X-Files

Sega Pinball, 1997 — shot-by-shot rules and strategy guide.

Open X-Files in the Pinball Genie app →

Sega's X-Files is a fast, bouncy machine built around one central toy: a movable three-drawer file cabinet with a magnet in front of it that flings anything you do not hit dead centre. Learn to live with that magnet and the game opens up.

The layout

Six main shots, arranged symmetrically. From either flipper you have an inner orbit that runs around the cabinet and feeds the opposite flipper, an outer orbit that feeds the pop bumpers, and a ramp. The ramps want a precise line — but a shot that dies halfway drops back out to the inner orbits rather than screaming down the middle, so missing is cheap. A pop-up diverter on the right decides which flipper the left ramp returns to.

Three red standups sit outside each slingshot, three pop bumpers and the E-B-E rollover lanes sit at the top, and a trapdoor in front of the cabinet hides the scoop where episodes begin. There is a small post between the flippers, which you will be grateful for.

The skill shot happens before you plunge

Two faces alternate on the display with a box flashing around each in turn. Press right for Mulder, left for Scully, timed to when the box is around that agent. Get one right and you are offered a second pick — take the other agent, because picking the same one twice throws the second chance away and you want both bonus types running. Be ready as soon as the ball starts; leave it too long and the game moves on without you.

Lighting the big X

The large X insert in the lower playfield takes five shots to fill, and the chain is strictly ordered:

• The two inner orbits are lit first. Shoot one.
• That lights the outer orbit on the same side. Shoot that.
• That sets the ramp X on that side flashing.
• When both ramp Xs are flashing, either ramp starts THE TRUTH.
• Every X shot pays 50K whether it was lit or not, so nothing is wasted.

THE TRUTH is a four-ball multiball where each ramp and each orbit pays a jackpot with a 200K base, then three file cabinet hits arm the Super Jackpot and a fourth collects it — while the cabinet rides up and down, so the shot needs timing as well as aim. The trick worth knowing: during THE TRUTH the magnet stays permanently energised. Anything short of a hard centre shot gets grabbed and held, so with a ball or two parked on it you effectively get a calm two-ball game to clear the shots. If you drain everything else, the magnet lets go after a few seconds and the mode carries on.

Episodes

Right ramp shots spell F-B-I (already spotted at the start of a game). Complete it, the trapdoor drops open, and the scoop underneath starts one of eight episodes for 100K plus whatever you score. Nothing on the playfield tracks which you have played, so keep count yourself:

• Four-shot rounds — Colony, Smoking Man and Talitha Cumi each pay 1.4M for a completion, with values stepping 250K, 300K, 350K, 400K. The most reliable points in the game.
• Syzygy — the one to milk. Alternate left ramp and trapdoor for 100K, 200K, 300K, 400K and upward with no ceiling, and every made shot adds a ball, up to four. It ends the moment you are back to one ball.
• Countdown rounds — Herenvolk and Terma open at 420K and fall hard. Miss the opening collect and the episode simply ends.
• Ramp rounds — Hambug (30 seconds) and The Host (20 seconds) just want repeated flashing ramps.

Multiball, and the order that matters

Hit the file cabinet enough times — five by default — and it sinks two drawers, exposing the top one. Shoot that drawer for a three-ball multiball. The magnet frequently throws rejected balls straight back into the cabinet, so you get free progress; a green light on top means it is ready. Each later multiball costs one more cabinet hit than the last.

The jackpot sequence runs on rails: left ramp, left ramp, right ramp, cabinet. The diverter feeds the first jackpot right back to the same flipper for the second, then hands you to the left flipper for the double jackpot, then the cabinet pays a Super Jackpot worth at least double that. Collect it and the whole cycle repeats.

Raise the base before you start, not during. Sweeping a red target bank adds 50K to the jackpot, cabinet hits during multiball add 25K each, and bumper hits nudge it up as well. And remember the safety net: if you fall to one ball without collecting a single jackpot, you get about fifteen seconds to shoot the cabinet and restart multiball — once per multiball only, and it disappears the moment you collect anything.

Small things worth doing

The inner orbits feed flipper to flipper, so chaining them collects a mini-loop award — 250K, then 500K, with the required count rising each time. The E-B-E lanes step your bonus to 2x, 3x, 4x, 6x and 8x with lane change, but there is no bonus hold, so it resets every ball. Four left ramps light the extra ball at the right ramp, which can be backhanded. Enough bumper hits triggers Super Pops at 20K a hit — they start at 1.5K and every outer orbit shot adds 500.

Goals in X-Files

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

• Choose Your Agent skillshot · Medium

  Before you launch, two faces alternate on the display with a box flashing around each in turn. Press the matching flipper at the right moment: right for Mulder, left for Scully. Get it right and you are offered a second pick.

  Reward: Lights the inlane X and sets your bonus type

• Light The Big X progression · Medium

  Five shots fill the large X insert in the lower playfield and start THE TRUTH. The chain is fixed: an inner orbit lights the outer orbit on the same side, that outer orbit lights the ramp on that side, and once both ramps are flashing either one starts the mode.

  Reward: 50K per shot, starts THE TRUTH

• THE TRUTH multiball · Hard

  A four-ball multiball and the deepest thing on the machine. Shoot each ramp and each orbit once for a TRUTH jackpot worth 200K base, then hit the file cabinet three times to arm the Super Jackpot, then shoot the cabinet again to collect it.

  Reward: 200K+ per shot, then a Super Jackpot

• Park Balls On The Magnet strategy · Hard

  During THE TRUTH the magnet in front of the cabinet stays energised. Anything but a hard, dead-centre shot gets caught and held — and with two balls parked there you effectively get a calm two-ball game to clear the ramps and orbits.

  Reward: Control over a four-ball mode

• Spell F-B-I And Start An Episode mode · Medium

  Every right ramp shot spots a letter of F-B-I, and the letters are already spotted for you at the start of a game. Complete them and a trapdoor drops open to reveal a scoop — shoot it to start one of eight episodes.

  Reward: 100K for starting, plus the episode itself

• The Four-Shot Episodes mode · Medium

  Colony, Smoking Man and Talitha Cumi are all four-shot rounds worth 1.4M for a completion, and they are the most reliable points on the machine. Values climb 250K, 300K, 350K, 400K as you go.

  Reward: 1.4M each when completed

• Syzygy mode · Hard

  The biggest scoring episode in the game and the one to milk. It starts as a two-ball round and alternates: left ramp for 100K, trapdoor for 200K, ramp for 300K, trapdoor for 400K, climbing with no ceiling — and each successful shot adds another ball, up to four.

  Reward: An uncapped climbing ladder

• The Countdown Episodes mode · Hard

  Herenvolk and Terma both open with a value that sits at 420K for a beat and then drops fast. Collect it before it bottoms out or the episode is simply over — these are the two rounds where hesitating costs you everything.

  Reward: Up to 420K, then a 20-second round

• The Ramp Episodes mode · Medium

  Hambug and The Host are short timed rounds that only ask for flashing ramps. Hambug runs 30 seconds and pays 250K on the first ramp with 50K added to each shot after it; The Host gives you 20 seconds of the same idea.

  Reward: 250K climbing per ramp

• Open The File Cabinet multiball · Medium

  Hit the file cabinet enough times — five by default — and it sinks two drawers, exposing the top one. Shoot the ball into it to start a three-ball multiball. Each subsequent multiball needs one more cabinet hit than the last.

  Reward: Starts 3-ball multiball

• The Jackpot Sequence multiball · Medium

  Multiball scoring runs on rails once you know it: left ramp for jackpot one, left ramp again for jackpot two, right ramp for the double, cabinet for the super — then it loops back to the start.

  Reward: 500K base, doubled, then at least doubled again

• Raise The Jackpot First multiplier · Medium

  The 500K base jackpot is not fixed. Sweep the red target banks before you open the cabinet, keep hitting the cabinet during multiball, and let the ball rattle in the bumpers — all three raise what every jackpot pays.

  Reward: +50K per target bank, +25K per cabinet hit

• The Multiball Restart secret · Medium

  A rule that saves ruined multiballs. If you drop back to a single ball without having collected any jackpot at all, you get roughly fifteen seconds to shoot the file cabinet and start the whole thing over. It is offered once per multiball.

  Reward: A second multiball

• The Mini-Loop Award combo · Medium

  The inner orbits are laid out so a left flipper shot returns to the right flipper and vice versa. Chain them and you collect the mini-loop award — 250K the first time, 500K the second, with the required loop count climbing after each.

  Reward: 250K, then 500K, then higher

• E-B-E And The Bonus Multiplier multiplier · Easy

  The three lanes above the bumpers step your bonus through 2x, 3x, 4x, 6x and a maximum of 8x, with flipper lane change to make it easy. There is no bonus hold in this game — the multiplier drops back to 1x every ball.

  Reward: Up to 8x bonus, plus a lit extra ball

• Super Pops strategy · Easy

  The bumpers open at 1.5K and every outer orbit shot adds 500 to that. Rack up enough hits — around sixty by default — and Super Pops turns each one into 20K. It resets at the start of every ball, so use it while you have it.

  Reward: 20K per bumper hit

• The Extra Ball progression · Medium

  Four left ramp shots — the default — light the extra ball at the right ramp, and it stays lit from ball to ball until you take it. On most setups this is available only once in a game, so it is worth going out of your way for early.

  Reward: One extra ball

• The Pre-Game Flipper Hold secret · Easy

  Hold the right flipper in while you press start and the game stops handing you an easy multiball later — every multiball then requires the full default number of file cabinet hits rather than being spotted for you on ball three.

  Reward: A cleaner, harder game