John Wick

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

Open John Wick in the Pinball Genie app →

Designer: Elliot Eismin. Code: Tim Sexton (pre-0.94), then Mike Vinikour. Editions: Pro / Premium / LE. Ian McShane narrates as Winston. The machine has only two flippers — the Red Circle "dance floor" up top is a non-flippered shoot-in arena.

The core loop

John Wick is a video-game-style enemy game layered on a job + battle structure. Enemies spawn from the Red Circle bumper and standup targets (roughly every 50 switch hits) and sit in front of lit shots, where each enemy acts as a +1x shot multiplier (max 3 enemies = 4x). Defeating enemies is the single biggest scoring lever. The winning pattern everyone repeats: spawn/kill enemies → each enemy multiplies job and multiball shots → stack a Job under a Multiball → cash out at the left eject.

Jobs (7 factions)

Charge the Weapons Crate / right VUK until 3 blue lights are solid, shoot a faction shot to choose which job, then the VUK starts it. Each faction maps to a physical shot: Bowery/Night Watch (left eject), NY Continental/Assassination (left orbit), Osaka/Security Detail (left ramp), High Table/VIP Award (Red Circle), Ruska Roma/Heist (center ramp), Marquis de Gramont/Gather Intel (right orbit), Tarasov/Task a Crew (right ramp). Jobs run on a 60-sec base timer (+3s per shot, +30s every 4th job) and cash out at the left eject for 20% of the job total plus a faction perk. Gather Intel and Assassination are the top point jobs; Task a Crew is played early for its add-a-ball perk. Play 3 jobs → extra ball; play all 7 → wizard mode The Staircase.

Multiballs

• Car Multiball — bash the car to qualify (2 hits, 4 on Pro; +1 each subsequent), start at the lit left orbit. Four rotating variants: Helipad Showdown, Taxicab Chase, Motorcycle Pursuit, and the high-value Bagarre à l'Étoile. Base jackpot 2M, supers up to 5x. Pre-load the car jackpot with single-ball car bashes + spinner rips.
• Deconsecrated Multiball — bash the Continental captive ball to spell WINSTON, lighting the center-ramp lock (virtual on Pro, physical on Prem/LE); lock 3 balls to start. Green jackpots scale with enemies; after 7 jackpots the captive ball opens a 15-sec super jackpot burst. Best multiball to stack with a job.
• Excommunicado Multiball — build the Red Circle dance-floor level with the pop bumper and surrounding standups, then start with a Red Circle shot (or the VIP backdoor plunge if lit). 15-sec build phase → 2-ball MB → 5M+ super.

Adversary Battles (5, single-ball only)

Defeat 10 enemies in single-ball play to light the left eject, then start a battle: Viggo, Kirill, Cassian, Ares, Zero. Timer 200 sec, 40-sec ball save; change target via left standups or pop bumper. Each level continued adds +1x (max 4x); cash before you drain. "Be Seeing You" pays 25M + 10M bonus + first-time extra ball. Cassian (switch frenzy) stacked with Lights Out + Heist's motion-sensor perk can cash 500M+. Zero is the combo battle. Play all 5 → wizard mode The Duel.

Combos

There is no global any-shot combo timer — combos are naturally-flowing, non-repeated lit shots. Key named combos: the MXV skill shot (right orbit → right ramp → left eject = 10M + 10 enemies), the Gather Intel ramp combo (left ↔ right ramp doubles the center-ramp jackpot), and Zero cashouts (chain blue shots, collect at the left eject for 2x). The Task a Crew spinner loop (right ramp arms the spinner at 2x, then rip the left-orbit spinner) is a top repeatable farm.

Multipliers

• BABA (bonus X): right flipper cycles the right-inlane rollovers; spell BABA to step the end-of-ball bonus multiplier (max 5x). VIP Award perk starts it at 2x/ball.
• YAGA / Lights Out (playfield X): left flipper cycles the left inlanes; a YAGA letter only lights where a BABA letter already is. Spell YAGA to light Lights Out, then hit the action button to double all scoring for 30 sec.
• Enemy shot multipliers: the +1x-per-enemy layer above, up to 4x per shot.

Skill shots

Baba Yaga (clean plunge, 0 switches → crate VUK): 1.5M + auto-start a job. Super Crate / Crate for sloppier plunges. VIP backdoor: 650k+, and starts Excommunicado if lit. MXV combo: 10M + 10 enemies. Car skill (Prem/LE only): 850k+ toward Car MB.

Wizard modes (in order)

Red Circle Reckoning (mini — 1 job + 1 battle + one of each MB type), The Staircase (all 7 jobs), The Duel (all 5 battles), and Special Assignment (all 6 multiballs — a limited-flip finale that ends the game).

Editions

Pro uses virtual locks, a bash-only car, standup-target crate, and an open (plugged) Red Circle. Premium/LE add a physical Deconsecrated lock, a motorized/side-hittable ball-locking car, an opening weapons crate with a hidden shot, a motorized Blood Oath Marker, a controlled Red Circle drop target, 3-ball Car MB, and the Car skill shot. LE extras (lighting, backglass, shaker, armor) are cosmetic.

Goals in John Wick

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

• Baba Yaga Skill Shot skillshot · Medium

  The premium beginner skill shot: a clean plunge that hands you 1.5M and instantly starts a lit Job with zero setup.

  Reward: 1.5M + auto-starts any lit Job

• MXV Combo Skill Shot skillshot · Hard

  The scoring skill shot for confident players: a 3-shot plunge combo worth 10M that banks 10 enemies for later shot multipliers.

  Reward: 10M + 10 enemies added to the next spawn

• Gather Intel Ramp Combo combo · Medium

  The cleanest repeatable point pump in the game: combo the two ramps to build a jackpot, then collect it doubled at the center ramp.

  Reward: Doubled (2x) center-ramp jackpot, repeatable

• Zero Combo Cashout combo · Hard

  Zero is the dedicated combo battle: chain distinct blue shots, then cash out at the left eject for double value.

  Reward: 750k +100k/combo +250k per pre-collect shot, doubled at left eject

• Task a Crew Spinner Loop combo · Medium

  Tarasov's job: arm the spinner off the right ramp then rip the left-orbit spinner, and cash out for an add-a-ball that boosts every later multiball.

  Reward: Add-a-ball perk usable in any multiball

• Assassination Kill-Shot Loop combo · Medium

  NY Continental's job, tied for the best-scoring job: hit green shots to light the captive ball for repeated kill shots.

  Reward: Both-outlane ball save + top-tier job points

• Car Jackpot Pre-Load combo · Medium

  Fatten the car jackpot before multiball: bash the car in single-ball play and rip the spinner, then dump it inside a car MB.

  Reward: A pre-loaded car jackpot to cash at 5x in Helipad or 4x in Bagarre

• Car Multiball multiball · Medium

  The most accessible multiball. Bash the car to qualify, shoot the lit left orbit to start, then work the car for jackpots and supers.

  Reward: 2M base jackpots scaling to 5x supers

• Deconsecrated Multiball multiball · Medium

  The best multiball to stack with a job. Spell WINSTON on the captive ball to light the center-ramp lock, lock 3 balls, then farm captive-ball supers.

  Reward: Green jackpots + a 15-sec captive-ball super jackpot burst

• Excommunicado Multiball multiball · Hard

  The hardest multiball to start but high value. Max the Red Circle dance-floor level, then start it with a Red Circle shot (or the VIP backdoor plunge).

  Reward: 2-ball MB, 6 jackpots to a 5M+ super

• Heist Job (Ruska Roma) mode · Medium

  A defensive job worth playing for its perk: light and collect 6 major shots to unlock motion sensors during Lights Out.

  Reward: Motion-sensor perk (enables the 500M Cassian stack)

• Security Detail Job (Osaka) mode · Medium

  Osaka Continental's job. Chase a roving blinking red target 7 times; the perk saves a draining multiball.

  Reward: Multiball-extend perk (once per ball when down to 1 ball)

• Cassian Battle mode · Hard

  The switch-frenzy adversary battle. Stacked with Lights Out and motion sensors it can produce cashouts of 500M+.

  Reward: 500M+ potential cashout

• Qualify & Start an Adversary Battle mode · Medium

  The gateway to all 5 battles and 'The Duel' wizard: defeat 10 enemies in single-ball play, then start at the left eject.

  Reward: 200-sec battle with a 40-sec ball save; path to 'The Duel'

• BABA Bonus Multiplier multiplier · Easy

  The end-of-ball bonus multiplier, cycled by the right flipper at the inlane rollovers up to 5x.

  Reward: Up to 5x end-of-ball bonus (progress carries across balls)

• Lights Out (Playfield X) multiplier · Hard

  The playfield multiplier: spell YAGA at the left inlanes to light Lights Out, then double all scoring for 30 seconds.

  Reward: 2x ALL scoring for 30 seconds

• The Staircase (Wizard 1) wizard · Hard

  The main wizard mode, qualified by completing all 7 faction jobs. Three escalating levels then a 2-ball repeat.

  Reward: Up to 280M at Level 3

• Red Circle Reckoning (Mini-Wizard) wizard · Hard

  The easiest wizard mode: qualify with 1 job + 1 battle + one of each multiball type, then a 60-sec 4-ball hunt.

  Reward: 30M finale shot + an extra ball

• Best Opener: Stack a Job with a Multiball strategy · Easy

  The whole scoring engine: start a job, then stack Car Multiball over it so enemy kills inflate both the job and the MB at once.

  Reward: The core scoring loop, active inside ~30 seconds

• Beginner First 30 Seconds strategy · Easy

  A concrete, low-risk opener that gets a new player into the job+multiball loop with allies and safe shots.

  Reward: Safe, controllable entry into the scoring loop

• Enemy Multiplier Farming strategy · Medium

  The single biggest scoring lever: spawn enemies, kill the ones parked in front of lit shots for up to 4x, then cash multiplied shots in a multiball.

  Reward: Up to 4x on every major shot

• Excommunicado Super Jackpot multiball · Hard

  Turn the arena multiball into a payday: collect all six jackpots around the Red Circle, then cash the super at the entrance.

  Reward: 5M+ arena super jackpot

• Ten Coins For An Extra Ball strategy · Medium

  The most reliable extra ball on the machine: farm gold coins off the right side while you play everything else.

  Reward: Extra ball at 10 coins, plus 1M each in end-of-ball bonus

• The Duel (Final Wizard) wizard · Hard

  The deepest goal on the machine: beat all five adversaries across a game, then lock in the final confrontation at the left eject.

  Reward: The game's final wizard mode