The Sopranos

Stern, 2005 — shot-by-shot rules and strategy guide.

Open The Sopranos in the Pinball Genie app →

The Sopranos plays like the show's plot: everything runs through favors, territory, and moving up. You start as an Associate and work toward Boss, and almost every shot feeds that climb. Learn the rank system first and the rest of the game — the safe, the episodes, the three multiballs — makes more sense, since most of it either builds toward a rank or gets doubled by one.

Climbing The Ranks

Four envelope inserts sit at the left loop, right loop, left ramp, and right ramp. Light all four and the inner loop turns into an Advance Rank shot worth 500K the first time, +100K every rank after. The other route up is the safe — crack it open, close it at the saucer behind it, and that also bumps your rank. Either path works, so lean on whichever side is running hot that ball.

Every rank comes with its own scoring doubler that lasts for the rest of the ball you earn it on — Double Shakedown, Double Safe, Double Truck Heist, an extra ball, Double Meadowlands, and Double Episode scoring, in order. Reach Underboss and you don't just get a doubler — you unlock the Underboss multiball outright. That's as far as the normal ladder goes; Boss is a separate, much bigger ask.

The Safe And The Grind

The safe is the machine's centerpiece, and it's a slow build on purpose. It takes three hits to crack the first time and one more than that every time after, so the crack gets harder to earn even as the payout climbs. Once it's cracked, a saucer opens behind it — drop the ball in there to close the safe back up, bank the bigger award, and advance your rank at the same time.

Running quietly underneath everything else is Shake Down, a background counter on the pop bumpers. Every bumper hit chips away at a target that starts at 25 and grows by 5 each time you clear it, and each individual hit pays more as the game goes on too — not a shot you aim for on purpose so much as a reason not to mind a bad carom into the pops. The spinner in front of the inner loop works the same way in miniature: it climbs the more you spin it and resets if left alone too long, so a fast inner loop shot is worth chasing on its own.

Five Episodes, One At A Time

Spell SOPRANOS — spin the spinner or hit either stand-up target — and the inner loop lights to start an episode. Only one runs at a time, each on a 30-second clock, and parking in the pop bumpers pauses whichever one is live. Each has its own shape:

• Arson — four flickering shots in any order, 500K to 1.25M, then a 2.5M finish at the inner loop for 6.25M total.
• Exterminate — a single lit arrow walks you through all four outer shots in sequence, then the inner loop closes it for 3M total.
• Horse Race — all five arrows go live at once; how many you clear before time runs out decides a payout from 250K up to 4M.
• Executive Game — a video-mode poker hand played on the flippers: fold and walk away, or bet 140K and see where the cards go.
• Satisfaction — the same five arrows stay lit with no fixed order, so you can lean on your best shot for a 5.25M episode.

Three Ways To Multiball

Stugots Multiball starts by knocking down the drop target guarding the Stugots and locking two balls there; jackpots build from the drop target before escalating into a double and then a 3.225M super on the Stugots itself. Bing Multiball takes three left ramp shots to open a 30-second switch-hitting sprint — clear the target and multiball starts immediately, every shot paying a jackpot up to a 250K cap. Underboss Multiball only opens once you've reached that rank: spell UNDERBOSS across the arrows and the safe, then lock up to three balls for a payout that triples, then quintuples. Watch the loops here — a ball shot up either one comes back down the opposite side instead of dropping into the bumpers like everywhere else.

Two mystery awards round out the scoring. The Fish saucer on the far left, lit through any inlane or outlane, hands you something matching your progress — an envelope, a rank spot, extra episode time, or an extra ball during multiball. The Pork Store, lit from two stand-ups under the right loop and collected at the inner loop, is a wider grab bag that can advance almost any system — and very rarely hands you a jolt of points plus a frenzy where every switch pays out.

Becoming The Boss

Boss Mode doesn't light until you've cleared a full checklist: all five episodes played, Bing Multiball played, four Truck Heists collected, Food Fight cleared, the safe opened, every backpanel character buried, a Super Jackpot banked, Meadowlands run to Trap four times, and Underboss Multiball played. Light it at the inner loop and you get four balls, a long ball saver, and the same eight tasks in the same fixed order all over again. Clear it and the game just resets and asks for another lap — nobody stays Boss for long, so treat one clean run through the checklist as the win.

Goals in The Sopranos

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

• Plunger Skill Shot skillshot · Medium

  The plunger skill shot lights one of the three R.I.P. rollovers before the ball leaves the shooter lane — lane-change it to the one you want, then land there. It also spots one of the eight backpanel characters toward your bonus multiplier.

  Reward: 500K, then +250K each time

• Super Skill Shot skillshot · Hard

  Hold the left flipper while you plunge and the ball loops around and comes back to your flippers instead of heading for a normal skill shot lane. Whatever you hit within the next few seconds decides the bonus on top of the base value.

  Reward: 500K+, plus a mode or multiball head start

• Spell SOPRANOS combo · Easy

  Spinning the spinner or clipping either stand-up target spells letters toward SOPRANOS; get the whole word and the inner loop lights to start an episode.

  Reward: Lights or starts an episode

• Advance Rank combo · Medium

  Four envelope inserts sit at the two loops and two ramps. Light all four and the inner loop turns into a rank advance worth a real Tribute payout.

  Reward: 500K Tribute, +100K per rank after

• The Rank Ladder progression · Easy

  Every rank you earn arms its own scoring doubler for the rest of that ball, on a ladder that runs from Associate all the way to Underboss.

  Reward: A running doubler per rank

• Crack The Safe mode · Medium

  The safe is the machine's biggest toy — pound on it until it cracks, then finish the job at the saucer behind it to close it back up and bank the reward.

  Reward: 500K to crack, up to 2.5M to close

• Shake Down strategy · Easy

  Shake Down runs the whole game in the background, tallying up pop bumper hits toward a completion bonus that gets tougher — and richer — every time you clear it.

  Reward: 10K+ per pop, 50K+ on completion

• Truck Heist mode · Medium

  Two setup shots on either loop lead into a real hurry-up on the third — and that third shot changes where the ball goes next, so be ready.

  Reward: 750K+, climbing 75K per completed heist

• Meadowlands Ramp combo · Medium

  The right ramp needs real speed to clear, and rewards you for it with a four-stage award ladder that resets and grows every time you run it.

  Reward: 500K to 1.25M per lap, growing

• Food Fight mode · Medium

  Fifteen hidden dishes are scattered across the two ramps and two loops, waiting behind whatever else isn't currently lit there. Collect them all and every one of those four shots goes hot at once.

  Reward: 100K-150K per shot, 30 seconds

• Arson mode · Medium

  Bucco's place is on fire — take out all four flickering shots in any order, then finish it at the inner loop before the 30-second clock runs out.

  Reward: 500K to 1.25M per shot, 2.5M to finish, 6.25M total

• Exterminate mode · Medium

  A single lit arrow walks you through all four outer shots one at a time, then the inner loop wraps it up.

  Reward: 500K to 575K per shot, 600K to finish, 3M total

• Horse Race mode · Medium

  All five arrows go live for a 30-second sprint — clear as many as you can, then cross the line at the inner loop for a payout based on where you finished.

  Reward: 250K for last up to 4M for first

• Executive Game mode · Easy

  A hand of video-mode poker where you're the better hand and the game plays the worse one — fold and walk away, or bet and see where the cards go.

  Reward: Win or lose points on the bet

• Satisfaction mode · Medium

  All five arrows stay lit for the entire 30 seconds here, so you can lean on whichever shot you're most confident in instead of chasing a fixed order.

  Reward: 500K to 1.5M per hit, 5.25M total

• Stugots Multiball multiball · Medium

  Knock down the drop target and lock two balls in the Stugots to get this one started, then work the drop target and the boat itself for jackpots that only get bigger.

  Reward: 1M+ jackpots, up to a 3.225M super

• Bing Multiball multiball · Medium

  Three left ramp shots start a 30-second switch-hitting sprint; clear the target and the multiball starts on the spot.

  Reward: 125K-250K per jackpot

• Underboss Multiball multiball · Hard

  Reach Underboss rank and this one's waiting for you — spell UNDERBOSS across the arrows and the safe, then lock up to three balls for a payout that multiplies with every lock.

  Reward: 350K+ jackpots, locks tripled then quintupled

• Fish Mystery Award mode · Easy

  The Fish saucer on the far left pays out an award that fits wherever you are in the game — spell F-I-S-H across all four in/outlanes, then feed it.

  Reward: A game-matched mystery award

• Pork Store mode · Medium

  Two stand-ups under the right loop light a genuine grab-bag award, collected back at the inner loop.

  Reward: One of a dozen-plus possible awards

• The Rare Frenzy Award secret · Hard

  The rarest thing the Pork Store can hand you — a flat 3M and a short frenzy where every switch on the table pays real money.

  Reward: 3M plus 30K per switch for 30 seconds

• Boss Mode wizard · Hard

  Boss Mode is the actual finish line of the game — nine separate tasks light it at the inner loop, then winning it takes an eight-stage gauntlet through the whole game again, in a fixed order.

  Reward: Millions per stage, culminating in a full run

• What Stacks With What progression · Easy

  Know what's allowed to run at once before it costs you: modes and multiball can overlap, but two modes can't, and multiball stacking has one exception around Underboss.

  Reward: Understanding what can run together