I was having a discussion recently about how satisfying it is to nail a two-stage jackpot. It’s one of my favorite things to do in pinball.
What games do you guys think are most valuable (or most satisfying) to two-stage flippers on? My favorite is Whirlwind. That might be because I’m terrible at backhanding the scoop or hitting the ramp from a feed from the left orbit. Other favorites are TSPP (wish you could two-stage the left mini-flipper) and Swords of Fury.
Still trying to learn this. My problem is when I make side ramp shots I tend to really want to whack it. Also it takes me too long to set it up. This is one of those things that makes me wish I had my own machine, so I could take the glass off and work at it nonstop.
I love to do it on Tron and FH. Very hard, but I can do it every so often.
Sof is amamamamazing to 2 stage. Well it’s an amazing game. And getting that jackpot is sweet.
Can you two-stage the battlefield on Shadow for the Khan super jackpot? And why don’t I know this answer? Probably because I don’t see it very often. 
The Venom shot on Spider-Man and the Warp ramp on Stern Star Trek are two good shots from a staged upper right flipper. What helps is that you have time to set up the stage while the ball is bouncing around in the pops, so they are great for practice.
But, you’re right – Whirlwind (and Pat Lawlor’s seven-year-later DMD version, No Good Gofers, which if you think about it is almost exactly the same game) has (have) the most satisfying shot to hit from a staged flipper.
Tommy, double jackpot and/or double super jackpot almost require staged flips to get it done. Tron during Light Cycle or Quorra MB also comes to mind. ST and X-Men in order to hit the right orbit with a ball trapped on the right flipper. I’ve always found TSPP nearly impossible to stage flip but maybe it’s just the one we play on.
Tommy is probably one of the most valuable and satisfying. It shares the same stage-flipping advantage that Tron does (you can’t feed the upper flipper with a slow / kick-out shot from the same side lower flipper), and the value Tommy’s double jackpot, and progress toward and cash-in of the super jackpot are ridiculous compared to other scoring opportunities.
The one thing I really miss about where modern pinball ended up was the lack of that truly powerful ‘jackpot-in-multiball’ shot that could be a game breaker in any given match.
The same shot execution in Tron being worth 850k just doesn’t trigger that same kind of “F*ck Yes!” feeling like the good ole days.
Watching Lyman cash in the CFtBL super at 2x and letting out a “Yes!” while pumping his fist in satisfaction during the Pintastic semifinal was super sweet to watch.
is there footage of this somewhere
The Addams Family is a great one, especially since there is really no point in shooting anything else during multiball.
Bruce Nightengale’s Facebook page. He Facebook live’d his match against Lyman. It’s game 5.
Yes, this times a thousand. Wish it would make a comeback.*
* I reserve the right to change my mind when it does, and I lose a key tournament match because of this.
Slightly contrarily, I maybe could live with a bunch of 800k jackpots - but the super jackpot should NEVER be anything less than game breaking. Especially considering some of the callouts that are associated.
If you’re even thinking about trying that, you have already failed!! You should be doubling or tripling that mofo!
obviously, RBION!
Most any Lawlor game has a really satifying staged shot.
A game I have fun stage flipping is Grand Lizard. It almost becomes two separate playfields.
Definetly. The Stern formula still has this to an extend with supers. Think Spider-Man.
But a bit of a bore with every shot a jackpot and all multi-ball starting spray-the-playfield until the toy is flashing or at least till ball saver runs out.
I still consider Funhouse one of the best games ever made. And certainly a milestone. A jackpot forces you to cycle shots through all three flippers. Excellent.
Thanks, just watched it. It was a double fist pump too!
Yeah, there is a trend in a lot of modern rulesets where the player has an expectation that if they keep a multiball going for X time, they get Y points.
Its a bit sad, I really miss the huge reward for huge skill delta.
Its like, imagine how crap fishtales would be if every shot was lit for a 5 mil jackpot at the start of multiball, and the super lit for 10 mil at the captive before going back to a 5 mil crapfest.
snooze…
Cashing in huge value on crank it up and big awards in song bonuses has brought back that feeling a bit, which is great.
Huge risk rewards that give someone a fighting a chance to come back on one ball are always my favorite. I do think there is something to be said for grind it out games (family guy, tron, etc.) that can definitely showcase the stamina of top players such as yourself. Being at the foot of the mountain and knowing there’s a long road ahead, mentally preparing yourself for the journey, going into the zone and executing, and being rewarded with a massive comeback victory can be just as exhilarating as a huge song JP come back which took 1/5 the time.
…as an observer it’s another story 
Though there have been instances where I’ve enjoyed a grind-it-out comeback victory. My first thought is Lyman’s papa16 comeback on iron man.