Jaws

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

Open Jaws in the Pinball Genie app →

Keith Elwin's JAWS puts you in Amity Island's summer of terror: rescue beachgoers, hunt bounty sharks, attach barrels to the Great White, and finally blow him up in "Smile, You Son of a…". The layout has no scoops or saucers — everything is flow: two main flippers, a mid-right mini flipper, five "beach" shots (left orbit = West Beach, Wave ramp = Marina, center ramp = North Beach, fishing reel = The Pond, right ramp = East Beach), a harpoon lane hugging the left wall, a Chum Bucket Newton ball, a center captive ball/bash boat, and the star mech: a motorized Shark Fin drop target that swims across the mid-playfield. Premium/LE adds the Orca upper playfield (Lookout Tower ramp, ship's-wheel spinner, Radio target) fed by the Wave ramp, plus a motorized shark that crashes up through Ben Gardner's boat; the Pro's Wave ramp instead returns to the mini flipper, fueling the quickshot loop.

Core loops

Shark Encounters (modes). Hit the bash boat to light an encounter, then start it at its beach shot. Extra boat hits first bank boosts — L1 +15s, L2 +5M + Gear, L3 2x scoring for the whole mode. Shoot blue shots to progress; finishing lights an Encounter Jackpot at the fin worth 20–50% of your mode total plus a permanent +1x machete. Value order: Scars > Raft Attack > Beach Panic > Night Swim > Pond Attack. Starting all five lights the 4th of July mini-wizard.

Jaws Multiballs (barrels). No physical locks — "locking" means attaching barrels: feed the chum line (Chum Bucket + red left-flipper shots), raise the fin via yellow shots, and bash it. One barrel starts Reel Him In!, two starts The Chase (90+ switches light 20M captive-ball supers), three starts Cage Dive, whose completion qualifies the final wizard. MB1 is a utility multiball — stack it with Night Swim or Beach Panic.

Bounty Hunts. Spin the fishing reel to light hunts, complete each shark's tasks, and start at the reel: Mako (easiest — take it first for the 2x-reel perk), Thresher, Hammerhead, Tiger. Green shots and shark bashes wear the shark to a final capture shot. All four captures — or selling all six Gear pieces — qualify the 6-ball Great White Multiball.

Beachgoers & Search/Rescue. Shark tower standups light beachgoers at beach shots; three rescued at one beach starts a Beach Closed hurry-up (15M+ base, escalating). The 8th beachgoer is an extra ball; closing all five beaches offers the choice of Rescue or Search Multiball (mini-wizards).

Quickshots & Gear. Rolling the mini-flipper lane lights the harpoon lane blue; harpoon → quickly hit the fin = a Quickshot (3M + 200K/beachgoer, consecutive multiplier to 7x, 3 = extra ball, each lights Gear). Gear (collected at the right ramp) gives six consumable perks — Binoculars, Oxygen Tank, Tracker, Barrel Hook, Shark Cage, Dart — or hoard all six unused and sell for up to 375M.

Multipliers

There is no global playfield X. The machete is the engine: complete the left 3-bank, roll a lit inlane, and your next shot is multiplied (base 2x; permanent +1x per completed encounter, most bounty captures, and Night Search completion; at 4x+ base the harpoon gate must relight it). Spend machetes on beach-closed hurry-ups, encounter jackpots, Pipit, and Feeding Frenzy finishers. Add the quickshot multiplier (to 7x), encounter 2x boosts, and bonus X from Quint's Challenge knots (timed combos lit after spelling O-R-C-A on the Wave ramp).

Other features

Seven single-ball Character Combos (Chrissie Watkins, Pipit, Alex Kintner, Ben Gardner, Scout Leader, Sam Quint, Goat) each add +250K to future Beach Closed shots. Fish Finder (left 3-bank) awards Super Buoys, Super Life Ring, Cast 'N Catch, the Shark Hunter video mode, and Night Search Multiball — all five light Super Cast 'N Catch. Feeding Frenzy (shark tower sets) builds bonus. The Life Ring (target-lit, action-button save) rescues left-outlane drains; Flip-Lock holds a ball on the mini flipper during multiball.

Wizard path

Mini-wizards: 4th of July (all 5 encounters), Search/Rescue MB (all beaches closed), Great White MB (4 sharks or gear sell-out), Super Cast 'N Catch (all Fish Finder awards), and Say Ah! (Prem/LE, all 5 Orca wheel awards). The final wizard, "Smile, You Son of a…", requires completing Cage Dive: three timed phases (Quint's Demise, Clash on the Mast, the fin-and-targets finale) ending with one last shark hit — victory launches the 6-ball Super Celebration Multiball.

Stern continues tuning values as new code ships.

Goals in Jaws

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

• Skill Shot Ladder (Levels 1–3) skillshot · Easy

  JAWS skill shots are leveled — collect Level 1 before Level 2 is offered, and every make adds +5 seconds of ball save. Level 2 is the tournament pick: points plus a Gear light off a controlled short plunge.

  Reward: 5M / 10M+Gear / 15M+Gear, each +5s ball save

• Secret & Super Secret Skill Shots skillshot · Hard

  Hidden plunge options: a clean Chum Bucket hit is the Secret skill shot; a dead-center captive-ball hit is the Super Secret, which awards AND advances the skill-shot value.

  Reward: Current skill-shot value; Super Secret also advances it

• Quickshot: Harpoon → Fin (the #1 money combo) combo · Medium

  The game's signature two-shot farm: light Quickshot at the mini-flipper lane, shoot the harpoon lane, then quickly nail the moving Shark Fin. Tournament players report 100M+ single collects at high multiplier.

  Reward: 3M + 200K/beachgoer × up to 7x; 3 Quickshots = Extra Ball; each make lights Gear

• Character Combo: Chrissie Watkins combo · Medium

  One of seven fixed Character (Memorial) Combos, single-ball play only. Each unique combo completed permanently adds +250K to all future Beach Closed hurry-up shots.

  Reward: Escalating 5M+ and +250K baked into every future Beach Closed hurry-up

• Character Combo: Sam Quint combo · Hard

  The hardest character combo — it starts on the fishing reel, the trickiest shot on the game, and ends on the shark itself.

  Reward: Escalating 5M+ and +250K to future Beach Closed shots

• Raft Attack 4x Fin Combo combo · Hard

  During the Raft Attack encounter, ramps raise the fin and specific 3-shot chains ending at the fin multiply the award — Wave ramp → harpoon gate → fin is the 4x line (5x via Lookout Tower on Premium/LE).

  Reward: Fin award (5M + 2M per award) multiplied 2x–5x

• 2x Damage Boat Combo combo · Easy

  Any shot that feeds the left inlane (center ramp, wave ramp, left orbit) comboed into the captive ball awards 2x damage — the efficient route to lighting encounters and qualifying Jaws Multiball.

  Reward: 2x damage toward Shark Encounters and Jaws Multiball

• Jaws Multiball 1 — "Reel Him In!" multiball · Medium

  The first barrel multiball. There are no physical locks — the 'lock' is attaching Barrel #1 by shooting the raised Shark Fin. Low-scoring on its own; best stacked with Night Swim or Beach Panic.

  Reward: 5 jackpots to complete; add-a-ball at 3 chum-bucket hits

• Jaws Multiball 2 — "The Chase" multiball · Hard

  The second barrel multiball needs two barrels, each qualified manually: chum line → Ready Barrel at the 3-bank → yellow shot raises the fin → bash the fin to attach.

  Reward: 20M super jackpots at the captive ball (10-second window); add-a-ball at 8 chum hits

• Bounty Hunt — Mako Multiball multiball · Medium

  The easiest of the four Bounty Hunt multiballs and the one to start with: its capture perk (reel spins count 2x + longer Flip-Lock) makes every later bounty faster.

  Reward: Bounty collect + capture perk: 2x reel spins and longer Flip-Lock; capture lights Gear

• Night Search Multiball multiball · Medium

  A 2-ball multiball earned as a Fish Finder award. Jackpots at every major shot time out and unlight; the Fish Finder targets relight them. Completing it earns a permanent +1x base machete.

  Reward: 4 jackpots = light Gear; completion = permanent +1x base machete

• Shark Encounter — Scars (center ramp) mode · Medium

  The highest-value of the five Shark Encounters and the one to play first: safe single-ball shooting, and completion earns a permanent +1x machete. Boost it to 2x before starting.

  Reward: Encounter Jackpot = 35% of mode total (15% if fin missed) + permanent +1x machete

• Shark Encounter — Night Swim (left orbit) mode · Medium

  The West Beach encounter — and the best mode to stack with Jaws Multiball 1, since the multiball keeps the mode alive and multiplies its shots.

  Reward: Blue shots 1M + 750K each; jackpot = 35% of mode total + permanent +1x machete

• Fish Finder — Collect All 5 Awards mode · Easy

  The left 3-bank cycles through five awards: Super Buoys, Super Life Ring, Cast 'N Catch, Light Video Mode (Shark Hunter) and Night Search Multiball. All five light Super Cast 'N Catch.

  Reward: 5 awards; all 5 = Super Cast 'N Catch mini-wizard at the center ramp

• Quint's Shack: Spell O-R-C-A & Tie a Knot mode · Medium

  Strong Wave-ramp shots spell O-R-C-A to light a Quint's Shack award at the right ramp (always 'Light Bounty Hunt' first), and unlock Quint's Challenge knot combos for bonus X.

  Reward: Shack award + each knot = +1x bonus X (2nd+ knots are permanent)

• Machete — the Next-Shot Multiplier multiplier · Medium

  JAWS has no traditional playfield X — the machete is the multiplier engine. Light it at the left 3-bank, arm it through a lit inlane, and spend it only on planned big shots.

  Reward: Base 2x next shot; permanent +1x per completed encounter, bounty capture (excl. first-try Mako), or Night Search completion

• Encounter Boost — 2x Mode Scoring multiplier · Easy

  Extra boat hits before starting an encounter bank boosts: Level 1 +15s timer, Level 2 +5M and light Gear, Level 3 doubles scoring for the entire mode — one of the biggest score levers in the game.

  Reward: L1 +15s / L2 +5M + Gear / L3 2x scoring for the whole encounter

• Mini-Wizard: 4th of July wizard · Hard

  Start all five Shark Encounters to light this mini-wizard at the center ramp: keep every beach open on individual timers and collect 25 fireworks for a super jackpot multiplied by open beaches.

  Reward: Super jackpot × open beaches; every firework adds +150K to Super Celebration; encounters become 2x Challenges after

• Final Wizard: "Smile, You Son of a…" wizard · Hard

  The final showdown, qualified by completing all three barrel multiballs (Reel Him In!, The Chase, Cage Dive). Three ~60-second phases re-enact the movie's ending; victory starts Super Celebration Multiball.

  Reward: Hurry-ups worth 1M × seconds remaining; victory = 6-ball Super Celebration Multiball

• Strategy: Beginner's First 30 Seconds strategy · Easy

  The consensus opener: safe skill shot, feed the boat, start Scars, follow the arrows, and qualify the Life Ring outlane save early. Skip the fishing reel — it's the most drain-prone shot on the game.

• Strategy: Tournament Opener & the Scars Stack strategy · Hard

  The high-score line: Level 2 skill shot, machete lit, 2x encounter boost banked, Scars completed for the permanent machete, then Jaws MB1 stacked into Night Swim with Flip-Lock control.

• Strategy: Hoard Gear, Sell at 25x strategy · Hard

  Quickshots are the fastest Gear source. Collect all six pieces without using any perks, then sell to Quint at the right ramp for up to 375M — which also qualifies Great White Multiball.

  Reward: 15M × up to 25x (all 6 unused) = 375M, +50M per Quint's Challenge knot; qualifies Great White MB

• Jaws Multiball 3 — "Cage Dive" multiball · Hard

  The third barrel multiball, and the last gate before the final wizard. Three barrels must be attached one at a time, each earned by refilling the chum line and re-qualifying a barrel at the 3-bank before bashing the raised fin.

  Reward: Three hurry-up jackpots plus 50M-class fin super jackpots; completion qualifies the final wizard

• Complete All Five Shark Encounters mode · Hard

  Each encounter has its own start shot and each one you finish adds a permanent +1x to base machete, so the sweep compounds all game. Light each encounter at the boat, bank a boost, then start the one whose shot you are hitting cleanly.

  Reward: Five Encounter Jackpots plus a permanent +1x base machete each; all five lit start 4th of July

• Capture Every Bounty Hunt multiball · Hard

  Bounty Hunts are separate small multiballs, one per shark on the board, each qualified by spinner rips and mode chores and each ending on a capture shot at the fishing reel. Take the easiest one first — its perk speeds up every hunt after it — and finish with the six-ball Great White, which unlocks by selling gear to Quint.

  Reward: A capture perk per shark, escalating bounty collects, and the six-ball Great White hunt