Space Station

Williams, 1987 — shot-by-shot rules and strategy guide.

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Space Station is a compact late-eighties Williams game with a shallow rule set and one genuinely good idea in the middle of it. The idea is the rotating diverter the machine is named after: it steers your ramp shots into whichever dock is empty, so the multiball setup is about repeating one shot rather than aiming at two different ones. Multiball is the fun part. The points, however, are somewhere else entirely.

The layout

Two flippers, no inlanes at all, and a kickback on the left outlane that is your only ball save. A habitrail carries the plunge to a mini playfield with three lanes marked 1-2-3; three more lanes underneath it spell U-S-A. There is a seven-target SHUTTLE bank down the left wall, a seven-target STATION set split between a centre bank of three and a right bank of four, a three-drop bonus bank, a drop target guarding the ramp, two poppers, and a single standup on the right wall that most players walk past.

Docking and multiball

Get one ball into each dock and multiball is armed. The ramp off the left flipper is the shot, and the Space Station diverter does the aiming for you. If you use the centre popper instead, the game holds your ball there, rotates the station, and only then pops it — so it always lands in the empty side. Once both docks are full, stop ramping: a third ramp shot ejects a docked ball and swaps yours in for it, undoing the setup. Either popper starts multiball, and the right popper is the easier of the two. A right flipper shot that sweeps the three drop targets often carries straight into it, doing two jobs at once.

Re-dock two balls during multiball and you collect the Rescue Jackpot. It takes two ramp shots, which is exactly why the jackpot rarely grows large — it starts at 200,000 and only creeps up by 10,000 each time a multiball ends without it. Afterwards, remember that you cannot dock at all until you have completed the 1-2-3 lanes again. Until you do, every ball you send at a dock is ejected the moment it arrives.

Where the points actually are

Stop 'N' Score is the scoring mode, and it lives behind the drop target in front of the ramp. Knock it down and a number starts cycling between 20,000 and 99,000 for around 25 seconds. Whatever it reads when your ramp shot registers is what you are paid — multiplied by the Stop 'N' Score multiplier. That multiplier is built in the U-S-A lanes, one level per completion, up to 5x.

So the route to a big game is patience rather than reflexes. Build U-S-A to 5x before you start the mode. Then cradle, watch the display, and release so the ball trips the ramp switch as the count nears 99,000. Starting Stop 'N' Score at 1x wastes the whole thing; a well-timed shot at 5x dwarfs anything else on the machine, multiball included.

The banks, and the target nobody hits

SHUTTLE and STATION each pay one award, drawn at random at the start of every ball and displayed on lamp banks in the middle of the playfield. The pool is the same for both: Special, extra ball, 50,000 with the kickback relit, 50,000 with a bonus ball, 150,000 with hold bonus, 75,000, or a plain 25,000. Check what you are playing for before you commit to seven targets.

And here is the rule most players miss. The single standup on the right wall is not decoration — it re-randomises whichever of the two awards it is currently lit for. Drawing 25,000 at the start of a ball is not a sentence you have to serve. Keep hitting it and fish for the extra ball or the Special. Once you have completed U-S-A four times, the same target also carries a Special of its own, so it earns its keep twice.

Small things worth knowing

The jet bumpers open at a nearly worthless 500 a hit and climb 500 per 1-2-3 completion to a 3,000 ceiling. That value carries between balls by factory setting.
The three-drop bank raises your end-of-ball bonus multiplier to a maximum of 7x. Reaching 4x lights the extra ball, and clearing the bank once more is what actually awards it.
The right outlane pays 100,000 when lit — the only outlane on this machine that scores anything.
The kickback is your single save and nothing relights it except the 50,000-plus-kickback award from the two banks. By factory setting it starts lit on each ball, but an operator can switch that off.
The bonus ball is the sleeper award. It is a timed ball at the end of the game — 25 seconds by default, 45 if you reached multiball at any point — and draining does not end it. The ball is returned to the plunger until the clock runs out.

That last one is worth planning for. Because drains cost you nothing during the bonus ball, it is the one stretch of this game where you should take shots you would never otherwise risk. Go straight at the ramp, start Stop 'N' Score, and shoot for the top of the number. It is also a second reason to reach multiball even on a poor game: it nearly doubles the bonus ball.

How Space Station plays

Space Station is a fast Williams shooter built around the rotating docking arm it is named after: drive a ball into each of its two docks to arm the multiball. The heavier scoring comes from running the U-S-A lanes to a five-times Stop 'N' Score, then timing a single ramp shot at the peak of a spinning number.

The loop

Roll the 1-2-3 lanes on the upper deck to keep Dock When Lit on, without which a docked ball is thrown straight back out.
Ramp a ball into each dock -- the rotating arm always aims your shot at whichever side is empty -- until both are parked and multiball is armed.
Fire a popper to launch the multiball, re-dock two balls during it for the Rescue Jackpot, then rebuild the 1-2-3 lanes before the docks will hold again.
Step the Stop 'N' Score multiplier up the U-S-A lanes to five times, drop the ramp target, and time a ramp shot so the cycling number is near its ceiling as it registers.

Reading the lights

1-2-3 Lanes (lanes) — lit: A lit number is a lane you have already rolled this pass; finishing the trio switches Dock When Lit back on and nudges the jet-bumper value up a notch, and that bumper value is one of the few things here that carries from ball to ball. · then: Every ball that reaches the upper deck rolls down through these, so progress is nearly automatic -- keep the set complete so the docks will actually hold a ball, and remember that any multiball wipes Dock When Lit until you finish the lanes again.
The Two Docks (status) — lit: A dock holds a ball only while Dock When Lit is on; the rotating arm points a ramp shot at the empty side for you, and a ball parked in each dock is what arms the multiball. · then: Ramp them both in, or use the centre popper -- it cradles your ball, spins the arm to the open side, then pops it, so it never misfeeds. Once both are loaded, stop ramping: a third ramp shot kicks a docked ball loose and drops yours in its place, gaining you nothing but a ball coming back at you.
Multiball Poppers (mode) — lit: With both docks full either popper is lit to launch the multiball; the right one is the friendlier shot, and a right-flipper sweep of the drop bank often rolls straight on into it. · then: Start it at the right popper, then re-dock a pair of balls during the chaos to bank the Rescue Jackpot -- an easy two ramp shots with extra balls loose. It stays modest because it barely grows, so collect it every time rather than hoarding it.
Bonus Drop Targets (multiplier) — lit: A raised drop is one you still owe; sweeping the three of them steps the end-of-ball bonus multiplier upward toward a seven-times cap. · then: A right-flipper sweep clears the bank in one pass and usually carries on into the right popper. Reach four-times and the extra ball lights, then the very next completed bank is what hands it to you.
U-S-A Lanes (multiplier) — lit: A lit letter is a U-S-A lane already run this cycle; each full set steps your Stop 'N' Score multiplier up toward five times, and the lane lamps are remembered from ball to ball so partial progress is never lost. · then: It is the biggest points source you have away from multiball, so climb it before cashing anything in. A fourth pass turns the plain right-wall standup into a Special, so the same lane work pays you a second way.
Stop 'N' Score (mode) — lit: Knock over the target guarding the ramp and a figure starts spinning between twenty and ninety-nine thousand for about twenty-five seconds; whatever it reads as the ramp shot registers is your award, times the multiplier. · then: The trick is patience: cradle up, keep your eyes on the climbing figure instead of the ball, and release into the ramp the instant it peaks. With the multiplier maxed, a shot that lands near the ceiling pays many times over what a rushed one does.
SHUTTLE & STATION Banks (status) — lit: Each bank pays one award drawn at random when the ball starts and shown on a lamp cluster in the middle of the glass, so you always know what a bank is worth before you spend shots on it; a lit target is one already knocked down. · then: The left seven-bank is one collect; the STATION award needs both its centre three and right four cleared. Draw something poor and the right-wall standup rerolls it as often as you like -- fish for the Special, the extra ball, the kickback relight, or the timed bonus ball before you commit to the bank.

Lane change: not verified for this machine yet.

Start scoring

Ball one — Keep the 1-2-3 lanes finished so the docks hold and the jets climb, and guard the left-outlane kickback -- it is the only save on a machine with no inlanes at all. Check what the SHUTTLE and STATION banks are paying and reroll a weak draw at the right-wall target before you work them. — Dock Two Balls, Feed The Bumpers, Keep The Kickback Alive, Reroll A Bad Award
Building — Load both docks and launch the multiball at the right popper, sweeping the drop bank into it on the way in. Re-dock a pair for the Rescue Jackpot, and clear the drops to four-times to light and then collect the extra ball. — Start Multiball, Rescue Jackpot, Bonus Multiplier And Extra Ball
The big one — Multiball is the spectacle, but the real points live in patience: run the U-S-A lanes to a five-times Stop 'N' Score, drop the ramp target, and time a single ramp shot so the count reads near ninety-nine thousand. That one shot dwarfs anything the multiball hands you. — The Real Scoring Route, Build The Stop 'N' Score Multiplier, Stop 'N' Score

Does Space Station have an action button?

There is no extra button on this cabinet. It is a 1987 Williams: two flippers, a manual plunger, and your hips. The only help you get is the kickback in the left outlane, and the mini playfield above is fed by the plunge habitrail rather than by anything you press.

Goals in Space Station

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

Dock Two Balls progression · Medium

The core of the machine. Get one ball into each dock and multiball is armed. The ramp is the shot to learn, and the Space Station diverter does the aiming for you — when it is working, it always points at an empty dock.

Reward: Both docks filled, multiball armed
Start Multiball multiball · Medium

With two balls docked, either popper launches you into multiball. The right popper is the easier of the two, and a right flipper shot that sweeps the drop targets often rolls straight into it.

Reward: Multiball, and a shot at the Rescue Jackpot
Rescue Jackpot multiball · Medium

Re-dock two balls during multiball and you collect the Rescue Jackpot. It only takes two ramp shots, which is why the jackpot rarely grows large — it starts at 200,000 and only creeps up by 10,000 each time a multiball ends without it.

Reward: 200,000, plus 10,000 per multiball you failed to finish
Stop 'N' Score mode · Medium

In front of the ramp sits a drop target; knock it over and a number starts cycling between 20,000 and 99,000 for the next 25 seconds. Whatever it reads when your ramp shot registers is what you are paid, times your Stop 'N' Score multiplier.

Reward: 20,000 to 99,000, multiplied up to 5x
Build The Stop 'N' Score Multiplier multiplier · Medium

The U-S-A lanes under the mini playfield are the highest-value thing you can do outside multiball. Each completion adds a level to the Stop 'N' Score multiplier, up to 5x, and the fourth one lights a Special.

Reward: Up to 5x on Stop 'N' Score, plus a Special
Feed The Bumpers progression · Easy

The jet bumpers open at a nearly worthless 500 a hit. Every 1-2-3 completion adds another 500, topping out at 3,000 — and the value carries between balls, so this is worth building early.

Reward: Bumpers from 500 up to 3,000 a hit
Bonus Multiplier And Extra Ball multiplier · Medium

The three-drop bank raises your end-of-ball bonus multiplier to a maximum of 7x, and reaching 4x lights the extra ball — which you then collect by clearing the same bank one more time.

Reward: Bonus multiplier to 7x, plus an extra ball
Complete SHUTTLE strategy · Medium

Seven targets down the left wall for one randomly chosen award. The award is drawn at the start of each ball and shown on a lamp bank in the middle of the playfield, so you always know whether the bank is worth the effort.

Reward: One of seven awards, from 25,000 to a Special
Complete STATION strategy · Medium

The same award pool as SHUTTLE, but split across two banks — three targets in the middle of the playfield and four on the right. Both have to be cleared, which makes this the harder of the two collects.

Reward: One of the same seven awards
Reroll A Bad Award secret · Medium

The plain-looking standup on the right wall is not decoration. Hitting it re-randomises whichever of the two bank awards it is currently lit for — so drawing 25,000 at the start of a ball is not a sentence you have to serve.

Reward: A fresh draw on the SHUTTLE or STATION award
The Bonus Ball secret · Medium

One of the award-pool prizes is a bonus ball, and it does not work like an extra ball. It is a timed ball at the end of the game where draining does not end anything — the ball is simply returned to the plunger until the clock runs out.

Reward: 25 seconds of free play, 45 if you reached multiball
Keep The Kickback Alive strategy · Easy

The left outlane kickback is your only ball save, and there is nothing on this machine that relights it except a specific award from the two target banks. Once it is spent, that left outlane is a genuine drain.

Reward: One outlane save at a time
The Re-Docking Rule strategy · Medium

Two rules about the docks catch out almost everybody. You cannot dock again after a multiball until 1-2-3 is complete, and a ramp shot with both docks already full swaps a docked ball out for the one in your hand.

Reward: Not losing a multiball setup you already built
The Real Scoring Route strategy · Hard

Multiball is the fun of this machine, but it is not where the points are. The high scores come from patiently stacking the U-S-A lanes to a 5x Stop 'N' Score multiplier and then timing a single ramp shot near the top of the number.

Reward: Close to 99,000 multiplied by five, on one shot

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