TOM Tactics and Strategies

Hi all. I'm surprised to not see a post about this yet

Skill shot: I used to always start illusion however I tend to choose 2x bonus when available since I find the bumpers in general rather hard to hit.
Also it's important to be able to hit the captive balls after any locks as this advances the clock and advances the captive ball count towards vanish.

Center ramp: this is my go-to shot from the left flipper. At times it advances MAGIC to light the locks and a lot of shots will uncover the cards to open the trap door. Being able to combo the center and right staircases at will is huge as this will help you get the Haunted Basement rewards easily.

Magic Trunk: this is my go-to shot from the right flipper. We need to get those illusions active. Don't be pressured in beating the illusion mode. The points are handy but sloppy shots that hit the oulanes aren't worth it.

Bonus: so far as I've seen aside from the Straight Jacket illusion, the only way to get to the bumpers is to make an orbit shot too weak to go around for the right or two weak to go up the ramp for the left. If you accidentally put it in the vanish hole it will kick out to the left. This is my biggest argument against using the locked camera option. Bonuses in this game can be huge if you have a big first ball. I've had some over 600 million. That's bigger than completing the Grand Finale.

Extra Balls: If you are lucky you will get the midnight magic award for midnight madness before you advance the clock to 6 o'clock. This will light the 6 o'clock extra ball and still award another one for advancing the clock. Also the 600mil replay extra ball is helpful and the ever important basement pinball award and hopefully you can snag the lite extra ball award.

All I can think of now.

Thanks for this. I was wondering if there would be threads within the table forums for strats and tactics. All I see are Bug.....Bug.....Bug.

I'm no pinball wiz but I find these thing useful....

- don't ever if ( you can help it) try to hit the trunk with you left flipper. you can lose you ball straight down to middle. unless the hole is open.
- practice hitting the captive balls after every lock/vanish to advance the clock it will give you an 'extra ball lit' light much quicker.
- try your best to open trap door for random awards. most of the awards you get are very useful.
- I find it useful to try for theater loops for combos. It will light the letters for theater hurry up quicker for 50m +. Since you are going for the trunk, I believe the hits on the trunk goes toward lighting illusions.
- In multiball as it starts, let the first ball hit the right flipper and bounce to the left flipper. Quickly trap it and aim for the trunk. I hit 100m jackpots most of the time doing it that way. It's really quick since you have about 3 - 5 seconds - not sure. From there try to rank up the jackpot while trapping a ball. I think you shoot the ramps to raise the jackpot. hitting the trunk a couple of times lights jackpot.
- I find that going up the left/right lanes is random when you are able to try for the multipliers when you have the opportunity nudge the table enough to get the ball to go through the multiplier lanes. It's random but works well.
- try to advance the clock and do the theater loops as quick as possible. the end bonus does add up if you get the enough multipliers on top of that.
- if you can keep the balls in play, Tiger multiball shots rank up some decent points after you get vanish and release the ball from the right loop.

- Midnight Madness - once that starts get the ball to the trunk let it fall to your left flipper as you hold the left flipper. It will bounce to the right flipper. aim for the trunk - Rinse and repeat till the mode ends. You can get close to 100m or more doing it that way i believe.

That's all I have for now too.

I was going to add one for the midnight madness, got tired of typing on my iphone though.

I find that when the ball drops to the left flipper, if you quickly nudge the table towards the right as it hits it will keep the ball from bouncing off the kicker, that way you can set up your trunk shot quicker.

I believe it's the center hoop that raises your jackpot during multiball. I'm not sure about others but i know for sure the center orbit...hard to track with 3 balls flying around.

For multiball, try and lock a ball in the vanish before you lock your last ball. When you hit the trunk for multiball you will have 4 balls instead of 3.

Thanks for the tip/strategies, guys......keep em coming. My scores could use some help lately, heh.

Jeff Strong said:

Thanks for the tip/strategies, guys......keep em coming. My scores could use some help lately, heh.

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I hear ya. I just need to be able to consistently apply these strategies. I had a great game yesterday and got the grand finale and missed finishing it by 2 letters. Had crap before the third ball but nailed the score, clock extra balls and got 2/3 in digital pinball as it was giving me that reward like it meant nothing. I hit 3.5 billion once and can't break 2 something anymore it seems.

superbals said:

I hear ya. I just need to be able to consistently apply these strategies. I had a great game yesterday and got the grand finale and missed finishing it by 2 letters. Had crap before the third ball but nailed the score, clock extra balls and got 2/3 in digital pinball as it was giving me that reward like it meant nothing. I hit 3.5 billion once and can't break 2 something anymore it seems.

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Same here got 3.2 billion yesterday but missed grande Finale by a few letter then drained. Sigh. Yeah after that sometimes I can't get close to 2billion, But I guess that's pinball for you. Even in Real Like it works that way unless you are pinball Wiz.

There has to be a twist :/

My tip, different from what other suggested, is to go for Start Illusion as the skill shot. If you make it, you are already down one Illusion, and hopefully get a fair few points out of it (Not to mention it counts towards your bonus as well).

Dumpstar said:

My tip, different from what other suggested, is to go for Start Illusion as the skill shot. If you make it, you are already down one Illusion, and hopefully get a fair few points out of it (Not to mention it counts towards your bonus as well).

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There is a lot of validity to this also as the trunk can be a dangerous shot.

Finally got the Grand Finale this morning following superballs and my tip.

Opening trap door consistently was my primary goal. I unlocked 4 extra balls during the course of play. (Pinball, lite extra ball, Special, Pinball again) + the 2 at 6pm and 600,000. With all that still only managed only 3.3 billion. The outlanes can really mess things up even when hocus pocus is up. I hear FS is looking into the mechanics of it as it doesn't work all the time. or in my case........... never especially on the right side. The outlanes issue would be moot if I can understand how to avoid it. Slingshots really get on my nerves as they often bounce to the opposite side and toward the outlanes. I'm still trying to find a better way to use Nudge to avoid it. Sometimes nudging the table when it hits the slingshots help but not always.

Any other tips?

If the ball bounces up off the flippers, nudge toward the sling you are trying to avoid to most likely keep the sling from activating...if you nudge upwards it will help keep the ball under control off the slings, either pushing it up toward the orbits or down toward the flippers.

Nice score though, i believe that's still in the top 200(?) or close

superballs said:

Nice score though, i believe that's still in the top 200(?) or close

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All time 410
monthly 158
Weekly 29

The Theatre's one of the few tables I can claim extensive real-world experience with, so I'll share how I approach the table when I'm playing it for score. By no means is this gospel - just how I've done it.

General strategy: Priority one is to start Illusions, since this is the hardest part of the trek to the Grand Finale and is the least likely to happen on its own. T-H-E-A-T-R-E and Magic Multiball will usually take care of themselves over the course of a game, and Midnight Madness can be reached relatively easy via skill shots and right orbit shots. So get to know and love your trunk shots, and learn how to hit them from either flipper - and how to recover from them; the trunk's a bit of a drain hazard. Note that starting Illusions does not necessarily mean playing Illusions - more on this later. Get the Bonus multiplier to 8X as often as possible, ideally on each ball - 8X Bonus is huge (potentially hundreds of millions) on this table.

Skill shot priority: Start Illusion if you have that option. Adv. Clock as a second choice if you have not already played Midnight Madness or if you are close to 6:00 or midnight. Otherwise, 2x Bonus is probably the best deal of the remaining choices, especially if you've got a large bonus going from Magic letters and illusions over the course of the game.

First ball: You want to be conservative and keep this ball in play as long as possible. All Magic letters and illusions you get during this ball will count for your bonus on all future balls as well, so a big first ball is important on ToM. Start to work right away on starting Magic Multiball and illusions. Also whack the captive ball a few times and Vanish a ball. (And keep up the captive ball hits and Vanishing acts over the course of the game - it eventually lights an extra ball. For some reason, players often forget this extra ball is available and stop going for Vanish - don't, it's not hard to get.)

Multiballs: I find that the Vanished ball is better used for Tiger Saw Multiball and not for 4-ball Magic Multiball. Four balls do not seem to score noticeably better than three in Magic Multiball, and I find trapping 3 balls and playing with the fourth much harder than trapping 2 and playing with the third. Your mileage may vary. Tiger Saw jackpots are smaller, but they do not have to be re-lit between collections and the captive ball is an easier target than the trunk hole. Also, during any multiball, the diverter to the Bonus X lanes is active. Be sure to send some balls up the left orbit and get to 8X during this time.

The Trap Door: I don't go out of my way to raise the trap door - it generally happens enough in the course of normal play - but I do drop whatever I'm doing when it opens to get a ball in there. The rewards are too good to pass up.

The Spirit Ring: If you're good at that right ramp shot, looping the Spirit Ring for 10M+20M+30M is not a bad idea if nothing else urgent is going on at the time. Sixty million is bigger than the starting values for the Theatre Hurry-Up and the standard Multiball Jackpot, and the Spirit Ring loops aren't hard at all.

The Hocus Pocus magnets: Pretend they are not there until FarSight fixes them, and assume you will have to rely on your own nudging to make outlane saves. Be pleasantly surprised when the magnets actually do their job.

How to use your illusions: A few illusions are worth playing; the others are too low-scoring or too much of a drain hazard to bother with. My opinions:

• Tiger Saw: Captive ball hits are 15M, no limit. This is so-so. The captive ball's not much of risk, but I generally prefer to do other things (like advancing the clock) during this time.
• Levitating Woman: Center ramp is 11M+1M, no limit. If the center ramp still lights Magic letters or if it will raise the trap door, go for it. Otherwise, this doesn't score enough to really justify itself, although the center ramp is pretty low-risk.
• Trunk Escape: Trunk hits are 17M, limit 4 hits. Nice for the score, but the hits don't count for the next illusion and the trunk's a drain hazard. I may whack it once or twice, but I don't kill myself trying to finish this one.
• Spirit Cards: Inner loop shots are 500K+300K per spin, no limit. Not worth bothering with, and the left inner loop is a SDTM risk.
• Safe Escape: Inner loop shots are 20M, limit 3 shots. Good score, but high risk - unless the locks are lit. Then you don't have to worry about a drain from the return.
• Metamorphosis: Right ramp shots are 12M+4M, no limit, with the Spirit Ring lit (but non-scoring) so you can loop the right ramp. Decent scoring, safe, and the right ramp lights Magic letters! Play this one.
• Strait Jacket: Jet bumper hits are 6M, limit 10 hits. Great scoring, safe, and gives a chance to advance Bonus X. Just do it.
• Hat Magic: Trunk hole shots are 15M, no limit. Same issues as Trunk Escape, and it's a harder shot. I recommend against playing it out. (Creature from the Black Lagoon fans: Play this once, and pay attention to the DMD and sound after the third shot.)

Obviously, you ignore the eighth illusion you start regardless of what it is and instead proceed straight to the Grand Finale.

The Grand Finale: You have 12 shots to make in 60 seconds. This is plenty of time. If you're good at combo shots, now's your chance to shine. Otherwise, make a shot, trap the ball, aim, make next shot. You have enough time to get all 12 shots in if you're accurate. You will be accurate if you take a second to aim - ToM's ramps are nice and wide. What you don't want is a lot of bouncing around - so nudge as needed to keep the ball off those slingshots. The ball should be either on a ramp or loop, returning from either of those or on a flipper at all times. It's all about control, control, control!

If you're getting nervous, pretend that each shot is not worth 50M (and that there's not another 500M riding on making all 12) and just act like it's a simple center ramp shot to light a letter in Magic, or a simple right ramp for Metamorphosis - shots you make 100 times a game in the course of normal play! This self-deception will be tough, since the table will be announcing each 50M shot as you make it and the DMD will show the timer counting down, but by far the greatest enemy in the Grand Finale is your own nerves.

That's pretty much it. Combined with good ball control, following this strategy lets me consistently hit around 3B; my high score in TPA so far is 5.1B. Obviously there are others who have scored higher; maybe they'll share their tips here as well, and hopefully our advice will help you join us in the stratosphere. Good luck!

Very good stuff here!

Very good and concise strategy. I agree with the illusions...and it provides me with a good reinforcement to not really go for a lot of the illusions.

Great tips! I especially like the recommendations on the illusions and which ones to avoid due to the dangerous shots.

Thank you, Mr. Serenseven, for enlightening me on the vanish extra ball. I always seem to get that one without knowing what I did to earn it.

Thanks for the tips Serenseven! I completed the Grand Finale on my first try, not knowing there was a time limit. Had I known it probably would have been a lot tougher..

Some very good tips here. I didn't know about that progressive ball 1 scoring system. Nor about the diverter during multiball! Thanks!

I'm no expert (highest is about 5 bil), but can add a few things.

I agree about keeping the Vanish ball for the Tiger Saw. You lose the fourth ball pretty much immediately in Magic Multiball.

Also agreed about the Illusion scoring. Most of them are not worth the risk. Especially when you can make so many points just safely hammering out MAGIC, the trapdoor and THEATRE. The 15 million for Hat Trick is laughable, given the risk.

Midnight Madness... it can be dangerous to dead-flipper-pass the ball from the left to the right flipper. (The ball can bounce off the bottom of the right slingshot, and SDTM). So I sort of drop-catch it, and dead-flipper pass it over to the right, then take the shot from there. Takes a bit of practice, but is fairly easy after a while.

The 3 most dangerous shots for me are:

1) The right loop. I never go for it deliberately. Maybe one day I'll have the skill to shoot it reliably from a set shot.

2) The trunk. Shoot it enough times and eventually you'll drain SDTM. I rarely shoot for a non-lit trunk directly.

3) The captive ball. It's a cunning design. Easy to hit, but it's really designed to randomise the ball movement, making you lose control. I mostly only go for it if I have a Ball Saver on, or during Tiger Saw multiball.


The right ramp can be shot reliably from a standing start on the right flipper, if you really need to. Usually you don't, though.

Post transfers can be a little unreliable. I've found the right post to be easier.

When the ball is going through the multiplier lanes, I just hammer the flippers repeatedly. Works at least as well as actually timing the lane light changes. (And it's one less thing to worry about in multiball.)

If you're not nudging when the ball hits the slingshots, well, you're dying. Fortunately the game is very tolerant of nudges.

I play for multiball; locking those balls can be the equivalent of getting an extra ball, except you keep your bonuses. Also, it gives you a safe ball launch, which you can use to set up a shot.

Contrary to Serenseven, I do make it a point to try to open the trap door early and often. Of the 10 possible rewards, 3 of them lead to extra balls. In particular, if you are lucky enough to get the midnight reward early, you will lite the extra ball as if you advanced the clock to 6:00, and once midnight madness is over, you can still advance the clock to 6:00 again for another extra ball instead of the usual 40 million point reward for getting there a second time. Not sure if this is a glitch or not but I try to take advantage of it whenever I can.