Quick Links:
- Game Information
- Rules Overview
- Layout
- Skill Shots
- Zones & Boss Battles
- Feature Modes
- Multiballs & Bash Dash
- Other Scoring
Game Information & Overview:
- Lead Designer: Steve Ritchie
- Code/Rules: Bill Grupp
- Mechanical Engineers:
- Artwork:
- Display and Animations:
- Sound Design: Pierce Colbert (base audio), Slash, Jun Senoue (additions to “Open Your Heart” and “It Doesn’t Matter”)
- Release Date: June 2026
- Wiki Rulesheet based on Code Rev: 0.92
- Edit the Code revision, if applicable, when you make changes
Sonic the Hedgehog is JJP’s 2026 release and the second table designed for them by Steve Ritchie and the same team that worked on Elton John. Sonic and his friends must put a stop to Eggman’s evil schemes while finding the Chaos and Master Emeralds for a chance to become Super Sonic. The game uses assets from the Modern Sonic levels of Sonic Generations.
Layout:
Collector’s Edition |
Arcade |
|---|
Skill Shots:
Whenever the ball is in the plunger, the player can use the action button to select the zone they want to play.
On ball 1:
Eggman will confront Sonic and the player can attack him with a well-aimed shot at the start of the game using the upper playfield. Plunge the ball and hit either the center ramp or left ramp to send the ball to the upper playfield. Then shoot Eggman to score the skill shot, worth a hurry-up starting at 5M, and increase the base scoring for boss battles; with boss battles on the first ball scoring 2x their normal amount. The skill shot opportunity disappears if the 20-second timer runs out, or if the ball exits the upper playfield without hitting Eggman’s mech.
On subsequent & locked balls:
Lock in an award by plunging the ball or selecting it using the flippers. Then hit any white shot on the right side of the playfield to score the locked-in award, or the pink shot to score a super skill shot award worth additional points. The difficulty increases with every skill shot made.
- Chao - Adds +1x to the next round of advance Chao shots.
- Bonus X - Increases bonus multiplier +1x.
- Checkpoint - Advances to the next checkpoint in the current zone.
- Award Hero - Spots one hero’s worth of progress towards Sonic Heroes Multiball.
- Rings - Awards 20 rings.
Awards will be disabled under certain conditions. Checkpoint won’t be given if the player is at the Goal Ring of a zone. Award Hero won’t be given if the player has all three members on a team collected and hasn’t changed yet.
Zones & Boss Battles:
The main goal of Sonic the Hedgehog pinball is to complete zones, then win the boss fight against Eggman at the end of each zone. The player selects a zone by using the flippers and action button while the ball is in the plunger lane, then locks it in when they plunge the ball.
During any zone, make enough lit shots to reach checkpoints that save your progress in the current zone. The shot value is based on shot difficulty - they vary between 1x, 2x, and 3x the value. Each zone has 6 checkpoints (excluding the last two zones), with the final shot being the Goal Ring that can be scored at either the center ramp (2x) or lab jump ramp (3x) while in single-ball play.
There are seven zones to play through:
- Green Hill
- Chemical Plant
- Rooftop Run
- City Escape
- Speed Highway
- Sky Sanctuary
- Seaside Hill
The shot maps per zone can be viewed below. Generally, the 1x & 2x shots are all located on the lower playfield, while 3x “expert” shots are located on the lab upper playfield and indicated with flashing blue lights.
Zone shot maps
Green Hill
| Checkpoint # | 1x | 2x | 3x |
|---|---|---|---|
| Start | Left or right ramp | Left or right orbit | Left or right lab orbit |
| 1 | Center ramp | Lockup | Either lab target |
| 2 | Right ramp | Left orbit | Lab loopback ramp |
| 3 | Left ramp | Right orbit | Lab jump ramp |
| 4 | Center ramp | Bash dash target | Lab spinner |
| 5 | Center ramp | Left or right orbit | Lab loopback ramp |
| Goal Ring | N/A | Center ramp | Lab jump ramp |
Chemical Plant
| Checkpoint # | 1x | 2x | 3x |
|---|---|---|---|
| Start | Center ramp (2 shots) | Bash dash target | Lab spinner |
| 1 | Left ramp (2 shots) | Chao target (2 shots) | Left or right lab orbit |
| 2 | Right ramp (2 shots) | Froggy target (2 shots) | Lab loopback ramp |
| 3 | Left or right ramp | Lockup | Left lab target |
| 4 | Center ramp (2 shots) | Bash dash target (2 shots) | Right lab target |
| 5 | Center ramp (2 shots) | Chao target | Left lab orbit (2 shots) |
| Goal Ring | N/A | Center ramp | Lab jump ramp |
Rooftop Run
| Checkpoint # | 1x | 2x | 3x |
|---|---|---|---|
| Start | N/A | N/A | Any lab shot or target |
| 1 | Center ramp | Left ramp | Lab loopback ramp |
| 2 | Lockup (2 shots) | Bash dash target | Right lab orbit |
| 3 | Battle zone targets (6 hits) | N/A | Left lab orbit |
| 4 | Left or right orbit | N/A | Lab jump ramp |
| 5 | Right ramp (2 shots) | Chao target (2 shots) | N/A |
| Goal Ring | N/A | Center ramp | Lab jump ramp |
City Escape
| Checkpoint # | 1x | 2x | 3x |
|---|---|---|---|
| Start | Left ramp | Right orbit | Right lab target |
| 1 | Right ramp | Left ramp | Right orbit |
| 2 | Lockup | Bash dash target | Lab loopback ramp |
| 3 | Center ramp | Froggy target | Lab spinner |
| 4 | Battle zone targets (6 hits) | Chao target | N/A |
| 5 | N/A | N/A | Left lab orbit (2 shots) |
| Goal Ring | N/A | Center ramp | Lab jump ramp |
Speed Highway
| Checkpoint # | 1x | 2x | 3x |
|---|---|---|---|
| Start | Center ramp | Left or right orbit | Left or right lab orbit |
| 1 | Left or right ramp (2 shots) | N/A | Lab loopback ramp |
| 2 | N/A | Bash dash target (2 shots) | Either lab target |
| 3 | Battle zone targets (6 hits) | Right orbit | Either lab ramp |
| 4 | Right ramp (2 shots) | Right orbit | Left lab orbit |
| 5 | Lockup (2 shots) | Bash dash target (2 shots) | Lab spinner |
| Goal Ring | N/A | Center ramp | Lab jump ramp |
Sky Sanctuary
| Checkpoint # | 1x | 2x | 3x |
|---|
Seaside Hill
| Checkpoint # | 1x | 2x | 3x |
|---|
Once the player has reached the Goal Ring in any zone, the player’s score for that zone will be tallied up and ranked before the Boss Battle starts. The score is based on how quickly the zone was completed, how many “expert” (3x) shots were made, how many rings the player has, and a value per chaos emerald the player has collected. The later into the game the player is, the easier it is to get the maximum “S” rank for a zone.
Eggman will then present himself and Boss Battle will activate. Shoot the center ramp or left ramp to enter the upper playfield, and hit Eggman with the ball enough times to attack the boss and score a hurry-up award that decreases over time. Every battle increases in difficulty, and the player will eventually need to hit shots on the lab playfield to lower Eggman for chances to deal damage. Once the Boss Battle is completed, the player will be given an award that changes with each boss defeated. The awards are:
- Boss 1 - Start boosted Tails hurry-up
- Boss 2 - Qualify Casino Night feature mode at lockup
- Boss 3 (hit lab shots to lower) - Light extra ball
- Boss 4 (hit lab shots to lower, center drop target active) - Qualify Boss Rush feature mode at lockup
- Boss 5 (hit lab orbits to lower) - +5x bonus X
Currently, bosses 6+ only score the hurry-up points with no associated perks.
Feature Modes:
NOTE: Feature Modes are not implemented on 0.92 code.
Feature Modes take priority over all other modes and multiballs once started, and serve as mini-wizard modes of the game.
- Casino Night: Lights at the lockup after completing 2 boss battles. Scores 25M as this mode is not implemented.
- Boss Rush: Lights at the lockup after completing 4 boss battles. Scores 50M as this mode is not implemented.
- Master Emerald Mission: Lights at the center ramp after making enough upper playfield shots (5 each of orbits, targets, ramps, and spinner). Scores 20M as this mode is not implemented.
- Super Sonic: Lights at the lockup after collecting all 7 Chaos Emeralds. Scores 100M as this mode is not implemented, and removes all Emeralds in the player’s possession.
Multiballs & Bash Dash:
Only one multiball mode can be active at a time, but they can stack with currently active zones up until the player reaches the Goal Ring. If the player has reached the Goal Ring, the zone timer will pause and checkpoint shots will be disabled to prevent the player from starting Boss Battle during a multiball.
Bash Dash: During either multiball mode, shooting the left standup target will hold the ball there temporarily and increase the jackpot multiplier, which starts at 2x + the number of Chaos Emeralds found (ie. if 3 have been found so far, the multiplier starts at 5x). Repeatedly hitting the held ball will increase the jackpot multiplier by +1x for the duration of Bash Dash. This scoring opportunity disappears after 10 seconds (+4 seconds by hitting the left standup target during normal play), but can be relit by collecting rings during the multiball. The Bash Dash timer also pauses when Chaos Control is active.
Chaos Emerald Multiball:
Shoot the inline drop targets near the right ramp to lock balls and eventually start Chaos Emerald Multiball. The first multiball requires only one lockup shot to start, but subsequent ones require one more to a maximum of three locked balls.
While in multiball, along with scoring jackpots, the player can collect Chaos Emeralds lit in the following order: 1, 2 & 3, 4 & 5, 6, 7.
- 1: Shoot lockup to collect.
- 2: Shoot right ramp 2x to light, then lockup to collect.
- 3: Shoot lab jump ramp to collect.
- 4: Shoot lab loopback ramp to collect.
- 5: Make 50 spins, then lockup to collect.
- 6: Shoot all four targets (two on upper playfield, two on lower playfield), then lockup to collect.
- 7: Make all lab orbit, target, and ramp shots, then lockup to collect.
The orbits and ramps are lit for jackpots, with the upper playfield shots lit for 2x jackpots. The last jackpot of each set is a super jackpot that starts at 2M. These awards are much lower than the more substantial points and utility of Emeralds, which increase the frozen timers during Chaos Control by +15 seconds per emerald, add to the Bash Dash jackpot multiplier, and qualify the Super Sonic feature mode once all 7 are found.
Sonic Heroes Multiball:
There are four teams of three heroes that can be earned by completing the HERO inlanes, which cycle with the flippers. Pressing the action button will change the currently active team.
As soon as the player has collected all three members of one team, the left standup target will start Sonic Heroes Multiball. The player can delay this multiball and collect more teams by pressing the action button during the intro animation. When a team is completed, their respective shot will score 1.25x its normal value (Chaotix - left orbit, Dark - left ramp, Sonic - right ramp, Rose - right orbit).
Shoot jackpots to increase the value per jackpot by 100k and light the super jackpot at the left standup target for each team after clearing a set of unique jackpots. Team Sonic shots are the battle zone targets & center ramp, Team Dark’s are on the lab upper playfield, Team Rose’s are near the right orbit, and Team Chaotix’s are near the left orbit. If multiple super jackpots are lit (only obtainable by completing more than one team before starting the multiball), the super jackpot value will be multiplied. Bash Dash will also multiply the super jackpots, leading to massive scoring potential from this multiball. Add-a-ball lights at the lockup once the initial ball save timer expires.
Other Scoring:
Ring Combos:
Rings can be scored at any time during the game and are mainly used to determine the player’s score during zones, increase the end-of-ball bonus, and to determine shot values during spin dash and feature modes. Light rings by rolling through inlanes or repeatedly shooting the orbits, and collect them by shooting yellow shots near them as combos, with lit zone shots increasing the ring counter regardless of if rings are currently available. Collect 20 rings to light the left outlane kickback or add a charge to the kickback if already lit. Collect 100 rings to light the extra ball at the center ramp.
Tilting a ball means losing your rings! When the player tilts, half of the player’s ring count this ball will be removed.
Advance Chao:
NOTE: Not complete on 0.92 code.
Hitting the Chao target on the very left of the playfield spawns a Chao egg and lights Advance Chao at the left and right orbits. Advance the Chao by shooting repeated orbit shots to score increasing values per shot.
Badnik Attack:
The battle zone targets surrounding the center ramp represent Eggman’s army of mechanized animals sent to defeat Sonic. Once all six targets are completed, a timed Badnik Attack mode will start, where further shots to the targets score increasing points but increase in difficulty with each wave defeated. Shooting the upper playfield targets while a Badnik Attack is running will start a hurry-up on the upper playfield, which can complete an entire wave of Badniks in one shot. Defeated Badniks add to end-of-ball bonus.
Spin Dash:
Shoot the right ramp 5 times to qualify a Spin Dash at that same ramp. Once the ramp is hit, the player will temporarily get control of the magnet used to send balls through the loop. Use the flippers to build up Sonic’s spin speed, and press the action button with the right timing (while within the green window) to score the most points and release the ball. The Spin Dash points award is determined by how many rings the player has. Subsequent Spin Dashes require 10 more ramps to light than the last.
If the ball drains straight down the middle after shooting the right ramp, default settings allow these balls to be saved.
Find Froggy:
Big is one of Sonic’s friends who shows up in the most unexpected places. His pet frog, Froggy, was temporarily controlled by one of the same Chaos Emeralds that gave Chaos its power.
Every time the player reaches a checkpoint in a zone, the Froggy target on the far right of the playfield will light to score a mystery award based on the current fishing gear. Lower tier mystery awards include 50k points and rings (5 or 10), while higher tier awards include activating ball save for 8 seconds. Once the player has all gear, they will be able to catch Froggy (indicated by the target flashing purple / green) and light the center ramp for extra ball.
Tails Hurry-Up:
Make 50 spins using the spinner on the upper playfield to qualify the left inlane for Tails hurry-up, which will hold the ball, light a random shot on that can be hit from the left flipper to score a hurry-up, then release the ball. The value for each successive hurry-up adds the value from the previous one to the total.
Chaos Control:
Shadow, an artificial counterpart to Sonic created by Eggman’s grandfather, has the power to slow down time with the power of the Chaos Emeralds.
If the player has any Chaos Emeralds in their possession, pressing the action button will freeze all currently active game timers for 15 seconds per emerald found, and pressing the action button again will reactivate the timers. Every emerald earned adds more time to Chaos Control.
Timers affected by Chaos Control are the timer for each zone (making it easier to get a higher rank), the hurry-up award during boss battle and Tails hurry-up, and the bash dash timer during multiball modes.
Kickback:
Light the left outlane kickback by collecting enough rings. The kickback fires the ball towards the battle zone targets.
Extra Balls:
Light extra ball at the center ramp by:
- Completing 3 boss battles
- Collecting 100 rings
- Successfully finding Froggy
If extra balls are disabled, 10M is scored as a compensation award.