Super Mario Bros.

Gottlieb, 1992 — shot-by-shot rules and strategy guide.

Open Super Mario Bros. in the Pinball Genie app →

Gottlieb's Super Mario Bros. is a busier machine than it first looks. Three flippers — the third sitting on a raised platform at the top — four sinkholes, two ramps, a loop that feeds the bumpers, and a revolving blue castle in the top right corner. The stated goal is to rescue the princess by destroying seven castles, and the game does something almost no other machine does: destroyed castles carry over between games, so a well-played machine may only need one more.

Becoming Super Mario

Every serious decision on this playfield routes through one question: are you Super? Advance S-U-P-E-R at the right ramp while it is lit, or at the left and right holes while they flash. Then hit the left ramp standup target while it is flashing fast — a slow flash on that target is worth 5M, a fast flash turns you Super.

Being Super changes four things at once. Round awards double, and that includes extra balls. The right ramp goes from 100K to 500K. Multiball becomes three balls instead of two. And the castle flashes for destruction, which is the only way to knock one down. Protect the state — once the kick save on the left outlane has been used, draining down that lane knocks you back to ordinary Mario.

Shells, then the key

Rounds are the mode structure, and every one costs the same two things. Light three turtle shells by hitting spot targets or ramps that have shells lit, then collect the key by dropping the ball into one of the three holes with the key lamp lit. The bumpers and slingshots toggle which shots carry shells, so outside a round you actively want the ball rattling around the middle rather than trapped up.

Once you have the key the machine offers two rounds at random and gives you about two seconds to pick with the flippers. Hesitate and it takes the left flipper option for you. Six rounds exist:

• Bomb — light the fuse at the flashing left ramp target, then any hole pays 30M, and the upper playfield hole stays lit at 20M for the rest of the ball. That residue is the real prize.
• Yoshi's Countdown — a single shot to the Yoshi target, opening at 24M and falling. The countdown freezes during multiball.
• Luigi's Cave Count-Up — the mirror image, climbing to a 48M ceiling before you collect from the cave targets.
• Castle Extra Ball — one shot into the castle for an extra ball, or two if you are Super when it starts.
• Exclamation — the best scoring round on the machine, walking up 1M, 2M, 3M, 5M and 10M as you keep hitting the marked targets.
• Mega Bumper — every pop bumper is worth a million, so stop aiming and keep the ball alive in the middle.

Multiball

Light 1-2-3-4 in order and then drop into the left hole. The sequence is the left ramp, the Yoshi target on the upper playfield, the right loop that feeds back into the bumpers, and the right ramp taken from the upper flipper. Plan two and four together — if you get up to the platform for the Yoshi target, the right ramp is right there.

Two balls normally, three if you are Super. The objective is simply to get balls into the castle, and each one is a jackpot: 5M, then 10M, then 20M, then 40M.

The parts people miss

Quick Shot is the cheapest extra ball on the machine and almost nobody chases it. Roll the right inlane and the left ramp starts flashing; hitting it collects from a ladder of 1M, 2M, 5M, 7M, an extra ball, then 10M.

Yoshi bonus is a slow burn worth knowing about. Every Yoshi target hit adds 500K to a total that is paid when you drain and carries into your next ball rather than resetting. Two hits in a row outside a round lights the target for three million on the next one, and a Yoshi hit also briefly flashes the feather target for 5M.

Bonus Chance is a three-reel gamble at the left hole, lit by the cave targets outside a round. Most results are small — 200K for nothing, a million or two for cherries or mushrooms, 5M for any three of a kind. Three sevens pays two hundred million. The mystery award at the right hole, lit by the rollover under the right plastic ramp, can hand you three bonus chances at once, along with extra shells, extra balls or an instant Super Mario.

Video mode, and the trick inside it

Four bullet lamps sit in front of the castle and each roll of the left inlane lights one. Fill them and the next castle shot drops you into a side-scrolling run where the right flipper jumps and the left flipper sprints. Finish it and you get 10M — but hold the left flipper down so Mario runs rather than walks, and a completed run pays 30M instead.

The same trick has a second life. After your last castle falls and the ball drains, the game plays a short run toward the castle. Make him jump during it and that pays 30M rather than 10M as well. Finish all six rounds in one game, meanwhile, and the castle flashes for special — briefly, so be ready for it.

Goals in Super Mario Bros.

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

• Become Super Mario multiplier · Medium

  The state that changes everything. Advance S-U-P-E-R at the ramps and holes, then hit the left ramp target while it flashes fast. Super doubles every round award — extra balls included — turns the right ramp from 100K into 500K, and upgrades multiball from two balls to three.

  Reward: Double round values, 500K ramps, three-ball multiball

• Shells, Then The Key progression · Medium

  Every round in this game costs the same two things. Light three turtle shells, then collect the key from one of the holes that has its key lamp lit. Only then do you get to pick what you play — and you get about two seconds to decide.

  Reward: A round of your choosing

• Bomb Round mode · Medium

  Two shots for the best long-term payoff in the game. Light the fuse at the left ramp target while it flashes, then put the ball in any hole for 30M — and the upper playfield hole stays lit for 20M for the whole rest of the ball.

  Reward: 30M, plus a 20M hole for the rest of the ball

• Yoshi's Countdown Round mode · Medium

  A single-shot round with a falling value. It opens at 24M and drops the longer you take, so this is not one to line up carefully. One useful wrinkle: the countdown freezes during multiball.

  Reward: Up to 24M

• Luigi's Cave Count-Up Round mode · Medium

  The mirror image of Yoshi's round — the value climbs instead of falling, and it stops at 48M. Wait too long and you risk the ball, but cashing it early is leaving half of it on the table.

  Reward: Up to 48M

• Castle Extra Ball Round mode · Medium

  One shot, one extra ball. Enter the castle during this round and it is yours — and if you are Super Mario when the round starts, the award doubles, which means two extra balls from a single shot.

  Reward: An extra ball, or two if you are Super

• Exclamation Round mode · Easy

  The best scoring round on the machine. The exclamation targets pay increasing amounts as you keep hitting them, walking up 1M, 2M, 3M, 5M and finally 10M. Take this round every time it is offered.

  Reward: 1M climbing to 10M per shot

• Mega Bumper Round mode · Easy

  Each pop bumper is worth a million during this round. It is the one round where the correct play is to stop aiming entirely and just keep the ball alive in the middle of the playfield.

  Reward: 1M per bumper

• Multiball multiball · Hard

  Light 1-2-3-4 in order, then drop into the left hole. Two balls normally, three if you are Super Mario. Every ball you put in the castle is a jackpot, and the jackpots climb steeply — 5M, then 10M, then 20M, then 40M.

  Reward: Jackpots of 5M, 10M, 20M and 40M

• Destroy Seven Castles progression · Hard

  The long game, and the strangest rule on the machine. Seven castles have to fall to rescue the princess, and destroyed castles carry over between games — so you can walk up to a machine with six already down and finish the job in one ball.

  Reward: A replay and your initials on the machine

• Quick Shot combo · Medium

  Roll the right inlane and the left ramp starts flashing. Hit it and you collect from a ladder that climbs 1M, 2M, 5M, 7M, an extra ball, and then 10M. It is the cheapest extra ball on the machine and almost nobody chases it.

  Reward: 1M up to 10M, with an extra ball on the fifth step

• Bonus Chance strategy · Medium

  A three-reel gamble at the left hole, lit by the cave targets outside a round. Most results are small — 200K for nothing, a million or two for cherries or mushrooms, five million for any three of a kind. Three sevens pays two hundred million.

  Reward: 200K to 200M

• Mystery strategy · Easy

  The right lane rollover lights mystery at the right hole, and the award list is unusually strong for a machine of this era — extra shells, extra balls, an instant Super Mario, or three bonus chances in a row.

  Reward: Shells, an extra ball, Super Mario or three bonus chances

• The Yoshi Bonus strategy · Medium

  Every Yoshi target hit adds 500K to a bonus paid when you drain — and the total carries into your next ball rather than resetting. Two hits in a row outside a round also lights the target for three million on the next hit.

  Reward: 500K per hit, banked across balls

• Video Mode mode · Medium

  Four bullet lamps sit in front of the castle. Fill them all by rolling the left inlane and the next castle shot drops you into a side-scrolling run where you jump gaps with the right flipper and sprint with the left.

  Reward: 10M for finishing, 30M if you run it

• Run, Do Not Walk secret · Medium

  The video mode pays triple if you know one thing about it, and the machine never tells you. There is a second version of the same trick that only appears after your final castle falls.

  Reward: 30M instead of 10M, twice over

• The Special secret · Hard

  Complete all six rounds in a game and the castle flashes for special — but only for a limited time. It is the hardest thing on the machine because the shell-and-key cycle has to be run six separate times.

  Reward: Special at the castle

• Where The Extra Balls Are progression · Medium

  This game hands out extra balls in more places than most players realise, and one of them is effectively free once you know the loop.

  Reward: Multiple extra balls per game