Blackout

Blackout is noteworthy for having been the finals machine at the first really large pinball tournament, the 1980 US Open, with over 550 players. I enjoyed playing it then, and still do, although it’s hard to find these days.

The main feature of the game is three colored target banks – five green stand-up targets to the left, three red drop targets in the center, three yellow-orange drop targets at the far upper right. Completing the yellow set twice lights the spinners for 3000 a spin. Lit spinners are what you want to shoot once you’ve got them, ideally the top one since it tends to be a cleaner shot. You will often get an assist from the bumpers in finishing the yellow targets.

Completing the green bank advances the left orbit to the next higher orbit value - - 5K, 10K, 15K, 20K, light Extra Ball (at the saucer). Once the left orbit shot is at 20K, leave it there - - the value resets after making the Light EB shot. The orbit shot is useful, but not as much as the lit spinners.

Finishing all three colors lights the Blackout saucer for 30,000 and a then-novel machine lights-out-plus-sound effect. Frankly, I’d avoid the red targets; lots of rebound risk, and all they do is let you progress towards Blackout which is no better than a good lit spinner shot. If only they’d made the saucer lock-capable and built it to enable multiball.

Bonus goes up to 29,000 base, advanced as usual by lanes and targets. Getting all three top lanes advances your bonus X, which goes up to 5X for 145K overall maximum. Lane change is active (this was one of the first games with it).

Best strategy is to finish the yellow targets twice, then UTAD via the top right spinner. This will eventually let you get your bonus up to 5X, too.