Table of the Week Club...Week 35: HAUNTED HOUSE

[shutyertrap]

Continuing with the Halloween theme, this week's table is Haunted House. I don't know about the rest of you, but I need all the help I can get with this one. I'm talking the more obnoxiously detailed the tips, the better. This is the antithesis of how I approach playing pinball, so curious to see what everyone thinks about this supposed classic of a table.

 

[workshed]

I was never able to get to like this table. I hate the flipper layout and that gap between the right flippers drives me nuts. I do kind of like the Ghostbusters table, but I can't remember the last time I played Haunted House for fun. I'm with shutyertrap in hoping for tips, hoping there's a fun way to play this, or at least one that scores well.

 

[Johni3w6]

I try and go for getting all the spider web drop targets down on the third floor, left side which will give you a bonus (I think double score) in the basement with those drop targets.

Hitting the drop targets and clearing them 3 times ( in the basement) will allow for a bonus on the main floor.

Then I try hitting the targets 1 through 6 on the main floor, which can be a pain due to the angles from the flippers.

Far from being an expert but I'm sure someone can explain it better than I can.

Glad we don't use extra balls in the Totmt, because it's a hard shot (at least for me) to execute.

Good luck on this table it's a tough one.

 

[Xanija]

I only play this table when I'm overly happy and feel the need to get angry instead.

 

[EldarOfSuburbia]

Just keep the ball in play. Don't aim for stuff on the lower level, that will be your undoing.

And learn to hate that extra ball lamp toggling with every switch you hit.

I played a real one for the first time on Saturday, and it was in good condition. It really is just as annoying. Would like to see the separate flipper buttons implemented in TPA.

 

[vikingerik]

I hate this table so much I don't even want to write about it, but maybe it'll at least help someone hate it less.

Here's my key tactic. On every eject from the lower playfield, dead pass to a catch on the rightmost flipper. Then shoot either the secret passage or towards the upper-left rollover area that has the basement and attic entrances.

Never do ANYTHING else on the main playfield. Stay out of it. Shoot nothing. Ever. Not even the lit extra ball. Shooting ANYTHING on the main playfield WILL kill you. Your ONLY goal on the main playfield is to get back into the safety of the basement or attic.

The best extra ball to aim for is the one that's lit by shooting the left-side attic targets. I think it's then collected in the basement.

Most of the scoring comes from bonus on the lower level. Don't worry about enabling double scoring or double bonus, it's not worth the risk. Just grind those basement drop targets. Folks are saying not to aim, but I have decent success catching on the right-side basement flipper and aiming from there. (Note that only this flipper can catch, the left-side basement flipper can't.) You can also shoot the hidden sinkhole in the basement and nudge for a guaranteed catch on that flipper to do it again. It's a safe way to get points - that's how I got my leaderboard score - although hellaciously boring.

 

[rehtroboi40]

I hate this table so much I don't even want to write about it, but maybe it'll at least help someone hate it less.

Here's my key tactic. On every eject from the lower playfield, dead pass to a catch on the rightmost flipper. Then shoot either the secret passage or towards the upper-left rollover area that has the basement and attic entrances.

Never do ANYTHING else on the main playfield. Stay out of it. Shoot nothing. Ever. Not even the lit extra ball. Shooting ANYTHING on the main playfield WILL kill you. Your ONLY goal on the main playfield is to get back into the safety of the basement or attic.

The best extra ball to aim for is the one that's lit by shooting the left-side attic targets. I think it's then collected in the basement.

Most of the scoring comes from bonus on the lower level. Don't worry about enabling double scoring or double bonus, it's not worth the risk. Just grind those basement drop targets. Folks are saying not to aim, but I have decent success catching on the right-side basement flipper and aiming from there. (Note that only this flipper can catch, the left-side basement flipper can't.) You can also shoot the hidden sinkhole in the basement and nudge for a guaranteed catch on that flipper to do it again. It's a safe way to get points - that's how I got my leaderboard score - although hellaciously boring.

I've seen the "Devil's Dare" table from 1982 on youtube. (The same year Gottlieb brought out Haunted House). It looks like a more fun and approachable table than Haunted House, despite the theme for some. Kudos to Gottlieb for trying to make a a tri-level table, but IMO, they should have stopped at two like they did with the much more fun Black Hole.

 

[vikingerik]

Tri-level isn't the problem with Haunted House, there's nothing inherently wrong with that. The problems are: one, the ridiculously overdesigned flipper layout on the main playfield, where none of them can trap or gain any control so all you can do is flail. Two, the shots are too narrow and chancy and difficult. Three, there's not enough escalation in the rule set, not enough to shoot for. Multiball is always the easy way to introduce escalation and tension, but it's perfectly doable in ways other than multiball, like Big Shot's special or Cyclone's million. The various double-score awards on Haunted House are both not visceral enough and not rewarding enough.

Haunted House would be a perfectly fine game with a normal two-flipper main level and something worthwhile to build up to in the gameplay.

 

[shutyertrap]

Tri-level isn't the problem with Haunted House, there's nothing inherently wrong with that. The problems are: one, the ridiculously overdesigned flipper layout on the main playfield, where none of them can trap or gain any control so all you can do is flail. Two, the shots are too narrow and chancy and difficult. Three, there's not enough escalation in the rule set, not enough to shoot for. Multiball is always the easy way to introduce escalation and tension, but it's perfectly doable in ways other than multiball, like Big Shot's special or Cyclone's million. The various double-score awards on Haunted House are both not visceral enough and not rewarding enough.

Haunted House would be a perfectly fine game with a normal two-flipper main level and something worthwhile to build up to in the gameplay.

Well said and absolutely true.

 

[WhiteChocolate]

Well said and absolutely true.

heh! "doctor do you concur?" "'concur?' uh... um, yeah. sure."

I only play this table when I'm overly happy and feel the need to get angry instead.

LOL!! while i feel the same way, maybe let's look at the ipdb and spread some love for the designer, a mr. John Osborne... someone it looks like was doing his best to bridge from the ol'-to-new world of pb in the early VG age...

http://www.ipdb.org/showpic.pl?id=2397&picno=2285

http://www.ipdb.org/showpic.pl?id=2397&picno=4745

http://www.ipdb.org/showpic.pl?id=2397&picno=9936

http://www.ipdb.org/showpic.pl?id=2742&picno=58094

http://www.ipdb.org/showpic.pl?id=2742&picno=65744

http://www.ipdb.org/showpic.pl?id=2742&picno=6692

 

[Slam23]

I hate this table so much I don't even want to write about it, but maybe it'll at least help someone hate it less.

Here's my key tactic. On every eject from the lower playfield, dead pass to a catch on the rightmost flipper. Then shoot either the secret passage or towards the upper-left rollover area that has the basement and attic entrances.

Never do ANYTHING else on the main playfield. Stay out of it. Shoot nothing. Ever. Not even the lit extra ball. Shooting ANYTHING on the main playfield WILL kill you. Your ONLY goal on the main playfield is to get back into the safety of the basement or attic.

The best extra ball to aim for is the one that's lit by shooting the left-side attic targets. I think it's then collected in the basement.

Most of the scoring comes from bonus on the lower level. Don't worry about enabling double scoring or double bonus, it's not worth the risk. Just grind those basement drop targets. Folks are saying not to aim, but I have decent success catching on the right-side basement flipper and aiming from there. (Note that only this flipper can catch, the left-side basement flipper can't.) You can also shoot the hidden sinkhole in the basement and nudge for a guaranteed catch on that flipper to do it again. It's a safe way to get points - that's how I got my leaderboard score - although hellaciously boring.

This is exactly how I play, except for two things (and those are probably why I'm still below 2M ):
- I onetime ejects from the lower left-most flipper up the ramp or deadpass those to the right-most lower flipper
- I do play on the lower playfield, attracted to that on/off EB like a magpie to shiny stuff.....

That left flipper in the basement is a strange fellow: at the tip he seems semitransparent and balls fall through, at the base where he rotates, you can actually save balls from the outlane by flipping like a madman and shoot balls straight up.

 

[Slam23]

I think I found another interesting railroad, this one concerns the main level EB. To get into that eject hole, you need to shoot it from main level flipper 2 (counting from left to right 1-2-3-4). The problem is how to get the ball on that flipper in a controlled way. It starts with a cradle on flipper 4 (from a dead pass from flipper 1 after an eject, just how VikingErik described). Let the ball roll from the flipper and at the very last moment shoot it towards the lower part of target 1. This leads to one of two situations: 1. A cradle on flipper 1 (yes that is possible). You can let it roll down towards flipper 2 for a cradle (reminds me of Genie in reverse) and controlled shot to the EB hole, or 2. It just rolls past the left edge of flipper 1 and drops down to the guide rail towards flipper 2, and you get a rolling shot opportunity towards the EB hole. That's a bit more risky but still doable. The best time to pull of this manoeuvre is when the EB light is out, with the hit towards target 1 it lights and you can get the EB. Risk/reward:I think it's worth it because grinding for the other EB chance takes a lot of time and ups the risk of inadvertent drains, however careful you try to avoid the main level. Aside from getting the main level EB I still avoid playing there most of the time, in line with VikingErik's strategy.

PS: upped my best from 1.9M to 3.3M with this strategy

 

[invitro]

It seems like a large fraction of my shots from right flipper to upper-left gobble-hole area fall out and are easily trapped on the inner left flipper, plenty enough to shoot the main level EB and the ramp to the upper level.

Congrats on the 3.3M, Slam23.

 

[vikingerik]

I think I found another interesting railroad

Tried this out. Do you mean that the ball comes off the 1 target back to the right, hitting a post near the extra ball lane? I got the behavior you describe a few times, but it doesn't seem like a reliable railroad. I also got several other results, some going down the left outlane, some coming to one of the left flippers but not in a catchable way.

At any rate, even if this works or if catches on flipper 2 are achievable by other means, I don't think shooting for that EB is a good idea. It's narrow and tough and leaves you a wild dangerous rebound if you miss. My own scores went up from the 2M to the 6M range once I stopped going for this EB and relied entirely on the basement/attic instead.

It seems like a large fraction of my shots from right flipper to upper-left gobble-hole area fall out and are easily trapped on the inner left flipper, plenty enough to shoot the main level EB and the ramp to the upper level.

I say don't shoot that ramp. It's a nasty trap. It's not safe. Half the shots don't make it and come back dangerously towards SDTM, and even half the shots that make it just come bouncing back down in the same way. The only safe thing to do from a catch on flipper 2 is shoot the secret passage.

BTW, you guys are misusing "gobble hole", and were in the POTO thread too. It refers specifically to a hole that consumes and ends the ball in play as a drain. Only some old EMs had this. If it doesn't do that, it's not gobble, just a sinkhole. http://ipdb.org/glossary.php#Gobble_Hole

 

[invitro]

BTW, you guys are misusing "gobble hole", and were in the POTO thread too. It refers specifically to a hole that consumes and ends the ball in play as a drain. Only some old EMs had this. If it doesn't do that, it's not gobble, just a sinkhole. http://ipdb.org/glossary.php#Gobble_Hole

Thanks, I thought I might be using it wrong, but couldn't think of the right word... sinkhole it is! (I don't know if anyone but me was misusing it .)

 

[Slam23]

Tried this out. Do you mean that the ball comes off the 1 target back to the right, hitting a post near the extra ball lane? I got the behavior you describe a few times, but it doesn't seem like a reliable railroad. I also got several other results, some going down the left outlane, some coming to one of the left flippers but not in a catchable way.

Yes, and while I have to experiment some more with it, those other results may come from shooting to early. This may mean that it's a narrow window of opportunity. I can however reproduce the shot quite dependably

At any rate, even if this works or if catches on flipper 2 are achievable by other means, I don't think shooting for that EB is a good idea. It's narrow and tough and leaves you a wild dangerous rebound if you miss. My own scores went up from the 2M to the 6M range once I stopped going for this EB and relied entirely on the basement/attic instead.

True, it's a nasty shot, but I seem to drain more often as function of time played while exclusively going for attic/basement. I miss that fake target shot too often over time for example, leading to wild balls. In my case tht may offset risk/reward

I say don't shoot that ramp. It's a nasty trap. It's not safe. Half the shots don't make it and come back dangerously towards SDTM, and even half the shots that make it just come bouncing back down in the same way. The only safe thing to do from a catch on flipper 2 is shoot the secret passage.

A lot of those half-made ramp shots can be safely deadpassed from flipper 2 to 4, you do have to read it carefully though to decide if that can be done. The problem for me is that I find it difficult to return to the attic by shooting from flipper 4. I still have to find a dependable shot for that

BTW, you guys are misusing "gobble hole", and were in the POTO thread too. It refers specifically to a hole that consumes and ends the ball in play as a drain. Only some old EMs had this. If it doesn't do that, it's not gobble, just a sinkhole. http://ipdb.org/glossary.php#Gobble_Hole

Good bit of info! Unfortunately I have very different associations towards the word "gobble" ever since a very bad Affleck/Lopez flick....

 

[Snorzel]

^ really nice breakdown by VE

Haunted House is a part of the May tournament! Not everyone loves this one so much so, share your thought good or bad. What do you hate? What do you like?

For me, this one is awesome. The TPA version has nice shots and flow as long as the ball is rolling, just never try to slow down or stop the ball ever. Never got to play a real one

The party is a little dead on the main floor, plus you can slip through the cracks, so head up or down strairs and rock out free of risk. Love that extra ball music

Zaccaria released Soccer Kings and Pinball Champ 82' the same tear HH came out. Both feature an upper playfield like HH only with flippers in the standard pinball position like many other Zacs. Check out Spooky for a similar theme. Dont forget to sign up for your chance to win the Zaccaria Pinball on PC code in this months tourney!