Fire!

Williams, 1987 — shot-by-shot rules and strategy guide.

Fire! is a System 11A machine and a deliberate departure from the standard layout of its era. Hunt for drop targets and you will find none, there is not a pop bumper anywhere on the playfield, and no lane change either, so your flipper buttons will not shuffle the inlane lamps. Instead there is a burning building at the top, four banks of flame targets, two long ramps that climb until the ball nearly touches the glass, and a loop whose entrances raise and lower to route the ball three ways. Understanding those entrances is most of the game.

The skill shot lane

The shooter lane ends partway up the playfield at a one-way gate angled at about 45 degrees. Past it sit five rollover sensors and a standup at the far end, and their values are deliberately out of order: 20,000, then 10,000, then 30,000, then 100,000, then 5,000, with the standup worth a miserable 1,000. You score the highest sensor the ball crosses, so the target is the fourth — reach it, stall, and let the ball roll back into play. Overcook it and you get a thousand points.

There is a trick here with a real cost: plunge very lightly and the ball can trip the first sensor without clearing the gate, which then pushes it back for another go. It is only 20,000 a time, and every second in the lane is a second the current fire burns your bonus level down.

Putting out fires

This is the whole game. Flame targets light in groups of three, and every target in a group has to go out before the group counts as extinguished. Four banks of three exist: one on each small building flanking the ladder ramp, and one inside each of the two lock buildings halfway up the playfield. Any trip through the loop puts out one lit flame for free, which makes it the most efficient and safest way to work a group down.

What makes it urgent is the bonus level. A column runs 10x, 7x, 5x, 3x, 2x. At the start of a ball the 10x is blinking and the rest are solid. Dawdle over a fire and the 10x drops out, the 7x starts blinking, and so on down until you are getting nothing. Put the fire out and the timer resets with the column back at the top. Take too long and the machine lights a second group alongside the first — or, if you are lucky, relights the one you are already working on.

Reading the loop entrances

Both outer loop entrances raise and lower independently, and the combination decides where a ball ends up. Nothing on the playfield explains it.

Both entrances up — the starting position. A ball into the left comes out the right and vice versa, running the lower loop.
Both entrances down — the same behaviour, routed over the upper loop instead.
One up, one down — shoot the lowered side and the ball runs the top loop, crosses the raised entrance, and is dropped into a building and locked.
Shooting the raised side while the other is down just lets the ball back out again.

That third case is how locks happen. Put out every flame on the building you want to fill, and the loop entrance on the opposite side drops. Shoot up that far side, ride the top loop, and your fireman is trapped in the building you just cleared. This is where most players shoot the wrong hole — the entrance that opens is not the one next to the building.

The turnaround, the ladder and the fire plug

A U-shaped channel curls away behind the ladder ramp, taking a mouth on either side of it, and each mouth carries its own insert lamp. It is the most underrated shot here, because it does three jobs. Every pass raises the fire plug — a small post between the flippers that blocks the centre drain — for a few seconds. A pass from the lit side also raises the bonus level and puts the ladder up.

With the ladder flush, a centre shot bounces off a post and comes straight back. Raised, the same shot goes through the window into the building. It only stays up for an operator-set period, and the machine ticks the seconds off audibly while the rescue lamp flashes — that flashing is your clock, not decoration.

Multiball, the extra ball and the specials

With a ball locked in each building, both loop entrances come back up and the rescue lights come on. Run a ball through the lower loop to raise the ladder, then take the window shot to start it. Once you are in, put out every lit fire while at least two balls are still in play and the machine pays a million.

The extra ball is a two-stage ask. Go all the way up each of the two long side ramps once — the sensor is right at the top, so a weak shot does not register — and one of them will then light at random. Hit the target at the top of the lit ramp again and the extra ball is yours. Slingshot hits cycle which side carries the light, and which turnaround lamp is lit, so a rattle in the lower playfield can hand you the side you want.

Push the bonus level to 10x and take one more lit turnaround, and both outlanes light for special. On this machine, at that moment, draining is the correct play.

How Fire! plays

Fire! is a stripped-down late-80s Williams table about fighting a blaze: put flame targets out before your bonus multiplier burns down, trap a ball inside each building, and rescue everyone in a two-ball multiball worth a million.

The loop

Knock flame targets out in threes, or spot one for free by running either loop, to score fires at whatever multiplier the bonus column is showing.
Take the lit turnaround mouth to step that bonus column up and raise the ladder, while any turnaround pass pops the fire plug to shield the centre drain.
Clear all three flames on a building, then shoot the loop entrance on the far side to route a ball over the top and lock it inside.
Fill both buildings, stand the ladder up, and shoot the lit window to start Rescue Multiball, then douse every lit flame with the balls alive for a million.

Reading the lights

Flame Targets (status) — lit: A lit flame insert is a fire still burning on that standup; fires arrive three at a time and only a whole trio going dark counts as one fire out, and a target you have doused stays dark until the game lights a fresh group. · then: Clear a group to score fire points at whatever your bonus level is showing, and lean on the loop, since one trip around douses a lit flame with far less drain risk than a direct standup. Empty a whole West or East building of its fire and the far-side loop entrance lowers, opening that building up to trap a ball.
Bonus Level Column (multiplier) — lit: The multiplier column climbs from 2x up to a blinking 10x as each ball begins, with the lower rungs holding steady; the rung that blinks is what your next extinguished fire will pay out. · flashing: Let a fire smoulder too long and the blink slides down a rung, 10x giving way to 7x and onward, so here a fast clear beats a pretty one. · then: Put a fire out while the top rung still blinks to bank it at ten times, then start the timer over and keep the column pinned high. Drive it to the very top and take one further lit turnaround on top of that, and both outlanes wake up for special.
Turnaround Lamps (status) — lit: A lamp glows over whichever of the two turnaround mouths is live, and entering from the lit mouth is the pass that steps your bonus level up and stands the ladder for a window shot; a run in on the dark side still counts, for less. · then: Any pass at all pops the fire plug up between the flippers for a few seconds, so the shot doubles as a guard against a straight-down-the-middle drain. Glance at which mouth is lit before you commit, because a rattle in the slingshots quietly cycles the live side out from under you.
Rescue Lamps (mode) — lit: With the ladder raised a rescue lamp lights the window into the building, and once a ball sits in each building the rescue lamps come on to arm the multiball; a flush, unlit ladder just bounces a centre shot off its post. · flashing: The rescue lamp flashes down a countdown while the ladder is up, and the ticking you hear is that same clock, so a flashing lamp means shoot now or lose the window. · then: Trap a ball in each building first, by clearing its three flames and running the far loop entrance, then raise the ladder from a lit turnaround and take the lit window before the flash dies to begin Rescue Multiball. With at least two balls still in play, dousing every lit flame on the table is worth the full million.
Save Ramp Lights (status) — lit: Climb each of the two tall side ramps once and the game lights one of them at random for Save the Girl; a lit ramp top is the extra-ball collect while an unlit one only scores the climb. · then: Check which ramp carries the light before you shoot, since slingshot hits cycle the extra ball between the two sides. Hit the sensor at the very top of the lit ramp, up where it nearly meets the glass, to take the extra ball.
Outlane Specials (status) — lit: Both outlanes stay dark through normal play and only wake up once you have pushed the bonus level to its 10x cap and then taken one further lit turnaround; after that, each outlane glows for special. · then: This is the rare moment you actually want the ball to find an outlane, because a lit one cashes a special. With both of them burning, the safe centre is no longer where the ball is worth the most.

Lane change: the lit lane cannot be moved by the buttons. Fire! carries no lane change at all: a flipper tap never nudges a lit turnaround side, flame, or extra-ball ramp, and the only thing that shifts any of those is a slingshot rattle cycling it. Line the ball up for the side you need rather than trying to walk a lamp toward the ball.

Start scoring

Ball one — Meter the plunge to stop on the fourth skill-shot sensor for a hundred thousand, then settle into the core rhythm: put fires out in threes while the column still blinks at the top, and take every lit turnaround to keep the fire plug up and the multiplier climbing. — The Skill Shot Lane, Putting Out Fires, The Bonus Level Countdown
Building — Clear a whole building's flames and shoot the far loop entrance to trap a ball inside, one per building. Climb both tall side ramps to light Save the Girl, then take the extra ball off the lit ramp once you have checked which side the slings left burning. — Trapping The Firemen, Save The Girl
The big one — With a ball locked in each building, raise the ladder from a lit turnaround and take the window to open Rescue Multiball, then put every lit fire out with two balls alive for the million. Push the bonus column to its 10x cap, then a single extra lit turnaround past the top wakes both outlanes for special as the other marquee reward. — Rescue Multiball, Light The Outlane Specials

Does Fire! have an action button?

Fire! strips the controls back further than most machines of its age: no dedicated button, and no lane change either, so your flipper buttons will not shuffle any lit lamps. Flippers and a manual plunger are the whole interface, and the plunger is worth care because a feather-light pull can score the first skill shot sensor and roll the ball back for another go.

Goals in Fire!

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

The Skill Shot Lane skillshot · Medium

Five sensors sit past the shooter lane gate, and their order is scrambled on purpose: 20,000, 10,000, 30,000, 100,000, 5,000. Whichever is highest among the ones your ball crosses is what you score, so aim for the fourth sensor and let the ball roll back into play.

Reward: 100,000 for a perfect plunge
The Gate Nudge secret · Hard

The one-way gate at the top of the shooter lane can be teased rather than cleared, which lets you score a sensor and keep the ball in the lane. It is a genuine trick with a genuine cost, and the cost is time.

Reward: A repeatable 20,000, or a blown skill shot
Putting Out Fires progression · Easy

This is the entire game. Flame targets light in groups of three and you have to hit all three to clear the group. A trip through the loop puts one lit target out for free, which makes the loop the most efficient shot on the playfield.

Reward: Fire points at your current bonus level
The Bonus Level Countdown multiplier · Medium

A column of multipliers runs 10x, 7x, 5x, 3x, 2x. At the start of a ball the 10x is blinking and the rest are solid. Take too long over a fire and the 10x drops out, the 7x starts blinking, and on down the column — so speed is worth more here than accuracy.

Reward: Up to 10x on the fire you put out
Reading The Loop Entrances strategy · Medium

Both loop entrances raise and lower, and the combination decides where your ball ends up. This is the mechanism the whole machine is built on, and it is not signposted anywhere on the playfield.

Reward: Control over locks and loop routing
Trapping The Firemen progression · Hard

Locks here are not a shot you can simply take. Put out every fire on the building you want to fill, and the loop entrance on the opposite side drops. Shoot up that side, ride the top loop, and your fireman is trapped in the freshly extinguished building.

Reward: One locked ball per building
The Window Shot strategy · Medium

With the ladder ramp flush, a centre shot bounces off a post and comes straight back. Raise the ladder and the same shot goes through the window instead. The ladder only stays up for an operator-set time, and the machine ticks the seconds off audibly.

Reward: A fireman trapped in the East or West building
Rescue Multiball multiball · Hard

With a ball locked in each building, both loop entrances come back up and the rescue lights come on. Raising the ladder takes one trip through the lower loop; from there the window is your start shot — and with two balls alive, clearing every lit fire pays a million.

Reward: A million points for a clean sweep
Save The Girl progression · Medium

The extra ball, and it is a two-stage ask. Go all the way up each of the two long side ramps once, and one of them will then light at random. Hit the target at the top of the lit one and the extra ball is yours.

Reward: An extra ball
Work The Turnaround strategy · Medium

The most underrated shot on the machine, because it does three jobs at once. Every pass raises the fire plug for a few seconds. A pass from the lit side also raises the bonus level and puts the ladder up for a window shot.

Reward: A ball save, a multiplier step and a raised ladder
Living Off The Fire Plug strategy · Easy

There is a small post between the flippers that pops up and blocks the centre drain. It is up at the start of every ball, which is the only reason the game is playable at all — the skill shot lane dumps the ball straight back down the middle.

Reward: Saved balls
Light The Outlane Specials secret · Hard

There is a reward for pushing the bonus level all the way to the top and then not stopping. Get to 10x and take one more lit turnaround, and both outlanes come on for special.

Reward: Special at both outlanes

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