NBA Fastbreak

Williams, 1997 — shot-by-shot rules and strategy guide.

Open NBA Fastbreak in the Pinball Genie app →

NBA Fastbreak keeps score like an actual basketball game. Baskets are worth two, three-pointers three, free throws one — and 300 points is an outstanding game. That one choice changes everything. There are no huge jackpots and no ladder to climb; there are six tasks, and completing all six starts Trophy Multiball, where you play for a Ring. Rings outrank points here, so a small score with a Ring beats a big score without one.

The layout

Five major shots do almost all the work, and all five are easy: left orbit, left ramp, centre ramp, right ramp and right lane. The centre ramp always feeds the hoop and is the shot to take from a trapped ball — miss it halfway and the ball comes straight back down the middle, the main drain in the game. The left ramp normally returns to the inlane, but a diverter can send it around to the basket instead. The right lane is your route to the bumpers, which matters more than it looks.

Below the hoop sits an arc of four numbered saucers. Land in one and it fires the ball up a wireform into the basket. That leads to the game's most generous rule: make the left or centre ramp but miss the hoop and the ball usually drops into a saucer, which shoots it in for you and awards whatever you were shooting for, plus that saucer's number. Weak shots are rarely wasted here.

The six tasks

• Goals — one two-pointer, one three-pointer, one free throw. The basket is lit for a free throw whenever nothing else is lit on it.
• 20 Points — reach twenty. Spotted after your first Trophy Multiball.
• Combos — all four. Tip-Off is right lane into centre ramp, Slam Dunk is right ramp into left ramp, Alley-Oop is left orbit into centre ramp, Fast Break is either outer ramp into centre ramp. Two points each, and the set lights an extra ball.
• Concessions — play all four of Crazy Bob's modes at the left saucer.
• Multiballs — finish Shoot Around and Around The World.
• Power Hoops — start all four bumper modes. Starting is enough; you do not have to finish them.

Where the points actually are

Crazy Bob's concessions run in a fixed order and they are the scoring heart of the game. Pizza hands you control of a real flipper on the backglass for about ten seconds; the backglass hoop cycles between 1, 2 and 3 points, and timing your shots to land on 3 can be worth eighteen points on its own. Hot Dog sets a 24-second shot clock — roughly ten seconds — where any major shot is 3 points and resets the clock, though the resets get shorter until it strangles itself. NBA Trivia asks a basketball question: right answer 10 points, wrong answer 1, and since no shot is required you should cradle the ball and read carefully. Egyptian Soda pays 3 points on the outer ramps for about fifteen seconds and is the weakest of the four — letting it time out still completes the task.

Shoot Around Multiball comes from spelling S-H-O-O-T across the five major shots. Inside the two-ball multiball, spelling it a second time lights an extra ball, and that is the reason to play it. Around The World needs all four saucer numbers, mostly collected through In The Paint: roll an inlane, the opposite orbit or lane lights for about ten seconds, and shooting it drops you into a saucer where a plastic guard slides toward you. Pass between saucers with the flippers until you are clear, then shoot the hoop with the button. Once the three-ball multiball starts, ignore the flashing shot — it only pays a point per ball in play — and shoot free throws instead.

Power Hoops, the awkward task

Power Hoops modes start on bumper hits alone, commonly at 11, 22, 33 and 44, though this varies and the machine lowers the requirement if you keep coming up short. Three of the four light a single ramp for 3 points — Half Court on the centre ramp, Hook Shot on the left, Run & Shoot alternating between them — and the fourth is a two-ball mode. On a machine with dead bumpers this is by far the slowest task. Your hits come mostly from the right lane, plus whatever the basket kicks back down toward the bumpers.

Extra balls and the last-ball gamble

None of the extra balls are random, which is unusual and welcome. All light at the left saucer and they stack without limit: all four combos lights one, a second S-H-O-O-T lights one, ten free throws lights one (some machines are set as low as three, and this route works once a game), and a long grind of left orbit loop combos lights another. Free throws during Around The World are the cheapest route.

On your last ball — or after your final extra ball — the right outlane lights for the Million Dollar Shot. Draining there on purpose launches another ball with about ten seconds to make the basket from the centre ramp. There is no compensation here: hit the ramp and miss the hoop and it does not count. Make it and your game carries on. And since this game has no end-of-ball bonus at all, tilting away a lost ball costs you nothing.

How NBA Fastbreak plays

NBA Fastbreak keeps score in real basketball points -- three hundred is a blowout -- so treat tasks, not points, as the goal. Finish six of them and Trophy Multiball starts on its own, where you play to win a Ring rather than to run up a number.

The loop

1. There is no plunger: the lockbar button drops the ball into the bumpers, then later doubles as your shot at the hoop and your free throws.
2. Bank the simple Goals task first -- sink a deuce, a trey and a single free throw -- then sweep the four two-shot combos for an extra ball.
3. Score the actual points in Crazy Bob's concession modes and the two multiballs, Shoot Around and Around The World.
4. Feed the bumpers to trip the four Power Hoops modes -- starting each one is enough, since finishing is never required.
5. Land all six tasks and Trophy Multiball fires by itself -- outscore the opponent inside the clock to take home a Ring.

Reading the lights

• The Four Combos (shot arrows) — lit: A lit combo-start shot opens a two-shot chain you have a few seconds to finish: the right lane feeds Tip-Off, the right ramp feeds Slam Dunk, the left orbit feeds Alley-Oop, either ramp feeds Fast Break. A combo only lights while In The Paint is not claiming that same shot. · then: Finish all four to complete a task and light your first extra ball at the left saucer. Collect them in clean single-ball play, because combos go dead during Power Hoops and the concession modes.
• 3-P-T Targets (letters) — lit: The three purple standups light as you complete them -- you clip them on rebounds rather than aim for them -- and finishing the set arms a three-point shot at both the left and the centre ramp. · then: Cash the lit three-pointer up a ramp into the hoop to knock out part of the Goals task; the basket also counts a plain free throw any time nothing else is lit on it.
• S-H-O-O-T (letters) — lit: Hitting the five major shots in any order lights the letters of S-H-O-O-T, and each lit letter is one you still owe. Spelling the word starts a two-ball multiball. · flashing: Inside the multiball the five letters flash until re-collected -- respelling the whole word resets them and lights an extra ball. · then: Every flashing shot pays a couple of points along the way, but the real prize is respelling the word during the multiball for that extra ball, and the whole feature ticks off a task.
• Four Top Saucers (ladder) — lit: The four numbered saucers under the hoop light as you gather 1 through 4 -- and any ball that simply drops into one claims that number for free, including a ramp shot that misses the hoop and falls in. Light all four to start a three-ball multiball. · then: In Around The World the flashing shot pays only a point per ball, so ignore it and stack cheap free throws at the hoop instead -- both feed the extra ball, and it beats chasing the roving shot.
• In The Paint (mode) — lit: Crossing an inlane lights the opposite shot for about ten seconds -- the left inlane lights the right lane, the right inlane lights the left orbit. Shoot the lit side and the ball is kicked up into one of the top saucers, where a plastic guard starts sliding across toward you. · then: Once a saucer is clear, punch the lockbar button to fire at the hoop -- make it and you light one of the four saucer numbers toward Around The World. The button shot can still brick, and a brick ends the mode. · control: Either flipper button: shuffle the ball across the four top saucers to slip clear of the sliding guard before you fire at the hoop (while the guard is closing in)
• Power Hoops (mode) — lit: The three pop bumpers are the only way in -- roughly every eleven, twenty-two, thirty-three and forty-four hits arms the next Power Hoops mode, and the machine eases the count if you keep coming up short. Feed them through the right lane and the bumper exit lane. · then: Three of the modes light a single ramp for three points apiece and the fourth is a two-ball affair, but only STARTING all four is needed to tick off a task -- so when a mode is not paying, let it time out and return to feeding the pops for the next one.
• Crazy Bob's Concessions (mode) — lit: The left saucer lights to serve its four concession modes in one set sequence: Pizza to open, then Hot Dog, a round of NBA Trivia, and finally Egyptian Soda. It is also where every extra ball in the game waits, and Pizza even hands you the real flipper and ball on the backglass for about ten seconds. · then: Play all four to complete a task and rake in the biggest points on the machine -- a well-timed Pizza alone can outscore a whole ball of ordinary play. The saucer still pays a point a visit once the set is done.

Lane change: not verified for this machine yet.

Start scoring

• Ball one — Bank the guaranteed stuff: the Tip-Off skill shot is already lit at the start of every ball, the Goals task wants just a deuce, a trey and one free throw, and the four combos light an extra ball. Remember a Ring beats any point total, and with no end-of-ball bonus a doomed ball is free to shake. — Tip-Off Skill Shot, Goals: Two, Three And A Free Throw, The Four Combos, Rings Beat Points
• Building — Chase the real points and the remaining tasks together -- run Crazy Bob's concession modes, trip all four Power Hoops off the bumpers, and close out both multiballs, Around The World and Shoot Around. — Crazy Bob's Concessions, Power Hoops, Shoot Around Multiball, Around The World Multiball
• The big one — Complete all six tasks and Trophy Multiball starts by itself: roughly twenty seconds of unlimited balls with only the centre ramp lit for two points, and the lone task is to beat the opposing side for a Ring, which outranks any number of points on this machine. Every task but the points target resets afterward, so a second Ring is on the table. — Trophy Multiball, The Six Tasks

The Shoot Button on NBA Fastbreak

The big button in the middle of the lockdown bar.

There is no shooter rod on this machine at all — one button on the bar replaces it, and it keeps working long after the launch. The same press that puts a ball into play is the one that fires at the hoop from the top saucers and takes your free throws. Treat it as a shot you can make with your thumb.

• Start of every ball: Drops the ball into the bumper area with Tip-Off lit, so the skill shot and your first combo are the same thing.
• Sat in a top saucer: Fires at the hoop during In The Paint. Pass between saucers with the flippers first, then press once you are clear.
• The display calls a Foul Shot: Takes the free throw for a point. Ignore the prompt and the point simply does not arrive.
• Chasing the Free Throw extra ball: Ten free throws light it, so never let a prompted shot go unpressed during a long ball.

Goals in NBA Fastbreak

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

• Tip-Off Skill Shot skillshot · Easy

  The start of every ball lights Tip-Off, which is one of the four combos, so your skill shot and your first task both come from the same shot. The ball drops into the bumpers, so all you need is a centre ramp once it comes down.

  Reward: 2 points and one combo banked

• The Six Tasks progression · Medium

  Everything in this game points at one thing: complete six tasks and Trophy Multiball starts on its own. Scoring is deliberately small — 300 points is an outstanding game — so think of tasks as the objective and points as the by-product.

  Reward: Trophy Multiball

• Goals: Two, Three And A Free Throw progression · Easy

  The simplest task on the list. You need one two-point basket, one three-point basket and one free throw. The free throw is free — any basket with nothing else lit on it is worth a point.

  Reward: One of six tasks

• The Four Combos combo · Medium

  Four two-shot combos worth 2 points each. Start one and you have a few seconds and a handful of switches to finish it. Getting all four completes a task and lights an extra ball the first time.

  Reward: 2 points each, extra ball for all four

• Crazy Bob's Concessions mode · Medium

  The left saucer serves four modes in a fixed order: Pizza, Hot Dog, NBA Trivia and Egyptian Soda. Playing all four completes the Concessions task, and these modes are where the real points in this game live.

  Reward: One of six tasks, and the biggest scores on the machine

• Pizza mode · Medium

  Look up. For about ten seconds you control the backglass flipper and shoot a real ball at a backglass hoop whose value cycles between 1, 2 and 3 points. Time your flips to land on 3 and this single mode can be worth more than a whole ball of ordinary play.

  Reward: Up to 18 points

• Hot Dog mode · Medium

  A shot clock set to 24, which is about ten seconds. Any of the five major shots pays 3 points and resets the clock — but the reset value drops as you go, so the mode strangles itself. Twenty to thirty points is a good run.

  Reward: 3 points a shot until the clock dies

• NBA Trivia mode · Easy

  The display asks a basketball question and offers four answers. The right one is worth 10 points, a wrong one is worth 1. There is no shot to make and no risk to the ball, so trap up, read the whole question, then answer.

  Reward: 10 points for a correct answer

• Egyptian Soda mode · Easy

  The last of the four. Either outer ramp pays 3 points for about fifteen seconds. It is the least valuable of the concessions — if it is the only thing standing between you and Trophy Multiball, you can simply cradle and let it expire.

  Reward: 3 points per ramp

• Shoot Around Multiball multiball · Medium

  Hit all five major shots in any order to spell S-H-O-O-T and a two-ball multiball starts. The important thing inside it is to spell S-H-O-O-T again — that lights an extra ball — and every flashing shot is worth 2 points along the way.

  Reward: 2 points per flashing shot, extra ball for a second S-H-O-O-T

• In The Paint mode · Medium

  Cross an inlane and the opposite orbit or lane lights for about ten seconds. Shoot it and the ball drops into a top saucer with a plastic guard sliding toward you — pass between saucers with the flippers until you are clear, then shoot the hoop with the button.

  Reward: A lit saucer number toward Around The World

• Around The World Multiball multiball · Medium

  The four top saucers are numbered 1 to 4. Light all four and a three-ball multiball starts, with one major shot flashing for 1 point per ball in play. The flashing shots are not worth chasing — shoot free throws instead and bank progress toward the extra ball.

  Reward: 3-ball multiball, and cheap free throws

• Power Hoops mode · Hard

  Four modes started purely by bumper hits — typically at 11, 22, 33 and 44, though machines vary and the game lowers the requirement if you keep falling short. Three of them light a single ramp for 3 points; the fourth is a two-ball mode.

  Reward: 3 points a shot, and one of six tasks

• Trophy Multiball wizard · Hard

  All six tasks done and it starts automatically. Unlimited balls for about twenty seconds with the centre ramp lit for 2 points, and one job: outscore the other team. Around six or seven shots does it. Win and you get a Ring.

  Reward: A Ring and M.V.P.

• Rings Beat Points strategy · Medium

  This machine does not keep a normal high score table. Each of the 29 teams has its own champion score, and when scores are compared a Ring always outranks points — 150 with a Ring beats 200 without one.

  Reward: Team Champion and Grand Champion entries

• Four Ways To An Extra Ball strategy · Medium

  Nothing here is random, which is rare. The four routes are all four combos, respelling S-H-O-O-T inside Shoot Around Multiball, banking free throws, and grinding left orbit loop combos. Every extra ball lights at the left saucer and they stack without limit, so it is not hard to turn a three-ball game into five or six.

  Reward: Extra balls at the left saucer

• Inbounds Pass strategy · Medium

  Two standups under the right lane light a save at the left outlane. It returns the ball from the launch lane, and it works in modes as well. What it does not do is carry over — an unused pass is gone when the ball ends.

  Reward: One left outlane save

• Basket Compensation secret · Easy

  A quiet piece of generosity that changes how you shoot. If you make the left or centre ramp but the ball misses the hoop, it usually drops into a top saucer — and that saucer will fire it into the basket and give you credit for whatever you were shooting for.

  Reward: Credit for a missed hoop, plus the saucer number

• The Million Dollar Shot secret · Hard

  On your last ball, or after your final extra ball, the right outlane lights. Drain there deliberately and another ball launches with about ten seconds to hit the basket from the centre ramp. Make it and your game continues; miss and it is over.

  Reward: A million dollars and your game back