DMD- Jackbot. So simple in theory so hard to execute. Mess up the visor skill shot and your strategy drastically changes to Casino run. Feel lucky?
SS- Frontier. Combines sharp shooting with nudging and flipper skills
EM- Hard to come to a decision but Mars Trek in my book. So many strategic risk/ reward decisions to be made about going for 2x bonus or cashing in at saucer and rebuilding. spinner strat is also viable but dangerous.
Let’s see,
Sopranos
Speakeasy
Big Casino
Really though
DMD - AC/DC The constant questions you ask yourself about when to cash in song jackpot, how to incorporate the song with whatever multiball you have coming up. Collect with 2x/3x running etc etc.
SS - Frontier - can’t top it. Honorable mention to EBD. I like that you have the option of going left lane all day for slower, steady points vs. drops/inlines for huge bonus collects. Early in the game questioning when to start shooting multiplier targets, when to start hitting collects. Deep in the game (just like frontier) you’re only 2 shots away from huge bonus collects, and the shot that qualifies the collect is risky).
EM - 300 - bonus collect saucer you can’t actually shoot!
My favorite tourney EM is probably Abra-Ca-Dabra. There is a ton of risk/reward in play, and the rules are surprisingly intricate for an EM. Do I want to keep building up the bonus value, or start collecting it at the lit drop? Do I want to try and move the lit drop, or just clear the banks and try again? That lit drop rule rewards super accurate shooting. Plus it has that drain shot to reset the drops which keeps you on your toes. I love Sky Jump for a lot of the same reasons.
Early SS, it is hard to argue with Frontier. For later I will throw Funhouse into the mix. Balanced scoring, a lot of different opportunities. Multiball sequence is fun but difficult to really get going. Watching PAPA finals on Funhouse have been some of the most fun ones to watch. Only downside is some of the mirror modes are kind of useless.
Having a hard time narrowing down DMD but Jackbot is definitely a great one and I’m glad to see the attention it has gotten over the past several years. I do wish Casino Run was player-balanced (aka random but the same for all players.)
On Abra at INDISC I just kept shooting the lit pop bumper for 1k and would usually re-light on the way back down. Repeat. Agreed on FH as there are multiple ways to attack it. ACDC gets used in tournaments?
Shadow is my favorite game to play in a tournament. Not exactly sure why though…
Dmd - Congo or Xmen
SS- Funhouse is good, but maybe Firepower. Too much fun watching everyone have to shoot the “stand-ups of death”
EM - Definitely SURFER. Great shots and a few different stratagies. Shot the lane to send it back up top, or get star rollovers, or drop targets. 2x bonus. and hope the ball falls in the saucer once in a while.
Does the Jackbot tourney mode Cheat setting (works every X times you try to cheat) also apply to the No Bomb cheat in Casino Run?
The short answer to your question is no.
Jackbot tournament mode cheating is probably the most misunderstood rule ever. (Followed closely by Funhouse 11:30 reset, LOL. How many times have I seen unsuspecting souls caught by that one?)
First, a clarification: The rule for the cheat button is that it works every 4th time THAT IT WOULD NORMALLY BE POSSIBLE to cheat. So here are some examples of events where it is possible or not:
Dice Roll < 12: Yes!
Any Keno Card: Yes!
Bonus at 1x: No!
Bonus at 2x+: Yes!
Slot Machine in tourney mode: No! (In normal play the cheat could advance it to light extra.)
Play Poker: Yes!
Casino Run is its own completely separate thing in every way. Purely random, and the cheat rules do not apply. You have to play it exactly as you would in normal play. That being said, I can offer you some pieces of advice:
Finally, when SHOULD you use your cheat? Here are some ideas.
In summary, Keno is the safest thing to save the cheat for, but poker could be better if you had any cards. I think we all know in practice this pretty much never happens, which usually means poker will be your worst option to cheat, most likely giving you +5M-+10M or so. Dice Roll is OK if you have roll knowledge, but everyone short plunges these days, so dice values are generally always in the crapper. There is a case to be made for going for skill shots/bumpers (dice value also adds to bonus) especially if you’re on mb 3+ or you blew your easy visor open for mb 2.
Anyway, hope that clears things up a bit for everyone. It’s pure geekery analysis, but I think we all know that’s pretty much me at this point. 
Does a non-cheat (Slot or bonus 1X) count towards the 4th cheat tourney rule?
No. Only a time when it would’ve normally (possibly) worked.
That’s too bad. It would make for some good strategic use/tracking of 3 failed cheats prior to starting Casino Run.
And thanks for the detail and analysis on tourney cheats.
@keefer I’ve noticed on Jack*Bot that sometimes the Max Vortex doesn’t count toward your bonus. Do you know if this is true?
For example: I’ve seen during the bonus count:
Cards: 6 Million
Vortex: 50 Million (actual value 10 million)
Dice Wager: 4.3 Million
Total Bonus 20.3 Million
Hm. TBH I don’t recall that, but you are waking up something deep in the recesses of my mind that sounds familiar like that. If that’s true, then that makes using the cheat for bonus even stupider.
Personally I never try to cheat bonus other than to use up one of my 3 beforehand. Keno is the clear winner under completely unknown circumstances.
Edit: OBTW, normal bonus/cheat rules apply to Collect Bonus from slot machine. Cheats if at 2x+ will count/work.
Yes this is true. I think if you get max vortex from keno arrow it affects only the skill shot but not your bonus.It’s a bad award anyways as it kind of takes away from the fun of building up the vortex value if you are just playing for fun.