Mustang

Stern Pinball, 2014 — shot-by-shot rules and strategy guide.

Open Mustang in the Pinball Genie app →

Mustang runs on two tracks at once. The gear ladder decides which multiball you get and what your super jackpot is worth. The six modes decide whether you see the game's deep end. Neither feeds the other, and most players spend a whole game on one without realising the other exists.

Start with the skill shot

Hold the left flipper in before you launch. Three lamps in front of the gears targets sweep back and forth — GE, A and RS — and hitting the A while its lamp is lit advances you two gears in one shot, though it will not carry you past gear four. GE and RS each pay a million, and the scoop pays two.

The real skill is arriving at a stationary ball, because any significant shot beforehand cancels it. Plunge somewhere you can control: softly, so it traps on the right flipper, or hard enough to catch it live on the left or pass it across the loop. Which works depends on your machine.

Climbing the gears

You start in first gear, and each completed set of drop targets shifts you up one. Gears five and six add a timing requirement on top.

• Gears two to four — just clear the drop bank.
• Gear five — clear all the drops, then hit one of the two standups behind them inside five seconds.
• Gear six — clear the drops, hit one standup inside five seconds, then the other within another five.
• The super jackpot is the sum of the gears you have climbed: gear four pays ten million, gear six normally pays twenty-one, but the very first gear six super is boosted to fifty million.
• Once a gear's multiball has been played it is gone. Start in third and your next has to be four, five or six; start in sixth and you have to come back down.

That first super jackpot has a generous timer, and the right thing to do with it is not to shoot the super. Go and arm the N2O boost first. Double scoring on a fifty million super is the biggest single swing available to you.

The six modes

Modes are selected and started at the scoop, and there are two thresholds worth knowing. Merely starting all six prepares Drift; lighting all six solid — actually finishing them — prepares Silverball Stampede.

• Cruisin' — the only mode needing two starts. The first pass wants every shot once, and taking them strictly left to right doubles each. The second wants the first four in order, then a roving light caught four times, faster each time.
• Road Course — the first four of six lit shots advance you, then the two you skipped become the only ones that count, needing four more hits between them before the scoop ends the race.
• Police Pursuit — cheapest of the top row at eight shots. Alternate sides for yellow light, any of four for red light, then right orbit twice and left ramp twice.
• Stunt Driver — gears target, left ramp, then left ramp or right orbit, then anything on the right.
• Drag Race — five standup hits pushes you to gear six and starts a multiball, completing only once you are back to single-ball play.
• Rally Race — left, right, right, then a shortcut lights at the left ramp. Hit it and you save two shots; miss it and the captive ball becomes mandatory.

Two very different multiballs

Burnout Multiball is qualified by four hits on the captive ball, or handed to you by a Mystery Ford award after finishing one of the top three modes. It opens with three 200,000 jackpots — left ramp, captive ball, right orbit — and one lights the main jackpot at the captive ball for ten million. While you are spelling BURNOUT the left ramp diverts to the cup instead of returning to the flipper. Once the word is done the ramp feeds the flipper again, setting up a twenty million combo into the captive ball. A set number of bumper hits restarts the sequence, adding twenty million to the combo jackpot and five to the regular one each time.

Mustang Multiball is spelled out from completed modes and Mystery Ford awards, and it waits at the scoop until you want it. Four balls, every major yellow arrow lit. Collecting one shot switches all the others off and lights the shot you just made for a double jackpot; taking that double relights everything except that shot. The rhythm is new shot, same shot, new shot, same shot.

The scoring nobody expects

The three RPM standups down the right side are the most lopsided thing on the playfield. Complete them and every hit to that bank is worth two million — four with N2O running. That beats the drag race super jackpot, and it runs on a long timer you can restart by hitting the bank again. Watch the lamps: all three flash, then two, then one, then it is gone.

Two more things are easy to forget. Completing the bottom lanes and then shooting the scoop adds a ball to any multiball — set that up before you start one. And the Upgrades are a separate track: complete them once for Upgrade Scoring, twice for Upgrade Multiball. Everything funnels through that one scoop, so when awards queue up there, clear the cheapest first.

How Mustang plays

Mustang is a Stern muscle-car game: pick one race at a time, shift up a six-speed gear ladder for a different multiball at every gear, and lean on the RPM bank and the N2O boost for the fastest points. Start all six races to prepare Drift, and finish all six to unlock the rarely seen Silverball Stampede.

The loop

1. Pick a race at the scoop -- on Boss and LE cabinets you scroll the six with the flipper buttons and lock your choice with the lit action button -- then drop into it.
2. Clear the GEARS drop bank to shift up a gear; each gear hands you its own multiball, and a gear you have already run is gone for the rest of the game.
3. Complete the three RPM targets so the bank pays two million a hit, and arm the far-left N2O target to double that.
4. Bank finished races and Mystery Ford awards to spell MUSTANG for the four-ball multiball, and rattle the captive ball four times to load Burnout.
5. Start every race to light Drift at the scoop; light them all solid to reach Silverball Stampede.

Reading the lights

• Gear Ladder (ladder) — lit: First gear is where every ball begins and a lit rung marks the gear you are in now; clearing a drop bank climbs you one, and the gear you reach holds until you cash its multiball. · then: Gears one through four fall straight out of the drops, but five and six add a follow-up -- clear the bank, then beat a five-second clock to a standup behind it, twice over for six. Every gear owns a one-time multiball, and the gear super jackpot totals every gear below you, so gear six pays most and the game's first gear-six super is bumped to fifty million.
• RPM Targets (status) — lit: The three standups down the right side stay lit until the bank is done, and finishing it makes every later hit there pay two million for a long stretch while lighting the spinner for extra. · then: This is the richest shot on the machine, more per hit than most of its multiballs, so keep the bank alive as its three lamps drop away one by one, since another hit there restarts the long window. Stack the N2O boost and each target jumps to four million.
• N2O Double Scoring (multiplier) — lit: When the far-left N2O target is lit and ready it arms double scoring, the cheapest multiplier on the machine. · then: Take it from a cradled right flipper, since the target is awkward on the move, and build the habit of arming it before any big collect. Spend the double on the RPM bank for four million a hit, or on a fresh gear super whose timer leaves room to set it up first.
• MUSTANG at the Scoop (letters) — lit: Each letter of MUSTANG lights as you bank it, spelled by a finished race or a Mystery Ford award, and the letters hold rather than falling off so you chip the word together across the game. · then: Complete the word and the scoop lights a four-ball multiball, and because the scoop holds its light you can wait until the playfield suits you. In it every yellow arrow is a jackpot -- take one and it shuts the others off and relights that arrow for double, so you alternate a new arrow with the same one doubled.
• Races at the Scoop (mode) — lit: The scoop is the hub -- it selects and starts your race and is also where Drift, Silverball Stampede, and the two Upgrade awards queue when ready -- so a lit scoop means something is waiting to be started there. · then: Scroll the six with the flipper buttons and lock your pick with the blinking action button on Boss and LE, or simply take the scoop on a Pro to start what is queued. Starting all six races preps Drift, lighting all six solid preps the far deeper Silverball Stampede, and running the Upgrade set once then twice preps Upgrade Scoring and Upgrade Multiball -- so clear the cheap awards off the stack first.
• Burnout Multiball (status) — lit: Four whacks on the captive ball light Burnout Multiball at it, or a Mystery Ford award can light it outright, and during Burnout the left ramp stops feeding your flipper and diverts into the cup while BURNOUT is unspelled. · then: Spell BURNOUT at the cup and the ramp returns to your left flipper, teeing up a twenty-million combo straight back into the captive ball. A run of pop-bumper hits restarts the whole jackpot sequence, adding to that combo each time.
• Bottom Lanes (lanes) — lit: The four lanes across the bottom light as you roll them and an unlit one is still needed, but they do not shuffle when you press a flipper -- you complete the set simply by rolling the ones you are missing. · then: Finish all four and the scoop is armed for a multiball add-a-ball, so bank the lanes before a multiball begins instead of fishing for them mid-multiball. The moment you then hit the lit scoop, another ball joins the game.

Lane change: not verified for this machine yet.

Start scoring

• Ball one — Grab the safe, repeatable points first. Take the Super Skill Shot by holding the left flipper before you launch, complete the RPM bank so it pays two million a hit, and get in the habit of arming N2O before every big shot. — Super Skill Shot — Gears A Target, RPM Scoring, N2O Double Scoring
• Building — Shift up the gear ladder for its stack of one-time multiballs, spell MUSTANG for the four-ball, and rattle the captive ball to qualify Burnout. Meanwhile keep starting races, since each one you begin edges you toward Drift. — Gear Shift Multiball, Mustang Multiball, Burnout Multiball, Starting and Finishing All Six
• The big one — Start all six races to reach Drift, then light every race solid for Silverball Stampede, the deepest award on the machine. The single biggest number, though, is the first gear-six super jackpot, bumped to fifty million. — Silverball Stampede, Drift, The Gear Super Jackpot

The Action Button on Mustang

Centre of the lockdown bar, on Premium (Boss) and LE cabinets.

Mustang's button is about races: it starts them, it brings them back after a drain, and once you have banked a Powershift it spends one for free progress. It lights up and blinks when the machine wants you to use it, so watch the middle of the bar during race select. Pro cabinets ship without it, and their bar is blank.

• Race select at ball start: Flippers scroll through the six races; the button locks in the one you want and sends you into it.
• After draining mid-race: Press it to pick the race back up rather than starting your next ball with nothing running.
• Holding a Powershift during a race: Spends one for a race shot award. Powershifts come from the sneak-in skill shot and from the caution targets.
• Whenever it is blinking: That blink means the machine is waiting on your pick and will not move on until you press.

Goals in Mustang

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

• Super Skill Shot — Gears A Target skillshot · Medium

  Hold the left flipper in before you launch, trap up, and take the A while its sweeping lamp is lit — the premium pick of the two Super Skill Shot awards.

  Reward: 1M for GE or RS, 2M at the scoop, or two gears

• Super Skill Shot — Scoop skillshot · Medium

  The same hold-the-flipper launch, cashed at the scoop instead: a flat two million whenever the trap-up feels safer than timing the sweeping A lamp.

  Reward: 2M

• Gear Shift Multiball multiball · Medium

  You start in first gear and every completed set of drop targets shifts you up one. Each gear has its own multiball, and once you have played a gear's multiball you can never play that one again — so the gear you start in matters.

  Reward: A different multiball at every gear

• The Gear Super Jackpot multiplier · Hard

  The super jackpot value is the sum of every gear up to the one you are in, which is why gear six is worth chasing. Gear four pays ten million; gear six normally pays twenty-one, but the very first gear six super is boosted to fifty.

  Reward: 10M at gear four, 50M for the first gear six super

• Cruisin' mode · Medium

  The only mode that takes two visits to finish. The first pass wants every shot once, and taking them left to right doubles each one. The second pass wants the first four in strict order and then a roving light that speeds up each time you catch it.

  Reward: Doubled shots for going left to right

• Road Course mode · Medium

  A timed race across six lit shots — all the N2O targets, the left ramp, the captive ball and the right orbit. The first four you make advance your position, and then the two you did not use become the only shots that count.

  Reward: First place at the scoop

• Police Pursuit mode · Easy

  The least demanding of the top row by a distance. Six shots light, three on each side, and you have to alternate sides to reach yellow light. Then four shots light for red light, and then it becomes a straight chase.

  Reward: Mode lit solid in eight shots

• Stunt Driver mode · Medium

  A loosely timed mode with a short shot sequence. Take the shots in order and it is over quickly; miss the order and you end up doing repeated takes to get through it.

  Reward: Fast completion for a clean sequence

• Drag Race mode · Medium

  The mode that doubles as a gear ladder. Five hits on the standup targets pushes you up to gear six and starts the drag race multiball, and the mode is only marked complete once you are back down to a single ball.

  Reward: Gear six and a multiball

• Rally Race mode · Medium

  Left side, right side, right side again, and then the mode hands you a shortcut at the left ramp. Take it and you go straight on to two more left ramps and the N2O boost; miss it and you have to hit the captive ball before you can carry on.

  Reward: A shorter route for hitting the shortcut

• Starting and Finishing All Six progression · Hard

  There are two separate thresholds here and it is worth knowing the difference. Merely starting all six modes prepares Drift at the scoop; actually lighting all six solid — which means finishing them — prepares Silverball Stampede.

  Reward: Drift, then Silverball Stampede

• Burnout Multiball multiball · Medium

  Qualified by four hits on the captive ball. It opens with three 200,000 jackpots at the left ramp, captive ball and right orbit, and one of them lights the main jackpot at the captive ball for ten million.

  Reward: 10M main jackpot, 20M and up on combos

• Mustang Multiball multiball · Hard

  Spell MUSTANG from completed modes and Mystery Ford awards to light the scoop, then start it whenever single-ball play suits you. Four balls, and every major yellow arrow shot is lit for a jackpot.

  Reward: Alternating jackpots and double jackpots

• RPM Scoring multiplier · Medium

  The most lopsided scoring on the machine. Complete the three right-side standups and every hit to that bank becomes worth two million — four million with N2O running — which outscores most of the multiballs outright.

  Reward: 2M per target, 4M with N2O

• N2O Double Scoring multiplier · Easy

  The far left N2O target arms a double-scoring boost. It is the cheapest multiplier in the game and the habit worth building is simple: before any big collect, check whether N2O is ready.

  Reward: Double scoring

• Drift wizard · Hard

  Prepared at the scoop once you have started all six modes. It is a single-ball round with a long ball save: hit lit shots to build style points, then cash the total at the left ramp. Every shot you hit goes dark and relights when you collect.

  Reward: Style points collected at the left ramp

• Silverball Stampede wizard · Hard

  The deepest thing on the machine. Lighting all six modes solid — genuinely finishing them, not just starting them — prepares Silverball Stampede at the scoop. Getting there is the achievement; almost nobody sees it on location.

  Reward: The final scoop award

• The Upgrades progression · Hard

  A separate track from the modes. Completing all of the playfield Upgrades once lights the scoop for Upgrade Scoring, and completing them a second time lights it for Upgrade Multiball.

  Reward: Upgrade Scoring, then Upgrade Multiball

• Mystery Ford Awards secret · Medium

  Finishing one of the top three modes can hand you a Mystery Ford award. It is the game's shortcut currency — it can qualify Burnout Multiball outright and it spells letters in MUSTANG toward the four-ball multiball.

  Reward: Qualified Burnout, MUSTANG letters

• Multiball Add-A-Ball strategy · Easy

  Simple and easy to forget in the middle of a multiball. Complete the bottom lanes, then shoot the scoop, and you get another ball. Worth setting up before you start a multiball rather than during one.

  Reward: One more ball in play