Dungeons & Dragons: The Tyrant's Eye

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

Open Dungeons & Dragons: The Tyrant's Eye in the Pinball Genie app →

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, an electromagnet cube, 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, cube electromagnet, multi-axis ball-spitting Rath, 8-ball Dragon MB. LE adds cosmetics only (mirrored backglass, shaker motor, upgraded audio, 740 numbered units).

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 and lights the Hidden Temple 2x shot

• 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); super jackpot = 3x normal 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

  The most combo-like pure point farm: rip the center spinner to climb the die value; at 20 it pays 500k per spin until time runs out.

  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