Pinball Bingo

As with any Pinball game, the object of Pinball Bingo is get the highest score possible and this usually means keeping the ball in play as long as possible. A key element in keeping the ball in play is making good use of the Flippers. This involves Flipping the ball to keep it from exiting the table between the flippers. It also involves aiming the flippers to shoot the ball to safe areas of the table to lessen the chance a ball drain (leaving the play area).

Requirements

DirectX 9, NVidia, ATI or higher compatible video card that has Direct3D support
Latest version of drivers for your video card
P4 or higher processor

Tips

By Default a feature called Sticky Keys will be enabled on your PC. To disable this feature follow these steps:

1. Press SHIFT 5 times consecutively. The StickyKeys box will pop up.
2. Click Settings. Accessibility Options pops up.
3. On the "Keyboard" tab click the "Settings" button in the "StickyKeys" section.
4. Uncheck the items in this window and click OK.
5. Click Apply and OK on Accessibility Options.

Buttons

We list the Flipper Buttons as the Left and Right Shift keys but several other keys will operate the flippers. Ideal hand positions will be a finger on each Flipper button and another on the BUMP button. Since there are several keyboard layouts the added flipper buttons were added to accommodate for this. For example you may put a finger of your left hand on the E key (left flipper), and a finger of your right hand on the I key (right flipper) and the right thumb on the SPACE key (bump).


Left Flipper alternate keys r,e,w,q,f,d,a,z,y
Right Flipper alternate keys i,o,p,j,k,l,n,m

Game Theme

The theme of this game is Bingo. There are 75 numbers in a game of Bingo wiith 15 numbers associated with each of the 5 letters in B-I-N-G-O. So numbers 1-15 go with B, 16-30 go with I, 31-45 go with N, 46-60 go with G and 61-75 go with O. There are 15 targets on the playfield representing all the numbers in one of the 5 Letters in Bingo. There is a target in the middle of the playfield that when hit will change from one of the 5 letters in Bingo to the next letter. If the letter B is active hitting this target will change it to the letter I, etc A regular BINGO card consists if 5 letters across the top (B-I-N-G-O) and 5 numbers vertical under each letter. There are 15 available numbers associated with the letter B (1-15) and 5 will be randomly selected to fill the 5 slots. The same goes for the remaining 4 letters. In regular bingo random numbers are selected from 1-75 until some one gets a BINGO which normally 5 numbers in a row horizontally, vertically, or diagonally.

Game Start

At the start of each game the BINGO card in the middle if the playfield will be filled with Random numbers. The object of the game is to hit the targets representing the numbers on your Bingo Card as progressive Bonus points are awarded for each Bingo you achieve.

Shooting the Ball

To shoot the ball hold down the SPACE BAR and release the space bar when you want the ball to shoot. While you are holding the Space bar the middle target is cycling thru B-I-N-G-O and it stops cycling when you release the space bar. This way you are able to pick the letter thus the numbers you want to be active. This allows you to stay on a certain letter until you hit all 5 numbers thus getting the BINGO bonus points or to select a different letter and different numbers. The Ball Shooter POWER is displayed at the bottom right of the screen. When you press the SPACE BAR the shoot power increases till you release the space bar. If you want to shoot the ball easy just tap the space bar. The player must decide if they want to release the space bar and time the LETTER they want or the POWER they want.

Playfield Layout

The top section of the playfield consists of 4 Thumper Bumpers, 4 lane numbers and 6 target numbers. You get the ball to this area by initially shooting the ball, by flipping the ball up the left lane, and by flipping the ball up the right gap just to the right of the bottom right thumper bumper.

Middle Section

The middle section consists of 5 number targets plus the LETTER CHANGE target. The letter change target is sometimes a good target to hit and sometimes a bad target to hit. If you have a bingo and want to change letters to go for another bingo you may want to go for it. Also you may accidentally hit this target when you do not want to change letters. This target is in the middle of the playfield so a direct hit can return the ball right back between the flippers thus losing the ball.

Bottom Section

This section is where you lose the ball, either between the flippers or the left or right drain lanes. This section also has 2 flipper lanes that feeds the ball to a flipper shot. This is also where the most skill is involved and that is use of the two flippers.

Flippers

The flippers is where a lot of skill can be developed. The flippers are wide angle flippers that will provide a wide range of flipper shots plus allow you to trap the ball to aid in aiming the flipper shot.

Bump Feature

The BUMP feature is activated by pressing the SPACE BAR. This feature is the equivalent Bumping a regular pinball game with your hands for the purpose of changing the ball direction. This is normally used to try and get the ball away from the DRAIN LANES. Unlike a regular pinball game we do not have a TILT but we do limit the number of BUMPS allowed per ball. This number is displayed on the bottom left of the game screen. Mastering this BUMP feature will be a big help as it is not unusual to save the ball from draining several times per game.

Bingo Bonus Feature

The BONUS SCORING for BINGO is listed in a graphic on the right side of the screen. A pointer indicated how many BINGOS you achieve and the BONUS POINTS awarded for these Bingos. The first BINGO scores 10,000 bonus points and each additional BINGO doubles. Multiple Bingos can result in HUGE SCORES.

Targets - Easy / Hard

Due to the placement of the targets some targets/numbers are easier to hit than others. Observing which targets are easy or hard to hit may influence which letter of the B-I-N-G-O you want to be active. Selecting a letter that has numbers in the easier to hit positions may increase your chances of a BINGO thus increasing your score.

All Nums Bonus

Hitting all 15 numbers in any letter will score and additional 20,000 BONUS POINTS.

Other Scoring

All scoring is displayed on the left side of the screen under POINTS. You can see the last 10 scores listed there. If you hit a target, bumper, etc. and want to know the score for that item just look at the POINTS section.