Guardians of the Galaxy

Stern Pinball, 2017 — shot-by-shot rules and strategy guide.

Open Guardians of the Galaxy in the Pinball Genie app →

Designer John Borg, SPIKE-2 hardware. Pro / Premium / LE — identical rule flow; edition differences are cosmetic/mech (motorized Orb reveal, sculpted Groot arms, extra magnets, LE shaker/mirror).

The arc: play and complete the 8 character modes and both primary multiballs (Groot, Orb), which gate the wizard modes: Cherry Bomb (4 modes) → Immolation Initiative (≥50% on all 8 modes + both MBs) → Save Xandar (all 8 modes + both MBs).

Modes (started/selected at the right scoop, or pre-picked with flippers)

Antiquities Shop, Knowhere, Escape Kyln, Pod Chase, Quill's Quest, Sanctuary, Sibling Rivalry, Yaka Arrow. Shoot flashing shots; the mode timer never stops (cancel animations with both flippers). Completing a mode adds ~10% of its total to end-of-ball bonus for the rest of the game and turns its shot into a 5x jackpot in Groot MB. Sanctuary alone restarts from scratch on timeout.

Multiballs

• Groot MB: open the jaw (2 flanking standups), lock 3 balls (4+ after) in the mouth; jackpots start 300k +25k, Super at 9th/18th. Re-lock during MB = 2x/3x playfield.
• Orb MB: drop the Orb target + hit standup behind = 1 Orb; collect 3. Hurry-up value (from 2M) locks the jackpot value; shooting the Orb doubles the next jackpot. The high-score engine — but the Orb Super Jackpot must be physically shot (Hadron blocked).

Multipliers (all multiply each other)

• Rocket's Rampage: spell RAMPAGE at Rocket (RAMP spotted free → 3 shots) = 2x playfield 45s, +10s per further Rocket shot (additive).
• Nova Corps: complete 5 red rollovers (top lanes + inlanes), lock 2x on a chosen shot for the ball; roving 3x after.
• Combo: flowed shot-to-shot = 2x that shot.

Support systems

• Hadron Enforcer (action button): 5 yellow standups → 3 charges that spot the left-most lit shot. Can't make Sanctuary/Escape-Kyln-Rocket/Orb-drop-free or any final Super.
• GUARDIANS target: spots letters + advances bonus multiplier; spelling it lights scoop Mystery.
• Ball save: the two Groot standups light a virtual right-outlane kickback.
• Skill shots: standard (top lane 250k), hands-free (2x), super (hold left flipper, full plunge, hit white shot 1M).
• Extra balls: at 3 modes started, then 6 modes completed.

Strategy consensus: make modes, not multiball, the priority — they drive extra balls, Cherry Bomb, bonus carryover, and 5x Groot jackpots. Stack Rampage 2x + Nova 2x onto a big Super for 600M–1.8B.

Goals in Guardians of the Galaxy

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

• Super Skill Shot skillshot · Hard

  Hold the left flipper and full-plunge around the loop, then quickly hit a flashing white shot for the game's highest-value opener that lands the ball on a live scoring shot.

  Reward: 1M, +250k each subsequent super skill shot

• Standard / Hands-Free Skill Shot skillshot · Easy

  Plunge into the flashing top lane; if you land it without touching the flippers it scores double.

  Reward: 250k +50k per skill shot made (2x if hands-free)

• Knowhere → Super Loops Orbit Farm combo · Medium

  Complete Knowhere to light Super Loops, then farm the left-orbit to right-orbit repeater — the orbits are re-routed to feed the ball straight back to the flipper every shot.

  Reward: 10 Super Loop shots at the highest value collected

• Pod Chase → Super Ramps Ramp Loop combo · Medium

  Finish Pod Chase to light Super Ramps, then link left-ramp to right-ramp combos — the fundamental repeatable flow of the game.

  Reward: 10 Super Ramp shots at highest value (doubled if comboed)

• Yaka Arrow Recollect + Super Pops combo · Medium

  Yaka Arrow shots escalate fast (1M +500k); completing it lights the Yondu dead-end to recollect the entire mode total plus 50 Super Pops. Open with this for the carryover bonus.

  Reward: Yondu dead-end recollects the mode total (multipliable) + 50 Super Pops

• Sibling Rivalry Ramp Recollect combo · Medium

  The game's dedicated combo/flow mode: make 10 ramp shots (upgrade lamp blinks faster when a combo is available), then a single right-ramp shot re-collects all mode points.

  Reward: Right ramp re-collects all mode points (multipliable)

• Groot Multiball 5x Jackpot Dump combo · Hard

  The biggest built score: finish character modes first so their shots pay 5x jackpots, then re-lock in Groot for a 2x/3x playfield window and dump multiplied shots into it.

  Reward: 5x completed-mode jackpots under a 2x/3x playfield doubler; Super at 9th/18th jackpot

• Groot Multiball multiball · Medium

  Open Groot's motorized jaw with the flanking standups, lock balls in the mouth, then collect three jackpots per lit shot building to a Super at the mouth.

  Reward: Jackpots 300k +25k; Super Jackpot at 9th/18th (max 25M)

• Orb Multiball multiball · Hard

  Drop the Orb target and hit the standup behind it to collect Orbs; three Orbs starts the multiball with a locked hurry-up jackpot value — the game's high-score engine.

  Reward: Jackpots = locked hurry-up value (from 2M); Orb-doubled; Super Jackpot adds a ball

• Cherry Bomb Multiball multiball · Medium

  Mini-wizard reward: complete 4 modes to light the red-pulsing right scoop, then start a 6-ball, 60-second, unlimited-ball-save frenzy where every shot pays big.

  Reward: All 9 shots pay 3M first hit (1M repeat); Super Jackpot at Groot's moving mouth

• Quill's Quest mode · Easy

  Great learner mode: the first play grants an automatic 2-ball multiball as a safety net; collect 12 hurry-ups from two random shots plus the scoop.

  Reward: 500k hurry-up +250k/shot; Super = huge hurry-up starting at 10% of score

• Escape Kyln mode · Medium

  Complete the flashing Nova Corps lanes and Groot, then finish with a Rocket shot that must be made naturally — the Hadron Enforcer cannot spot it.

  Reward: Free Nova Corps shot multiplier; Super Lanes for 10 shots

• Sanctuary mode · Hard

  Complete all 5 Hadron standups before the 68s timer — but the Hadron button is disabled here and a timeout restarts the mode from scratch, so never leave it hanging.

  Reward: Completion grants 3 free Hadron activations; Super Targets for 20 shots

• Antiquities Shop mode · Medium

  Switch-based mode: 20 switch hits spot a shot; hit the flashing shots centered on the Orb with alternating second shots to advance.

  Reward: 500k +250k/shot; Super boosts each switch value for the next 100 hits

• Rocket's Rampage (2x Playfield) multiplier · Medium

  Spell RAMPAGE at the Rocket shot (RAMP is spotted free, so only 3 shots needed) to turn on 2x playfield for 45s. Light it right before a big multiball or mode, never on an empty playfield.

  Reward: 2x playfield 45s; each Rocket shot during it extends +10s (additive on top of other multipliers)

• Nova Corps Shot Multipliers multiplier · Medium

  Complete the 5 red Nova Corps rollovers (top lanes + inlanes), then lock a 2x onto the shot you plan to hammer for the rest of the ball; a roving 3x follows once all are qualified.

  Reward: 2x on a chosen shot for the rest of the ball; roving 3x afterward

• Immolation Initiative wizard · Hard

  Mini-wizard #2: reach at least 50% progress on all 8 modes AND both Groot and Orb multiballs, then start the 3-ball multiball at the right scoop.

  Reward: Super Jackpot at Groot's moving mouth adds a ball, unlimited times

• Save Xandar wizard · Hard

  The final wizard mode: complete all 8 modes AND both multiballs to light the right scoop, then collect all purple jackpots for the Super at the scoop.

  Reward: Super Jackpot at the scoop adds a ball, unlimited times

• Opener A — Safe Learner strategy · Easy

  Super-skill-shot the right ramp for points and ball control, then start Quill's Quest for a free 2-ball multiball, take the upgrade shot first, and learn shots safely.

• Opener B — Mode Farm strategy · Medium

  Pre-select Sibling Rivalry (fewest shots), take the upgrade shot, clear the ramps to bank +10–40M to bonus, then immediately start the next easy mode. Chip Rampage and Hadron standups in between.

• Opener C — High-Score Build strategy · Hard

  Complete Yaka Arrow early for carryover bonus, build Rampage + Nova 2x, then fire Rampage right before an Orb Multiball with the 2x on the Orb, double jackpots off the Orb, and convert multiplied Supers with a Hadron charge.

• Charging and Spending the Hadron Enforcer strategy · Medium

  Sweeping the five yellow standups loads the action button with three shot-spots. Bank them, then spend them on the shots that are hardest to hit under pressure — never on the Orb Super Jackpot, which the button cannot make.

  Reward: 3 button-spotted shots per completed standup bank

• Clearing All Eight Modes strategy · Hard

  Order the modes by shot count: pre-select the ramp-based ones with the flippers, always take the scoop upgrade shot first, and save Sanctuary for a ball where you can commit, since a timeout wipes its progress.

  Reward: Completed-mode shots pay 5x during Groot Multiball and qualify the wizard modes