KISS
Stern Pinball, 2015 — shot-by-shot rules and strategy guide.
Open KISS in the Pinball Genie app →Designed by John Borg on SPIKE-1 hardware, KISS is a shot-based, mode-and-multiplier scoring game built around eight setlist "songs," two competing multiballs, and a long band-insert wizard-mode chain. The physical layout is identical across Pro/Premium/LE except for two hardware swaps: the Demon head's ball lock (physical 3-ball on Premium/LE, virtual/disc on Pro) and the Love Gun captive-ball mech (Premium/LE only; Pro plays that phase with two loose balls).
No skill shot
KISS has no formally awarded skill shot. The only plunge-related techniques are two "cheese" exploits: a soft-plunge delay that pre-trips the left-orbit switch, and a right-loop re-entry trick where a ball falling back into the right loop can double-collect an award.
Songs (modes)
Eight untimed shot-sequence modes — Deuce, Hotter Than Hell, Lick It Up, Shout It Out Loud, Detroit Rock City, Rock and Roll All Night, Love It Loud, and Black Diamond — are selected at the Backstage Pass scoop ("New Track") at ball start or between shots. Progress carries ball-to-ball; you can't run two at once or select one during multiball. Deuce is the beginner-friendly opener (two lit shots migrate left-to-right, then alternate); Detroit Rock City and Hotter Than Hell are flagged as advanced/high-drain. Completing any song steps an untimed, ball-long Playfield Multiplier: 2x -> 3x -> 5x -> Colossal — the single biggest scoring lever in the game, since it's permanent for the ball and stacks with everything after it.
Multiballs
Demon Multiball ("God of Thunder") is qualified by completing the Lock targets flanking the Demon head, or spelling D-E-M-O-N at the Demon shot, then locking 3 balls (physically on Premium/LE, virtually on Pro). Six major shots pay 2 Jackpots each; the 6th and 12th collections are Super Jackpots, escalating to a roving Double Jackpot and Double Super Jackpot. Locking balls during Demon MB itself adds a temporary +2X/+3X playfield stack. It's the harder-to-start but more consistent-value multiball.
Love Gun Multiball ("Flying Starchild") is qualified by repeated STAR-target hits and launched via the right ramp or Starchild saucer as a 2-ball multiball. Premium/LE gates a 3rd ball behind a captive drop target Hurry-Up; Pro plays the Hurry-Up phase with 2 loose balls. All major shots pay Jackpot, then Double Jackpot, building to a Triple Jackpot at the right ramp and a ~50M Super Jackpot at the Starchild/STAR shot. It's faster to start but "sloppier" and lower-average-value than Demon.
KISS Army Multiball is a sub-wizard multiball, qualified once all four band-member inserts (Star Child, Space Man, Demon, Cat Man) reach their flashing state, started at the scoop.
Multiballs never stack with each other or with mode play — pick one lane and commit.
Combos and hurry-ups
Any shot immediately following another while its arrow is still flashing scores double ("combo"). Fifteen named City Combos (1M x number of shots) run from 2-shot (Chicago, Pittsburgh, Seattle, Portland) through 3-, 4-, and 5-shot chains up to the brutal 10-shot Detroit. Rolling the left inlane lights an Army Combo, making the ARMY bank flash as the combo target; rolling the right inlane lights a Kiss Combo, making the KISS bank flash. One hit on the flashing bank instantly completes the whole bank and lights a Hurry-Up — Army Hurry-Up collected at the center ramp, Kiss Hurry-Up collected at the left orbit. The only documented stack is collecting both a pending Army Hurry-Up and Kiss Hurry-Up in the same cycle, which awards a 2X Shot Multiplier.
Grid, bonus, and wizard chain
A 16-light Grid (KISS bank, ARMY bank, 4 pop-bumper tiers, 4 instruments) feeds end-of-ball bonus and, completed twice by default (adjustable down to one completion), qualifies Heaven's on Fire, a mini-wizard scoop mode built around re-clearing the grid for a Super Jackpot. The four band-member inserts each track a flashing (partial) and solid (complete) state; all four solid qualifies Rock City, the final wizard mode — an 8-stage, 3-ball multiball (Instrument -> Kiss Army -> Pop Bumper -> Demon -> Starchild -> Spinner -> World -> ~100M Final Shot at the scoop).
Strategy in one line
Bank playfield multiplier by finishing songs before starting a multiball, favor Demon Multiball for consistency once you have the choice, and lead every ball with Deuce + center ramp while spelling KISS early for outlane insurance.
How KISS plays
KISS turns a set list into a scoring engine: play the songs, spell KISS and ARMY, and roll through the band's three multiballs. Turn all four band-member inserts solid to reach the Rock City finale.
The loop
- Select a song at the Backstage Pass scoop and clear its lit shots, since only a full completion steps the playfield multiplier.
- Spell KISS and ARMY on the target banks for hurry-ups, combos and the Front Row outlane save.
- Lock three balls in the Demon head and build the STAR targets to start the Demon and Love Gun multiballs.
- Light every band-member insert solid, then start Rock City at the scoop for its eight-stage finish.
Reading the lights
- New Track Scoop (mode) — lit: A lit scoop starts the New Track song you pick, and each song lights its own sequence of shots to clear. · then: A completed song steps an untimed playfield multiplier through 2x, 3x, 5x and Colossal for the rest of the ball, so bank songs before you cash a multiball; the same scoop also starts both wizard modes.
- KISS & ARMY Banks (letters) — lit: A lit letter on either the KISS or the ARMY bank is one you still need, and a letter already knocked down stays down until that word is finished. · then: Rolling a return lane lights that side's Combo so one bank hit completes the whole word for a Hurry-Up, KISS paying at the left orbit and ARMY at the center ramp, and collecting both in a single cycle stacks a 2x shot multiplier. Spelling KISS also lights the Front Row kickback over the unprotected left outlane.
- Demon Head Lock (status) — lit: Completing both Lock targets flanking the Demon's mouth lights Lock at the head, where a ball is held physically on Premium and LE or tracked virtually on a Pro. · then: Lock three to start Demon Multiball, the steadiest multiball here; hitting the Lock targets again while it runs holds a ball for a temporary added doubler, then tripler, stacked on top of your song multiplier.
- STAR Targets (status) — lit: Repeated hits on the STAR targets in the Starchild playfield fill the meter that qualifies Love Gun, and every Love Gun after the first asks for more hits than the one before. · then: Launch it at the right ramp or the Starchild saucer and climb the jackpot ladder toward a roughly fifty-million Super, and landing a Love Gun Super is what turns the Star Child band insert solid for the finale.
- Pop Bumper Colors (ladder) — lit: Each pop bumper climbs a red-to-green-to-purple ladder as the cluster is fed through the right orbit, and rolling the leftmost left return lane first arms a bumper advance on that orbit. · then: Walk all four bumpers to purple to turn the Cat Man insert solid and stock the sixteen-light Grid, and arming all four inlane lights before an orbit shot bumps every bumper up at once.
- Band-Member Inserts (status) — lit: The four band-member inserts light at their own milestones: instruments for Space Man, a Love Gun Super for Star Child, a Demon Double Super for Demon, and every bumper purple for Cat Man. · flashing: All four flashing at once qualifies KISS Army Multiball at the scoop, where every non-Demon shot starts lit for a jackpot. · then: Push each of the four inserts from flashing to solid and the scoop lights Rock City, the eight-stage three-ball finale that ends on a roughly hundred-million Final Shot.
Lane change: not verified for this machine yet.
Start scoring
- Ball one — Pick the safest song, Deuce, at the scoop and open each ball on the center ramp, the surest shot on the layout, to walk its lit shots across the playfield. Spell KISS on the bank early to light the Front Row kickback before you risk the open left outlane. — Deuce (Song Mode), Best Opener: Deuce + Center Ramp, Beginner First 30 Seconds
- Building — Complete songs to climb the playfield multiplier toward Colossal while banking Demon Lock progress alongside, then start Demon Multiball so its jackpots inherit your best multiplier. Farm the ramp city combos and land both Hurry-Ups in one cycle for a 2x shot multiplier. — Playfield Multiplier Ladder, Demon Multiball, Stack Modes Before Cashing Multiball, San Francisco Combo
- The big one — Rock City is the finale: turn all four band members solid with twelve instruments, a Love Gun Super, a Demon Double Super and every bumper purple, then start it at the scoop. Its eight stages run three balls and end on a roughly hundred-million Final Shot, with Heaven's on Fire as the mini-wizard along the way. — Rock City (Final Wizard Mode), Heaven's on Fire (Mini-Wizard)
Does KISS have an action button?
KISS came out just before Stern made the lockdown-bar button standard, so there is nothing to press on the front rail. Your cabinet controls are the two flipper buttons, the shooter lane, start, and the white tournament button next to it — every decision in this game is made with a flipper or a shot.
Goals in KISS
Every goal below is tracked step-by-step, with shot paths drawn on the playfield map, inside the app.
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KISS has no formal awarded skill shot — this is the known cheese: plunge soft to delay the left-orbit switch trip and pre-load a left-orbit requirement before your first flipper touch.
Reward: Pre-loads whatever left-orbit award/combo is currently active
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Shoot the right orbit and let the ball fall back into the same switch to double-trip it and re-collect whatever's lit there.
Reward: Re-collects the currently lit right-orbit award
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The easiest City Combo on the table — center ramp straight into right ramp while both arrows flash for double value.
Reward: 2M (1M x 2 shots)
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Chicago run in reverse — right ramp into center ramp — trivially farmable filler between other objectives.
Reward: 2M (1M x 2 shots)
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Roll the left inlane to light Army Combo, then hit the flashing ARMY bank shot to instantly complete the whole bank and light an Army Hurry-Up, collected at the center ramp.
Reward: Army Hurry-Up collected at the center ramp; stacking it with a pending Kiss Hurry-Up in one cycle awards a 2X Shot Multiplier (only documented stack)
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Mirror of the Army combo on the right side — roll the right inlane to light Kiss Combo, then hit the flashing KISS bank shot to instantly complete the whole bank and light a Kiss Hurry-Up, collected at the left orbit.
Reward: Kiss Hurry-Up collected at the left orbit; stacking it with a pending Army Hurry-Up in one cycle awards a 2X Shot Multiplier (only documented stack)
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A 3-shot money combo threading right ramp, center ramp, and the Demon head.
Reward: 3M (1M x 3 shots)
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The big 5-shot money combo — hammer the center ramp four times then finish on the right orbit.
Reward: 5M (1M x 5 shots)
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Lock 3 balls in the Gene Simmons Demon head — physically on Premium/LE, virtually on Pro — for the game's most consistent-value multiball.
Reward: 6 major shots x2 Jackpots, then Super Jackpots and a strobing Double Jackpot
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Love Gun Multiball (Flying Starchild)
Build STAR-target hits to qualify, then launch via the right ramp or Starchild saucer for a fast but riskier multiball.
Reward: Jackpots -> Double Jackpots -> Triple Jackpot -> ~50M Super Jackpot
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Get all 4 band-member inserts flashing to qualify this sub-wizard multiball, then shoot the scoop to start it.
Reward: Super Jackpot at the Demon after clearing every lit shot
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The consensus easiest, safest opening song — two lit shots migrate left-to-right across the playfield, then alternate faster and faster.
Reward: ~300K x shots made (cap ~2.4M) plus a step on the playfield multiplier
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All major shots light at once; clear left-to-right to stack the doubler on the highest-value shots first. An advanced, high-drain-risk mode — avoid it early.
Reward: ~200K x shots made, final shot up to 3.6M if flashing
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Shoot the right orbit into the pop bumpers; whichever bumper you hit determines the next lit shot — the roughest mode since it leans on repeat right-orbit shots.
Reward: ~300K x shots made (final ~2.4M)
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Rock and Roll All Night (Song Mode)
A chained-lighting mode that alternates sides of the playfield, ending on a run that includes the Demon.
Reward: ~500K x shots made (final up to ~4M)
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Completing song modes steps an untimed, ball-long playfield multiplier: 2x, then 3x, 5x, then Colossal — the single biggest scoring lever in the game.
Reward: Up to Colossal (10x) playfield multiplier for the rest of the ball
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Hit the Lock targets during Demon Multiball to add a temporary +2x/+3x playfield stack plus a ~20-second ball hold, additive with the song multiplier.
Reward: +2X (one ball held) or +3X (two balls held) for ~20 seconds
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Heaven's on Fire (Mini-Wizard)
Complete the full 16-light Grid twice by default (adjustable down to one completion) to qualify this mini-wizard, then re-clear the grid elements at the scoop for a Super Jackpot.
Reward: Super Jackpot at the scoop + repeatable Add-A-Ball via STAR targets
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Get all 4 band-member inserts to their solid state, then shoot the scoop to start the 8-stage, 3-ball Rock City finale.
Reward: ~100M Final Shot at the end of Stage 8
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Best Opener: Deuce + Center Ramp
Select Deuce at New Track and lead every ball with the center ramp — the safest, highest-percentage opening sequence in the game.
Reward: Deuce song progress on the safest shot in the game, plus banked Demon Lock progress and an instrument toward Rock City's Space Man req
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A concrete shot-by-shot opening plan for a new player: normal plunge, safe mode, spell KISS for outlane insurance, avoid high-drain shots.
Reward: Deuce song progress plus the Front Row kickback lit, insuring the unprotected left outlane
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Stack Modes Before Cashing Multiball
The core tournament heuristic: bank the highest playfield multiplier by finishing songs first, then start Demon Multiball so jackpots inherit it — one great ball beats three good ones.
Reward: Demon Multiball jackpots land at your maxed playfield multiplier (up to Colossal/10x) instead of a lower one
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Pop Bumper Color Ladder to Purple
Feed the pop-bumper cluster off the right orbit over and over to walk every bumper up the red-green-purple color tiers — grid fuel, and the Cat Man requirement for the finale.
Reward: All four bumpers at purple: satisfies the Cat Man insert condition and banks grid progress toward the mini-wizard
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