Theatre of Magic

Bally, 1995 — shot-by-shot rules and strategy guide.

Open Theatre of Magic in the Pinball Genie app →

Bally, March 1995. Designed by John Popadiuk (WPC-S, DMD). Single production model — no Pro/Premium/LE splits; the only "editions" are factory ROM v1.3 versus the 2021 community "2.0" balance mod, which changes rules but not the layout.

Skill shot

The plunge rides a wireform to the right inlane. The DMD cycles three awards (10M/20M, 2x Bonus, Advance Clock +2, and Begin Illusion or 2x Combos); plunging locks the one showing, and the first Magic Trunk hit collects it. Once any ball is locked, later plunges instead offer a fixed captive-ball skill shot that always advances the clock.

The Left Lane (Theatre lane)

The backbone shot. Each shot spells a T-H-E-A-T-R-E letter and returns to the right flipper, so it self-loops. Completing the word lights a THEATRE Hurry-Up at the trunk hole (~10 s, 50M base + ~100K per pop hit). Weak shots fall into the Bonus X rollovers — complete both (lane change, read via the back-panel mirror) to step bonus toward 8x. Bonus X resets every ball, and end-of-ball bonus multiplies everything: letters (500K each), MAGIC letters, clock hours, Illusions started, magicianship rank. The tournament meta is simply: 8x first, then Theatre-lane loops — bonuses can exceed 300M.

Theatre Multiball

Spell MAGIC on the ramps (both count for the first two multiballs, right ramp only after), lock two balls at the inner loops (20M each), then shoot the trunk's bulls-eye magnet face to start 3-ball play (4-ball if a Vanish ball waits). The Rear Trunk Entrance is a Secret Ball Lock that spots all of MAGIC. At the start, the trunk hole during the 5-4-3-2-1 countdown is an instant 100M. Jackpots (50M base) collect at the trunk and pump +5M per major shot — the value never resets; relights cost escalating trunk hits.

Tiger Saw Multiball

Three captive-ball hits (later six) light Vanish; the Left Lane then locks the ball (40M — the third Vanish lights Extra Ball) and the right orbit starts 2-ball play. The captive ball is an always-lit jackpot: 30M, +10M per collect, 70M max. Letters and clock stay live during it.

Illusions (8 modes)

Three trunk hits light an Illusion; the trunk's open hole face starts it (~20 s each): Tiger Saw, Levitating Woman, Trunk Escape, Spirit Cards (spinner), Safe Escape (11-04-69), Metamorphosis, Strait Jacket, Hat Magic. Starting — not completing — counts toward the Finale.

Clock, Trap Door, extras

Every right orbit advances the clock an hour: 6:00 lights Extra Ball, 12:00 starts Midnight Madness (magnet catches worth 2M x hour). Four trap-door target hits light Raise Trap Door at the center ramp; the raised door (blocking the right ramp) pays 15M + a Basement mystery. Hocus Pocus standups arm ~15 s outlane magna-save magnets. Combos: any two-in-a-row among the six major shots, 2M and +2M per link, uncapped in factory code, doubled all ball by the 2x Combos skill award.

Grand Finale (wizard)

Light four diamonds — spell THEATRE, play Theatre Multiball, reach Midnight, start all 8 Illusions (the hard one) — then start at the inner loop: one ball, 60 seconds, every major shot 50M + a MAGIC THEATRE letter; all 12 letters pays 500M. Diamonds also set your Magicianship rank (Novice → Master).

Goals in Theatre of Magic

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

• Trunk Skill Shot skillshot · Easy

  The ball-start skill shot: time your plunge to lock the cycling award, then collect it with the first Magic Trunk hit off the right-inlane feed.

  Reward: 10M/20M points, 2x Bonus, Advance Clock +2 hours, Begin Illusion, or 2x Combos — plus 1M into bonus per made skill shot

• Captive Ball Skill Shot skillshot · Easy

  Once any ball is locked or vanished, the cycling menu goes away and every later plunge offers a fixed skill shot at the Tiger Saw captive ball.

  Reward: Advance Clock +1 hour toward Midnight, plus 1M into bonus

• THEATRE Lane Loop combo · Medium

  The game's signature money sequence: the Left Lane returns to the right flipper that shoots it, so it self-loops forever — escalating combos, THEATRE letters, bonus base, and hurry-up qualification all from one shot.

  Reward: Escalating combos (2M, +2M each, no factory cap), 500K per letter in bonus, and a 50M+ THEATRE Hurry-Up every 7 letters

• MAGIC Ramp Loop combo · Medium

  The center ramp always returns to the left inlane, so the left flipper can loop it endlessly — chaining combos while spelling MAGIC toward Theatre Multiball.

  Reward: Escalating combos plus MAGIC letters (1M each in bonus) and multiball qualification

• Five-Way Combo combo · Hard

  Chain five of the six major combo shots (Left Lane, both inner loops, both ramps, right orbit) without a break for the escalating N-way combo and the top callout.

  Reward: 2M + 4M + 6M + 8M across the chain (doubled all ball by the 2x Combos skill award)

• Theatre Jackpot Cycle combo · Hard

  The money sequence inside Theatre Multiball: grab the 100M countdown, then alternate jackpot collects at the trunk with +5M pump shots — the value never resets.

  Reward: 100M countdown shot, 50M+ jackpots pumped past 115M (effectively uncapped)

• Theatre Multiball multiball · Medium

  The main multiball: spell MAGIC on the ramps to light the inner-loop locks, lock two balls, then bash the trunk's bulls-eye magnet face to start 3-ball play.

  Reward: 20M per lock, 100M countdown, 50M+ jackpots; playing it lights the Multiball diamond

• Tiger Saw Multiball multiball · Medium

  The safest multiball: light Vanish at the captive ball, vanish a ball off the Left Lane, then start 2-ball play at the right orbit and farm the always-lit captive-ball jackpot.

  Reward: 40M Vanish, jackpots 30M/40M/50M/60M to a 70M max; third Vanish lights Extra Ball

• Four-Ball Theatre Stack multiball · Hard

  The only multiball stack in the game: park a vanished ball in the lock instead of starting Tiger Saw, then start Theatre Multiball to release it for 4-ball play.

  Reward: 4-ball Theatre Multiball with the full jackpot cycle and an extra ball in play

• Start an Illusion mode · Easy

  The core mode loop: three trunk hits light one of the eight ~20-second Illusions, then the trunk's open hole face takes the starting shot. Starting all eight lights a Grand Finale diamond.

  Reward: 20-second scoring modes worth 60M-100M+; each start adds 4M to bonus and counts toward the Illusions diamond

• Safe Escape (11-04-69) mode · Medium

  One of the few completable Illusions: dial the safe combination with three inner-loop shots for a guaranteed 70M and the payoff animation.

  Reward: 20M + 20M + 30M for completing the combination

• Trap Door Basement mode · Medium

  Bally mystery award: pound the trap-door standups, raise the door with the center ramp, then shoot the pop-up door before it closes for 15M plus a Basement award.

  Reward: 15M + Basement mystery: 15-40M points, Spell Magic, Midnight, Extra Ball, video mode, Special, Illusion start, Bonus X and more

• Clock to Midnight Madness mode · Medium

  Drive the clock to 12:00 with right-orbit shots: 6:00 lights an Extra Ball, and midnight instantly starts the trunk-magnet frenzy while lighting the Midnight diamond.

  Reward: Extra Ball at 6:00 (first time), Midnight diamond, magnet catches worth 2M x clock hour (24M at midnight)

• Build 8x Bonus multiplier · Medium

  The only bonus multiplier: complete the two mirror-read top rollover lanes to step Bonus X up to 8x. It resets every ball, so rebuild it early, every ball.

  Reward: Bonus X to 8x (then 5M per completion); end-of-ball bonus can exceed 300M

• 2x Combos for the Ball multiplier · Medium

  The game's only shot-value multiplier: the 2x Combos skill award doubles every combo score for the rest of the ball — the force multiplier behind the lane-loop strategy.

  Reward: All combos doubled: the 2M/4M/6M chain becomes 4M/8M/12M

• Grand Finale wizard · Hard

  The wizard mode: light all four diamonds — Theatre, Multiball, Midnight, Illusions — then start the 60-second Finale at the inner loop, where every major shot is 50M and a MAGIC THEATRE letter.

  Reward: 50M per shot, +500M for all 12 MAGIC THEATRE letters inside 60 seconds; Master magicianship rank

• Beginner First 30 Seconds strategy · Easy

  The safe default opener: take a skill award, then live on the Left Lane — the shot that drives letters, bonus base, multiplier feeds, and hurry-up qualification all at once.

  Reward: Safe scoring foundation: letters + Bonus X + a lit hurry-up with minimal drain risk

• Tournament Bonus Stack strategy · Hard

  The tournament meta in one line: 8x bonus first, then Theatre-lane loops all ball — end-of-ball bonus multiplies everything, and 8x times a fat letter stack is hundreds of millions per ball.

  Reward: End-of-ball bonuses in the hundreds of millions (8x x letters + clock + illusions + magicianship)

• Illusion-First Opener strategy · Medium

  The tournament ball-one opener: take Begin Illusion on the plunge (pre-selecting Levitating Woman), loop the center ramp for the mode, and bank wizard-mode progress while you score.

  Reward: 100M+ mode ceiling plus a head start on the hardest Grand Finale diamond