Jokerz!

Williams, 1988 — shot-by-shot rules and strategy guide.

Jokerz is a late-eighties Williams with a short rule set and one shot that does almost everything. A raised upper level at the back holds five card lanes; below it sit three banks of drop targets, two side ramps, a raisable centre ramp and a draw poker saucer that spins a wheel in the backglass. It is not a deep game, but it rewards a player who picks one plan and repeats it.

The layout

Upper level card lanes — five rollovers, Ace on the left through to the ten. Rolling one lights that card, and the flipper buttons shift lit lanes across.
The gate — above the upper left drop targets. Lights the lowest unlit card and ejects the ball into the B-E-T rollovers.
B-E-T rollovers — advance the bonus multiplier, with three pop bumpers underneath keeping the ball rattling back over them.
Left and right ramps — the left builds the ramp award, the right collects it. Both climb to the upper level.
Centre ramp and target — the ramp only exists once the target has raised it. This is the lock and jackpot shot.
Draw poker saucer — under the upper level beside the right ramp, lit by the left inlane. Spins the backglass wheel.
Three drop banks — lower left, lower right and upper left, three targets each.

The gate is the game

One shot advances four things at once. Shooting the gate lights the lowest card you do not yet have, then ejects the ball into the B-E-T rollover area, where the pop bumpers knock it back through the rollovers repeatedly and build your bonus multiplier for free. A fair proportion of the time the ball comes back out through the gate on its own, and the cycle starts again. The upper left drop bank also tends to clear itself while you work the shot — one third of the Millions qualifier for free. It is comfortable from the right flipper and an easy backhand from the left, and low risk in a game where several other shots are not.

Filling hands

Light all five upper level cards and the game pays a hundred thousand plus your current bonus. Because the payout includes the bonus, when you complete a hand matters as much as whether you do. Finishing two hands on one ball with a maxed multiplier is the single biggest score the machine offers, since you then collect the bonus again at the end of the ball. Completed hands are counted by the lit bells in the joker's hat, and finishing the set — three by default, though operators can raise it — lights a Special in the draw poker saucer. That saucer is a left-flipper shot and effectively cannot be backhanded.

Ramps, locks and the centre target

The side ramps are a build-and-cash pair. Each left ramp shot raises the award through roughly ten, twenty five, fifty, a hundred, two hundred and fifty and five hundred thousand at the ceiling. The right ramp collects the lot and drops the value back to the bottom, so only cash when it is worth the risk. Both share a hazard: a ball that trips the top switch then rolls back down comes out between the flippers, so keep a slap save ready. The centre target is worse. Hit dead centre from a trapped ball it returns straight down the middle, and off-line it kicks off a post rubber into an outlane. The safe version is to flip at a live ball already rolling down the inlane at an angle, which bounces the target and sends the ball back into play.

Multiball and the jackpot

Raise the centre ramp with the centre target, lock a ball, raise it again, lock the second. Multiball is two balls only.
The jackpot needs four centre ramp shots during multiball and builds toward a four million ceiling. Progress may carry to a later multiball depending on the settings.
Flip one ball up through the gate and let it live in the bumpers, then work the ramp with the other. Trying to control both at once usually costs you one of them straight away.
The target behind the gate doubles playfield values for twenty seconds during multiball — take it early so the window covers your ramp shots.
Clearing all three drop banks starts a timed Millions round where each bank you complete pays a million.

A plan that works

There are two ways to an extra ball. The reliable one is the bonus multiplier: push it to the flashing value and the light comes on over the in and outlanes. It only works once per ball, but the multiplier carries over, so each ball starts closer than the last. The other is the draw poker wheel, which is luck. So the plan is simple — grind the gate every ball until the extra ball lights, take it, and only risk the centre target once you have that cushion. Save the score double for your genuine last ball. It gives you one window to double everything by hitting both side ramps, the window shrinks by five seconds for every million you already have down to a floor of ten, and progress does not carry onto an extra ball. If you have one lit on ball three, score first, collect it, and make the attempt on the extra ball instead.

Goals in Jokerz!

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

The Gate Cycle strategy · Easy

Learn this one shot and you can play the whole machine. The gate lights the lowest unlit card, ejects the ball into the B-E-T rollovers, the pop bumpers keep knocking it back through those rollovers building your multiplier, and often enough it comes back out through the gate and starts the cycle again.

Reward: Cards, bonus multiplier and drop targets, all at once
Fill The Hand progression · Easy

Five cards sit on the upper level, Ace through ten. Light all five and the game pays a hundred thousand plus your current bonus. Because the payout includes the bonus, filling a hand with a maxed multiplier is worth far more than filling one early.

Reward: 100,000 plus your current bonus
Three Hands For The Special progression · Medium

Completed hands are tracked by the lit bells in the joker's hat above the flippers. Finish the set — three by default, though the operator can change it — and a Special lights in the draw poker saucer.

Reward: Special in the draw poker saucer
Bonus Multiplier multiplier · Easy

The B-E-T rollovers drive the multiplier, and the gate feeds you through them over and over. Reaching the flashing value lights an extra ball — once per ball, but the multiplier carries over so the next ball starts you closer.

Reward: Multiplied bonus, plus an extra ball light
Draw Poker mode · Medium

Roll the left inlane to light the saucer, then take it. The backglass wheel spins for an award anywhere from ten thousand up to a Special, with an extra ball somewhere in the middle. The ball is then kicked out to the B-E-T rollovers, so it feeds the multiplier too.

Reward: 10,000 up to Special, plus an extra ball award
Build And Collect The Ramp Award combo · Medium

The two side ramps are a build-and-cash pair. Each left ramp raises the award through roughly ten thousand, twenty five, fifty, a hundred, two fifty and five hundred thousand at the ceiling. The right ramp collects it and knocks the value back to ten thousand.

Reward: Up to 500,000 on a collect
Double Score mode · Hard

On your last ball you get one window to double your entire score by hitting both the left and right ramps. The window shrinks by five seconds for every million points you already have, down to a floor of ten seconds, and it is only offered once per game.

Reward: Your whole score, doubled
Raising The Centre Ramp strategy · Medium

The centre ramp only exists once the centre target has raised it, and that target is the most dangerous shot on the machine. From a trapped ball a perfect hit comes straight back down the middle, and anything off-line kicks off a post rubber into an outlane.

Reward: Access to the lock and jackpot ramp
Drop Target Millions mode · Medium

Three banks of three drop targets: lower left, lower right and upper left. Clear all three to start a timed Millions round, and during it every bank you complete pays a million points.

Reward: 1,000,000 per bank completed
Lock Two And Start Multiball multiball · Hard

A four-step sequence with the same awkward target in the middle of it twice. Raise the centre ramp with the centre target, lock a ball up it, raise the ramp again, lock the second, and multiball starts as a two-ball affair.

Reward: Two-ball multiball
The Jackpot multiball · Hard

The hard one. During multiball you need four centre ramp shots to collect, and the award builds over time toward a four million ceiling. Depending on how the machine is set, partial progress may carry into your next multiball.

Reward: Up to 4,000,000
Playfield Double multiplier · Medium

A short window most players never trigger. Hitting the target behind the gate during multiball doubles playfield values for twenty seconds — stack that with the centre ramp jackpot shots and the multiball is worth twice as much.

Reward: 2X playfield for twenty seconds
Two Routes To An Extra Ball progression · Medium

There are exactly two ways to get an extra ball on this machine, and only one of them is something you can plan for.

Reward: Extra ball
A Working Game Plan strategy · Easy

Jokerz rewards a simple, repetitive plan more than variety. Work the gate until the extra ball light is on, take it, and only then risk the centre target. Save the score double for whichever ball is genuinely your last.

Reward: Extra balls and a consistent scoring floor

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