The signature repeat-a-shot trick: raise the Shield, settle the ball onto it off the right flipper, then flip for a clean, loopable left-ramp repeat.

  Reward: Turns a single shot into a farmable money loop (Tavern Brawl, Gel Cube)

• Tiny's Dice Game — Spinner Farm combo · Easy

  A pure point farm on the center spinner: every spin pays 25k times the number showing on the die. The other lit shots are what raise the die and buy extra time, so work them between rips — a die of 20 makes each spin worth 500k.

  Reward: 25k per spin scaling to 500k per spin at die value 20

• Dragon Multiball multiball · Medium

  The headline 6-ball (Pro) / 8-ball (Prem/LE) multiball with unlimited ball save. Spell DRAGON, then start it at the right orbit.

  Reward: Big jackpots + a free Shield use at start; victory continues into Town Celebration MB

• Gelatinous Cube Multiball multiball · Medium

  The most lucrative multiball to invest in. Lock balls by looping left orbit into the left ramp, then release at the cube magnet.

  Reward: 25M-max jackpots, 20M side-loop super; relight by completing any campaign mode

• Town Celebration Multiball multiball · Hard

  The payoff multiball for defeating Rath in Dragon MB before draining; play continues with balls still in play.

  Reward: 500k jackpots (x prior Dragon jackpots), 4x side-loop super, and 50%-off next Fizmo buy

• Retrieve a Potion for Nighdaar mode · Easy

  Arabel's simple, lucrative Purple 1 opener — a clean three-shot hurry-up sequence and a recommended beginner mode.

  Reward: Hurry-up points; foundation campaign progress

• Rescue Missing Miners mode · Easy

  Kobold Town's high-value Orange 1 Bulette battle. Damage the Bulette on red shots while rescuing Kobolds on the roaming orange shots.

  Reward: 5M + 500k per Kobold rescued (max 4)

• Dungeon Crawl mode · Medium

  The roguelike sub-game: light it at the dungeon standups, start it at the spinner/scoop, then explore flashing orange (advance) and purple (direction) shots.

  Reward: XP, gold, legendary equipment, an extra ball on level 1; also a Tavern Brawl requirement

• Undead Cult of the Dragon mode · Medium

  Greenest's three-phase Town Dungeon: clear cultists, use the 3-bank to light yellow search shots plus the spinner, then finish the cultists.

  Reward: Town Dungeon completion; lights a treasure chest and progresses toward Darkhold

• Hidden Temple 2x Playfield Scoring multiplier · Medium

  The single biggest score lever: light 2x on ALL scoring by hitting the secret-door target then the Hidden Temple. Stack it over multiball.

  Reward: 20 sec of 2x on all scoring, extendable +5 sec per re-hit

• Bonus Multiplier multiplier · Easy

  Grow your end-of-ball bonus multiplier by spending gold on +1x and +3x Bonus X items at Fizmo's shop.

  Reward: Permanently raises the Bonus X applied to end-of-ball bonus

• The Undermountain (Xanathar) wizard · Hard

  The campaign-ending wizard mode culminating in the Xanathar beholder boss — the title's 'Tyrant's Eye.' Unlocks the Ranger, Rhyme.

  Reward: Title-boss battle; permanently unlocks the Ranger character

• Ritual of the Chosen wizard · Hard

  A campaign-ending wizard mode of five chromatic-dragon battles. Unlocks the Bard, Juniper Amari.

  Reward: Campaign ending; permanently unlocks the Bard character

• Safe Beginner Opener (First 30 Seconds) strategy · Easy

  The recommended low-risk start: bank the MXV skill shot, start an easy town mode, spell DRAGON, and use captive-ball crits to progress without risky shots.

  Reward: Foundation points, 2x primed, campaign started safely

• Tournament Score Opener strategy · Hard

  The high-score plan: open with the Super Skill Shot, then bank the three multiball/mode requirements that light Tavern Brawl while stacking 2x.

  Reward: Points ceiling; a good game clears ~200M

• Light Tavern Brawl (The Priority Path) strategy · Hard

  The competitive consensus: Tavern Brawl is THE score mode. Light it by playing Dragon MB, Gel Cube MB, and starting a Dungeon Crawl, then start it at the spinner.

  Reward: Access to the game's most reliable points engine

• Critical Hit Window strategy · Medium

  The safest way to make progress: hit the captive ball, then hit it again inside its flash window for a critical hit that spots a battle shot or idle progress.

  Reward: Spots a mode/damage shot, or a DRAGON letter, cube lock, or 2x step when idle

• Collect an Extra Ball strategy · Medium

  Extra balls are awarded by dungeon progress and other milestones, then must be picked up at the lit right ramp.

  Reward: One additional ball on the current player's turn

• Pre-Game Class and Starting Town Select secret · Easy

  Before the first ball is plunged, The Tyrant's Eye lets you choose both who leads your party and where the campaign begins. The two flipper buttons drive two separate lists, and the character you land on carries a mechanical edge through every dragon fight, undead battle and Shield press for the rest of the game.

  Reward: A class perk that lasts the whole game, plus a chosen starting location for the party

• Hold-Both-Flippers Modes Menu secret · Easy

  Sitting idle between games, the cabinet hides a second menu behind its attract loop. Holding both flipper buttons brings it up, and what you pick there swaps the whole ruleset before a ball is ever plunged.

  Reward: Standard, Competition, Cooperative/Team Play, DJ Mixer, Reset Progress, and Prolonged Competition Install

• Pick Your Hero and Your Starting Town progression · Easy

  Two decisions get made before the ball ever launches. The hero you take carries a perk that applies to the whole campaign, and the town you open in sets which quests are in front of you first. Four heroes are ready from the start, and more become selectable once you see a campaign through to the end.

  Reward: A campaign-long character perk plus control over where the story begins

• A Campaign That Survives the Game Over progression · Medium

  This is one of the rare machines where the last game still counts. Sign in and your hero holds onto its level, its gear and its place on the map, so the next game picks up where the previous one stopped rather than starting over.

  Reward: A hero that keeps getting stronger between sessions, and a campaign you resume instead of restart

• Gold, and the Shopkeeper's Stall progression · Medium

  Money is a working resource here, not a scoring flourish. Gold earned in the field buys gear at the shop on the left eject, and because every town carries its own goods and that stock only turns over once a week, a player who pays attention knows exactly which town is holding the item worth saving up for.

  Reward: Purchased weapons, armour and permanent trinket buffs, converting gold straight into game state

• Deep Levels and Legendary Gear progression · Hard

  The strongest equipment in the game is buried in the lower levels of the dungeon. Push past the first floor, read the junctions correctly, and a hidden treasure room hands over a piece of glass gear powerful enough to reshape the rest of the ball. It is on loan, though, and the clock on it is short.

  Reward: A legendary weapon, bow, armour or shield with a dramatic effect for the rest of the game

• The Four Artifacts progression · Hard

  Artifacts are the campaign's real upgrades. Each one is the payoff for a level 3 quest, and each permanently changes something you do on every ball afterwards, from how many shields you can bank to whether your sword heals you as it swings. Fail one and it is not gone forever, but you will pay for the second attempt.

  Reward: Permanent campaign upgrades to your shield, sword, bow and armour