World Challenge Soccer

Gottlieb, 1994 — shot-by-shot rules and strategy guide.

Open World Challenge Soccer in the Pinball Genie app →

World Challenge Soccer is built around one number and one mechanism. The number is the goal value, and the mechanism is a goal unit that stays shut unless you have earned the right to shoot it. Everything else on the playfield exists to feed those two things. Get that relationship straight and the machine stops feeling random.

Two plunges, two different games

The plunger offers a genuine choice. Fire it hard and the ball runs the top rollover, worth three goals and one open shot at the goal. Feather it and the ball settles in the top hole, paying whichever award is lit — Mystery, Advance Goal Value, or Hit All Targets. The flipper buttons change that lit award, and only while the ball is still in the shooter lane. Set it before you pull, because there is no changing your mind afterwards.

Goal value first, goals second

Every goal you score pays the current goal value, and that value resets to one million at the start of every ball. The ladder runs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10 and 25 million, advanced by hitting whichever left or centre target is lit, or by taking Advance Goal Value from the plunge. The difference this makes is not subtle: the ten-goal jackpot at the bottom of the ladder is twenty million, and the same jackpot at the top is two hundred and fifty. Raise the value before you go looking for goals.

Goals themselves accumulate all game to a maximum of ninety-nine. Twenty of them lights an extra ball, fifty qualifies the mystery award for Super Riot, and beating the machine's all-time goal count awards a Special.

Lining up the soccer balls

Three columns of lamps sit in the centre of the playfield, each advanced by something different. The left kicking rubber, a scored goal, or a lit hit on the goal unit moves the left column. The right kicking rubber or a lit right ramp moves the right. Only the lit centre target moves the middle. Get all three onto one row and you are paid for it: the white row switches on Superscore, worth ten, twenty, then forty million and remembered between balls, while the top purple row qualifies a Hurry-up Extra Ball at the left side rollover for about twenty seconds. Advancing any lamp afterwards breaks the alignment and kills Superscore.

Ways into the goal

• The Boo: press both flipper buttons together and the goal opens for one shot. One per ball, so save it for something worth having — usually an extra ball.
• The penalty kick: hitting the goal unit or scoring resets a hidden rollover drop target and sets the upper flipper lane flashing. Take that target while it flashes and the goal opens for one shot.
• The velocity plunge: the top rollover opens the goal as well as paying three goals outright.
• Drop targets: clearing the bank collects whichever of five award lamps is lit — Extra Ball Round, Multi, Special Round, Ball, Points Round — and once all five are gone the bank awards Light Challenge instead.

Three words at once

The machine is spelling three words simultaneously. WORLD awards the Center Target Round, ten million a hit on the centre target. CHALLENGE lights the two lower holes for a challenge match. SOCCER awards Players Choice, which offers eight goals or a multiball — take goals when your goal value is high. Each completed letter is worth a million in outhole bonus, and finishing all three words pushes that bonus to a hundred million, which is often reason enough to change what you were shooting at.

Matches, the Championship and Riot

A challenge match is a short round with one objective: score a goal. Win and you advance; lose and the holes go dark and must be requalified. There is no safe stall — trapping the ball and letting the clock run out is a loss, not a draw. Five wins qualifies both holes for the World Championship, a three-ball multiball where three goals wins it. That third goal pays fifty million, ends the round and rolls straight into Riot, where every shot is worth thirty million for as long as your multiball survives. Draining right after winning throws away the best scoring on the machine.

Multiball and jackpots

Multi and Ball from the drop targets light the holes for multiball — three balls, or two if you had one parked in the top hole. Take the rollover on the multiball plunge if you can, because it spots every target and qualifies both jackpots at once. The goal jackpot pays ten goals, then twenty, then thirty, all within the same multiball. The ramp jackpot pays thirty million, then a hundred, then an unlimited three hundred. Collecting either resets the drops, and the two ladders do not step each other.

In competition

Tournament settings strip most of the randomness out. Challenge match progress no longer carries between balls, so reaching the Championship means winning two matches on a single ball. The bottom three soccer lamps start aligned each ball, which puts Superscore on from the start and makes the extra ball harder because the centre target now needs at least five hits. Mystery pays a token award unless you are past fifty goals or on your last ball without a multiball, and the left rollover no longer qualifies the penalty kick.

Goals in World Challenge Soccer

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

• The Two Plunges skillshot · Medium

  The plunger gives you a choice. Hit it hard and run the top rollover for three goals and one open shot at the goal. Or feather it into the top hole and take the lit award — Mystery, Advance Goal Value, or Hit All Targets. Set that award with the flipper buttons before you plunge, not after.

  Reward: Three goals, or the lit hole award

• Advance The Goal Value multiplier · Medium

  Every goal you score pays the current goal value, and it resets to 1M at the start of each ball. The ladder runs 1M, 2M, 3M, 4M, 5M, 10M, 25M. Raise it before you score, not after — the same ten-goal jackpot is worth 20M at the bottom of the ladder and 250M at the top.

  Reward: 1M climbing to 25M per goal

• Score Goals progression · Medium

  Goals are the spine of this machine. Each one pays the current goal value, twenty of them lights an extra ball, and fifty qualifies the mystery for Super Riot. The counter tops out at 99, and beating the all-time goal count awards a Special.

  Reward: Goal value each, extra ball at 20, Super Riot at 50

• Line Up The Soccer Balls strategy · Hard

  Three columns of lamps, each advanced by a different part of the playfield. Line them up on the white row and Superscore turns on, worth 10M, then 20M, then 40M, and it carries between balls. Line them up on the top purple row instead and a Hurry-up Extra Ball is qualified.

  Reward: Superscore 10M/20M/40M, or a hurry-up extra ball

• The Boo secret · Medium

  Press both flipper buttons together and the goal opens for one shot. You get exactly one per ball, so spend it on something that matters — an extra ball, or a goal you cannot otherwise reach. Boo at the plunger and you get a letter in SOCCER instead.

  Reward: One open goal per ball

• Drop Target Awards progression · Medium

  Clearing the drop bank collects the lit award. There are five to work through — Extra Ball Round, Multi, Special Round, Ball and Points Round — and once all five are done the bank awards Light Challenge instead.

  Reward: Rounds, multiball, and eventually Light Challenge

• Spell All Three Words progression · Medium

  Three separate words are being spelled at once. WORLD awards the Center Target Round, CHALLENGE lights the lower holes, and SOCCER awards Players Choice. Every completed letter is worth 1M in outhole bonus, and finishing all three takes that bonus to 100M.

  Reward: Three round awards plus up to 100M in bonus

• Challenge Matches mode · Medium

  A challenge match is a short round with exactly one objective: score a goal. Do it and you advance; let it time out and you have lost, the holes go dark, and you have to requalify. Five wins qualifies both holes for the World Championship.

  Reward: Progress toward the World Championship

• World Championship wizard · Hard

  Win all five challenge matches and both holes light for the final. It is a three-ball multiball and the target is three goals before it ends. The third one pays 50M, closes the round and rolls you straight into Riot.

  Reward: 50M and an immediate Riot

• Riot And Super Riot wizard · Hard

  Riot follows the World Championship and lasts exactly as long as your multiball does — every shot is worth 30M. Super Riot is the upgraded version at 100M per shot, and it comes from the mystery award once you are past fifty goals.

  Reward: 30M per shot, or 100M in Super Riot

• Multiball And Jackpots multiball · Medium

  Complete Multi and Ball from the drop targets to light the holes. It is a three-ball multiball, or only two if you had a ball parked in the top hole. The skill shot rollover spots every target and qualifies both jackpots straight away.

  Reward: Goal jackpots up to 30 goals, ramp jackpots to 300M

• Penalty Kick combo · Medium

  Hitting the goal unit or scoring resets the hidden rollover drop target and starts the upper flipper lane flashing. Take the rollover drop while it is flashing and the goal opens for one shot — the standard way to convert a hurry-up extra ball when your boo is already spent.

  Reward: One open goal shot

• Feature Rounds mode · Medium

  The drop targets hand out four timed rounds. Extra Ball Round and Special Round both want every flashing target cleared. Points Round pays a value that climbs to 80M and restores the timer each time you complete it. Center Target Round is simply 10M per hit on the centre target.

  Reward: Extra ball, special, up to 80M, or 10M a hit

• The Mystery Award secret · Medium

  Under tournament settings the mystery pays a token 1,000 points almost every time, which sounds worthless. It is not: past fifty goals it turns into Super Riot, and on your last ball it can hand you a consolation multiball if you have not had one yet.

  Reward: Super Riot or a consolation multiball

• What Changes In Tournament Play progression · Medium

  Competition settings remove most of the randomness from this machine, and several habits that work on a location game will actively cost you in a tournament. Know the differences before you step up.

  Reward: Knowing what the game will and will not give you