Hearts and Spades

This is the add-a-ball version of Spin-A-Card with different scoring and a slightly different strategy.

Hearts and Spades is a great EM if you’re playing to win extra balls. If you’re playing for points, it loses a whole lot in translation.

Hearts and Spades has a different point value ratio mix than its free-game sibling, Spin-A-Card. On Spin-A-Card, the points ratios, using lit bumpers as the base, are: bumpers 1; targets 10; saucers 20; and top center lane 50. On Hearts and Spades, the ratios are: bumpers 1; targets 5; fan target, saucers and top lane 10 each. As a result, the relative value of the bumpers makes lighting them more useful than trying for the center lane on the skill shot.

As on Spin-A-Card, the two “spin” saucers are too small to make shooting at them practical since the ball must usually be moving slowly to fall into them. Your best chance of having the ball go in a saucer is via nudging as the ball is coming down from the top near one of them. Besides points, they spot a random card. The saucers eject the ball upwards at an angle between the bumper and the center triangle.

The yellow bumpers are lit by the top right lane and the middle side right lane; the green bumpers are lit by the counterpart lanes on the left.

The center fan-shaped target is worth 1000 unless you’ve completed all ten cards, when it becomes worth an extra ball for the remainder of the ball in play. That’s the attraction of the add-a-ball version, trying to get all ten cards and then getting as many extra balls from the center target as you can before draining.

The strategy on the game is UTAD; aim your shots to either side of the two saucers, trying to slip past or just barely graze the bumpers above them so the ball continues on upwards. You don’t want to hit those bumpers head on, the rebounds can drain. With any luck, the ball will eventually come down one of the side lanes to light the bumpers. Just keep sending it up top. Do not shoot at the center fan target, nor at the \#2 or King stand-up targets.

Try shatzing the ball up the opposite return lane to see what happens. If the ball consistently goes up just enough to score it but not so much that you get an up-and-out drain, consider a cross-shatz all day strategy.

While a bit of a luck box as far as getting action while the ball is up top, the game does require and reward skill for being able to thread the needle on shots to get to the top.