Tales from the Crypt

Data East, 1993 — shot-by-shot rules and strategy guide.

Open Tales from the Crypt in the Pinball Genie app →

Designed by John Borg, released Nov/Dec 1993 (~4,500 units). Single production release — no Pro/Premium/LE editions exist; that convention postdates this era. The only meaningful variance is ROM revision (factory 2.x, 3.01, 3.03, plus an unofficial fan rebalance "v4.00" many home/route operators run) which changes scoring values, not the physical layout.

Layout basics

Three flippers: standard lower-left and lower-right, plus a 3rd upper-right flipper that feeds and catches returns from the Electric Chair scoop and center spinner — the two most-repeated shots in the game. Two ramps (Left Ramp, Right Ramp) each cross the top of the playfield and drop into the opposite inlane. Two orbit spinners (left, right) loop into each other. A 3-target drop-target bank ("Guillotine") doubles as the skill-shot target. A large Tombstone standup blocks the Crypt eject hole until spelled open. Six eyeball standup targets (K-E-E / P-E-R) spell KEEPER. A captive ball sits lower-left. Three pop bumpers cluster top-center.

Skill shot

An auto-plunge sends the ball up and into the shooter lane where it drops on the Guillotine bank; a light travels across the 3 targets as the ball travels. Landing on the lit target pays 2M on ball 1, 3M on ball 2, +1M each ball after. The ball saver covers only the first two skill-shot attempts of the game.

CRYPT spelling and Crypt Multiball

Hitting the Tombstone spots C-R-Y-P-T letters in sequence. 'C' is auto-spotted at game start, and the game continues auto-spotting letters between balls so that a well-played ball 3 nearly guarantees CRYPT is complete. Once spelled, the Tombstone lowers, opening the Crypt VUK — shoot the Crypt (or, the first time only, the center spinner) to start Crypt Multiball. The designed money loop is: Left Ramp = Jackpot (base 25M, built by left-spinner spins and Crypt hits) → Right Ramp = Double Jackpot (2x the Jackpot, min 50M) → hit the Tombstone 5 times to respell CRYPT and light Monster Jackpot (50M + Double Jackpot value, min 100M, +50M every repeat) → loop back to the Left Ramp. Captive-ball hits add balls before the Double Jackpot is collected.

Creature Features (12 modes)

The center scoop ("Electric Chair") starts whichever Creature Feature (CF) is currently flashing on the playfield's door-mechanism display. Shooting either orbit spinner cycles which CF is flashing; the door-handle plunger button locks the current one in (press again to unlock) before it rotates to something worse. All 12 CFs — Thunder Storm, Lite Skull Cracking, Door Prize Select (the game's one video mode), Frightmare, Psycho Pops, Robbing the Crypt, Lite Extra Ball, Super Guillotine Targets, Lite Werewolf Countdown, Lite Super Crypt Kicker, Electric Chair, and Super Keeper Targets — can run concurrently with each other and even during multiball, and stacking two at once is the closest thing the game has to a genuine scored "combo" system. Two CFs are themselves multiballs: Electric Chair Multiball (instant 6-ball, scoop pays 1M x balls in play) and Skull Cracking (20-sec captive-ball add-a-ball, escalating per-hit value).

Multipliers

The Bonus Multiplier (2x→4x→6x→8x, then flat 1M/hit) is advanced by clearing the Guillotine bank or fully spelling KEEPER, and applies only to the end-of-ball bonus. The Right Orbit Loop value escalates on consecutive, uninterrupted right-spinner shots (roughly 0.5M→1M→1.5M→2M→2.5M, capping and repeating). There is no general playfield-wide "X" multiplier — the game's other escalating values (Fast Goring frenzy tiers, Super Guillotine/Keeper per-target growth, Crypt Multiball's balls-in-play scaling) are self-contained inside their own modes.

Fast Goring frenzies

Collecting 4 "bat" lights via the Left Ramp advances a 15-second Frenzy tier started via the Right Ramp: Living Dead → Chainsaw Mode → Grave Digger → Play the Organ, each raising the flat per-switch value (roughly 250K/500K/750K/1M). Best farmed with multiple balls in play during Crypt Multiball.

Wizard mode — Crypt Jam

Complete all 12 Creature Features at least once each to light the scoop for Crypt Jam, the game's single wizard mode: a 6-ball multiball with a 25-second ball saver where every switch hit scores a flat 1M while 2 or more balls remain in play. There is no deeper second-tier wizard mode.

Strategy notes

Chase multiball over grinding single modes — nearly every big number scales with balls in play. Once in multiball, spam the scoop shot off the upper-right flipper (it returns directly to that flipper, making it the most controllable repeat shot in the game). The left outlane is a live drain unless KEEPER is lit — hit any K-E-E target early to relight the kickback. Route center shots off the upper-right flipper rather than the lower flippers, since scoop mishits from below feed straight down the middle.

Goals in Tales from the Crypt

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

• Guillotine Skill Shot skillshot · Easy

  Time the auto-plunge to land as a specific Guillotine drop target is lit for a bonus that grows every ball.

  Reward: 2M (ball 1), 3M (ball 2), +1M each ball after

• Crypt Multiball Jackpot Loop combo · Hard

  The top money sequence in the game: Left Ramp Jackpot, Right Ramp Double Jackpot, respell CRYPT for Monster Jackpot, then loop.

  Reward: 25M+ Jackpot, then 50M+ Double Jackpot, then 100M+ Monster Jackpot (+50M every repeat, uncapped)

• Scoop Return Farming combo · Medium

  The Crypt scoop kicks straight back to the upper-right flipper, making it the most repeatable high-value shot in the game during Electric Chair Multiball or Crypt Jam.

  Reward: 1M x balls in play during Electric Chair Multiball; flat 1M per switch during Crypt Jam

• Right Orbit Loop Escalator combo · Medium

  Uninterrupted right-orbit shots climb an escalating value ladder before capping.

  Reward: 0.5M climbing to 2.5M per uninterrupted orbit loop, then caps and repeats at 2.5M

• Fast Goring Frenzy Stack combo · Hard

  Start a Frenzy off the Right Ramp during multiball so every switch on the playfield counts at the elevated per-hit rate for every ball in play.

  Reward: 250K-1M per switch on an escalating Frenzy tier, counted for every ball in play

• Right Ramp Trick Shot Fallback combo · Easy

  A partial Right Ramp shot that doesn't complete the loop still pays out by rolling onto the Left Ramp's return habitrail.

  Reward: Flat 5M Trick Shot bonus, even on a partial/missed loop

• Crypt Multiball multiball · Hard

  The main multiball. Spell CRYPT on the Tombstone to qualify, then start it at the Crypt or center spinner.

  Reward: Starts the Left Ramp -> Right Ramp -> Tombstone loop: 25M+ Jackpot, 50M+ Double Jackpot, 100M+ Monster Jackpot (uncapped)

• Electric Chair Multiball multiball · Medium

  Creature Feature #11 — an instant 6-ball multiball started at the center scoop.

  Reward: Instant 6-ball multiball; every scoop shot after pays 1M x balls in play

• Skull Cracking Add-a-Ball multiball · Medium

  Creature Feature #2 — a 20-second captive-ball add-a-ball mode that starts automatically once lit.

  Reward: Adds a ball per captive-ball hit (up to 5-6 total); escalating 5M/10M/15M/20M+ per hit

• Robbing the Crypt mode · Medium

  A loopable Creature Feature scored at the lowered Crypt/tombstone that also spots CRYPT letters.

  Reward: 10M + a spotted CRYPT letter per loopable Crypt hit; completing T scores 25M and ends the mode

• Frightmare mode · Medium

  25 spinner hits within 25 seconds for 25M total — rated among the best per-second value in the game.

  Reward: 25M total for landing 25 spinner hits within 25 seconds

• Psycho Pops mode · Medium

  25 pop-bumper hits in 25 seconds for 25M, and easy to sustain because early hits reset the timer.

  Reward: 25M for 25 pop-bumper hits in 25 seconds; hits under 9 sec left reset the timer

• Super Keeper Targets mode · Medium

  Hit the K-E-E-P-E-R eyeball target banks for escalating value with a large bonus for clearing all six.

  Reward: Escalating value per KEEPER target hit (capped range) + a large repeatable bonus for clearing all 6

• Bonus Multiplier multiplier · Easy

  Raise the end-of-ball Bonus Multiplier from 2x up to 8x by completing the Guillotine bank or spelling KEEPER.

  Reward: +1 step toward the 2x/4x/6x/8x end-of-ball Bonus Multiplier (flat 1M/hit once capped)

• Fast Goring Frenzy Tiers multiplier · Medium

  Step up the Frenzy tier via repeated Right Ramp shots to raise the per-switch value from 250K toward 1M+.

  Reward: Raises the per-switch Frenzy value: Living Dead 250K -> Chainsaw 500K -> Grave Digger 750K -> Play the Organ 1M

• Crypt Jam wizard · Hard

  The single wizard mode — complete all 12 Creature Features at least once each to light Crypt Jam at the scoop.

  Reward: 6-ball wizard multiball, 25-sec ball saver; flat 1M per switch while 2+ balls remain in play

• Beginner First 30 Seconds strategy · Easy

  The recommended opening sequence on a fresh ball, from plunge to mode stacking.

  Reward: 2M-3M+ skill shot plus a collected Creature Feature, often stacked into a second concurrent CF within 30 seconds

• Best Opener: Chase Multiball strategy · Medium

  Prioritize reaching Crypt Multiball over grinding single-ball modes — nearly every big number in the game scales with balls in play.

  Reward: Access to the Crypt Multiball Jackpot loop (25M+ -> 50M+ -> 100M+, uncapped) instead of grinding single-mode points

• Protect the Outlanes strategy · Easy

  The left outlane is a live drain unless KEEPER is lit — manage it early instead of losing balls while chasing modes.

  Reward: A relit left-outlane kickback (saved balls) instead of a live drain, plus Bonus Multiplier progress from KEEPER

• Door Prize Award mode · Easy

  A left-inlane pass randomly lights the Guillotine bank for a door-prize award; the door handle also picks doors when the game runs its door-select sequence.

  Reward: 1M-3M door prize off the Guillotine bank

• Extra Ball Collect strategy · Medium

  Light the extra ball off a Creature Feature award, then cash it in at the center spinner before losing the ball.

  Reward: One extra ball

• Milking Crypt Jam wizard · Hard

  Wizard-mode scoring only pays while two or more balls are alive, so protect the second ball and hammer the most repeatable switches.

  Reward: Flat 1M per switch hit for as long as 2+ balls stay in play