Dr. Dude

Bally, 1990 — shot-by-shot rules and strategy guide.

Open Dr. Dude in the Pinball Genie app →

Dr. Dude has a short rulebook and one very good idea in the middle of it. Collect three Elements of Coolness, mix them together in a contraption suspended above the playfield, and cash in a multiball. Around that sits a three-shot Reflex sequence that rewards a steady hand, and a scoring quirk after multiball that most players never notice.

The layout

From the lower left: a short curved lane holds the Magnetic Personality target, with a magnet halfway up that catches the ball when the target registers. Above it the Left Lane runs from the bumpers to the Left Saucer, the award hole for the whole game. Centre playfield is the Ramp — very steep, right flipper only — with the Heart of Rock 'n Roll standup to its right. Three bumpers and a lone Top Target sit above. On the right: six REFLEX standups, the gift-wrapped Gift of Gab saucer, a half-orbit Right Lane fed by the plunger, and four drop targets facing left.

The Mix Master hangs above the playfield: a six-sided cage with a spinning disc inside and nine standups around its sides, colour-coded in three banks of three. The ramp is the only way in. There is no kickback on either outlane, so ball control matters more here than the shot list suggests.

The Elements of Coolness

Three Elements, three hits each. The first hit scores 5K, the second 10K, and the third collects the Element for 25K. Two things make this the friendliest progression here: the values hold between balls and nothing times out, and the colour-coded Mix Master banks spot Element shots for you — roughly five hits on a bank credits a shot to the matching Element. After an Element is collected you can keep shooting it; the value just cycles again.

With all three collected, the lock is one target away — but it must be a Mix Master target. Making the ramp alone does not light it; the ball has to hit something up there. Then take the lock at the Left Saucer.

Multiball, and the part after it

Multiball has one instruction: hit the Mix Master. The display counts down how many target hits remain before the jackpot — starting at 15, rising by 10 for every jackpot inside the same multiball. The jackpot is somewhere between 1M and 5M and looks random each time. Completing the four drop targets doubles whichever jackpot you are working towards.

Play it as ball control, not speed:

• As soon as one ball goes into the Mix Master, trap the other on the left flipper.
• Loop the ramp with the free ball. Only the right flipper can make the ramp, which is why the left flipper is the parking spot.
• Never send both balls up there — they hit each other instead of the targets and tend to come out together.
• Do not look away from a ball in the Mix Master; the post on the spinning disc can fling it out without warning.

Then the rule worth knowing: when multiball ends, everything scores double for as long as you keep that last ball alive. Awards even display at their doubled value. There is no restart shot, so that surviving ball is the whole prize — a Reflex round completed under double scoring can outscore the multiball that preceded it.

The Reflex round

Complete the six REFLEX standups (progress is remembered between balls) to light Reflex 1 at the Left Saucer. That lights Reflex 2 at the Gift of Gab, which lights Reflex 3 at Magnetic Personality. Complete all three and you collect the Reflex bonus, which starts at 500K and carries all game.

The timers are not equal, and that shapes how you play it. Reflex 1 waits indefinitely, so set the next shot up properly. Reflex 2 times out very fast. If you miss it, let the timer expire, get the ball under control, and start again from Reflex 1 — chasing it with an uncontrolled shot is how balls get lost, and a missed Reflex 2 relights Reflex 1 immediately anyway. Reflex 3 has a longer timer, usually good for two or three attempts, but missing it ends the round outright.

Two ways to grow the value: completing the targets again while Reflex 1 is lit adds 250K, and completing the sequence adds 500K. Reflex is still available during multiball, with far more generous timers.

Awards and small print

• Bag O' Tricks — a random award at the Left Saucer, lit at the start of every ball and relit by the drop targets. The pool runs from a joke ten points to Light Mix Master (spots every uncollected Element), Million Is Lit, Jackpot At Max, Bonus X At Max, Extra Ball and Special. Not available during multiball, though a drop completion there leaves it lit afterwards.
• Drop targets — the first three completions give 2x, 4x and 6x bonus, the fourth lights Million on the ramp, and every completion relights Bag O' Tricks.
• The Left Saucer stacks. Several awards can be lit at once and one shot collects all of them, so let them pile up.
• The sympathy extra ball — reach ball three having played badly and the game lights an extra ball at the Left Saucer. You still have to collect it.
• The Bag awards Elements in a fixed order: Magnetic Personality, Gift of Gab, Heart of Rock 'n Roll.

Goals in Dr. Dude

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

• Plunge Into The Top Target skillshot · Easy

  A full-strength plunge runs the Right Lane and clips the Top Target before dropping into the bumpers. The target's value cycles through five awards on the backpanel lights above it, from 5K up, and it is live at all times — so the plunge is free money if you watch the cycle.

  Reward: 5K up to the top of the cycle

• The Three Elements of Coolness progression · Easy

  Magnetic Personality, the Heart of Rock 'n Roll and the Gift of Gab. Each takes three hits: 5K, then 10K, then 25K to collect it. Values hold between balls and nothing times out, so this is a build you can never lose.

  Reward: Collecting all three opens the lock

• Work The Mix Master Targets progression · Medium

  Nine standups ring the Mix Master in three colour-coded banks, one per Element. They spot Element shots, they light the lock, and during multiball every one of them counts down the jackpot — which makes them the busiest scoring surface on the machine.

  Reward: Spots Elements, lights Lock, builds the jackpot

• Light The Lock strategy · Medium

  Once all three Elements are collected, the lock is one target away — but it has to be a Mix Master target. Simply making the ramp does not do it; the ball must hit at least one of the nine targets up there before Lock lights at the Left Saucer.

  Reward: Lock lit at the Left Saucer

• Multiball multiball · Medium

  Simple and relentless: shoot the Mix Master as much as you physically can. The display shows how many target hits are left before the jackpot, starting at 15 and rising by 10 for every jackpot within the same multiball.

  Reward: 1M to 5M per jackpot

• Hold One, Loop The Other strategy · Hard

  The whole multiball comes down to ball control. Trap one ball on the left flipper and keep the other one cycling the ramp. Two balls in the Mix Master at once is the failure case — they hit each other instead of the targets and often come out together.

  Reward: A multiball that actually pays out

• Double Scoring After Multiball multiplier · Medium

  The rule most players never notice. When multiball ends and you are back to one ball, every score is doubled for as long as you keep that ball alive — and awards are displayed at their doubled value so you can see it happening.

  Reward: Everything worth double

• The REFLEX Round mode · Hard

  Three shots in quick succession. Complete the REFLEX targets to light Reflex 1 at the Left Saucer, which lights Reflex 2 at the Gift of Gab, which lights Reflex 3 at Magnetic Personality. It starts at 500K and the value carries for the whole game.

  Reward: 500K and rising

• Bag O' Tricks secret · Easy

  A random award collected at the Left Saucer. It is lit at the start of every ball and relit by the drop targets, and the pool ranges from a joke ten points to a lit extra ball. It is not available during multiball, but a drop target completion in multiball leaves it lit for afterwards.

  Reward: One random award

• The Drop Targets multiplier · Medium

  Four drops that do a different job every time you clear them. The first three completions give bonus multipliers of 2x, 4x and 6x, the fourth lights Million, and after that they simply pay points — plus they relight Bag O' Tricks every time.

  Reward: 2x, 4x, 6x bonus then Million

• Million Is Lit strategy · Medium

  Two routes to the same thing: complete the drop targets for the fourth time, or draw Million Is Lit from Bag O' Tricks. Either way the ramp pays a flat million — and since the ramp is where you want the ball anyway, there is no cost to holding it.

  Reward: 1M on the ramp

• Stack The Left Saucer strategy · Medium

  The Left Saucer can hold several awards lit at once, and one shot collects every one of them. Instead of running to it the moment anything lights, let Bag O' Tricks, Reflex 1 and Lock pile up and take them together.

  Reward: Several awards from one shot

• Mind The Magnetic Return strategy · Easy

  Hitting the Magnetic Personality target energises a magnet halfway up its lane that catches the ball. When it lets go the ball should roll onto the left flipper — but a lively slingshot can catch it on the way and fire it across the playfield instead.

  Reward: Fewer surprise drains

• The Sympathy Extra Ball secret · Easy

  A quiet piece of generosity. If you reach ball three having played badly, the game lights an extra ball at the Left Saucer for nothing. Make sure you actually go and collect it — it is not awarded automatically.

  Reward: A free extra ball