Star Trek

Stern Pinball, 2013 — shot-by-shot rules and strategy guide.

Open Star Trek in the Pinball Genie app →

Designed by Steve Ritchie, licensed to the 2009/2013 J.J. Abrams film reboot. Three editions — Pro, Premium, LE — share an identical ruleset and physical layout; Premium/LE add a motorized "crash" Vengeance ship, a star-field laser, a left-outlane kickback, and a VUK that safely feeds the left scoop into the left ramp (Pro's scoop kicks out unpredictably). None of this changes scoring, modes, or multiball logic.

The playfield

Seven major shots anchor everything: Left Orbit (houses the spinner), Left Ramp, Right Ramp, Warp Ramp (reachable only from the upper-right/third flipper), Right Orbit, Left Scoop ("Mission Start"), and the center Vengeance drop target/ship — the most dangerous shot on the table, prone to rebounding hard toward the outlanes. Supporting hardware includes Shield standups, a bank of 3 green "lock" standups, a bank of 3 orange Weapon standups (loads torpedoes fired via the "Punch It" lockdown-bar button), a scattered family of Red Matter/Black Hole standups, three top BEAM-ME-UP rollover lanes, and a pop-bumper nest.

Skill shots

There's no traditional "flip the lit lane" skill shot. Instead: a soft plunge sets up a Warp Ramp Skill Shot off the upper-right flipper; holding the left flipper on a full plunge lights a Super Skill Shot (1M, +250K each repeat) at Vengeance or the right ramp; holding the right flipper for a full-power plunge that rejects off the top gate into the right orbit sets up the Super Warp Skill Shot (1.5M, the highest-value but riskiest option).

Missions (the "modes")

Six color-coded Missions — Prime Directive, Space Jump, Save the Enterprise, Nero, Destroy the Drill, Klingon Battle — each played across three Levels (18 mode instances total). Start any lit mission at Mission Start (left scoop) or Away Team (upper-flipper shot). Level I is a timed shot-collection pattern (Bronze/Silver/Gold medal thresholds); taking Away Team mid-timer adds +20 seconds and unlocks a bonus "Galactic Mode" shot sequence. Level II and III raise the complexity (roving shots, attacker pairs, dynamically-shifting lit shots) and medal thresholds. Fully clearing a mission's Level III permanently lights a dedicated shot for 2X scoring for the rest of the game (e.g., Nero → Left Orbit, Klingon Battle → Left Ramp).

Multiballs

• Klingon Multiball: complete the 3 green standups to light locks at Vengeance and the left scoop; lock 3 balls to start. Jackpots climb from 200K, with a 7th-jackpot 6.25M Super Jackpot, 14th-jackpot 10M Super Jackpot, a traveling 4M Double Jackpot, and a 20M Double Super Jackpot at the Warp Ramp (plus a free Gold medal).
• Vengeance Multiball (round 1 of 3 sequential Vengeance rounds): build hits on Vengeance via direct shots or Punch It torpedoes (any of the 10 shots except the final one may be a torpedo); starts 2-ball with a magnet-capture mechanic, extends to 3-ball, and destroying the ship after 10 shots pays 5M and unlocks escalating "Victory Lap" shot loops.
• Vengeance Scoring (round 2): a hurry-up requiring 5 direct shots to Vengeance — the only repeatable Extra Ball source in the game.
• Vengeance Battle (round 3): raise then knock down the Vengeance target, then land a sudden-death shot worth the greater of 10M or 10% of total score (up to 40% comboed under Double Scoring) — the single biggest lever in the ruleset.

Combos

Every major shot carries a red combo insert that stays lit for ~4 seconds after the prior shot; hitting a different eligible shot within the window doubles its value (repeating the same shot does not combo). Five named "crew combos" — Kirk (Left Orbit→Warp Ramp), Bones (Left Orbit→Left Ramp), Sulu (Right Orbit→Right Ramp), Uhura (Right Ramp→Left Ramp→Right Orbit), and Spock (Left Ramp→Right Ramp→Left Orbit→Warp Ramp) — each pay a flat 1,000,000 the first time and permanently raise the base value of all future combos.

Multipliers

Completing the three BEAM-ME-UP top lanes adds +1X to that ball's bonus multiplier (resets each ball). Repeated Warp Ramp shots climb a Warp Speed counter: 7 shots lights a one-time Extra Ball (collected at Vengeance), 10 shots lights 60 seconds of global 2X scoring, and 18 shots re-lights 2X scoring plus adds a ball into play (both repeatable after the first time).

Captain's Chair

Completing three same-level missions in a row lights a bonus tied to the side of the playfield: left-side missions → Super Pops, right-side → Super Ramps, bottom-row → Super Spinner. Super Ramps is generally considered the best single pick for players who can only manage one line.

Wizard modes

Qualification is built on finishing an entire Level of all 6 missions, which lights the center Vengeance shot white: 1. Kobayashi Maru (after all 6 Level I's) — 2-ball multiball where every shot needs 2 hits. 2. Enterprise Amok (after all 6 Level II's) — 2-ball multiball across 6 escalating switch-hit rounds. 3. Five Year Mission (after all 6 Level III's, the true final wizard mode) — 4-ball multiball, clear every lit shot for a Super Jackpot.

Strategy in brief

Open with the Super Skill Shot, launch a default Level I mission, use Away Team to extend it, and work toward Klingon Multiball locks and Warp Ramp shots. Tournament players deliberately start a mode just before locking the final multiball ball so mode scoring and jackpots run concurrently, save Double Scoring for a jackpot-heavy moment, and treat Vengeance Scoring/Battle as high-value, single-purpose detours rather than shots to chase mid-mode.

Goals in Star Trek

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

• Super Skill Shot skillshot · Easy

  Hold the left flipper through a full plunge to light a Super Skill Shot at the right ramp (or Vengeance) — the safe, repeatable opening skill shot worth 1M+.

  Reward: 1,000,000 first time + 250,000 each repeat this ball

• Super Warp Skill Shot skillshot · Hard

  Hold the right flipper on a full-power plunge so the ball rejects off the top gate into the right orbit, then shoot the Warp Ramp for the game's highest-value skill shot.

  Reward: 1,500,000 — the game's highest-value skill shot

• Kirk Combo combo · Medium

  Left Loop into the Warp Ramp — the first of five named crew combos, each worth a flat 1,000,000 the first time and a permanent bump to all future combo values.

  Reward: 1,000,000 first time + permanently raises base value of future crew combos

• Bones Combo combo · Medium

  Left Loop into the Left Ramp — second crew combo, easy to chain right off a left-orbit shot.

  Reward: 1,000,000 first time + raises base value of future crew combos

• Sulu Combo combo · Medium

  Right Loop into the Right Ramp — mirror of Bones on the right side of the playfield.

  Reward: 1,000,000 first time + raises base value of future crew combos

• Uhura Combo combo · Hard

  A 3-shot chain — right ramp into left ramp into right orbit — that pays a flat 1,000,000 the first time, same as the other crew combos.

  Reward: 1,000,000 first time + raises base value of future crew combos

• Spock Combo combo · Hard

  The signature 4-shot chain — left ramp, right ramp, left loop, Warp Ramp — described by players as one of the best flowing sequences on any modern Stern.

  Reward: 1,000,000 first time + permanently raises future crew combo base values

• Vengeance Battle Sudden Death Squeeze combo · Hard

  The single biggest repeatable payout in the game — land the Vengeance Battle final shot comboed for up to 40% of your total score.

  Reward: Greater of 10,000,000 or 10% of score; doubles to 20% comboed, up to 40% with Double Scoring

• Klingon Multiball multiball · Medium

  Complete the green standups to light locks at Vengeance and the left scoop, lock 3 balls, then chase jackpots up to a 20,000,000 Double Super Jackpot at the Warp Ramp.

  Reward: 3-ball (4th via Black Hole target); jackpots climb to a 20,000,000 Double Super Jackpot at Warp Ramp + free Gold medal

• Vengeance Multiball multiball · Medium

  Build damage on the Vengeance ship via direct hits and torpedoes to start the first of three Vengeance rounds, a 2-ball multiball built around the ship's magnet.

  Reward: Starts 2-ball, adds a 3rd via the magnet catch; destroying Vengeance (10 hits) pays 5,000,000 (more if comboed) + Victory Laps

• Kobayashi Maru multiball · Hard

  The first stacked wizard round — finish Level I of all 6 missions to light Vengeance white and start a 2-ball multiball where every shot needs 2 hits.

  Reward: 2-ball; first hit on each shot scores 500,000 (arms it), second hit up to 7,500,000 based on Level I performance

• Prime Directive (Level I) mode · Easy

  The default beginner-friendly first mode — shoot the 5 blue-lit shots to relight them all and extend with Away Team; the left scoop's permanent 2X award comes only from clearing this mission's Level III, not this Level I round.

  Reward: Bronze/Silver/Gold medal (3/6/9 shots) + Galactic Mode's 2x right-ramp finish; permanent 2X award needs Level III

• Nero (Level I) mode · Medium

  Hit the 5 purple Red Matter standups to unlight them all, then chase Galactic Mode's Black Hole 2x final shot.

  Reward: Galactic Mode's 2x Black Hole finish; clearing this mission's Level III permanently lights the left orbit for 2x scoring

• Destroy the Drill (Level I) mode · Medium

  Work the fanning lit shots left-to-right, then squeeze a right-ramp-into-left-scoop combo on the final 4x shot for one of the biggest documented mode payouts.

  Reward: Up to ~40,000,000 documented when the 4x left-scoop finish stacks with spinner value

• Vengeance Scoring (hurry-up) mode · Medium

  The second Vengeance round — a 5-shot hurry-up at the ship that is the only repeatable extra-ball source in the game.

  Reward: Repeatable Extra Ball — the only one in the entire ruleset

• Bonus Multiplier (BEAM-ME-UP) multiplier · Easy

  Complete the three top rollover lanes spelling BEAM-ME-UP to add +1X to this ball's end-of-ball bonus.

  Reward: +1X to this ball's end-of-ball bonus multiplier (resets each ball)

• Warp Speed / Double Scoring multiplier · Medium

  Bank repeated Warp Ramp shots to climb the Warp Speed counter — 10 shots lights 60 seconds of global 2X scoring, 18 shots adds a ball on top of it.

  Reward: 7 shots = Extra Ball; 10 shots = 60s of 2X scoring; 18 shots = 2X scoring + an added ball (both repeatable)

• Enterprise Amok wizard · Hard

  The second stacked wizard round — clear Level II of all 6 missions to unlock a switch-hit-driven 2-ball multiball across 6 escalating rounds.

  Reward: 2-ball MB across 6 rounds, adding a ball each round except the last; round 6 ends in a Super Jackpot at Vengeance

• Five Year Mission wizard · Hard

  The true final wizard mode — clear Level III of all 6 missions to start a 4-ball multiball with every major shot lit for a Super Jackpot.

  Reward: 4-ball MB with every major shot lit; clear them all for the Super Jackpot at Vengeance

• Beginner First 30 Seconds strategy · Easy

  The recommended concrete opener — cash the safe skill shot, launch a default mode, and start building toward Klingon Multiball and Warp Ramp awards.

  Reward: Skill-shot cushion + mode progress; builds toward Klingon Multiball locks and Warp Ramp awards

• Stack a Mode Into Multiball strategy · Medium

  The core tournament technique — start a mission mode right before locking the final multiball ball so the mode timer and jackpots run concurrently.

  Reward: Concurrent mode + multiball scoring; a comboed Double Super Jackpot under Double Scoring reported up to 80,000,000

• Chase Captain's Chair (Super Ramps) strategy · Medium

  Complete three same-level missions in a row on the right side of the mission select to light the easiest, most valuable Captain's Chair award — Super Ramps.

  Reward: Lights Super Ramps — boosted ramp scoring that stays lit across balls until collected

• All Five Crew Combos in One Game combo · Hard

  Run the whole named-combo set in one game: the two left-orbit two-shotters, the right-side mirror, the three-shot chain, and the four-shot chain. Each pays its flat first-time bonus and permanently raises the base value of every later combo.

  Reward: Flat first-time bonus on each of the five combos plus a permanent bump to all later combo values