Playboy

Bally, 1978 — shot-by-shot rules and strategy guide.

Open Playboy in the Pinball Genie app →

Bally's Playboy (December 1978, ~18,250 units, the #4 all-time bestselling pinball machine) is an early solid-state, two-flipper table themed to Hugh Hefner's Playmates. It predates ramps, multiball, timed modes, and wizard modes entirely — the whole game is a flat, lamp-driven shot-and-collect loop that plays identically from ball one through ball five. No multiball, no ball lock, no timed modes, no video mode, no ramps, and no dedicated skill shot on the plunge.

The core loop: 5 Keys to the Grotto. The heart of the ruleset is five "Keys": the four rollover lanes across the top of the playfield (Key #1-4) plus a red center standup (Key #5). Lighting all five in a single ball does two things at once: it advances the Bonus Multiplier one step (1st full completion = 2X, 2nd = 3X, 3rd = 5X, every completion after that scores a 50,000-point Special instead), and it lights the Grotto — an upper-left kickback lane reached via the right orbit or left chute. A shot into the lit Grotto pays out on a graduated table (1 lit key = 1,000 pts + 1 bonus advance, up to 5 lit keys = 5,000 pts + 5 bonus advances + 25,000 points), then kicks the ball back up to the top of the playfield, re-presenting the Key lanes. This is the only shot on the table that both scores big and re-feeds itself, making it the default "farm" for experienced players.

Bonus and Super Bonus. Base bonus climbs in 1,000-point steps (fed by Keys, Grotto, and Playmate hits) up to a cap of 39,000 within a ball. Crossing 20,000 locks that value in as a "Super Bonus" floor carried into every later ball (up to 100,000 held). Bonus pays out at ball-end, multiplied by whatever Bonus Multiplier is currently lit — with 5X and a maxed 39,000 base, a single ball-end bonus can reach 195,000, the biggest scoring event available. Because the multiplier holds across the whole game rather than resetting each ball, stacking it to 5X on ball one is the single highest-leverage strategic move. A tilt nullifies the bonus score entirely.

Secondary banks: Drop Targets and Playmates. A 5-bank of drop targets (rabbit-head logos) sits top-center / above the bumpers, a horizontal row below the four top Key lanes and in front of the pop bumpers. Clearing it the first time lights both outlanes for 25,000 points (previously a pure drain); clearing it again awards a 50,000 Special, and it resets to repeat. A separate bank of five Playmate standup targets (January/March/May/July/September) runs down the left side; each hit scores 500 points plus a bonus advance, and clearing the full set the first time lights a dedicated rollover button just above the bank for an Extra Ball — clearing it a second time re-lights that rollover for a 50,000 Special instead. Both banks sit in higher-drain territory than the Keys/Grotto loop, so the strategic consensus is to leave them alone except opportunistically — when the ball is already headed there, or only one or two targets remain.

Specials. Specials are awarded from three places (4th+ Key-set completion, 2nd+ drop-bank completion, 2nd+ Playmate-bank completion) and are operator-adjustable: typically a free replay, or 50,000 points if the machine is set to score-only.

Bottom line: the entire game is Keys, Grotto, Drops, Playmates, and the Bonus ladder — a tight, honest, single-ball ruleset with no hidden modes to chase.

How Playboy plays

Playboy is a 1978 Bally table with no wizard mode -- the whole game is a bonus farm. Light the five Keys and cash the Grotto over and over to bank a held 5X multiplier and a towering bonus, then turn every scoring bank into a repeatable special.

The loop

1. Roll the four top Key lanes and hit the center red standup to complete the five Keys, which lights the Grotto and steps the bonus multiplier.
2. Send the right orbit at speed into the lit Grotto for a big collect and a stack of bonus advances, and the pocket fires the ball back up top to run the loop again.
3. Clear the rabbit-head drop bank once to arm the outlanes for 25,000, and sweep the left Playmate standups to light an extra ball at the rollover button.
4. Push base bonus toward its 39,000 ceiling under a held 5X, and drive each scoring bank past its unlock into a repeatable 50,000 special.

Reading the lights

• The Five Keys (letters) — lit: The five Keys are the four top rollover lanes plus the red center standup, and each lights as you collect it; order does not matter, and lighting the whole set steps the bonus multiplier and arms the Grotto. · then: Close every set on the center red standup, then cash it out through the Grotto -- the loop's whole point. The first three completed sets step the multiplier to 2X, then 3X, then 5X and it stays put for the rest of the game, so it does not matter which ball they land on; every set past the third pays a 50,000 special instead.
• The Grotto (status) — lit: The Grotto lights once all five Keys are in, and a lit Grotto is a big collect; every Key and every Grotto shot also nudges your base bonus up a thousand at a time. · then: Feed it with the right orbit at speed so the ball rides the top arch into the pocket; a fully lit Grotto pays its award and as many as five bonus advances in one shot, then kicks the ball straight back up to the top lanes so the loop starts over. Ride that farm to push base bonus toward its 39,000 ceiling.
• Rabbit Drop Bank (status) — lit: The five rabbit-head drops sit up in the pop-bumper zone, and clearing the bank the first time arms both outlanes so a drain out either one pays 25,000 instead of nothing. · then: Clear it once early to turn the outlanes from a dead loss into points, but only chase it when a target or two is left or the ball is already headed that way, since it sits in bumper country. Every clear after the first hands a 50,000 special on the final target as the bank resets and comes again.
• Playmate Standups (status) — lit: The five Playmate standups down the left edge each add a bonus advance when struck, and sweeping the whole bank lights the rollover button tucked just above it. · then: Sweep the bank once and roll the lit button for a free extra ball; sweep it a second time and that same button re-lights for a 50,000 special instead. Pick the standups off only if the ball is already sitting on that side of the table, never head-on into the bumpers.
• Bonus & Multiplier (multiplier) — lit: The bonus multiplier climbs 2X, 3X, then 5X across your first three completed Key sets and then holds for the whole game, not just the ball in hand; base bonus itself creeps up a thousand at a time toward a 39,000 cap. · then: Lock 5X early, even on ball one, because it pays out on every later ball, and push base bonus past 20,000 before a drain to freeze that value in as a floor under every ball after. Stack a ceiling base bonus under a held 5X for the biggest cash-out on the table.

Lane change: not verified for this machine yet.

Start scoring

• Ball one — There is no skill shot, so just plunge in, get to a flipper, and start the Keys-to-Grotto loop off the right orbit, the safest repeatable shot on the table. Complete a Key set to light 2X and clear the drop bank once early so a later outlane drain still pays 25,000. — Opening 30 Seconds — Safe Key Hunting, Keys → Grotto Loop, Protect the Ball — Outlane Awareness
• Building — Run the loop to lock the multiplier at 5X -- it holds for the whole game, so bank it early -- and push base bonus past 20,000 before a drain to lock that floor into the rest of your balls. Sweep the Playmate bank and roll the lit button for a free extra ball. — Stack the Bonus Multiplier to 5X, Lock In the 20,000 Super Bonus, Playmate Bank → Extra Ball
• The big one — With no wizard mode, the endgame is specials out of all three systems in one game: a fourth Key set, a second drop-bank clear, and a second Playmate sweep each pay a 50,000 special. Stack a 39,000 base bonus under the held 5X on top of that for the game's largest cash-out. — Specials From All Three Systems, Chase a Special, Run Base Bonus to the Ceiling

Does Playboy have an action button?

A 1978 Bally has flippers and a shooter rod and that is the entire control set. Worth knowing because of the naming: the Playmate 'rollover button' you hear about for the Extra Ball is a lit target on the playfield that the ball rolls over — not something on the cabinet you can press.

Goals in Playboy

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

• Keys → Grotto Loop combo · Medium

  The core repeatable farm: light all 5 Keys, then send the ball into the Grotto for a big payout that kicks it right back up to re-run the loop.

  Reward: Up to 5,000 pts + 5 bonus advances + 25,000 pts per cycle

• Drop-Target Bank Cleanup combo · Medium

  Clearing the 5-bank of rabbit-head drop targets lights the outlanes for 25,000 the first time and a Special every time after.

  Reward: 25,000 pts (1st clear) then 50,000 Special (2nd+ clears)

• Playmate Bank → Extra Ball combo · Medium

  Completing the 5 Playmate standups the first time lights a free Extra Ball; the second completion re-lights it for a Special.

  Reward: Extra Ball (1st clear), 50,000 Special (2nd+ clears)

• Stack the Bonus Multiplier to 5X multiplier · Hard

  Running the Keys→Grotto loop climbs the Bonus Multiplier — 2X the first completion, 3X the second, 5X the third — and it holds for the rest of the game, so the completions do not have to land on the same ball.

  Reward: 5X Bonus Multiplier, held across every remaining ball

• Lock In the 20,000 Super Bonus multiplier · Medium

  Push base bonus past 20,000 before draining to lock a permanent bonus floor into every later ball.

  Reward: 20,000-pt Super Bonus floor, held ball-to-ball (up to 100,000)

• Opening 30 Seconds — Safe Key Hunting strategy · Easy

  There's no skill shot on the plunge, so the opener is simple: get the ball to a flipper and start clearing Keys via the lowest-risk shots.

  Reward: Clean start toward the Keys→Grotto loop

• Risk Management — Leave the Banks Alone strategy · Medium

  Both target banks sit in higher-drain territory than the Keys/Grotto loop; only clean them up opportunistically.

  Reward: Fewer unnecessary drains

• Protect the Ball — Outlane Awareness strategy · Easy

  Outlanes are a total-loss drain until the drop-target bank is cleared once; know the state of that bank before playing loose.

  Reward: Converts a future drain into 25,000 pts

• Chase a Special strategy · Hard

  The game's true capstone: past the initial unlocks, every one of the three scoring systems funnels into repeatable Specials — the top payout on the table.

  Reward: Special (operator-set: free replay or 50,000 points)

• Run Base Bonus to the Ceiling multiplier · Hard

  Every Key, Grotto collect, and Playmate target nudges base bonus up 1,000 at a time — stack enough of them in one ball to hit the 39,000 ceiling before the multiplier is applied.

  Reward: 39,000 base bonus, multiplied by the held 2X-5X multiplier

• Specials From All Three Systems wizard · Hard

  Playboy has no wizard mode, so this is its true endgame: in one game, drive all three scoring systems past their unlock stage and collect a Special from each.

  Reward: Three Specials in a single game (operator-set replay or 50,000 each)