Eight Ball Deluxe

Bally, 1981 — shot-by-shot rules and strategy guide.

Open Eight Ball Deluxe in the Pinball Genie app →

Eight Ball Deluxe is early solid-state, which usually means a thin rulebook. This one is an exception. A real chain of dependencies runs through it — clear the rack, light the 8 Ball, light DELUXE, complete DELUXE, reset the rack, feed the super bonus — plus a bonus formula worth understanding before you play rather than after.

Racking the balls

Seven drop targets run down the right side, 2K each. All seven down lights the 8 Ball target in the top right corner. Two things about this bank matter. In a multiplayer game the same physical targets carry different numbers for each player — you only ever clear your own rack, and the machine rebuilds your exact state next ball by standing everything up and then dropping the ones that should be down. And, contrary to what you may be told: hitting the 8 Ball never resets the drops. A lit 8 Ball is free to shoot at whenever you want it.

The 8 Ball ladder

The 8 Ball target pays whatever value is lit and then raises it: 20K, 40K, 60K. Unlit it is worth a token few hundred. Hit it once 60K is showing and the corner pocket and both outlanes light for Special — the outlane light alternates sides on slingshot hits, so check which is live before you nudge. Completing the A-B-C-D lanes also raises the 8 Ball value, so you can push it past 60K without shooting the target at all.

There is a light between the flippers most players never read. When it is on, the next hit on a lit 8 Ball pays a Special as well as its points — that falls on the second and third lit hits, depending on the setting.

DELUXE, twice over

Hitting the lit 8 Ball lights the six round DELUXE targets offset behind and between the ball drops. They pay 3K lit or unlit, but hitting a lit one puts its letter out. Complete all six and you score 50K or a Special, reset the entire rack, and add 56K to your super bonus.

The generous part: if DELUXE is lit and you drain before finishing it, the machine still adds 56K to the super bonus and still resets the drops next ball. Lighting DELUXE is never a wasted shot. Depending on the setting, either only the letters you missed relight, or all six do.

Every playfield DELUXE also lights the next letter of DELUXE on the backglass. Finish all six and the letters dance and you are paid up to three Specials. Those backglass letters stay lit between games — an unusual rule, and worth a glance before you drop a coin, because someone else may have done most of the work.

The bonus formula

This is where games are won. Your bonus is (super bonus + 7K per downed ball drop) × multiplier. A lit 8 Ball counts toward it when down; an unlit one does not. The super bonus is a separate pot holding only 0, 56K or 112K, added before the multiply — which is why filling it and then setting 5x beats either on its own.

The multiplier comes from the inline drop bank at the top left. Each target sets it outright to the figure printed on it, up to 5x. It is also the most dangerous bank to shoot at — the rebound is unkind, so take it from a settled ball rather than on the fly.

Then there is the corner pocket, a pothole behind the 8 Ball target that pays your entire bonus — super bonus plus bonus, times the multiplier — while your ball keeps playing. Shooting it at 1x with an empty rack throws it away. Set the multiplier, get the rack down, then take the pocket. Some machines pay bonus only with no multiplier, so watch what it gives you the first time.

The rest of the playfield

• Left loop. Pays the lit value and lights the next: 10K, 30K, 50K, extra ball, 70K, Special. The first three always come in that order, and some setups make you run the ladder twice before the Special is available. Unlit, the loop is worth a few hundred.
• A-B-C-D lanes. A and B are the top rollovers, and on most three-ball setups either C or D spots both. Completing all four spots the uppermost unhit drops, lights a bumper, and raises the 8 Ball value.
• Thumper bumpers. Around 500 idle, 3,000 flashing — six times what a drop target pays. They light in a fixed order: upper left, upper right, then bottom.
• The 25K rollover. With A and B collected but C or D outstanding, one top lane lights for 25K. The lit lane swaps sides on every bumper and slingshot hit, and goes out for good once A-B-C-D is complete.
• Bank shot. The round target behind the multiplier drops, paying 50K or a Special. Whether that alternates, and which comes first, is an operator setting.

One caveat

More of this machine is operator-adjustable than is typical. Whether C and D spot each other, how many targets A-B-C-D spots, whether Specials alternate with points, whether the corner pocket multiplies, how many Specials the backglass pays — all of it can be changed. Treat these values as common factory behaviour and spend your first ball on an unfamiliar machine finding out what that one actually does.

Goals in Eight Ball Deluxe

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

• Rack The Balls progression · Medium

  Seven drop targets on the right, 2K each, and clearing all seven is what lights the 8 Ball. The machine remembers exactly which of your targets were down and rebuilds that state at the start of your next ball, so nothing you knock down is ever wasted.

  Reward: 2K per target, lights the 8 Ball

• Climb The 8 Ball Value progression · Medium

  The 8 Ball target pays whatever the playfield says it is worth and then raises that value: 20K, 40K, 60K. Hit it once 60K is lit and the corner pocket and both outlanes light for Special. Unlit it is worth a token few hundred.

  Reward: 20K to 60K, then outlane Specials

• Complete DELUXE mode · Hard

  Hitting the lit 8 Ball lights the six round DELUXE targets on the playfield. They pay 3K each either way, but hitting a lit one puts its letter out. Complete all six and you score 50K or a Special, reset the whole rack of ball drops, and add 56K to your super bonus.

  Reward: 50K or a Special, a fresh rack, +56K super bonus

• Draining On A Live DELUXE secret · Easy

  A rule that quietly protects you. If DELUXE is lit and you drain before finishing it, the machine still adds 56K to your super bonus and still resets the ball drops for your next ball. Depending on the setting, only the letters you missed relight.

  Reward: +56K super bonus and a reset rack anyway

• Backglass DELUXE wizard · Hard

  Every playfield DELUXE you complete lights the next letter of DELUXE on the backglass. Finish all six and the letters dance and the machine pays out a run of Specials — up to three, depending on how it is set. Those backglass letters stay lit between games.

  Reward: Up to three Specials

• Set The Multiplier multiplier · Hard

  The inline bank at the top left sets your bonus multiplier to whatever the target you hit says — 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x. Given that the bonus here is a real fraction of your score, this is the most valuable bank on the machine and also the most dangerous to shoot at.

  Reward: Up to 5x on the bonus

• Build The Super Bonus progression · Medium

  The super bonus is a separate pot that only ever holds 0, 56K or 112K, and it is added to your bonus before the multiplier is applied. Every DELUXE that resets the drops adds 56K, and so does a DELUXE you light but fail to finish.

  Reward: Up to 112K multiplied

• The Corner Pocket strategy · Hard

  A pothole tucked behind the 8 Ball target that cashes your entire bonus — super bonus plus bonus, times the multiplier — while your ball keeps playing. If the Special light in front of it is lit, it pays that too.

  Reward: Your full bonus, mid-ball

• The Left Loop Ladder progression · Medium

  Each left loop pays the value currently lit and lights the next one up: 10K, 30K, 50K, extra ball, 70K, Special. Unlit it is worth a few hundred, so the whole point is keeping the ladder moving.

  Reward: 10K to 70K, an extra ball and a Special

• A-B-C-D Lanes multiplier · Easy

  Completing the four lanes does three useful things at once: it spots the highest unhit drop targets, it sets a thumper bumper flashing, and it raises the 8 Ball value. On most three-ball setups collecting either C or D spots both.

  Reward: Spotted drops, a flashing bumper, a bigger 8 Ball

• The 25K Rollover secret · Medium

  A small rule almost nobody notices. If you have collected A and B but either C or D is still outstanding, one of the top rollover lanes lights for 25K. The lit one flips sides on every thumper bumper and slingshot hit, and once A-B-C-D is finished it goes out for good.

  Reward: 25K per collection

• Flashing Thumper Bumpers strategy · Easy

  An idle bumper is worth a few hundred points. A flashing one is worth three thousand a hit, which is six times what a ball drop target pays. Completing A-B-C-D is how you light them, one per completion.

  Reward: 3,000 per hit instead of 500

• Where The Specials Live secret · Hard

  Eight Ball Deluxe hands out Specials from six different places, and several of them depend on how the operator has set the machine. Knowing the full list is worth more than any single shot on the playfield.

  Reward: Free games