Quick Links:
- Game Information
- Rules Overview
- Layout
- Skill Shots
- Destroying Tanks
- Missions
- Main Multiballs
- Other Scoring
- Wizard Modes
Game Information:
- Designer: Dennis Nordman, Paul Reno
- Code / Software: Casey Butler, Joe Schober, Steven Bowden, Josh Kugler
- Lead Mechanical Engineer: Zofia Ryan
- Engineering: Mitesh Pithva
- Artwork: Christopher Franchi
- Art Director: Jack Haeger
- Animations: Jessica Durbala, Bobby Llereza
- Music: Matt Kern
- Release Date: March 2023
Galactic Tank Force is American Pinball’s 5th pinball machine and their first designed by pinball veteran Dennis Nordman. Inspired by campy science fiction of the 50s and 60s, the player is tasked under Duke Moonwalker’s command to defeat Empress Annoya, a queen who has stolen precious intergalactic ice cream resources from the planet Lumina. Defeat tanks and spybots, gather the few ingredients that remain, and save the endangered cows to save the world and ensure the best ice cream possible.
Rules Overview:
Layout:
Skill Shots:
- Plunge the ball into the flashing LAB rollover lane to instantly qualify Plotnik’s lab for a mystery award.
- Plunge the ball into the flashing “advance rank” rollover lane to instantly advance in rank.
Destroying Tanks:
Shoot the flashing center target bank to demolish Empress Annoya’s tank armada. The tanks can either be destroyed via direct shots to the center target bank, or can be destroyed in a single shot by shooting the blue “charge methane” shots then making a dead-on shot to the blue flashing target. The color of the light at each center target correspond to more damage, with the target directly in the middle of the bank often scoring more than targets off to the sides.
- Tanks 1, 3: Standard battle. Shoot the red center target to deal the most damage.
- Tank 2, 4: One of Annoya’s robots challenges you by making the red target constantly move from left to right. Time your shot for the best chance at victory.
- Tank 5: Shielded tank. Shoot any target to decrease the shield’s health bar, then take the tank on in a standard battle with the red center target dealing the most damage.
Defeat all 5 tanks to qualify the final battle against Tank Zulu.
Missions:
Empress Annoya holds in her possession the ingredients required to make the best ice cream in the universe! Shoot the right saucer to get briefed on your mission, and shoot the pink flashing shots during missions to gather ingredients. The first mission of a game can be started with just one shot to the saucer, but subsequent missions require the return lanes to be completed in order to light the right saucer.
The values for each mission shot are determined by your current rank.
Missions are listed from the top to bottom of the playfield:
- Sprinkle Desert: Shoot the spinner to obtain sprinkles from the vast Sprinkle Desert, then shoot the right saucer or Plotnik’s lab to send them there.
- Drilling for Fudge: Shoot Plotnik’s lab or the right saucer to drill for as much fudge as possible.
- Buckets O’Berries: Shoot the ramp to gather berries, and shoot the right saucer to send them to Plotnik. Up to 5 buckets of berries can be gathered at a time.
- Where’s Walnuts?: Use Plotnik’s “Nutdar” to navigate Lumina in search of the best walnuts. The shots that will collect walnuts constantly move around the playfield and are marked green.
- Udder Madness: Every switch hit sends cows through Plotnik’s patented Milk-O-Matic. Herd 15 cows into the machine and shoot the right saucer to send the whipped cream to Plotnik.
Play all five missions to create the first ice cream sundae the galaxy has seen in centuries.
Main Multiballs:
Air Strike Multiball:
Spell AIR at the green standup targets (two are near the left ramp, and one is near the right saucer) to light the lab saucer to lock a ball. The lab saucer can either be shot directly by making either orbit, or the ball can fall into it through a lucky bounce off the bumpers. Lock all 3 balls to begin a multiball assault on Annoya’s spybot forces.
The spybots located above four major shots (both orbits, the left ramp, and the right saucer) indicate where jackpots can be collected. Score all four jackpots, and destroy all the spybots, to light the moving UFO target for a super jackpot and destroy Annoya’s Juggernaut mothership. Once the super jackpot has been scored, all shots are lit for victory laps for the remainder of the multiball.
Air Strike Multiball is also a good time to shoot for the center tank targets thanks to the ball save given out at the start of this multiball.
Meltdown:
Shots to the pop bumpers increase the reactors’ power, indicated by the blue inserts above the bumpers that gradually become red as more and more bumpers are hit. Once the reactors have reached full power, another ball will be launched for 2-ball multiball and the meltdown will start. Shoot the flashing green shots to increase the jackpot value, which can be scored with each bumper hit. After scoring enough bumper hits, shoot the lab to end the meltdown.
Cow-A-Bongo:
Shoot the moving UFO target to rescue the cows from Annoya’s clutches. After saving all currently available cows, the next shot to the target will start Cow-A-Bongo multiball as the cows throw a party in your honor for doing your dairy duty.
Other Scoring:
Flank Attack Targets / Shot X:
The far left and far right standup target banks all advance towards various game features when completed, and are often hit unintentionally during the game’s various multiball modes. Each completion of the flank attack targets advances the currently lit feature, listed clockwise, for each target bank:
-
Left targets:
- Advance meltdown
- Advance quantum accelerators
- Advance bumpers
-
Right targets:
Completing a set of left and right flank attack targets lights 2x shot multipliers at the game’s four major shots (two orbits, left ramp, and right saucer). Shoot any shot to lock the multiplier in for the rest of the ball.
Quantum Accelerators / Playfield X:
There are two hidden banks of four standup targets near the bumpers that can only be hit via random bounces off the bumpers. Use the flippers to change which targets are lit; only unlit ones advance towards activating the quantum accelerators.
Completing one standup target bank starts 2x scoring for a limited time, and completing the other standup target bank while 2x scoring is running boosts this to 4x scoring for a limited time. Afterwards, completing the standup target banks while playfield X is running will add more time.
Plotnik's Lab:
Complete the LAB top rollover lanes to light the lab saucer near the bumpers, which can be shot either directly or indirectly, for a mystery award.
Ranks:
Advancing in rank increases the bonus multiplier and the value of your lit mission shots. Ranks can be advanced in several ways:
- Completing the two “advance rank” rollover lanes, or instantly awarded by making a skill shot to the flashing one.
- Completing the right flank attack targets when “advance rank” is lit.
- As a mystery award from Plotnik’s lab.
Medals:
There are five medals the player can obtain by completing certain tasks in the game, listed from bottom to top:
- Complete the Meltdown
- Start 4x scoring using the quantum accelerators
- Defeat the Juggernaut mothership during air strike multiball
- Start Cow-A-Bongo
- Attain maximum rank
All five medals must be obtained to qualify the final wizard mode.
Atomic Shield:
The atomic shield between the flippers raises with every shot to the center target bank and can help prevent straight-down-the-middle drains off the targets.
Lucky Break:
Destroying any tank lights a lane under either flipper for lucky break, which will save the ball. If one lucky break is currently lit and another tank is destroyed, the other one will light.
Extra Balls:
TBD
End-of-Ball Bonus:
TBD
Wizard Modes:
Tank Zulu:
After destroying all five tanks, the player will be able to take on the sixth tank, Tank Zulu.
Sundae:
Gather ingredients during all five missions to combine them into the ultimate intergalactic treat.
Intergalactic Ice Cream Social:
To qualify the final wizard mode, both of the above mini-wizard modes must be completed, and all five medals must be earned.