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.

How Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles plays

Pick a Turtle and fight the Foot Clan through eight animated episodes. Run the two main multiballs, build your Training and playfield multiplier, and finish every episode to reach Final Battle.

The loop

1. Pick a Turtle at the plunge for your perks and a personal skill-shot lane, then take the skill shot to light a Weapon at an inlane.
2. Shoot both ramps to light Start Episode at the Pizza Parlor and play through the eight episodes.
3. Lock three balls at the Pizza Parlor for Ninja Pizza Multiball, or hammer the right ramp for Turtle Power -- both climb to a Mondo at the upper loop and a Super at the Lair.
4. Spell LAIR to unlock Training, then spell it again and strike the center target to switch on 2x Playfield, and bank it before your biggest multiball.
5. Finish all eight episodes to reach Final Battle, ticking off the Cowabunga objectives along the way.

Reading the lights

• Episode Ramps & Parlor (mode) — lit: Shooting both ramps lights Start Episode, and the Pizza Parlor then flashes to begin the episode you have queued up. · flashing: A flashing Pizza Parlor means an episode is lit and ready to start. · then: Each episode lights a set of shots to complete on a timer, and finishing one banks a score you keep. Play four episodes to open Team-Up Multiball and all eight to reach Final Battle.
• Ninja Pizza Multiball (mode) — lit: Locking three balls at the Pizza Parlor starts Ninja Pizza Multiball, and the topping standups you choose while locking decide which scoring boost the multiball carries. · flashing: Once six Foot Soldiers are down the upper loop flashes for a Mondo Jackpot. · then: Knock down six Foot Soldiers across the ramps and loops, collect a Mondo at the upper loop, and finish at the Lair for the Super Jackpot, the Jackpoto Grande. The shot set relights, so this is the easiest place to chain three Mondos in a row.
• Turtle Power Multiball (mode) — lit: Three right-ramp shots in single-ball play arm Turtle Power Multiball and the fourth shot starts it. · flashing: The upper loop flashes for Mondo once you have banked four of the green jackpots. · then: Bank four green jackpots and Mondo lights at the upper loop; grab it, then take the Super Jackpot down at the Lair. Playing Donatello lights this multiball from the very first ramp shot.
• LAIR, Training & 2x Playfield (multiplier) — lit: Spelling L-A-I-R lights Training, a timed round of lit shots that adds a permanent slice to all your scoring; spell it again and the center target lights 2x Playfield. · then: Run Training rounds to push your global scoring boost up level by level, and light 2x Playfield right before a multiball or Final Battle so the whole thing doubles. Do not spend the 2x early -- bank it.
• Weapon Hurry-Up (shot arrows) — lit: Taking your Turtle's skill shot lights a Weapon at an inlane; roll the lit inlane and a Weapon Hurry-Up arms at a lit orbit. · flashing: Only one orbit is lit at a time, so glance at which arrow is on before you take the shot. · then: Cash the hurry-up at the lit orbit before it counts down, then take the second hurry-up at the center ramp for its base value plus whatever the orbit just paid. Collecting one is a Cowabunga objective.
• APRIL Target (letters) — lit: Hitting the APRIL target spells A-P-R-I-L, and an even completion lights the April Hurry-Up. · then: Cash the hurry-up at the right ramp, and hit APRIL again while it is lit to pump the value up. Collecting five of these is a Cowabunga objective.
• 1-2-3 Foot Combo (shot arrows) — lit: Rolling the inner inlane lights the 1-2-3 Foot Combo once per ball; backhand the right ramp, then the center ramp or upper loop, then the left ramp to complete it. · flashing: Each shot of the combo flashes in turn as the next one to hit. · then: Complete the chain for a multiplied Foot Value fed by the Foot Clan spinner, and it ticks off a Cowabunga objective. Miss the timing and the live left-flipper shot can hop back for a drain, so shoot it in rhythm.
• Krang Kombo (ladder) — lit: Shooting the upper loop from the upper flipper builds Krang Kombo value, which maxes after a few loops. · then: Cash the built value at the center ramp before its timer resets, then start the loop again. Maxing and collecting it once is a Cowabunga objective.
• Top Lanes & Pict-o-Pops (lanes) — lit: Rolling the top lanes steps up your bonus multiplier, and the Pict-o-Pop bumpers hand out matched-picture awards. · then: Work the bumpers for bonus multiplier, held bonus, and the picture match that lights an extra ball at the Pizza Parlor. Your bonus multiplier climbs high here and rides on the whole end-of-ball bonus.

Lane change: not verified for this machine yet.

Start scoring

• Ball one — Pick your Turtle at the plunge and take its skill shot -- Raphael's is the left ramp -- to light a Weapon at the inlane. Once both ramps are spotted, kick off an easy episode like Pizza-O-Meter at the Parlor and begin spelling LAIR. — Choose Your Turtle, Turtle Skill Shot, Episode: Pizza-O-Meter, Strategy: Raphael Opener
• Building — Spell LAIR for Training and leave a 2x Playfield banked, then lock three balls for Ninja Pizza Multiball and trigger the 2x as it starts. Chain Mondos at the upper loop into the Lair Super, and work the pop bumpers for the extra ball. — Training → 2x/3x Playfield, Ninja Pizza Multiball, Strategy: NPMB with 2x Stacked, Triple Mondo Chain, Extra Ball Hunt
• The big one — Play all eight episodes to reach Final Battle, banking each episode's score, and hold a 2x or 3x Playfield to fire as it starts -- the accumulated bonus can top sixty million. Cowabunga Multiball sits alongside it as the all-objectives celebration. — Final Battle (Wizard), Strategy: Final Battle High-Score Line, Cowabunga Multiball (Final Wizard)

The Action Button on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Center of the lockdown bar.

Mostly a mash button. It is how you eat during the Pizza Eating Contest, which is one of the better quick scores in the game, and on a Premium or LE it also steers the glider diverter feeding off the left ramp.

• Pizza Eating Contest starts: One slice per press for 6 seconds, up to 40 more slices — faster mashing pays more, usually 2 to 3 million.
• Building Glider Value on Prem/LE: Steers the diverter so repeated left ramps stack the value, which you then cash at the right ramp.

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, then take a second and larger hurry-up on the Center Ramp.

  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: one shot to any lit ramp unlights all three and lights the LAIR target. Hit LAIR, the ramps relight, and repeating that cycle to three LAIR hits lights 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, clear the Foot Soldier shots once and then take the upper-loop Mondo jackpot three times in a row — the first collect lights Double Mondo and the second lights Triple, both on short timers, so stay on the loop rather than leaving to rebuild anything.

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

• Choose Your Turtle secret · Easy

  Before the first ball launches, the display offers a one-time choice of which turtle you play as for the entire game. Miss it and you will never notice a decision was on the table, but it sets your perks and changes which shot is your skill shot on every ball that follows.

  Reward: Locks in one of four turtles for the whole game, each with different perks and a different skill shot target

• Pick Your Turtle, Pick Your Opening progression · Easy

  Before the first ball, the game asks which turtle you want, and the answer is not cosmetic. Each one hands you a different feature already lit at the plunge, so your pick decides which part of the game you get a free head start on — and it also fixes which shot counts as your skill shot on every ball you play.

  Reward: A major feature lit for free from the plunge, plus a skill shot lane tied to your turtle

• Level Your Turtle Through Training progression · Hard

  Training is how a turtle levels up, and every win pays twice over: your scoring goes up permanently and the next perk on your turtle's ladder switches on. The perks near the top of each ladder are the biggest multipliers you can carry into the rest of the game.

  Reward: Up to thirty percent added to all scoring, plus three more turtle perks that hold for the rest of the game

• Build Your Own Ninja Pizza Multiball progression · Medium

  This game's scoring leans hard on Ninja Pizza Multiball, and you get to configure it before it starts. The toppings on the display are the rules you carry in, the pizza targets change which ones are on offer, and every ball you lock at the parlor freezes more of them — so the shape of the multiball is settled while you are still in single-ball play.

  Reward: A multiball built around the toppings you chose rather than the ones you were dealt