Rule Sheet for Stern’s “AC/DC” Bowen Kerins ([email protected]) with gracious help from Lyman Sheats and many others last update: May 13, 2015 (version 1.68) ­­­ Overview ­­­ AC/DC is an incredible collaboration between Steve Ritchie, Lyman Sheats, and the rest of the team at Stern Pinball. AC/DC offers a mix of strategic options, and challenges players to continue mixing up their play to meet the game’s goals. Three major game mechanics all work together: a player­selected song influences scoring, shots build up a collectible Song Jackpot, and everything (including the Song Jackpot) can be collected with a timed 2x or 3x playfield multiplier. These mechanics combine to make scoring on AC/DC explosive. No lead is safe, and huge scores can be achieved in more than one manner. ­­­ Pro / LE ­­­ ​ ​ Like most recent Stern Pinball machines, there is a Pro and an LE ​ (Limited Edition) model of AC/DC. There are many differences, including a lower playfield, drop targets, and other feature changes. This rule sheet will note when an LE feature is different from a Pro ​ ​ feature. Note: there are multiple different AC/DC LE and Premium versions. All ​ ​ have the same layout and rules. Throughout, game settings are described using defaults. ­­­ Special Thanks ­­­ A huge thank­you goes to Lyman Sheats for offering to describe some helpful AC/DC strategies along with the inner workings of the rules. A big thanks to Sean DonCarlos, whose AC/DC rule sheet here predates ​ ​ this one, and includes a large amount of great information that is also compiled here. Special thanks to those who donated to Pinball Outreach Project (http://pinballoutreach.org). Donations to PoP led to the creation of ​ ​ this work. ­­­ Help Me! ­­­ Although thorough, this rule sheet is surely incomplete and is not 100% accurate. The rule sheet is stored as a document at this link: http://bit.ly/acdcrulesheet Through this link, you can leave comments to the rule sheet, and the document will continue to be greatly improved based on this help. You can also click on “Comments” to see previous (resolved) comments. For those about to help, I salute you. ­­­ Frequently Asked Questions ­­­ Q: What song should I pick? A: See “Ranking the Songs” for some options. If you’re new to AC/DC, War Machine is a pretty clear choice. Hells Bells seems to give the most points, especially on the LE. ​ ​ Q: How do I get multiball? A: Collect enough ramps, target banks, or loops, then shoot the right ramp. In general, Jam (ramps) is easiest to reach. Q: What do I do during multiball? A: The same thing you did to get to that multiball. Jam Jackpots are ramps, Album Jackpots are target banks, Tour Jackpots are loops. Q: People fire the cannon into the bell instead of awards. Why? A: Hitting the bell 3 times doubles scoring, which can be worth a lot. The bell is also less drain­risky than the AC/DC bank. Some players prefer to shoot the spinner, which is even less risky. Q: What do the red “devil horns” do? A: Nothing important. They award a small number of points. ­­­ Playfield Layout ­­­ This section describes, briefly, the location and basic rules for the AC/DC playfield. This is roughly clockwise, from left to right. ­ Left inlane / outlane: Award letters in FIRE when unlit. When flashing (via Super Lanes), outlane scores Double Bonus or Triple Bonus, inlane doubles next shot. ­ AC/DC targets: Five­bank of targets, completing the targets advances toward Album Multiball. Also used to collect Cannon awards. On the LE this is a drop target bank. ​ ​ ­ Left loop: Spinner, advances toward Tour Multiball. Shots return through the right loop; soft shots feed the top lanes. One of the five Musical Note shots. ­ Lightning bolt targets: Three standups, one on each side of the left ramp and one to the right of the right ramp. ­ Left ramp: Advances toward Jam Multiball. Returns to left inlane. On the LE this shot feeds the Cannon when lit for ​ ​ awards, but will not start lit multiballs. One of the five Musical Note shots. ­ Bell: Center shot. Counts down to playfield multiplier, and resets playfield multiplier timer. On the LE the Bell is a ​ ​ swinging ball with a saucer behind it, and a lane behind the swinging ball feeds the spinner return. Used to collect Cannon awards, notably multiball Super Jackpots. One of the five Musical Note shots. ­ TNT targets: Three­bank of targets, completing the targets advances toward Album Multiball. On the LE this is a drop ​ ​ target bank, with a standup behind the middle target. ­ Right ramp: Advances toward Jam Multiball. Returns to right inlane. Feeds the Cannon when lit for awards or multiballs. Starts all multiballs. One of the five Musical Note shots. ­ Right loop: Advances toward Tour Multiball. Feeds the Jukebox saucer and the top lanes. One of the five Musical Note shots. ­ Jukebox: Saucer at top middle, fed by plunge or right loop. Drops ball into top lanes, except during Super Skill Shot. Selects song when lit. ­ AXE lanes: Standard top lanes score Skill Shot. Adds +1 Bonus X when completed. ­ Bumpers: Three in standard configuration below top lanes. Each bumper hit counts down to an advance in bumper level. ­ ROCK targets: Four­bank of targets, completing the targets advances toward Album Multiball. ­ Right inlane / outlane: Award letters in FIRE when unlit. When flashing (via Super Lanes), outlane scores Double Bonus or Triple Bonus, inlane doubles next shot. ­ Cannon: Sits above right outlane. Fire at lit targets. ­ Hell Mini­Playfield: LE only. Available during three “Hell” ​ ​ songs: Highway To Hell, Hells Bells, and Hell Ain’t A Bad Place To Be. When lit, enter Hell via the right ramp (Highway), the center saucer (Bells), or the Jukebox (Bad Place). Hell has a left and right loop and three center targets. The ball is launched automatically through the right loop. All play in Hell is on a countdown timer, and the main playfield resumes when time expires. Each Hell mode is different; see song details. ­­­ Extra Balls, Specials, and Free Games ­­­ There aren’t very many ways to earn an extra ball on AC/DC, but here they are: ­ 2 completions of the full set of AC/DC, TNT, and ROCK targets ­ 25 Combos + every 100 Combos Extra Balls are collected on the right loop. During tournament play, Extra Balls are worth 2,500,000. The 2,500,000 can be multiplied by a playfield multiplier, but not by a Super Lanes shot (see Playfield Multiplier for details). A Special can be lit in these two ways: ­ 5 completions of the full set of AC/DC, TNT, and ROCK targets ­ Completing all albums during Album Multiball Specials are collected by completing a new set of AC/DC, TNT, and ROCK targets. During tournament play, Specials are worth 5,000,000, and can also be multiplied by a playfield multiplier. AC/DC replay score changes based on play. If you make a replay at base value, the next game’s replay will be 2x the base, then 3x the base, etc. Grand Champion and #1 high scores also award free games. ­­­ VIP Passes ­­­ VIP Passes are earned through Skill Shots, and an additional VIP Pass is awarded for every 50 “Song Requests”, where 1 Song Request is a completion of a song task (a loop, ramp, target or lane completion, or bumper level). VIP Passes can be used to collect a shot associated with the current song. The game selects which shot is awarded: in general, it is the next shot to progress through the song, though there are exceptions. Points and progress are awarded as though the shot were hit. VIP Passes stack, and carry over from ball to ball. There is no need to “spend” a VIP Pass as the ball drains, but you should burn them off at the end of the final ball. Strategy: VIP Passes are primarily used during multiball, where they ​ count toward the add­a­ball awarded for the first completion of the five Musical Note shots. On the LE, VIP Passes trigger the Bell ​ ​ during Hells Bells, advancing or awarding playfield multiplier. Be careful using VIP Passes during modes like TNT or Let There Be Rock where the Musical Note shots may not be lit immediately. ­­­ Skill Shot / Super Skill Shot ­­­ The standard Skill Shot drops the ball from the Jukebox to the AXE lanes. Use lane change, and earn 250,000 (+25,000 each time), along with +2 Bonus X and 1 VIP Pass. The Super Skill Shot is activated by holding in the right flipper as the ball leaves the Jukebox. The Jukebox will kick the ball at full strength through the right loop. Making any of the Musical Note shots within 5 seconds scores 350,000 (+25,000 more each time), along with +5 Bonus X and 2 VIP Passes. If selecting a song in the Jukebox at the start of a ball, you must still hold in the right flipper. Strategy: There is a significant difference in value between these ​ Skill Shots. A VIP Pass can be worth millions, so the Super Skill Shot is a risk­reward between 2 VIP Passes or nothing. Unless you are shooting poorly, have a specific need for 1 VIP Pass, or are playing a song involving the top lanes or bumpers, it is generally a better idea to go for the Super Skill Shot. On the LE during Hells Bells, you can use a VIP Pass to collect the ​ ​ Super Skill Shot, guaranteeing collection if you miss.