Sonic the Hedgehog

Jersey Jack Pinball, 2026 — shot-by-shot rules and strategy guide.

Open Sonic the Hedgehog in the Pinball Genie app →

Jersey Jack's Sonic the Hedgehog, a Steve Ritchie design for the hedgehog's 35th anniversary, plays like the games: pick a zone, race its checkpoints, reach the Goal Ring, and knock Eggman out of the sky. Two main flippers plus an upper-left flipper on Eggman's battle deck, a crossing right ramp that returns to the opposite flipper, left and center ramps, orbits, a Bash-Dash captive ball, spring kicker targets that fire the ball back hot, and four H-E-R-O rollover lanes split across the lower guides — H and E on the left, R and O on the right.

Core loops

Seven zones from Green Hill up, selectable with the action button — any incomplete zone, any order. Inside a zone, checkpoint shots light the Goal Ring; completing the level swaps you to a boss battle finished by bashing the Eggmobile. Rings bank as you play and cash out at end-of-ball bonus, so a long ball with heavy ring collection pays twice.

Chaos Emerald multiball is the big one — a six-ball affair once the emeralds line up — with Sonic Heroes multiball built off the H-E-R-O lanes and the Bash-Dash. The Chao target lights orbits for garden play, and the white and pink skill-shot inserts reward a controlled launch from the plunger before the zone race begins.

What to respect

The spring targets fire the ball back with real pace — hit them with a plan, not by accident. One outlane carries a spring kickback, so learn which side forgives you. Super Sonic waits at the top of the insert ladder for players who run the full zone table, with Master Emerald Mission, Casino Night, and Boss Rush inserts marking the rest of the late game.

How Sonic the Hedgehog plays

Blast through Sonic's zones as a pinball speed run: clear each zone's checkpoint shots, ride the ramp to the upper deck, and knock out Eggman to win the boss fight. Gather all seven Chaos Emeralds along the way to reach Super Sonic.

The loop

1. Press the Spin-Dash button to pick a zone, then hit its lit checkpoint shots as they rove around the table to light that zone's Goal Ring.
2. Reach the Goal Ring, climb the center ramp up to the battle deck, and knock the Eggmobile to close the zone -- a quicker hit is worth more.
3. Drop the in-line Total-Control bank over and over to bank locks and light Chaos Emerald rings, while rolling either inlane to stash rings for your bonus.
4. Spell H-E-R-O across the guide-rail rollovers to gather a team, then strike the center BASH standup to pour everyone into a multiball.
5. With all seven emeralds glowing, launch the six-ball Chaos Emerald Multiball and break into the Super Sonic mode waiting beside it.

Reading the lights

• Skill Shot Award (status) — lit: The lit skill-shot award on the shooter lane reads White by default, and whichever color is showing when you release is the one the plunge pays. · then: Tap to Pink for the fatter super value, then plunge to collect it. The choice falls back to White at the start of every ball, so set it fresh before each launch. · control: Either flipper button: a flipper press before you pull swaps the lit award from White over to the higher-scoring Pink (before you plunge)
• Chaos Emerald Rings (ladder) — lit: One emerald ring insert lights for each full sweep of the in-line Total-Control bank, and a lit emerald is banked for keeps with a locked ball waiting behind it. · then: Keep dropping the bank until all seven emeralds glow, then feed a ball to the Bash-Dash captive ball to spill six into play for Chaos Emerald Multiball. That same set of seven is the key that opens Super Sonic.
• H-E-R-O Lanes (letters) — lit: A lit gold rollover is a letter you have not claimed -- H and E ride the left rail, R and O the right -- so roll a lit one to bank its letter. · then: Finish the word to add a teammate, build out the roster, then bash the center BASH standup to launch Sonic Heroes Multiball with the whole crew loose.
• Zone Checkpoints & Goal Ring (mode) — lit: Inside a running zone a roving handful of shots light as checkpoints, clearing them lights that zone's Goal Ring, and reaching the ring means the level is beaten and the boss stands open. · then: Climb the center ramp to the battle deck and hit the Eggmobile to win the boss fight -- swing sooner for a faster, bigger hit. Every zone you close feeds the Level Bonus tallied when the game ends. · control: Action button: a press of the Spin-Dash button between stages picks any zone you have yet to finish, in whatever order you want (between zones)
• Tails Hurry-Up (status) — lit: Ripping the spinner arms a Tails Hurry-Up, and once it is armed the left inlane lights as the shot that actually kicks the countdown off. · then: Roll the lit left inlane to start the hurry-up, then cash it quickly, since the value bleeds down the longer you sit on it.
• Ring Collect Lanes (lanes) — lit: Both inlanes are ring lanes, so a roll through either one scoops up rings -- Sonic's signature currency -- straight onto your tally. · then: Bank rings on every pass through an inlane; they pay out inside your end-of-ball bonus, so there is never a reason to waste a free roll.
• Chao Garden Orbit (mode) — lit: Striking the mushroom-topped Chao standup lights the left orbit for Chao Garden, and that lit orbit is your loop shot while the mode's clock runs down. · then: Keep looping the lit orbit before the timer expires -- each pass through is worth more than the one before it.
• Battle Zone Targets (mode) — lit: When Badnik Attack is live the right-side Battle Zone standups light up as Eggman's robots for you to knock down before the clock runs out. · then: Sweep the lit standups to break the robot wave; each Badnik you drop pays more than the last.
• Find Froggy Target (mode) — lit: With Froggy lit, the Big Fish standup becomes your catch shot, and a clean strike reels him in on the spot. · then: Hit the Big Fish standup during the Froggy window; miss it and a later checkpoint relights the chase instead of ending it, so a whiff is rarely fatal.

Lane change: not verified for this machine yet.

Start scoring

• Ball one — Set the skill-shot award and plunge, then dive straight into Green Hill: clear its roving checkpoints, ramp up to the deck, and beat the boss. Grab inlane rings on the way past for free bonus value. — Skill Shot -- Pink (Super), Clear Green Hill Zone, Collect Rings
• Building — Walk the zone ladder with the Spin-Dash button, mopping up the side modes -- Chao Garden loops, Badnik Attack, the Froggy catch, a Tails Hurry-Up -- as you spell H-E-R-O for Sonic Heroes Multiball and feed the in-line bank toward the emeralds. Inside any multiball, snare a ball at the BASH standup and slam it into the captive lock to multiply whatever jackpot is live. — Work the Seven-Zone Ladder, Sonic Heroes Multiball, Bash-Dash: Capture and Multiply
• The big one — Light all seven Chaos Emeralds, launch the six-ball Chaos Emerald Multiball, and break into Super Sonic, the top scoring mode on the machine. Beating the boss at the end of every single zone is the other prize the backbox is quietly keeping score on. — Wizard Mode: Super Sonic, Chaos Emerald Multiball, Defeat Every Zone Boss

The Spin-Dash Action Button on Sonic the Hedgehog

Center of the lockdown bar; RGB-backlit.

This button earns its keep during play instead of just steering menus. Between stages it walks the seven-zone ladder so you decide where Sonic goes next, and once you have built a charge on the flippers it turns that charge loose as a Spin Dash. Treat it as a second trigger you keep a thumb near, not a setup control you press once and forget.

• Choosing your next zone: Steps the seven-zone ladder so you can start any stage you have not cleared yet, in any order.
• Charge built up by spamming the flippers: Launches Sonic's Spin Dash, whipping the ball around the 360-degree magnetic accelerator loop in a speed burst.

Goals in Sonic the Hedgehog

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

• Skill Shot -- White skillshot · Easy

  The default skill shot: plunge it in without pre-selecting anything and White scores.

  Reward: Base skill-shot value

• Skill Shot -- Pink (Super) skillshot · Medium

  Hit a flipper button before the plunge to swap the award from White to Pink for the bigger super skill-shot value.

  Reward: Elevated skill-shot value over White

• Clear Green Hill Zone mode · Easy

  Green Hill anchors the bottom of the seven-zone ladder: clear a run of lit checkpoint shots, then climb the center ramp and shoot the Eggmobile to close the zone out.

• Work the Seven-Zone Ladder progression · Medium

  Green Hill, Chemical Plant, Rooftop Run, City Escape, Speed Highway, Sky Sanctuary, and Seaside Hill stack as a ladder on the lower playfield -- pick any incomplete one with the action button. Each one plays the same checkpoints-then-boss structure Green Hill does.

  Reward: Each zone cleared feeds the end-of-game Level Bonus tracked on the backbox display

• Chaos Emerald Multiball multiball · Hard

  Clear the in-line Total-Control drop targets repeatedly to light all seven Chaos Emerald ring inserts, then send a locked ball into the Bash-Dash captive ball to bring the whole six-ball multiball in at once.

  Reward: Six balls at once; jackpots at lit shots around the table

• Sonic Heroes Multiball multiball · Medium

  Spell H-E-R-O at the standup bank to collect your team, then shoot the BASH target to bring everyone in together.

  Reward: Team-member jackpots; Bash-Dash captures available throughout

• Bash-Dash: Capture and Multiply combo · Medium

  During either multiball, catching a ball at the BASH target and immediately firing it into the captive ball multiplies whatever jackpot is currently lit -- the signature combo of the game's multiball play.

  Reward: Multiplied jackpot value

• Badnik Attack mode · Easy

  The Battle Zone standups light for a straightforward target-clearing mode -- knock down Eggman's robot army before time runs out.

  Reward: Escalating value per Badnik cleared

• Chao Garden mode · Easy

  Hit the Chao target to light the orbit, then keep looping it while the mode's timer runs.

  Reward: Escalating per-loop value

• Find Froggy mode · Medium

  Shoot the Big Fish target to catch Froggy. Miss the window and a later checkpoint shot relights the chase instead of ending it outright.

  Reward: Catch value, higher the first time it's lit each ball

• Tails Hurry-Up mode · Medium

  Rip the spinner to arm a hurry-up, then roll the left inlane to actually start its countdown.

  Reward: Hurry-up value, decaying on a timer once started

• Collect Rings mode · Easy

  The inlanes are ring lanes -- rolling either one banks rings toward a cash-out, classic Sonic currency reskinned as a pinball bonus feature.

  Reward: Banked ring value, cashed out as part of the end-of-ball bonus

• Wizard Mode: Super Sonic wizard · Hard

  Collect all seven Chaos Emeralds for a shot at Super Sonic -- the machine's top-tier scoring mode, lit on the playfield next to Boss Rush.

  Reward: The machine's top-tier scoring mode

• Defeat Every Zone Boss progression · Hard

  Beat Eggman at the end of all seven zones in one game. The backbox tracks 'Biggest Boss Battle' and a running Boss Battle point total, so this is the category the game itself is already keeping score on.

  Reward: Tracked on the backbox as Boss Battle Total Points; contributes to the Grand Champion / high-score board

• Strategy: First Ball, Keep It Moving strategy · Easy

  Take the White skill shot, clear Green Hill's checkpoints without chasing every side mode, and bank a couple of ring rolls on the way past.

• Strategy: Emeralds Before Everything strategy · Hard

  Prioritize the in-line drop targets early so Chaos Emerald Multiball -- and the Super Sonic mode behind it -- is realistically in reach before the ball count runs out, then use Bash-Dash to inflate whatever multiball is running.

• Master Emerald Mission progression · Medium

  A named feature with its own playfield insert, positioned left of the zone ladder next to Casino Night.

• Casino Night progression · Medium

  A named feature with its own playfield insert, positioned left of the zone ladder next to Master Emerald Mission.

• Boss Rush progression · Hard

  A named feature with its own playfield insert, lit next to Super Sonic on the right side of the zone ladder.