Doctor Who

Bally, 1992 — shot-by-shot rules and strategy guide.

Open Doctor Who in the Pinball Genie app →

Designed by Bill Pfutzenreuter (mechanics) with Barry Oursler (rules/software), released by Bally/Midway in September 1992. A single production run of 7,752 units — there are no Pro/Premium/LE variants of this title; every machine shares identical playfield geometry. WPC / Fliptronics II hardware, three flippers (two standard plus a mid-left upper flipper), and an electronic auto-launch "Shooter" button instead of a spring plunger.

Doctor Selection (the "skill shot")

Before each plunge, cycle through the seven Doctors with the flipper buttons (right = next, left = previous) and launch on your pick — there is no lane-based skill shot on this machine. Each Doctor modifies rules for that ball only: Doctor 1 doubles Escape-letter spotting; Doctor 2 doubles/extends Hang-On; Doctor 3 extends the W-H-O shot timer; Doctor 4 speeds Repair-bank completion; Doctor 5 doubles Jet Bumper contribution to Transmat; Doctor 6 reaches 4X Playfield multiplier in 3 Loop Ramp shots instead of 6; Doctor 7 auto-spots Time Expander targets and eases multiball. Doctors are permanently spotted via Transmat, Video Mode completion, or the Emperor Dalek Jackpot; spotting all 7 pays a large bonus and can be repeated across a game.

W-H-O — the core combo

A three-shot chained sequence: Right Ramp ("W") → Hang-On target ("H") → Loop Ramp ("O"), each shot lighting the next on a timer. Completing it repeatedly raises the per-letter award and lights Extra Balls after 2 completions (then further intervals). Every ~10th completed Loop Ramp shot triggers Sonic Boom, converting the next W-H-O into a 10,000,000-per-letter hurry-up — shoot W and H first and save the Loop Ramp for last, or an early loop shot ends the round prematurely.

Multipliers

Playfield X climbs 1X→4X in 0.5X steps per Loop Ramp shot (1X steps with Doctor 6), applying to nearly all scoring, including Video Mode's wave bonuses (build it before shooting for Video Mode) — only the self-adjusting Last Wave/set-completion bonus is exempt. Once capped, further loop shots pay a flat 250,000. A separate Bonus multiplier, built by Jet Bumper hits (up to ~40X), applies only to the end-of-ball bonus.

Modes

Video Mode — complete the six-target E-S-C-A-P-E bank (lower-right) to light it at the Police Box entryway; play a jump-obstacle video sequence in escalating wave "sets," each clean set paying a large completion bonus. R-E-P-A-I-R — a six-target bank (left side) with an escalating hit ladder that, once fully lit, pays "Unlimited Millions" on every further hit (best farmed with Doctor 4). Hang-On/Collision — a single target past the upper flipper that pays a permanently-growing value when lit as Hang-On, or a flat Collision award when unlit. Transmat — Jet Bumper hits build hidden charge; the lit Transmat target spots a Doctor when hit.

Multiball — the Time Expander

The Time Expander is a rising three-level mini-playfield and the sole path to multiball. Level 1 (Lock Mode): lock two balls in the flanking lock holes (a center standup re-arms locks after the first multiball). Level 2 (Target Mode): hit five dome targets (3 hits each) to count down a 15-hit Target Mode; Doctor 7 auto-spots the most-needed target. Level 3 (Jackpot Mode): three gates open — shoot any gate to start multiball, then clear all three gates within a rolling timer to collect a Dalek Jackpot (Bronze 30M → Silver 35M → Gold 40M → Supreme 45M → Emperor 50M). Missing a gate or dropping to 2-ball demotes the rank a tier. Failing to score a Jackpot leaves a brief Re-Lock window to restart multiball instead of falling back to single-ball play.

Wizard Mode — Davros

Collecting the Emperor Dalek Jackpot (50,000,000) spots all 7 Doctors and triggers Davros: the five dome targets must be hit for real (no Doctor 7 auto-spot) — once each for Single Davros (100,000,000), twice each for Double Davros (200,000,000), three times each for Triple Davros (300,000,000, up to 1.2B at 4X) — the game's ceiling, which then repeats indefinitely. Missing the gate timer at any level demotes back to a plain Emperor Jackpot. A ball ending mid-Davros carries the level into the next multiball.

Strategy notes

The Time Expander lock saucers and REPAIR bank are the machine's primary center-drain risks (large drain gap, no outlane kickback rubber). Competitive time-based tournament play favors grinding the safe W-H-O/Loop Ramp combo (Doctor 2 or 3) over forcing multiball, which is largely overrated due to slow setup and high drain risk; raw-score play instead favors Sonic Boom farming or Video Mode wave-stacking under Doctor 1 at high Playfield X.

Goals in Doctor Who

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

• Choose Your Doctor skillshot · Easy

  Doctor Who has no traditional plunge-lane skill shot — the pre-plunge choice of which of the 7 Doctors to play is the game's 'skill shot' decision, since it silently changes rules for the whole ball.

  Reward: Rule modifier for the ball (varies by Doctor)

• W-H-O Combo combo · Medium

  The game's core three-shot chained combo: Right Ramp, Hang-On, Loop Ramp in order, each shot lighting the next on a timer.

  Reward: Rising per-letter award each cycle; 2nd completion lights Extra Ball

• Sonic Boom Cash-In combo · Hard

  Every ~10th completed Loop Ramp shot triggers Sonic Boom, turning the next W-H-O into a 10M-per-letter jackpot round — shot order matters or you cut it short.

  Reward: 10,000,000 per letter (~30M+ per round, more at higher Playfield X)

• Jet Bumpers to Transmat combo · Easy

  Feed the Jet Bumpers to charge Transmat, then cash it in to permanently spot a Doctor toward the 7-Doctor end-of-ball bonus.

  Reward: 750,000+ and one Doctor permanently spotted

• Repair Bank Unlimited Millions Farm combo · Medium

  Once the R-E-P-A-I-R bank is fully lit, every further hit pays an escalating flat award — the fastest low-skill money farm in the game, especially under Doctor 4.

  Reward: 1,000,000 + 50,000/hit (doubled by Doctor 4) on every further hit until the bank resets

• Doctor 2 Tournament W-H-O Grind combo · Medium

  The default competitive time-based strategy: pick Doctor 2 and loop Right Ramp - Hang-On - Loop Ramp continuously, banking Extra Balls instead of chasing multiball risk.

  Reward: Extra Balls + steady W-H-O scoring, low drain risk

• Time Expander Lock & Launch Multiball multiball · Hard

  Light locks, lock two balls in the Time Expander, complete the 15-hit Target Mode, then shoot a gate to start Dalek multiball.

  Reward: 2-3 ball Dalek Jackpot multiball

• Dalek Jackpot Ladder multiball · Hard

  During multiball, clear all three Level-3 gates within the rolling time limit to collect each Jackpot and climb the Dalek rank ladder.

  Reward: Bronze 30M / Silver 35M / Gold 40M / Supreme 45M / Emperor 50M

• Multiball Re-Lock Save multiball · Medium

  If you fail to collect a Jackpot before losing balls, Re-Lock is briefly lit — use it to restart multiball instead of settling for single-ball play.

  Reward: Restored 2-ball multiball at the last Dalek rank

• Video Mode mode · Medium

  Complete the E-S-C-A-P-E bank to light Video Mode at the Police Box, then jump obstacles on the display for large wave bonuses multiplied by Playfield X — build the multiplier before starting it.

  Reward: Up to 300M+ across a clean run, multiplied by Playfield X

• R-E-P-A-I-R Bank Completion mode · Medium

  Work the escalating-value REPAIR ladder up to full completion, ideally with Doctor 4 selected.

  Reward: Unlocks 'Unlimited Millions' repeat-hit scoring

• Hang-On / Collision mode · Easy

  A single lit/unlit target that functions like its own scoring mode: big escalating value when lit as Hang-On, flat Collision award when unlit.

  Reward: 250,000+ growing per hit (Hang-On) or a flat 20,000 (Collision)

• Build Playfield X on the Loop Ramp multiplier · Medium

  Repeated Loop Ramp shots raise the global Playfield multiplier from 1X to a 4X cap, the lever behind every other big score in the game.

  Reward: Up to 4X on all scoring, including Video Mode wave bonuses — build it before starting Video Mode

• Build the Bonus Multiplier multiplier · Easy

  The Jet Bumpers separately build the end-of-ball Bonus multiplier, independent of Playfield X, and it carries over ball-to-ball.

  Reward: Increased Bonus multiplier on the end-of-ball bonus total, up to ~40X

• Reach Davros wizard · Hard

  The full qualification chain from cold start to the Davros wizard-mode reveal.

  Reward: All 7 Doctors spotted + Davros round begins

• Triple Davros wizard · Hard

  The game's true ceiling: break Davros's force field three escalating times for up to 300,000,000 a Jackpot, then repeat indefinitely.

  Reward: 100M / 200M / 300M Jackpots, then Triple Davros repeats forever

• Beginner First 30 Seconds strategy · Easy

  A concrete opening sequence for a new player: pick a forgiving Doctor, build a little multiplier, then start chipping at Escape/Video Mode.

  Reward: Video Mode reached fast with Playfield X already off 1X, via Doctor 1's doubled Escape-letter spotting

• Tournament-Safe Opener strategy · Medium

  The consensus low-drain-risk approach for timed tournament rounds: keep the ball on the W-H-O loop rather than chasing multiball.

  Reward: Extra Balls banked via safe W-H-O looping while dodging the Time Expander/Repair-bank drain risks

• Score-Maximizing Endgame strategy · Hard

  Once ahead on time or balls, switch from safe looping to the two highest points-per-minute engines: Sonic Boom chasing or Video Mode wave-stacking under Doctor 1.

  Reward: Sonic Boom jackpots or a 300M+ Video Mode wave-stacking run, maximized at 4X Playfield

• Collect All Seven Doctors strategy · Hard

  The seven Doctor portraits are a game-long collection: each Transmat cash-in permanently spots the current unlit Doctor, and the top Dalek Jackpot spots whatever is left. Pick an unlit Doctor before each plunge so your Transmat hits are never wasted.

  Reward: All seven Doctors spotted for the end-of-ball bonus