What do you aim for on a table?

[Punisher]

We all have our goals when we play the silver ball. (From soho down to brighton...) Okay, I'll stop, heh heh. But in all honestly, we all have some sort of goal when we play a table. From constantly going for Multiball, to hitting a single high-scoring target, to getting to and completing the table's Wizard Mode. There's numerous playstyles out there, and I'm curious as to what everyone yearns for.

For me, I always try for the wizard mode. That feeling of the table going nuts and congratulating you for making it so far is so nice, and if you're out in public and achieve this, all the better! Of course, that's my ultimate objective, and I just about only play tables with such modes, though I tend to make exceptions, such as Funhouse. In tables such as ToM, I always try for the extra balls, first, such as the Replay and the 6:00 Extra Ball, if any wizard mode requirement is out of sight. There's also the haunted basement I always aim for if I completed the wizard mode the first time around.

So, what do you look for in a table?

 

[Kolchak357]

I'm a sucker for multiball. I always play for that (if the table has it). I love the multiball start ups and the excitement of the multiball and jackpot action that comes with it.
If I'm playing something without multiball, like an old EM, I play for the replay or special.

 

[ER777]

I also go for the wizard modes if available, otherwise multiball is my next choice.

 

[Sumez]

On TPA: Wizard mode, almost always. Even if there are other tactics that might be better for my score, I enjoy going for the wizard mode the most, especially if it is the toughest challenge on the table. Basically the feeling of accomplishment when beating a wizard mode is what I play for more than beating a high score - though that usually comes along with the wizard mode completion.

On real pinball: Multiball. Usually it's the simplest low risk way to attain a decent score quickly and consistently (as opposed to wizards modes which usually require a lot of repeated plays and learning the table inside out), and it's generally fun to play a well designed multiball mode.

 

[Richard B]

It really depends on the table, but in general, I tend to shoot for the Wizard Goals and work steadily towards them, but I also take side trips to at least the first multiballs (which are usually easy to get, then subsequent ones are harder), and easy extra balls (clock on TOM, Web Loop on SS, and 2nd KISS on CFTBL). I especially like games like MB, TZ, and LOTR, where working towards the Wizard Goals includes multiballs (in LOTR you reach the first Wizard Mode, Destroy the Ring, only by playing all three multiballs). Games where you can achieve a second, harder Wizard Mode by successfully completing missions (MB, RBION, LOTR, TSPP), are even better, since they give you a difficult, long-term goal dependent on truly mastering the table, not just surviving long enough to outlast it.

 

[ravager]

I'm a sucker for multiball. I always play for that (if the table has it). I love the multiball start ups and the excitement of the multiball and jackpot action that comes with it.
If I'm playing something without multiball, like an old EM, I play for the replay or special.

Nightstalker, what about the multiball in Harley Davidson? I...just...want...them...to...end.

 

[Sean]

Nightstalker, what about the multiball in Harley Davidson? I...just...want...them...to...end.

No kidding, guess what my last standard goal on that table is; it should be a Wizard Goal!

I don't play with any particular goal normally beyond getting a better score. Trying to get the table goals provides a motivation to do things on the table I would otherwise probably only discover by accident. It's not like I had a manual for Star Trek when I played it at the laundromat, so getting multiball or a score of over 1 billion was as good as I thought it could get!

 

[Kolchak357]

Nightstalker, what about the multiball in Harley Davidson? I...just...want...them...to...end.

Ha, you got me there. I don't play that table very often. The video mode just kills that game for me.

I might try not to get multiball on that table and see what happens. But I think it is unavoidable.

 

[ravager]

Ha, you got me there. I don't play that table very often. The video mode just kills that game for me.

I might try not to get multiball on that table and see what happens. But I think it is unavoidable.

Just played it today: You got speedometer multiball, red light multiball, Harley Davidson multiball, extras and specials all over the place, including a 2 extra ball reward on an outlane, and a video mode that rewards you for hitting pedestrians. The one thing I do like is the way it counts down the miles to the next city. But the voice acting is atrocious, and the interruptions in the game really make it a chore to play. One of the few games I have actually purposely allowed balls to drain, just to move on.

 

[Sean]

It always felt like there were a lot of multiballs, but it wasn't until I started trying to get the "hit all targets on a single ball" goal that I realised how ridiculous it is. I mean it's just about impossible not to trigger a multiball on the Harley table - especially if you're going for the targets on the right side and you end up hitting the ramp or the right loop accidentally, oy...

 

[Matt McIrvin]

On some tables, there are lots of things to do that are great fun in themselves, but are dangerous sucker bait if you're going for the wizard mode (e.g. anything involving the guns on Star Trek: TNG, especially on the real machine). So whether I do them or not depends on the mood I'm in. If I really feel like I'm going for Final Frontier, there are modes I'll just wait out with a trapped ball, but most of the time I can't resist banging away at them.