American Pinball’s second game about a sprawling, historic festival with beer, games, and fun attractions! It’s a Joe Balcer design with programming work done by Josh Kugler and Joe Schober, art by Jeff Busch, and audio by Matt Kern. A shout-out to everyone at American Pinball who produced this game.
Oktoberfest is a traditional mode-based game with two main multiballs, controllable magnets (dubbed MagNabs), a strategic beer stein collecting mechanic, and lots of ducks.
This rulesheet is a wiki; feel free to contribute!
Playfield
A tour of the playfield, starting from the left flipper and working our way around clockwise:
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Left flipper: Standard.
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Left slingshot: Standard.
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Left inlane: Fed from either the Food Stand scoop or the right ramp. Lights “E” in “TENT”.
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Left outlane: Lights the first “T” in “TENT”. Can be lit for Last Call!
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Last Call standup: Directly above the left inlane/outlane area. Can give you a ball save if you drain down the left outlane.
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? standup: Just above the left drain area rubber, near the OKTOBER standup bank at the bottom of a crescent-shaped array. Can be made as a skill shot. During normal play, yellow light = spot a duck, and green light = spot OKTOBERFEST letter
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OKTOBER standups: Targets in a crescent-shaped array. This area has a beer stein in the artwork with a hidden magnet, which may grab or fling balls (usually from the Beer Barrel lock above the standup area). Complete OKTOBERFEST to light Corkscrew locks.
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Left orbit: Weak shots roll back to the flippers; strong shots either send balls to the “TAP” rollovers/bumper area, or scream around to the upper right flipper.
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Coaster ramp: Comes down when Corkscrew locks are qualified, or during the Looper Tent Mode. Up to three balls may travel to a lock area on the back panel. The ramp is steep, so you need to make a solid shot in order to make it.
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Duck target: The first of 4; between the left loop and Tent scoop.
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Tent Scoop: Awards Tent Modes and Mystery. Can be hit with either lower flipper.
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Side ramp: Green ramp that can only be hit with the upper right flipper. Sends balls to the giant Beer Barrel lock. Ejected balls are dropped into the OKTOBER standup area, and are at the mercy of the magnet.
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Captive ball: The “Test your Strength” game. Can be hit with the upper right flipper. Can award MagNabs.
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Duck target: The second of 4, between the captive ball and the bar.
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Bar: A Houdini stage curtain-esque toy directly below Otto’s spinning head. Bash the Bar to open it, then shoot a ball inside to collect a Beer Stein. It’ll also be open during a skill shot.
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Food Stand scoop: Center scoop usually guarded by a drop target; feeds balls to the left flipper. Starts Food Stand modes and collects extra balls.
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“TAP” rollovers: Fed from either loop shot; complete to increase playfield multiplier. Above the “A” rollover is one of two player-controlled magnets; if you have a MagNab, hit second right flipper button to activate both.
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Bumpers: Bumper car-themed area. Used during the Bumper Cars Tent mode. Balls exit this area either by dribbling to the upper right flipper, or bounce out to the center playfield by the red bumper.
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Duck target: The third of 4. Found in the bumpers.
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PROST standups: Five-bank of targets that spell the German word for “Cheers”. Used in some Tent modes and lights Beer Barrel locks.
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Right ramp: Does a 180° turn and sends balls to the left inlane. Collects MagNabs.
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Duck target: The fourth and final one, between the right ramp and right loop.
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Right orbit: Guarded by a spinner, as well as the second of the two player-controlled magnets.
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Upper right flipper: Can hit the side ramp, captive ball, upper left duck target, and the Bar. Balls can be stopped by the magnet – either automatically or by your control to set up side ramp shots.
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FEST standups: Four targets. Complete OKTOBERFEST to light Corkscrew locks. In the roller coaster artwork here, there’s another magnet which the player can’t control.
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Ball Save standup: Usually hit by balls bouncing around the right inlane/outlane area. Can give you a ball save if you drain down the right outlane.
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Rear Entrance: Guarded by two rubber posts, this area sends the ball back to the shooter lane for another skill shot.
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Right outlane: Lights the last “T” in “TENT”. Can be lit for Re-Entry.
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Right inlane: Lights “N” in “TENT”.
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Right slingshot: Standard.
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Right flipper: Standard.
Skill Shots
There are four skill shots in Oktoberfest:
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Bar: The Bar door will open and close; time your plunge to send the ball inside. Scores 10K and awards a beer stein.
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Tent Scoop: Scores 20K and automatically starts a Tent Mode.
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? Target: Scores 75K and advances OKTOBERFEST target completion.
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Left inlane: Scores 20K and lights a one-shot Super Skill Shot at the right ramp to score.
Beer Steins
“Choose a stein! Lots of choices - each one has its own benefits!” ~ Otto
In single-ball play, shooting the Bar hole (either as a skill shot or after hitting the Bar doors enough times) lets you select a beer stein with the flippers.
Each stein does two things:
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Makes a game feature easier to obtain or more valuable.
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Increases a particular Tent Mode’s score multiplier by 1X.
Steins carry over from ball to ball. Also, you can collect the same stein multiple times; each time, the stein’s “power” is improved, and the score multiplier of its respective Tent Mode increases by another 1X. You can collect the same stein up to 3 times.
List of Steins (from top to bottom, left to right):
- Mender Stout (Increases Playfield X Time & Rotor Boost)
- Reclab Redrum Stout (Gives More Bonus X & Stein Race Boost)
- FreakShow Rooster (Higher Corkscrew Multiball Jackpots & Target Shooting Boost)
- Frosty Ferret (Higher Beer Barrel Multiball Jackpots & Duck Hunt Boost)
- Ish Pale Ale (Easier to Collect Steins & Sky Slide Boost)
- Sloshed Rosh Lager (Easier to Collect OKTOBERFEST Letters & Looper Boost)
- Kernenmeister (Easier to Light Outlane Ball Saves & Rockin’ Xpress Boost)
- Castrated Monkey (Gives More Tilt Warnings & Ring Toss Boost)
- Engler Pale Ale (Gives More Time in Tents & Chugging Boost)
- Not’n Roht’n (Easier to Collect Tent Letters & Juggling Boost)
- Buschbrau (Gives More MagNabs & Füd Frenzy Boost)
Collecting all Steins starts Stein Slinging wizard mode!
Tent Modes
Complete “TENT” via the inlanes/outlanes to light a Tent Mode at the scoop. Scroll through the 13 modes available with the flippers; select one by hitting both.
With the exception of Juggling, which is a multiball, all Tent Modes run on a 46-second timer [?]. Each mode has a specific goal–usually making enough lit shots.
Completing a mode yields “confetti” effects on the display. However, you can keep making shots until the time expires. Otherwise, you can replay failed modes by spelling “TENT” and shooting the scoop again.
Every Tent Mode is associated with a beer stein. If you play a mode with its associated stein, all scoring is doubled. Furthermore, a stein can be collected up to two more times, which triple and finally quadruple mode scoring.
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Ring Toss: Hit the OKTOBER and FEST banks to score points. The target banks alternate with each hit; you can’t shoot the same target bank twice. The “OKTOBERFEST” letters will light up to indicate your progress towards winning the mode at 11 shots.
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Stein Race: The game switches to one handed play; you can only use the right two flipper buttons. Make lit shots to score. Shots you’ve already made turn red; shooting them spills your beer and lowers the point value. Complete all three legs of the race with three well-made shots to finish the mode.
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Chugging: Make sequences of lit shots to beat your opponents. A two-shot sequence beats Inga, a three shot sequence beats Otto, and a more difficult sequence in the re-match (need more specifics?). Beating Otto wins the mode.
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Looper: Keep shooting the left ramp over and over. 5 shots to complete. If hit without missing, value is much larger.
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Juggler: A two-ball multiball. Completing sequences of lit shots adds up to two more balls into play. Completes after 4 shots (?)
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Target Shooting: The PROST targets begin roving; hitting any lit target scores points. Make three lit target shots to win the mode.
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Duck Hunt: Score points by hitting the four duck targets around the playfield and the center kicker. You can’t hit the same duck twice. Find five ducks to complete the mode! (Note that this mode can increase your end of ball bonus by a lot because the ducks collected still count towards it.)
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Rockin Express: The spinner scores points, with the value increased by shooting the alternating lit orbit. Make 50 spins to complete the mode.
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Rotor: Two Shots are lit at a time, moving from left to right and then back again.
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Füd Frenzy: A frenzy mode. All switches score points. Every unique switch increases the value–in other words, the value doesn’t increase if you hit the same switch twice in a row.
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Bumper Cars: Hit pop bumpers and slingshots for big points. Shooting the side ramp will increase the value of each hit. Complete the mode by collecting 30 total hits.
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Sky Slide — Hit the drop target, then shoot the Food Stand saucer before the target raises again. Each saucer shot scores. Make 3 shots to finish the mode.
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Tap-It! — A video mode like Tapper. Otto is standing behind his bar, which is approached by customers. Use the flippers to move Otto left and right. Hold the MagNab button to fill a customer’s stein with beer. The faster you serve a customer, the more points you get. Serve 20 customers total without missing a maximum of 4 to win the mode. Customer values typically start at 2K, 3K, or 4K.
Complete all 13 Tent Modes for the “Flipper Miestro” wizard mode.
Food Stand Modes
Center drop target hits and spinner spins qualify Food Stand Modes at the center scoop. There are five Food Stand Modes. Each has a timer that can be reset by shooting back into the center scoop.
These modes give you calories which increase multiball scoring. The order you play them in is as follows:
- Pretzels (orbits) — 5k base + 2.5k each orbit
- Cake (slings and pops) — 500 base + 250 each hit (?)
- Ice Cream (ramps) — 7.5k base (?)
- Sausage (combination of the 3 previous modes)
- 5th: Food Coma. Flippers go weak and you have to shoot the spinner to work off the calories and make the flippers stronger.
You can stack food modes into tents and multiball (must start in single ball play)
Note that the number of calories you start the multiball with is locked in for that multiball, so bringing in a food mode into a multiball may give you lots of calories for a future multiball, but will not increase your current multiball.
Beer Barrel Multiball
Complete the PROST standup bank to light locks on the side ramp. Locking three balls starts Beer Barrel Multiball. (Locks are shared between players. Be careful!) Locks can also hold over between games.
During multiball, lit shots score jackpots. Locking a ball in the Beer Barrel holds it there for 20 seconds (configurable). While a ball is locked in the Beer Barrel, the next jackpot is scored at 2X, the next at 3X, and so on. Each lock shot and PROST bank completion resets the timer. PROST bank also relights all jackpots. Locking a second ball scores the Super Jackpot. Locking a third ball scores a Double Super Jackpot.
Corkscrew Multiball
Spell OKTOBERFEST via the left and right standup banks to light locks. The left ramp will lower over the left loop; locking three balls in the Corkscrew lock starts multiball.
During multiball, lit shots score jackpots. Only a few will be lit and they will move around the playfield, starting on the left, and moving to the right. Spelling OKTOBER or FEST lights the left ramp for a super jackpot.
If you drain down to one ball without scoring a super jackpot, the left ramp briefly stays down for a “last chance” super.
Ducks and Duck Derby
Ducks collected throughout the game increase mode values and end-of-ball bonus. Earn ducks by one of the following:
- Hitting the four duck standups on the playfield.
- Mystery awards.
- Completing Tent Modes. You get 5 ducks for the first mode you win on a ball, then 10 for the next, then 15, ect.
Every 50 ducks lights Duck Derby at the Tent scoop; Tent Modes are unavailable until Duck Derby has ended.
Duck Derby is a two-ball multiball. Green shots score points based on your duck count, and advance your duck in the race. Hitting a duck standup target will “select” the corresponding duck, causing any lit shot to advance that duck. When your duck is selected, all shots are green; when an opponent duck is selected, all shots are red (and you should promptly shoot your duck’s green standup target to re-select your duck). Every few seconds, the furthest back opponent duck will advance, even if you didn’t make a red shot.
Win the race, and you start a Victory Lap phase that lasts until the end of the multiball. All duck targets and lit shots score. You can make the same shot multiple times. Lose the race, and the Derby ends: flippers will be disabled until at least one ball drains. A ball saver is provided until single ball play is re-established.
Mystery
Hit all four ducks and shoot the Tent scoop to collect a Mystery award. Some awards include:
- Complete OKTOBER (lights the Corkscrew Multiball Lock instantly)
- Add 2 MagNab Grabs
- Visit Tent
- Hold Bonus Multipliers
- Advance Bonus Multipliers
- Collect Stein
- Reset Tilt Warnings (!)
Combos
Three of them:
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Left orbit -> Beer Barrel ramp: Worth increasing points and spots a PROST letter.
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Left orbit -> High Striker: Awards a MagNab regardless if it is lit at the High Striker or not, as well a small increasing point award.
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Left orbit -> Bar door: Awards increasing points and immediately opens the bar.
Super Striker
After enough pop bumper hits, hit the High Striker captive ball when the ball exits to the upper right flipper for a point award. The harder you hit the ball, the more points you get.
End of Ball Bonus
The bonus awarded at the end of each ball is held between balls and is comprised of:
- Steins Collected x 4,000
- Tents Visited x 4,000
- Ducks Collected x 200
Everything is then multiplied by the Bonus X.
