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Labyrinth

Barrels of Fun, 2024 — shot-by-shot rules and strategy guide.

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Labyrinth is a boutique, single-configuration title (MSRP ~$10,600, 1,100-unit run — no Pro/Premium/LE split) themed to Jim Henson's 1986 film. Design: David Van Es, rules by Phil Grimaldi and Bowen Kerins, on the FAST pinball platform. It has three flippers (two lower, one upper-right) and no pop bumpers.

Skill Shots

Seven plunge-strength options route the ball to different first shots — Ello Worm (short), Wiseman scoop (medium-strong, sets up a Super Skill Shot combo if followed immediately by the bridge/inner loop off the upper flipper for 1.2M), the Change Mode target (Target Skillshot, the highest flat value and double-duty toward mode progress), the bridge/inner loop, "Egdirb" (a reverse-loop mis-route), or the back Village scoop (long plunge). Values scale roughly ×2 on ball 2 and ×3 on ball 3.

Modes (6 total, in two tiers of three)

Spell LABYRINTH on white-arrow shots to flash Start Mode inserts at the Horseshoe, then shoot the Horseshoe (either side) or the Wiseman scoop to launch the lit mode. The Change Mode target cycles which mode is lit within its tier (upper: Knockers/Four Guards/Fireys; lower: Cleaners/Oubliette/Bog). Spelling HELP at the in/outlanes arms Sir Didymus's ball-save post and lights Helping Hands scoop to finish LABYRINTH or swap tiers.

Multiballs

Brick Keeper locks via wall/Fairy targets then green targets at left orbit, center ramp, and right orbit; red-arrow jackpots light the forks for a captive-ball-into-spinner Super Jackpot. Friend Multiball starts at Helping Hands scoop once all three Friends (Hoggle/Ludo/Sir Didymus) have a jackpot. Tea Time Multiball starts from an Ello Mystery award; orbit shots multiply and Horseshoe shots increase a hurry-up banked under the left ramp. Wiseman Multiball auto-starts on the 4th completed Wiseman Quest, scoring jackpots at the Wiseman scoop.

Friends, Quests, and Mystery

Hoggle/Ludo/Sir Didymus each level up 1-4 through found items and collected jackpots, granting scoring bonuses, easier locks, and ball-save perks; Level 4 lights a Collect Orb insert for each. Wiseman Quests are started by knocking down the Wiseman drop target and shooting the scoop; each of 6 completions adds +1x Bonus Multiplier, with milestones lighting Friendzy, Extra Ball, Wiseman Multiball, and an Orb. Ello Mystery awards are lit by hitting the paired Wiseman targets and collected at the lane under the upper flipper.

The Orb System and Wizard Modes

Thirteen Orbs — one from each mode, each Friend at Level 4, Brick Keeper (5 cumulative Super Jackpots), Wiseman Quests (6 completions), Friend Multiball, and Goblin City — are each lit by their achievement and collected at the lane under the upper flipper (10M + a stacking "rainbow" multiplier). Completing all 3 modes on one tier triggers Poisoned Peach, a timed mini-wizard mode where ramp-to-ramp combos power up two drop targets that must each be hit twice to break the spell. Completing all 6 modes qualifies Goblin City Multiball, a three-phase wizard mode (Defeat The Gate → Evade Capture → Counterattack) ending in an all-shots-lit jackpot frenzy. Collecting all 13 Orbs qualifies Battle Jareth, the super/ultimate wizard mode, where draining or hitting the mode clock's "13" costs an Orb.

Strategy in Brief

Open with the Target Skillshot, take an early Friend shot, and start a Wiseman Quest as soon as possible so its multiplier compounds all ball. New players should aim for The Knockers or The Oubliette first (simplest execution) over The Bog or The Four Guards. At a competitive level, Orbs — not any single combo shot — are the real currency: prioritize clearing modes, grinding Quests, and cashing every lit Orb over farming one shot repeatedly.

How Labyrinth plays

Labyrinth sends you through Jareth's maze to befriend Hoggle, Ludo and Sir Didymus and clear the story modes hidden inside it. Almost everything you finish -- modes, quests, multiballs, friendships -- pays out an Orb, and thirteen Orbs open Battle Jareth.

The loop

  1. Use the plunger's seven strengths to pick your first shot, since there is no lockbar button and everything after the plunge is flippers.
  2. Advance and collect each Friend to climb their levels, and open Wiseman Quests early so the bonus multiplier compounds all ball.
  3. Start a story mode at the Horseshoe -- cycling which one is lit with the Change Mode target -- and clear it for an Orb.
  4. Build the four multiballs, each of which banks an Orb of its own, and grind the Cleaners hurry-up for another.
  5. Collect all thirteen Orbs to light the back-left castle for Battle Jareth.

Reading the lights

  • Friend Circles (status) — lit: Each Friend has a color -- Hoggle yellow, Ludo orange, Sir Didymus blue -- and hitting the lit circle then its relocating collect shot is one level; levels are tracked per Friend and carry from ball to ball. · flashing: Helping Hands flashes green once all three Friends hold a jackpot, meaning Friend Multiball is ready to start. · then: Cash Friend Multiball for a quick Orb, or hold off and take each Friend all the way to Level 4 -- every Friend that reaches it lights an Orb of its own. · control: Either flipper button: holding either flipper button as Helping Hands flashes declines the Friend Multiball start, so you can keep leveling the Friends for bigger jackpots instead of cashing in early (when Helping Hands flashes green to start Friend Multiball)
  • Wiseman Quests (ladder) — lit: Knocking down the drop target guarding the scoop opens it for a random Quest -- five ramps, five orbits, ten targets -- and the drop resets itself within a few seconds, so treat the knock-then-scoop as a single motion. · then: Every finished Quest adds a step to your end-of-ball bonus multiplier, so start them early to compound; the sixth completion lights an Orb, and the fourth auto-starts Wiseman Multiball.
  • Brick Keeper Locks (status) — lit: The wall target and the Fairy circles light the three locks, and a green standup on each orbit plus one at the center ramp holds them; shooting the last green target starts the multiball. · then: In the multiball, trap a ball in the left-orbit forks and ram the captive ball repeatedly into the spinner to pump the Super Jackpot higher before you cash it -- banking five supers across the multiball lights an Orb, and every relight demands one more regular jackpot than the one before.
  • The Cleaners Hurry-Up (shot arrows) — lit: Ripping the left-orbit spinner inflates a hurry-up whose value only counts once you cash it at the right orbit; the longer you spin the bigger the collect, but letting the clock strike thirteen pays nothing. · then: Cash it up to three times per attempt, stopping a shade earlier than feels right, and reach five million across the collects to light an Orb.
  • Story Modes (mode) — lit: When no mode is running, an insert shows which story mode is queued, and a hit on the Change Mode target from the upper flipper rotates it to the one you want; the Horseshoe starts it once Mode Start flashes. · then: Clear modes for the biggest Orb bucket of all -- six of the thirteen -- and playing all three modes on one level qualifies Poisoned Peach while playing all six qualifies Goblin City.
  • Orb Collect & Rainbow (multiplier) — lit: Any mode clear, multiball jackpot, Quest milestone or Friend Level 4 lights Collect Orb at the upper-flipper shot; the ten-million Orb is the currency that gates Battle Jareth, so a lit one is never left sitting. · then: Cash the Orb the moment it lights, then shoot a lit rainbow arrow to stack a multiplier onto future Orb value -- but that stacked multiplier vanishes if the ball drains before it is locked in.
  • Ello Mystery & Tea Time (shot arrows) — lit: Tagging either Wiseman target that flanks the scoop lights the Ello Mystery at the upper-flipper shot; collecting it while Tea Time is the lit award starts Tea Time Multiball on the spot. · then: Inflate the hurry-up first with orbit and Horseshoe shots, then bank it under the left ramp, and keep running the loop to stack more jackpots until the clock runs out.
  • H-E-L-P Lanes (lanes) — lit: A lit HELP rollover is a letter you still need as the ball rolls the in and outlanes; treat the set as a save you are building rather than letters you happen to catch. · then: Spelling HELP raises the Sir Didymus staff post over the left outlane as a ball save, and can light Helping Hands at the left scoop for a mode-tier change.
  • Goblin City & Battle Jareth (mode) — lit: Playing all six story modes qualifies Goblin City Multiball, whose Counterattack phase lights every shot at once for the thirteenth Orb; that final Orb and its rainbow shot are what light both orbits into the back-left castle. · then: Battle Jareth is the game-ending fight fed from either orbit into the castle corner -- but a drain or a clock strike of thirteen there costs you an Orb, so keep working both orbits rather than risking the flipper-to-corner shot.

Lane change: not verified for this machine yet.

Start scoring

  • Ball one — Medium-plunge the Target Skillshot off the upper flipper -- the highest flat skill value, and it hits Change Mode for free mode progress. Take whichever Friend circle is lit, then knock the Wiseman drop target and shoot the scoop behind it to open a Quest, starting the bonus-multiplier engine early. Spell HELP through the lanes to raise the Sir Didymus save post. — Target Skillshot, Best Opener, Beginner First 30 Seconds
  • Building — Grind Wiseman Quests for stacking bonus multiplier and build the Friends toward Level 4 -- hold a flipper to decline Friend Multiball so you keep leveling for bigger jackpots and three separate Orbs. Farm the Cleaners hurry-up off the spinner and the right orbit, and light Brick Keeper Multiball to bash the captive-ball Super Jackpot. — Bonus Multiplier via Wiseman Quests, Brick Keeper Multiball, Maxing the Friends to Level 4, The Cleaners Hurry-Up Loop
  • The big one — Orbs are the real currency: six come from clearing the story modes, more from Quests, Friend Level 4s and each multiball, and the thirteenth from a Goblin City Counterattack Super Jackpot. Collect all thirteen to light both orbits into the back-left castle for Battle Jareth, the game-ending fight, and cash every Orb the moment it lights so a drain never robs you of one. — Battle Jareth, Goblin City Multiball, Orb Rush (Advanced Priority)

Does Labyrinth have an action button?

Despite being a brand-new machine, Labyrinth skips the lockdown-bar button entirely. The cabinet carries two flipper buttons, a green start button, and a genuine spring plunger — nothing else to press. Your extra layer of control is the plunger itself: seven distinct plunge strengths send the ball to seven different first shots, and everything after that is flippers.

Goals in Labyrinth

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

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