Tropic Fun

This is the add-a-ball version of Gulf Stream. The scores are ten times higher. I’m assuming herein that extra balls and specials are set to award points.

I played this game a lot in college, and it was fun, but largely because it was set for extra balls. Since I was in a snowy climate, the tropic part [backglass scene] was welcome, too. There are two themes to this game, completing the lettered lanes and the center target. The center target scores one of the 1-9 targets, whichever is lit on the playfield below it at the time. Hundred point switches change the lit number.

The key here is to get either three numbers in a row or all four corner numbers. Three in a row lights the center target and the two side saucers for 50,000; Get all four corners and it’s worth 100,000. Finishing the S-P-E-C-I-A-L letters lights the return lanes for 50,000. These are the only big points available on the game; the rest of the time, these are 5000, as are the lanes at all times.

If the center target is on a number you already have, shoot the ball up the A or L lane instead.

Since this machine was really designed for EBs and free games, it’s rarely used in tournaments.

Artwork note: while human figures in pinball art are not always properly scaled, the ones on the playfield here are exceptionally bad: the arms and legs are way too long compared to the rest of the bodies. Watch out for those sharp knees\!