The Munsters

Stern Pinball, 2019 — shot-by-shot rules and strategy guide.

Open The Munsters in the Pinball Genie app →

Designer: John Borg · Code: Dwight Sullivan · Editions: Pro, Premium, LE. The only meaningful rules split is Grandpa: Pro plays Enlarging Ray on the main playfield; Premium/LE play Grandpa's Laboratory on a physical lower mini-playfield with its own flippers, orbits, ramp, saucer, and THE MACHINE bash target.

The Five Family Areas (progression spine)

Herman, Grandpa, Spot, Raven, and Lily. Starting/completing one level of all five qualifies the Munster Madness wizard mode. Every area start does two universal things: lights the Kitty target (playfield-X / bonus-X / Raven advance) and lights the left ramp for a Raven advance. Each area also has its own Super Jackpot collectable at the Dragula lane.

• Herman Multiball — bash Herman to arm a hurry-up; a second hit locks the ball on the magnet; shoot it off to start (3 balls). Fastest MB, once per level.
• Spot — spell S-P-O-T by alternating the two ramps, then bash the popped-up Spot toy 4x (150K/250K/350K/450K). Infamous for center drains.
• Grandpa — light the scoop via chattering-teeth targets. Pro = Enlarging Ray (purple-target jackpots); Prem/LE = Grandpa's Laboratory lower-PF multiball via THE MACHINE.
• Raven Multiball — collect 3 left-ramp Raven advances to start; the left-orbit spinner advances a clock that raises jackpot value toward midnight.
• Lily — shoot the Lily target 4x to start an "Everything Scores" frenzy that stacks with almost everything; 100 switch hits lights its Super.

Scoring engine: 6X + stacked Super Jackpots

This is not a combo/flow game. Tournament players farm the 6X playfield multiplier (built and held at the Kitty target, ~1-minute timer, tap Kitty to keep it alive) and stacked Super Jackpots. There are 10 (Pro) / 11 (Prem/LE) independent Super Jackpot qualifiers (Herman, Spot, Lily, Grandpa/Enlarging Ray, Raven, Eddie, Marilyn, Zap, Mystery, Chattering Teeth, +Machine on Prem/LE) and ALL of them stack at the Dragula lane. Hold the Zap button (~1/3 sec) to cancel a collect and keep stacking, then dump the whole stack at 6X. A perfect Munster Madness cycle is community-cited at ~938M at 6X vs ~91M at 3X.

Side systems

• Zap button (lockbar) — hit a purple mini-target (or THE MACHINE) to make it blink; press to charge a 5-slot meter; charged jackpot shots leave Zap Jackpots (every 4 → Zap Super).
• Eddie — orbit loops, every 5 → Eddie Super. Marilyn — inner-left inlane lights right ramp; every 2 departures → rotating Super buff + Marilyn Super.
• Dragula bank — spell D-R-A-G-U-L-A to light 5X Dragula. Chattering Teeth milestones drive bonus-X, Extra Ball, Secret Mania, and Super Jackpots.

Wizard: Munster Madness (4-ball)

Stage 1 complete areas for buffs → Stage 2 collect jackpots → Stage 3 four cascading hurry-ups in order left ramp → right orbit → right ramp → left orbit, each adding the previous value. Hidden Secret Mania (130 teeth or Mystery) lights all 7 areas.

Goals in The Munsters

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

• Standard Skill Shot skillshot · Easy

  Full plunge into the lit right top lane for points and a guaranteed +1 Bonus Multiplier within the ~10-second window.

  Reward: ~250K + 1 Bonus Multiplier (+25K/sec remaining)

• Super Skill Shot skillshot · Medium

  Hold the left flipper during the plunge, then shoot the right ramp for roughly double value.

  Reward: ~500K + Bonus X

• 6X Playfield Build & Hold (Kitty) combo · Medium

  The master money loop: drive the Kitty target to 6X and keep tapping it to hold the multiplier indefinitely under everything else.

  Reward: 6X playfield multiplier held

• Stack Supers, Hold Zap, Dump at Dragula combo · Hard

  The single highest-EV sequence: qualify many Super Jackpots, cancel-and-restack with the Zap button, then dump the whole stack at Dragula under 6X.

  Reward: Massive stacked Super Jackpot cash-out (up to ~23X on 10-super stack)

• Raven Multiball at 6X combo · Hard

  The premier padding loop — start Raven, hold 6X at Kitty, pump the clock with the spinner, and cash 4 jackpots at Dragula.

  Reward: 6X Raven Multiball (community-cited huge score padding)

• Combo Into Spot combo · Medium

  The only combo that materially changes a scoring decision: approach Spot with a live combo to boost his value.

  Reward: Boosted Spot values (150K/250K/350K/450K ladder)

• Munster Madness Hurry-Up Cascade combo · Hard

  Stage 3 of the wizard mode: four sequential hurry-ups in a fixed order, each adding the previous value.

  Reward: Cascading Munster Madness hurry-ups (~938M perfect at 6X)

• Herman Multiball multiball · Easy

  The fastest multiball on the machine (~3 shots). Bash Herman, lock on the magnet, release for a 3-ball multiball. Once per level.

  Reward: Herman Multiball (3 balls, 2X hurry-up value)

• Raven Multiball multiball · Medium

  Light 3 Raven advances via lit-Kitty collects and mode starts, collect them at the left ramp, then work the 4 jackpots.

  Reward: Raven Multiball (3 balls) + Raven Super Jackpot

• Grandpa's Laboratory Multiball multiball · Hard

  Premium/LE only: light and enter the scoop to drop balls to the lower mini-playfield, qualify THE MACHINE with both orbits, then start the multiball.

  Reward: Grandpa Multiball + Machine Super Jackpot (11th qualifier)

• Spot Mode (S-P-O-T) mode · Medium

  Spell SPOT by alternating the ramps, then bash the popped-up Spot toy four times for escalating points. Beware center drains.

  Reward: Spot Super Jackpot

• Lily 'Everything Scores' Frenzy mode · Medium

  Shoot the Lily target 4x to start a frenzy where every switch hit scores; it stacks with almost everything.

  Reward: Lily frenzy + Lily Super Jackpot (100 switch hits)

• Enlarging Ray (Grandpa, Pro) mode · Medium

  The Pro Grandpa mode on the main playfield: light the scoop with purple targets, then collect stacked purple jackpots (great for charging Zap).

  Reward: Enlarging Ray Super Jackpot + Zap charge

• Marilyn Boyfriend Departures mode · Medium

  Roll the flashing inner-left inlane to light the right ramp; every 2 departures grants a rotating Super buff and lights the Marilyn Super.

  Reward: Marilyn Super Jackpot + rotating buff (Super Pops/Spinner/Loops)

• Playfield Multiplier (Kitty) multiplier · Easy

  The core multiplier: starting any family area lights Kitty, and collecting it advances the playfield multiplier up to 6X on a ~1-minute timer.

  Reward: Up to 6X playfield multiplier

• 5X Dragula Shot Multiplier multiplier · Medium

  Complete the D-R-A-G-U-L-A standup bank to light 5X Dragula, then collect a boosted award at the hole.

  Reward: 5X Dragula shot multiplier + bonus multipliers

• Munster Madness (Wizard Mode) wizard · Hard

  Start one level of all five family areas to reach 'Munster Madness Ready', then shoot the scoop to begin the 4-ball wizard multiball.

  Reward: Munster Madness — 4-ball wizard multiball

• Secret Mania (Hidden Mini-Wizard) wizard · Hard

  Bank 130 chattering teeth (or take a Mystery award) to light all 7 family areas for escalating scores.

  Reward: Secret Mania — all 7 areas lit for escalating scores

• Beginner Safe Opener strategy · Easy

  Control first, then bank the fast Herman multiball, pivot to Lily during it, and start climbing the multiplier at Kitty.

  Reward: Safe early multiball + multiplier start

• Tournament Risk-First Opener strategy · Hard

  Dispatch the dangerous areas early (Spot, Grandpa), weave in Herman and Lily, then build 6X and cash a stacked Super Jackpot.

  Reward: Risk-first path into 6X stacked cash-outs

• Zap Button Flow strategy · Medium

  Charge the Zap meter off the purple targets, spend charges on jackpot shots to spawn Zap Jackpots, and qualify the Zap Super for the stack.

  Reward: Zap Super Jackpot qualifier (folds into the Dragula stack)

• Cycle the Rotating Super Buffs combo · Medium

  Every second Marilyn departure hands out the next rotating buff (pops, spinner, loops) — bank departures, then immediately spend each buff on the shot it boosts.

  Reward: Super Pops / Super Spinner / Super Loops scoring windows