Pulp Fiction

Chicago Gaming Company, 2023 — shot-by-shot rules and strategy guide.

Open Pulp Fiction in the Pinball Genie app →

Chicago Gaming Company / Play Mechanix, 2023. Playfield by Mark Ritchie, rules by Josh Sharpe, sound by David Thiel (250+ real movie lines). A deliberately retro, single-level 1980s-style layout: no ramps, no upper flippers — two flippers, three pops (Jack, Rabbit, Slim's), two orbit spinners, seven drop targets, a grab magnet, and two physical 3-ball locks (back-panel briefcase trough and under-playfield subway). Ships as Special Edition and "Bad Mother Flipper" LE; rules are identical across editions.

Skill Shot

Five arrows light in sequence above the top Starts Character saucer. A full plunge drops into the saucer: 3k per lit arrow, 100k with all five lit, and any drop-in starts a character. Holding the left flipper while plunging is the Super Skill Shot: all five Payoff shots light, any one within the timer scores 100k. Never plunge soft — weak plunges dribble back down the right orbit.

The Five Objectives (each lights an insert toward the wizard mode)

• Briefcase Boogie — clear the 3 inline drops in the left lane, then shoot the popper to lock (3 locks = 3-ball multiball). Payoffs at the other four major shots climb red 25k → yellow 50k → green 75k; relock the balls for blue Super Payoffs (250k). All four Supers restart the multiball at 2x.
• Pawn Shop Panic — knock down the center 3-bank to open the scoop, lock 3 in the subway (bank resets each lock). In multiball, three drop hits light the scoop payoff; climb red/yellow/green to blue Super Payoffs: all five major shots at 100k, endlessly relighting. Payoff level carries across attempts — the beginner's multiball.
• Roll Scene — hit the right drop target to qualify a scene (also lights outlane ball saves), then the saucer to start a 40-second movie scene: Twist Contest (pops), BMF Wallet (seven red-arrow targets), Gold Watch (Bullseye Magnet target, 100k+/hit), Clean the Car (spinners). Sling/pop hits cycle the lit scene. Collect at the saucer in the final 10 seconds — the collect re-awards all previous scene collects too, the compounding "key to insane scores." All four scenes done unlocks The Shot: untimed 4-ball multiball where every drop-target hit pays 10% of your accumulated scene value.
• Cast Chaos — the top saucer starts characters; the Roll Scene saucer collects all flashing ones at once (award x up to 5x). The upper-left Hold Cast standup carries them across balls. All five characters = 4-ball multiball: five 100k Payoffs, then the top saucer for a 500k Super Payoff, relighting.
• Pulp Fiction Frenzy — each completed red-arrow bank (left 2, center 3, right 2) spots a letter; 11 letters spell PULP FICTION. Shoot the Pawn Shop scoop for a 4-ball frenzy: 5k per switch, ~10 switches per letter, 500k scoop payoff on every re-spell.

Multipliers & Award Systems

• Big Kahuna (playfield X): hit both Big Kahuna standups by the pops, then the Bullseye Magnet target — 2x ALL scoring for the rest of the ball, repeatable to 6x. Single-ball play only: build it first, then spend it on a scene or multiball. The magnet target is the game's signature risk/reward — clean hits are caught safely, misses rebound at the drain.
• Bonus X / Gun Bonus: completing the 1-2-3-4 lanes (lane-change with flippers) advances Bonus X (max 10x; 6x lights Extra Ball) and starts the Royale with Cheese hurry-up at the yellow left standup. Cashing the hurry-up lights Collect Gun Bonus at the magnet target — a mid-ball bank of the end-of-ball bonus (max ~160k) multiplied by Bonus X and Kahuna X. Collecting resets both.
• Drive Fast: a lit inlane briefly lights the opposite orbit; chained loops score 20k up to 100k while spinner spins add escalating MPH (+1 to +5 per spin). Cash 1,000 x MPH at the hidden target behind the Pawn Shop drops; 146+ MPH lights Extra Ball. IFPA's Drive Fast Challenge record: 1,908 MPH collected at 3x for 5.7M in one shot.
• Outlane saves: Roll Scene drop hits light left then right outlane saves (max 2/ball; a single save alternates on sling hits).

Divine Intervention (Wizard)

Light all five objective inserts, then start at the Roll Scene saucer or Briefcase lane. Six stages of 4-ball multiball that renews each stage: Briefcase lane x6, scoop x3, Roll Scene drop x5, top saucer x5, all seven red arrows, then — with no more ball renewal — the Bullseye Magnet target. Completion doubles your entire score; draining all balls fails and resets every objective.

Core Strategy

Kahuna X first, insurance early (backhand the right drop target), then stack the multiplier onto Gold Watch collects, Drive Fast MPH cash-outs, multiplied Gun Bonus banks, or safe multiball Super Payoff laps.

Goals in Pulp Fiction

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

• All-Arrows Skill Shot skillshot · Medium

  Time a full plunge into the Starts Character saucer with all five arrows lit for 100,000 — and any drop-in starts a character toward Cast Chaos.

  Reward: 100,000 + character started

• Super Skill Shot skillshot · Medium

  Hold the left flipper on the plunge to light all five Payoff arrows, then make any one for 100,000 with a controlled ball.

  Reward: 100,000

• Drive Fast MPH Loop Farm combo · Hard

  The game's de facto combo: lit inlane → opposite orbit → chain loops while spinners build MPH, then cash MPH Bonus at the hidden target. IFPA-challenge-proven multi-million collects.

  Reward: 20k–100k per loop + 1,000 x MPH collect (x Kahuna X); 146+ MPH lights Extra Ball

• Royale with Cheese → Gun Bonus Cash-Out combo · Medium

  Complete the 1-2-3-4 lanes, cash the hurry-up at the Royale target, then bank the Gun Bonus mid-ball at the magnet — multiplied by Bonus X AND playfield X.

  Reward: Gun Bonus (max 160k) x Bonus X (max 10x) x Kahuna X — theoretical 9.6M

• Scene Collect Snowball combo · Hard

  Collect a scene at the saucer in its last 10 seconds to re-award it PLUS every previous scene collect — compounding those late collects is where the enormous scores come from.

  Reward: Compounding scene collects, multiplied by Kahuna X; feeds The Shot

• Cast Chaos Super Payoff Lap combo · Hard

  Inside Cast Chaos multiball, sweep all five 100k Payoff shots then hit the top saucer for the 500k Super Payoff — roughly a million per lap, repeatable.

  Reward: ~1M per full lap (5 x 100k + 500k), relights indefinitely

• Briefcase Boogie Multiball multiball · Hard

  Clear the three inline drops, lock three balls behind the rotating briefcase, then climb the red/yellow/green payoff ladder to 250k blue Super Payoffs.

  Reward: 25k/50k/75k payoff ladder; Super Payoffs 250k each; all four restart the MB at 2x base

• Pawn Shop Panic Multiball multiball · Medium

  The forgiving beginner multiball: open the Pawn Shop drop bank, lock three in the subway scoop, then farm drop-and-scoop payoffs to blue Super Payoffs at all five shots.

  Reward: Payoffs ~15k/30k/90k; Super Payoffs 100k at all five shots, endlessly relighting; payoff level carries across attempts

• Cast Chaos multiball · Hard

  Start characters at the top saucer, cash them in multiples at the Roll Scene saucer (up to 5x), Hold Cast to protect them — collect all five to launch the 4-ball Cast Chaos multiball.

  Reward: Character collects x up to 5x; MB: 5 x 100k Payoffs + 500k Super Payoff laps

• Pulp Fiction Frenzy multiball · Medium

  Spell P-U-L-P F-I-C-T-I-O-N by completing the three red-arrow banks, then start a 4-ball switch frenzy at the Pawn Shop scoop — 5k per switch with repeatable 500k scoop payoffs.

  Reward: 5k/switch; 500k scoop Payoff on every re-spell, repeatable all multiball

• Gold Watch Scene mode · Hard

  The richest of the four Roll Scene movie modes: 40 seconds of 100k+ Bullseye Magnet hits, collected at the saucer in the final 10 seconds.

  Reward: 100k+ per magnet hit x Kahuna X; collect adds to the snowball

• Clean the Car Scene mode · Medium

  Roll Scene spinner mode — rip both orbit Super Spinners hard for 40 seconds, then collect at the saucer.

  Reward: Value per spin (rip hard); collect feeds the snowball and The Shot

• BMF Wallet Scene mode · Medium

  Roll Scene target mode — hit the seven red-arrow targets (left 2-bank, center 3-bank, right 2-bank) at ~10k+ each, then collect.

  Reward: ~10k+ per red-arrow target; also advances PULP FICTION letters

• Twist Contest Scene mode · Easy

  The easiest Roll Scene mode — bash the Jack Rabbit Slim's pop bumpers for 40 seconds and collect at the saucer.

  Reward: ~2k+ per bumper hit; safe scene to learn the collect timing

• Big Kahuna Playfield X multiplier · Medium

  The game's core scoring lever: two standups then the magnet target doubles ALL scoring for the rest of the ball — repeat up to 6x, then start your scene or multiball.

  Reward: 2x playfield per completion, up to 6x, lasts until drain

• Bonus X via 1-2-3-4 Lanes multiplier · Medium

  Complete the four Royale with Cheese lanes to advance Bonus X toward 10x on the Gun Bonus — 6x lights Extra Ball.

  Reward: +1 Bonus X per completion (max 10x); 6x lights Extra Ball

• The Shot (Mini-Wizard) wizard · Hard

  Complete all four scenes to unlock the untimed 4-ball mini-wizard where every Roll Scene drop hit pays 10% of your accumulated scene collect value.

  Reward: Each drop hit = 10% of total Roll Scene collect base, escalating red→yellow→green→blue→RGB

• Divine Intervention (Wizard Mode) wizard · Hard

  Light all five objective inserts, then survive six escalating stages of renewing 4-ball multiball. Completing it DOUBLES your entire score; draining out resets all progress.

  Reward: Entire score DOUBLED on completion; all-or-nothing

• Tournament Opener: Multiplier First strategy · Hard

  The consensus competitive line: insurance, then Kahuna X, then a multiplied Gold Watch collect — build the multiplier before you spend it.

  Reward: Multiplied scene collects — the acknowledged path to giant scores

• Beginner: First 30 Seconds strategy · Easy

  The forgiving opening: plunge for the saucer, buy outlane insurance, then grind the drop-bank-to-scoop loop into Pawn Shop Panic.

  Reward: Ball save lit + easiest multiball qualified

• PF Frenzy Rush strategy · Medium

  A proven first-ball line: complete PULP on ball one by hammering the center bank, let the side arrows come by accident, then live in the 4-ball frenzy.

  Reward: Early 4-ball multiball with 500k scoop payoffs and low aiming risk

• Outlane Insurance (Both Sides) strategy · Easy

  Two hits on the Roll Scene drop target buy you a save on each outlane — the cheapest survival play on the machine, and it also qualifies a scene.

  Reward: Left and right outlane ball saves lit, plus a scene qualified