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King Kong: Myth of Terror Island

Stern Pinball, 2025 — shot-by-shot rules and strategy guide.

Open King Kong: Myth of Terror Island in the Pinball Genie app →

Keith Elwin's follow-up to JAWS/Godzilla/Jurassic Park, released spring 2025 in Pro (~$6,999), Premium (~$9,699) and LE (~$12,999, 932 units honoring Kong's 1932 debut). The code is still pre-1.0 as of this writing, so exact point values may shift, but the mechanics below are stable. Roughly 100M is an average game; 300M+ wins tournaments.

Layout at a glance

A four-flipper playfield: two lower flippers with a rare center post between them, a full upper-right flipper fed by the cliffs ramp, and an upper-left mini-flipper serving the drops, river lane and cliffs ramp. There are no pop bumpers. Drain geometry is unusual — the left outlane sits between the two left inlanes. The plunge feeds the top-left, so every skill shot targets left-side features. Key shots: the Gong bash target (summons Kong, starts island scenes; Pro lights it via white island arrows), center ramp (Kong locks/Kombos), Spider Pit (magnet + spider sculpt), cliffs ramp, side ramp, biplane helix ramp, left/right orbits with optical spinners, river lane / Log Bridge (action-button diverter), punchback kicking target, Lost Temple 4-bank drops with a hidden Island Treasure target, and the far-right Kong Cave VUK.

Skill shots

Each unique skill shot instantly spots a KING KONG letter and adds ball-save time, so collecting a different variant every ball is the most efficient early currency. Variants: Skill (pit), Super (river), Anti (left outlane), Secret (inner-left inlane), Super Secret (outer-left inlane), Mega Secret (mini-flipper reflex to cliffs, 1.75M, 2×/3× with a biplane/U-turn follow-up), Double Mega, and Ultra Secret (cliffs → cross-field river, ~7M). A weak plunge that dribbles back grants a Sneak-In re-attempt.

Spelling KING KONG (8 letters)

Letters come from unique skill shots, gong hits, cliffs shots, Pterodactyl cave awards and a flawless Super Sweep. Set 1 perks arm next-shot 2× multipliers (cliffs, river, pit) and light Deadeye (Pro at "G", Prem/LE at "O"); the 8th letter lights T-Rex Battle. A second full spell lights Boss T-Rex (4-ball multiball).

Multiballs

Modes

Five 60-second Island Scenes (Save Ann, Cross the Chasm, Pterodactyl Attack, Stegosaurus Encounter, Escape the Swamp), all started at the gong; playing/completing them feeds 8th Wonder and yields map segments. Crash the Gate is the 6th-scene mini-wizard. Climbing to 200/500 ft lights Island Locks that upgrade a scene to a 2-ball multiball. NYC Events (Stage Fright, Window Shopping, Manhattan Rampage) light at the right orbit after clearing climb shots and each carry one of three single-use scoring modifiers.

Combos ("Kombos")

The core money system: chain major shots to build a 2→5-way Kombo, which lights the Powerup target — cash it for (sum of Kombos) × Kombo length, up to 100M, plus stacked timed buffs. Disabled in multiball. Named combos: Super Sweep (left orbit through the drops → side ramp = 10M, or 50M + a letter for all four), Ricochet (right return → cliffs = 5M), and Biplane combos Barrel Roll and Chandelle Maneuver. Super Spinners (alternating orbit rips, 25M each) is the safest farm.

Climbing, treasures & multipliers

"Always be climbing" — height lights Island Locks, NYC events, an extra ball, and a large end-of-ball bonus term. Map segments feed Treasure Hunts at the Kong Cave; 2× playfield scoring is lit by the four orange X targets + the roving X. Bonus X builds at the drops. End-of-ball bonus = (100 × switches) + (2,500 × height) + (150,000 × letters), all × Bonus X.

Wizard modes

Mini-wizards: Crash the Gate, T-Rex Battle, Boss T-Rex. The main wizard "8th Wonder of the World" is qualified by filling six gate objectives (Island Scenes, Climbing, NYC Events, Biplane Attack, King Kong MB, Spider Pit/Queen), each with L1 and L2 tiers.

Editions

Rules are identical across editions; only mechs differ. Premium/LE add the physical NYC train-car lock, the animatronic Kong, and the river log-bridge diverter, plus two KING KONG letter-timing tweaks (Deadeye at "O", each Save Ann gong enters the VUK). Pro uses virtual locks and white island arrows. LE adds cosmetic/AV upgrades only.

How King Kong: Myth of Terror Island plays

King Kong sends you across Skull Island and up the Empire State Building, with an action button that steers the ball into a hidden river path and a spider-pit magnet that runs its creature battles. Play the island scenes, spell KING KONG for shot multipliers, capture the multiballs, and fill six gate objectives to reach the 8th Wonder of the World.

The loop

  1. Ring the gong to summon Kong and start an Island Scene at the gong saucer, playing it out single-ball while everything else keeps scoring.
  2. Bank a unique skill shot each ball and ring the gong to spell KING KONG, arming next-shot two-times multipliers on the cliffs, river, pit and biplane.
  3. Clear the KONG drop bank to light Kong locks, lock three at the center ramp for King Kong Multiball, and hit the Pit to run the creature-battle multiballs.
  4. Fill the six objectives above the flippers -- island scenes, climbing height, NYC events, biplanes, a King Kong super, and Spider Queen -- to qualify the 8th Wonder of the World.

Reading the lights

  • Gong Island Scenes (mode) — lit: The white island arrows and orange X standups light the gong on Pro, and ringing it summons Kong and lights the Gong Saucer behind it to start an Island Scene that runs single-ball while everything else keeps scoring. · then: Start scenes like Cross the Chasm and Pterodactyl Attack at the gong and never save them for a multiball, where they are near-impossible; playing all five is the first of the six gates to the 8th Wonder.
  • KING KONG Letters (letters) — lit: A unique skill shot each ball instantly spots one KING KONG letter, while switch hits anywhere fill a green bar you cash at the gong for the next letter, and every letter carries a shot-multiplier perk. · flashing: The green bar under the current letter fills with switch hits; ring the gong to collect the letter once it tops out. · then: Spell the first KING KONG for next-shot two-times perks on the cliffs, river and pit, and the second set for a two-times biplane round; all eight letters light the T-Rex Battle mini-wizard at the gong.
  • King Kong Multiball (status) — lit: Clearing the KONG drop bank lights the Kong locks -- the first clear lights all three at once, each one after needs another clear -- and the center ramp is the lock shot. · flashing: A light-kong-lock prompt flashes at the drops whenever the next lock is ready to work toward. · then: Lock three at the center ramp to start King Kong Multiball, hit the cliffs ramp for two-times jackpots and grow the side-ramp super on green-arrow shots, then relock at the center ramp for a twenty-second window that doubles every jackpot.
  • Spider Pit Battles (status) — lit: The Pit's three standups sit in front of a captive magnet, and hitting the Pit lights and starts its creature multiballs. · flashing: A rotating insert at the Pit cycles the monster choice for about ten seconds, so time it to leave the Giant Spider lit. · then: Start the Giant Spider battle, raise its jackpot multiplier toward four times on ramp shots, then drive the magnet-trapped ball into the standups to collect; clearing the creature battles opens Spider Queen, an 8th Wonder objective.
  • River Log Diverter (lanes) — lit: A hidden log diverter can kick a loose ball off into the secret river path, which feeds the mini flipper so the drop bank and cliffs ramp become gentle, deliberate shots. · then: Use the river to set up the Lost Temple drop ciphers and cliffs-ramp shots calmly, leaning on the river's own four-times multiplier and its ball-save checkpoint; the Echo Horn treasure hands you a pair of extra diverter presses each ball. · control: Action button: a press fires the log diverter to send a loose ball down the river lane -- fire it just after a right orbit shot, or even directly from the plunge -- so the ball arrives at the mini flipper and you can take the drops and cliffs ramp at your own pace (a ball is about to reach the river entrance)
  • Building Climb Arrows (ladder) — lit: Yellow climb arrows rove the orbits and ramps -- four lit at random to start -- and completing a set lights the next as your height climbs the building, with that height holding as the spine of your end-of-ball bonus. · then: Keep hitting climb arrows to reach the milestones -- an Island Lock and extra ball near two hundred feet, NYC events higher up, Climb Complete at twelve hundred -- and grab the Powerup target to flash every arrow lit and bank a set fast.
  • Biplane Attack (shot arrows) — lit: Three side-ramp shots qualify the air battle and light the ramp for a kill, while the biplane's helix ramp and the alternating spinners set how much each downed plane is worth. · then: Rip a spinner to pump the next kill, then shoot the side ramp again to down a plane and stack kills before the timer dies; five planes lights the Biplanes Destroyed gate for the 8th Wonder.
  • Powerup Kombos & 2X Scoring (multiplier) — lit: The Powerup target lights whenever a two-way-or-better Kombo is running, and the orange X standups light two-times playfield scoring once you complete them and take the roving X. · flashing: The Powerup target stays lit only while a Kombo chain is alive, so cash it before the chain lapses. · then: Chain five major shots and cash the Powerup target for up to a hundred million plus a stack of timed buffs, and switch on two-times scoring during a multiball or a mode jackpot rather than wasting it on stray singles; both are single-ball only, since Kombos switch off in multiball.

Lane change: not verified for this machine yet.

Start scoring

The Action Button on King Kong: Myth of Terror Island

Center of the lockdown bar.

Mostly a steering control. The button fires a hidden log diverter that shunts a passing ball into the river lane and down to the mini flipper, where the drop targets and cliffs ramp are easy pickings. In the T-Rex fight it stops steering and becomes a mash button.

Goals in King Kong: Myth of Terror Island

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

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