Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Stern Pinball, 2020 — shot-by-shot rules and strategy guide.

Open Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in the Pinball Genie app →

Designer: John Borg (code: Dwight Sullivan lineage; art: Zombie Yeti). Three editions — Pro / Premium / LE. Premium & LE share a playfield (LE adds cosmetics only) and add the player-steered Glider diverter, sculpted TMNT Van lock, bidirectional magnetic Pizza Disc, animated Krang, and the Mushrooms topping. Scoring is deliberately low — ~10M is a good beginner game, strong players hit 100M+.

Turtle Select (most important early choice)

Pick a turtle at start; each has a unique skill-shot target and a 4-level perk tree (levels earned via Training):

• Leonardo → LAIR skill shot; Training lit immediately; multiball-scoring monster (2x Team-Up/Pizza Party).
• Raphael → Left Ramp skill shot; Start Episode lit from ball 1; L3 3x Playfield, L4 3x Episodes → stacks to ~9x. Tournament/high-score favorite.
• Michelangelo → Pizza Parlor skill shot; Battle Again outlane save lit + 5 pizza slices. Survivability pick.
• Donatello → Center Ramp skill shot; Turtle Power MB lit instantly.

Core scoring loops

• Skill Shots: hit your turtle's lit shot in a 15s window = 250k + lights Weapon Hurry-Up. Pro-only: soft-plunge the flashing top lane for +1x Bonus Multiplier.
• Ninja Pizza Multiball (the scoring engine — priority above all): lock 3 at the Pizza Parlor → balls release onto the spinning disc → defeat 6 Foot Soldiers (Left Ramp=3 Foot, Krang Loop=2, Center Ramp=2, Parlor=1, Right Ramp=1) → Mondo Jackpot at Krang/upper loop (~500k +250k) → Super "Jackpoto Grande" at the Lair (3M + 500k/Mondo). Toppings chosen at the pizza standups at lock modify the MB.
• Turtle Power Multiball: shoot the Right Ramp 3x, 4th starts it → green jackpots (100k, +25k, max 250k) → 4 → Mondo at upper loop → Super at Lair.
• Episodes (8 timed modes): Left/Right Ramp lights "Start Episode," then Pizza Parlor starts it. Completing episodes qualifies Team-Up Multiball (4 episodes, lit at Left Ramp) then Final Battle (all 8, lit at Pizza Parlor).
• Krang Kombo: upper-loop ×3 builds to 500k, cash on the center/side ramp (upper-flipper fed). A Cowabunga requirement.
• 1-2-3 Foot: lit at right inlane; Right Ramp → then Center Ramp → Left Ramp OR Upper Loop → Center Ramp. 6x Foot Value; Cowabunga requirement.
• Weapon Hurry-Up / April Hurry-Up: low-value cash hurry-ups; both are Cowabunga checkboxes (Weapon once, April ×5).

Multipliers

• 2x Playfield lit by even LAIR completions (odd = Training); 30s, +5s per center target. Raphael L3 = 3x. Light it, bank it, and trigger right before NPMB / a big episode / Final Battle.
• Bonus X advanced by the Pro top-lane skill shot and Pict-o-Pop awards (~10x cap).
• Training gives +10%/win (cap +30%) global boost stacked with everything.

Wizard progression

Multiballs don't re-light until Team-Up is completed, forcing the ladder. Final Battle (all 8 episodes) pays accumulated episode scores × 2x/3x Playfield — can exceed 60M. Cowabunga Multiball (final wizard) needs all 7: reach Final Battle, max Krang Kombo, 5 April Hurry-Ups, a Weapon Hurry-Up, complete 1-2-3 Foot, a Jackpoto Grande, and a Triple Mondo.

Goals in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

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

• Turtle Skill Shot skillshot · Medium

  After the plunge a 15-second window lights your selected turtle's specific shot; hit it for 250k and to light the Weapon Hurry-Up insert.

  Reward: 250k + lights Weapon Hurry-Up at an inlane

• Bonus Multiplier Skill Shot (Pro) skillshot · Easy

  Pro-only soft plunge into the flashing top-right rollover lane for +1x Bonus Multiplier.

  Reward: +1x Bonus Multiplier

• 1-2-3 Foot Combo combo · Medium

  Once-per-ball named combo: open with the Right Ramp then chain two more flashing shots; pays 6x Foot Value and is a Cowabunga requirement.

  Reward: 6x Foot Value (base 50k +1k/spinner spin); Cowabunga objective

• Krang Kombo combo · Medium

  Repeatable money loop: hammer the Upper Loop three times to build to 500k, then cash on the upper-flipper-fed Center Ramp before it times out.

  Reward: Up to 500k per loop; maxing & collecting once is a Cowabunga requirement

• Weapon Hurry-Up Chain combo · Medium

  Skill-shot-fed hurry-up: roll the lit Weapon inlane, collect at an orbit, arm a second doubled shot at the Center Ramp, collect again.

  Reward: 500k→50k (Pict-o-Pop +125k base); collecting one is a Cowabunga requirement

• April Hurry-Up combo · Easy

  Spell APRIL to an even completion to light April Hurry-Up, then cash it at the Right Ramp; five collections is a Cowabunga requirement.

  Reward: 100k+ (bigger in modes/MB); 5 collections = Cowabunga objective

• Glider Value (Premium/LE) combo · Medium

  Premium/LE left-ramp-to-right-ramp money loop: build Glider Value on the Left Ramp, then bank it on the Right Ramp when 'Collect' is lit.

  Reward: Banked Glider Value (Prem/LE exclusive)

• Turtle Power Multiball multiball · Medium

  Advance the Right Ramp three times so the 4th shot starts the multiball; collect green jackpots to light Mondo at the upper loop and the Super at the Lair.

  Reward: Multiball; Donatello L1 lights it instantly, L4 = 3x scoring

• Ninja Pizza Multiball multiball · Hard

  The game's scoring engine: lock 3 at the Pizza Parlor, defeat 6 Foot Soldiers across the ramps to light Mondo at the upper loop, then bank the huge Super at the Lair.

  Reward: Mondo ~500k+250k, Super 3M + 500k/Mondo; priority MB

• Team-Up Multiball multiball · Hard

  Mini-wizard lit after 4 episodes: start at the Left Ramp, defeat the 6 Bad-Guy shots, then run Rescue and Shredder hurry-ups into the Pizza Party victory laps.

  Reward: Rescue/Shredder hurry-ups + Pizza Party laps (up to ~10.4M/shot with Leo L4 + 2x); re-lights the main MBs

• Episode: Pizza-O-Meter mode · Easy

  The easiest starter episode (Episode 1): light Start Episode at a ramp, begin at the Pizza Parlor, then shoot 3 of 6 lit shots to light the Turtle Shots.

  Reward: 275k start + lights Turtle Shots; counts toward Team-Up/Final Battle

• Episode: Night of the Mousers mode · Medium

  Episode 4 has no global timer (per-shot timeouts): shoot 6 lit shots across the LAIR target, both ramps, and APRIL target, which relight each hit.

  Reward: Standard episode value; prerequisite for Super Fly (Ep 7)

• Episode: See You On The Other Side Ray mode · Medium

  Episode 5: shoot the three ramps to unlight them and light the LAIR target, then hit LAIR three times to light the Turtle Shots.

  Reward: Standard episode value + lights Turtle Shots

• Neutrino Pizza Party mode · Medium

  Lit once per game after a Training completion: qualify by completing both Dimension X targets, then chase the rotating blue shot while reds build its value.

  Reward: Blue shot 350k base, builds +200k per red (cap 5M)

• Training → 2x/3x Playfield multiplier · Medium

  Spell LAIR: odd completions light Training (global +10% scoring boost), even completions light 2x Playfield at the center target — Raphael L3 upgrades it to 3x.

  Reward: 2x (3x via Raphael L3) for 30s; Training = +10%→+30% global boost

• Bonus Multiplier Build multiplier · Easy

  Grow the end-of-ball Bonus Multiplier via the Pro top-lane skill shot and Pict-o-Pop bumper awards (up to a ~10x cap), carried over by 'Bonus Held'.

  Reward: Bonus X up to ~10x applied to end-of-ball bonus

• Final Battle (Wizard) wizard · Hard

  Qualification path: play all 8 episodes to light Final Battle at the Pizza Parlor, then clear its three phases — with 2x/3x Playfield applied to the huge episode-score start bonus.

  Reward: Start bonus of accumulated episode scores (all 8 = 25M base) ×2x/3x PF; can exceed 60M

• Cowabunga Multiball (Final Wizard) wizard · Hard

  Qualify by completing all seven objectives across the game — reach Final Battle plus the four hurry-up/combo checkboxes and the two super-jackpot milestones.

  Reward: The celebratory all-in wizard multiball

• Strategy: Raphael Opener strategy · Medium

  The tournament default line — skill shot into the Weapon light, exploit Raphael's spotted ramps for an easy episode, bank a 2x, then set up Ninja Pizza Multiball.

  Reward: Early episode + banked 2x + NPMB locked

• Strategy: NPMB with 2x Stacked strategy · Hard

  The single most valuable action in the game — bank a 2x Playfield, trigger it the instant before starting Ninja Pizza Multiball, then farm Mondo and the 3M+ Super.

  Reward: Multiplied NPMB jackpots — the biggest sustainable stack

• Strategy: Final Battle High-Score Line strategy · Hard

  The late-game ceiling play — complete and bank all 8 episodes, hold a 2x/3x Playfield, and trigger it into Final Battle so accumulated episode scores are multiplied.

  Reward: Final Battle start bonus ×2x/3x — can exceed 60M

• Extra Ball Hunt strategy · Easy

  Two reliable extra-ball sources: the pizza parlor lights an extra ball at set progress thresholds, and the pop bumpers can award 'Light Extra Ball' from the picture-match table — collect it at the parlor once lit.

  Reward: Extra ball

• Triple Mondo Chain multiball · Hard

  Inside one multiball, re-arm and collect the upper-loop Mondo jackpot three separate times — clear the Foot Soldier shots, take Mondo, then rebuild the shot set and repeat instead of ending the ball early on a Super.

  Reward: Three Mondo collections in one multiball (a Cowabunga objective)