The Evil Dead

Spooky Pinball, 2024 — shot-by-shot rules and strategy guide.

Open The Evil Dead in the Pinball Genie app →

The Evil Dead is a boutique, single-trim widebody from Spooky Pinball — the Collector's Edition, limited to 888 units (~$9,999). Because there is only one edition, every machine is fully loaded: every shot and mech below is present on all units (trim = all). Design by Corwin "Bug" Emery and "Spooky Luke" Peverill, art by Christopher Franchi, code by Ben Heck, with Bruce Campbell voice. It's Spooky's most mech-heavy game to date. Note: the ruleset is still evolving (code shipping through v2026.04.01), so exact combo timers and point values for some newer features aren't yet finalized.

The playfield

Two main flippers sit at the bottom. A Hidden Sling Flipper replaces the left slingshot (fired by the upper-left button) and reaches the left orbit, left ramp, left deadite, and drops. An upper-right mini flipper feeds a ramp/loop. Below the main field is an RGB-lit fruit-cellar lower playfield with its own flipper, loop, launch, and drain, reached by opening the Cellar Door (Action button).

Key shots: left, middle (lift), and right ramps (all backhandable; the right ramp has a mode-start scoop beneath it); left/right/inner/rear orbits and a hard-to-find center super spinner; the six inline GROOVY drops; the cabin drops + Cabin VUK lock; three Necklace standups; two pop-up Deadites (Evil Scotty left, Evil Ed right) guarding the ramps; the Evil Ash Hand bash toy; the Necronomicon captive ball (mode selector); the rising Cheryl lift bank; the shotgun/boomstick shell targets; and the Deadite pop cluster hosting the Blood Flood targets and the Good/Bad Linda head.

Skill shots

The Standard Skill Shot roves a lit insert onto the GROOVY targets — plunge to hit it for 1,000,000 + 500,000, which also advances GROOVY. The Super Skill Shot holds the left flipper for a soft plunge; hit the random flashing shot within 5 seconds (the only hard timer in the game) for 2x value.

Scoring multipliers (build these first)

• GROOVY — collect the six drops in order for a 20% boost to all scoring for the rest of the ball, and light Mystery on the right orbit. The highest-leverage repeatable thing each ball.
• Dagger (Kandarian) shot multiplier — inlanes light the opposite orbit to boost it; double-tap the upper flipper button and hit the Launch button for a 10-second build-up. Arm it before firing high-value shots.
• Blood Flood — complete the three targets in the pop-bumper nest for a playfield multiplier. Stacking this under a multiball multiplies every jackpot.
• Inlanes award extra points; same-color fill scores x2.

Combos and the Bonus Ball

A combo is consecutive lit shots inside a window; tighter chains pay a bigger speed bonus (as in Undying Love's ramp→ramp chain). The general-purpose combo runs on the Necklace targets in any mode not otherwise using them. Combos plus the shot multiplier qualify the Bonus Ball — a free timed extra ball at game's end focused on combos and ball locks, the skill-gated reward for clean shooters. The left ramp is the premier repeatable farm (Delta 88 wants 88 shots there).

Multiballs

• Cabin Multiball — the easiest to qualify and the bread-and-butter stack. Drop the cabin targets and lock at the Cabin VUK; lock state persists between balls/players and is stealable. Designed to stack onto a running story mode.
• Double Deadite Multiball — collect orange deadite arrows, both inlanes, and hit the popped deadites. Stacks with all modes and multiballs; knock down a deadite and collect the jackpot behind it, with Deadite Frenzy on the second pass.
• Double-Barrel Boomstick Multiball — load shells, open the cellar (window ~15 seconds or 3 drains), hit Lock and Load in the basement, then fire on the Launch cue; purple shots = jackpots, reload shells to relight the action-button jackpot. High value, high drain risk.
• Cheryl / Henrietta Multiballs — larger mode-driven MBs (two Movie-1 completions qualify Cheryl via the lift bank); both are restartable if missed.

Modes and wizard modes

Story modes qualify off the lit white ramps and start at the scoop under the right ramp; the captive ball selects which. The Movie-1 set (Evil Awakens, Hacked to Bits, It Won't Let Us Leave, Undying Love) is the natural entry point. Wizard/token modes — Kandarian Demon (the multi-phase marquee), Hail to the King (25 deadite hits → global multiplier), Destroy the Book, Hero From The Sky, Delta 88 — are gated by Spooky Tokens: hold the Action button while pressing Start to spend them, ideally with multipliers already up. A Tournament Mode disables the Hail to the King global multiplier by default.

Strategy in brief

It is a center-drain game — SDTM control and nudging are the primary survival skills, and the pop-up deadites and the Hand are the main source of dangerous rebounds, so hit them only with a controlled ball. Best opener: standard skill shot → lit ramp to qualify Mode 1 → bank cabin drops/lock (persistent, never wasted) → start a Movie-1 mode → build GROOVY/Blood Flood/Dagger, then stack Cabin MB and Deadite MB on top. Save the risky Boomstick basement run for when multipliers are up.

Goals in The Evil Dead

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

• Standard Skill Shot skillshot · Easy

  Plunge into the roving lit GROOVY target for a guaranteed 1M + 500k and free progress toward the 20% GROOVY boost. The safe opener.

  Reward: 1,000,000 + 500,000 and one GROOVY letter

• Super Skill Shot skillshot · Hard

  Hold the left flipper for a soft plunge, then hit the random flashing shot within 5 seconds for double the skill-shot value. High reward, real mishit risk.

  Reward: 2x standard skill-shot value

• Left Ramp Loop (Delta 88 Farm) combo · Medium

  The premier single-shot farm: backhand the left ramp over and over. Builds combos, lights modes, and drives 88 shots toward Delta 88.

  Reward: Combo credit, mode qualification, Delta 88 progress

• Ramp-to-Ramp Combo Chain combo · Medium

  Alternate the two backhandable ramps inside the combo window. Faster links pay a bigger speed bonus and feed the shot multiplier and Bonus Ball.

  Reward: Speed-bonus combo scoring + Bonus Ball progress

• Necklace Combo Sequence combo · Medium

  The always-available combo: chain the three Necklace standups in any mode that isn't already using them. The main path to qualifying the Bonus Ball.

  Reward: Combo scoring + Bonus Ball qualification

• Deadite Jackpot Loop combo · Medium

  During Double Deadite Multiball, knock down a popped deadite and collect the jackpot behind it, then repeat around the cluster. Second pass is Deadite Frenzy.

  Reward: Repeating deadite jackpots; Frenzy on the 2nd pass

• Boomstick Purple Jackpot Loop combo · Hard

  In Double-Barrel Boomstick Multiball, hammer the purple jackpot shots and reload shells to relight the action-button jackpot. High value, high drain risk.

  Reward: Purple jackpots + relit action-button jackpot

• Cabin Multiball multiball · Medium

  The easiest multiball to qualify and the bread-and-butter stack under a story mode. Drops and locks persist between balls and are stealable.

  Reward: Cabin Multiball (stacks onto a running mode)

• Double Deadite Multiball multiball · Medium

  The other stacking workhorse — stacks with all modes and multiballs. Collect orange deadite arrows, both inlanes, and hit the popped deadites.

  Reward: Double Deadite Multiball, then Deadite Frenzy

• Double-Barrel Boomstick Multiball multiball · Hard

  High-value cellar multiball. Load shells, drop into the basement, hit Lock and Load, and fire the double barrel. Start it once multipliers are built.

  Reward: Double-Barrel Boomstick Multiball

• Cheryl Multiball multiball · Hard

  The larger mode-driven multiball. Complete two Movie-1 story modes to qualify it via the rising Cheryl lift bank. Now restartable if missed.

  Reward: Cheryl Multiball (Phase-2 variant chosen by performance)

• Start a Movie-1 Story Mode mode · Easy

  The natural entry point into the code. One lit ramp qualifies a mode; the captive ball selects which; the scoop under the right ramp starts it.

  Reward: Story mode (Evil Awakens / Hacked to Bits / etc.)

• Undying Love (Mode-Multiball) mode · Medium

  A 2-ball mode-multiball built on red shots and the Necklace targets. Chain the two ramps fast for a speed-bonus jackpot on Linda.

  Reward: Undying Love jackpots (speed-bonus scaled)

• Delta 88 mode · Hard

  A token-spent mode built around the left ramp — it wants 88 left-ramp shots, so bring a stockpiled left-ramp habit into it.

  Reward: Delta 88 mode scoring

• Spell GROOVY (20% Boost) multiplier · Easy

  The single highest-leverage repeatable thing each ball: collect the six inline GROOVY drops in order for a 20% boost to ALL scoring for the rest of the ball.

  Reward: +20% ball-wide scoring; lights Mystery

• Build the Dagger Multiplier multiplier · Medium

  The Kandarian-dagger shot multiplier. Control the inlanes to light the opposite orbit, then arm the build-up before firing your high-value shots.

  Reward: Boosted shot multiplier for ~10 seconds

• Kandarian Demon (Wizard Mode) wizard · Hard

  The marquee multi-phase wizard mode, gated by Spooky Tokens. Earn tokens through mode/multiball play, then spend them with the demon multipliers already stacked.

  Reward: Multi-phase Kandarian Demon wizard mode

• Hail to the King wizard · Hard

  The global-scoring-multiplier wizard driven by 25 deadite hits — the biggest casual scoring lever (disabled by default in Tournament Mode).

  Reward: Global scoring multiplier

• Best Opener: Ball 1 Walk-Up strategy · Easy

  The safest high-value opener — skill shot, a lit ramp to qualify Mode 1, cabin lock progress banked, then start a mode you can stack Cabin MB onto.

  Reward: Mode running + Cabin lock banked for a stack

• Beginner: First 30 Seconds strategy · Easy

  A linear, low-risk beginner path — take the safe skill shot, qualify and start a mode via the ramps and scoop, and let background meters build. Avoid bashing toys cold.

  Reward: Safe progression into your first mode + multiball

• Big Points: The Multiplier Stack strategy · Hard

  The bread-and-butter scoring engine: build every live multiplier first, then layer a story mode with Cabin MB and Deadite MB on top of Blood Flood.

  Reward: Multiplied jackpot barrage

• Complete Blood Flood (Playfield Multiplier) multiplier · Medium

  Feed the pop cluster and pick off the three nested Blood Flood standups to switch on the playfield multiplier before you start anything valuable.

  Reward: Playfield multiplier enabled for your stack

• Give Me Back My Hand Multiball multiball · Hard

  Bash the crawling-hand toy three times to trip the trap door and start its multiball, then finish the Fingers set to light and cash the Super Jackpot.

  Reward: Hand multiball, then its Super Jackpot

• Destroy the Book wizard · Hard

  A token-spent wizard mode that lives in the fruit cellar: open the cellar door and beat on the Necronomicon target down there until the book is finished.

  Reward: Destroy the Book wizard mode completion