Jack•Bot
ManufacturerWilliams
Release dateOctober 10, 1995
SystemWilliams WPC-Security
DesignBarry Oursler
Larry DeMar
ProgrammingLarry DeMar
Louis Koziarz
ArtworkJohn Youssi
MechanicsRobert C. Friesl
Bob Brown
MusicJon Hey
SoundJon Hey
VoicesDave Zabriskie (Pin*Bot)
Lia Mortensen (The Machine)
Production run2,428

Jack-Bot (styled JACK•BOT) is a 1995 pinball game which was designed by Barry Oursler and Larry DeMar, and released by Williams. It is the third game in the Pin-Bot series, following Pin-Bot (1986) and The Machine: Bride of Pin-Bot (1991).

Description

This game has a futuristic casino theme. Certain elements of the original Pin-Bot table carry over to this Jack-Bot, such as the spiral ramp, visor targets, and locking the balls in the holes to activate Pin-Bot's eyes.

Jon Hey created the music and sound which includes a new arrangement of the Pin-Bot theme previously composed for Williams Pinball by Chris Granner.

Game quotes

Ball purchase/Extra ball button

Jack-Bot also allows players to buy an extra ball for one credit, and then pressing the "EXTRA BALL" button; players can buy a maximum of three balls this way. The game, has two separate high score lists: one for games without buy-ins, and one including buy-ins. The Grand Champion is the highest score of scores where no buy-ins were involved.

Pressing the EXTRA BALL button can also activate various cheats if done properly, such as Pin*Bot changing the results of a dice roll.[citation needed]

Pressing the EXTRA BALL button during attract mode activates a message on the dot-matrix display, which reads, "In memory of Joe Joos, Jr.," who had died a year earlier; the display then tells the player a brief biography on Joos.

During attract mode, pressing the left flipper button three times while holding down the EXTRA BALL button activates a long credits roll on the dot-matrix display accompanied by a medley of the game's music.

Objectives

The game has two main objectives: to activate Casino Run and to start Multi-Ball; during Multi-Ball, the objective is to score enough Jack*Bots (jackpots) to light Mega Visor.

Table Details and Rules

Vortex Skill Shot

As in the original Pin-Bot, the plunger launches the ball towards a spiral ramp known as the Vortex, which has a top, middle, and bottom section. To score the highest value offered, shoot the ball into the middle section.

The vortex value resets to 10 million for each ball unless it is held (see below).

Shooting the middle vortex hole during Multi-Ball can score a Jack*Bot.

Hit Me

A touch target just above the right inlane/outlane area. Hitting this target randomly draws a card to add to the player's total (starting from zero), with the goal being to reach 21 (as in blackjack) or get as close as possible without busting (going over 21). Each time the target is hit, the player scores 1 million points times the total (i.e., bringing the hand to 17 scores 17 million points). Hitting 21 exactly or busting resets the total to zero, but if the player hits 21 exactly, they win a 50 million point bonus.

Aces can count as 1 or 11, as in regular blackjack.

The Hit Me target can also be used to score up to 75 million points during the Hurry-Up Mode, and for scoring Jack*Bots during Multi-Ball.

Poker Targets

To the left just beneath the ramp, there are three poker targets. One is lit during play; hitting the lit target advances the bonus multiplier up to 5x. If an unlit target is hit, the player must wait until the targets reset before trying again. If the lit target is hit, and the player hits the two other targets before they reset, the machine spots the player a poker card to be used in the game Pin-Bot Poker (see below).

Cashier Target

Underneath the left ramp is a cashier target. When activated, the ramp will lift up to allow the ball to go underneath to hit it. Hitting this target can do a variety of things for the player: score the bonus during Cashier Mode, collect the Solar Jets award, doubles the winnings for a casino game, and collect Jack*Bots during Multi-Ball.

Ramp and Vortex Increaser

When the ramp is down, shooting the ball up the ramp and over to the mini-bagatelle playfield (a carry-over from the original Pin-Bot) begins the Vortex Counter, which gradually adds 1 million points to the value of the vortex (starting from 10 million), up to a maximum of 50 million points. The ball then will randomly make its way either through the hole, activating Solar Jets Mode, down to the right inlane, which will award a random award (which changes in synchronization with the Vortex Counter), or back to the plunger for another skill shot.

Solar Jets

If the ball falls through this hole and into the bumpers, it triggers Solar Jets mode. The ramp flips up; the player then has about 20 seconds (represented by a slow countdown from 10) to hit the Cashier target to score the Solar Jets value, which starts at 40M and goes up by 4M for each bumper hit. Starting Multiball or Casino Run before the timer runs out will also score the Solar Jets award.

Inlane Awards

If the ball goes through the right inlane, it will trigger one of the following awards:

Game Saucer

The Game Saucer is a narrow lane leading to a ball trap that is located just to the right of the left ramp. Shoot the ball into this trap to begin a casino game. During Multi-Ball, shoot the ball into this trap to collect a Jack*Bot, and during Casino Run, this trap is one of several that can be used to spin the wheels on the slot machine.

Visor and 5x5 Grid Keno Lights

As in the original Pin-Bot, the machine has a visor that begins the game closed, and a 5x5 grid of lights underneath it, colored yellow, blue, orange, green, and red, in that order. Above the lights are a visor row of targets that light the lights vertically in columns, and to the right side is a side row of lights that light the lights in each row horizontally. To open the visor, the player either needs to complete the grid by hitting the targets in any order, or by shooting the correct visor or side row target when the lights are initially flashing; the lights initially flash one column at a time, left to right, and then one row at a time, top to bottom. In the latter case, opening the visor by shooting the correct target awards a 50 million point bonus (after this is done, however, the machine requires the player to open the visor each subsequent time by just completing all 25 lights on the grid in any order).

In Jack-Bot, the lights are known as Keno Lights, and each column also has a white arrow above it. When the visor is closed, shooting the ball into the target when the white arrow is lit awards a Keno Award:

When the visor opens, the player can lock a ball into one of Pin-Bot's eye sockets; doing so puts another ball to the plunger, and locking the second ball begins Multi-Ball.

If the visor is open, and the player hasn't started Multi-Ball yet, completing all 25 lights a second time lights an Extra Ball light above the inlane and outlane roll-overs.

Extra Ball

The inlane and outlane roll-overs have an extra ball light above them, which the player collects by getting the ball to roll over the lit inlane or outlane. It is possible to have more than one light lit and collect multiple Extra Balls.

Multi-Ball

To start Multi-Ball, the player needs to lock both balls in the eye sockets of Pin-Bot. The first Multi-Ball is a 2-ball Multi-Ball, while subsequent Multi-Balls are 3-ball Multi-Balls; in the latter case, the player must shoot a ball from the plunger to the vortex to start Multi-Ball.

During Multi-Ball, Jack*bots are lit at the Eyes, at the Cashier target, and at Hit Me. The first Jack*Bot a player scores in a game is worth 50 million; future Jack*bots increase in value by 25M each time, so that the eleventh Jack*bot is 300M. Then the value starts advancing by 50M for each Jack*bot, so that the fifteenth and final Jack*bot is 500M.

Collecting a Jack*bot turns that location's light off; at least one location will always be lit. If the player collects Jack*Bots at all four places, the Cashier target will be relit, and the lit location will move from left-to-right (to the left Eye, then the right, then Hit Me, then back to Cashier) each time it is collected.

Hitting the Game Saucer relights all four Jack*bot locations. If you hit it when all four are already lit, it scores a Jack*bot instead.

Collecting Jack*bot at one of the Eyes, then hitting the other Eye (lit or not) within a second, scores a Super Jack*bot instead. This triples the points (thus; a Super Jack*bot can be as high as 1.5 billion points).

Multi-ball ends when the player is down to one ball in play. There is about a three-second grace period during which a Jack*bot can still be scored. If the player loses a Multi-ball without scoring any Jack*bots at all, they are given a 10-second restart period; hitting the Eyes or the Game Saucer before the time runs out restarts a two-ball Multi-ball with a skill shot at the plunger. Only one restart per Multi-ball is allowed, however; if this occurs a second time, the player has to start from scratch.

After Multi-ball is over, the Visor will remain open until the game decides that the ball is in a place where it won't get caught behind the Visor when it closes. The ramp, the Cashier target, the Game Saucer, the rubber below the Game Saucer, the Poker Targets, and the Solar Jets will all trigger the Visor to close. As soon as the Visor starts closing, the Keno card will reset (with a row or column flashing for an instant Visor re-open), ready for the player to start refilling it.

Mega Visor

Once the player has accumulated 15 or more Jack*Bots (including Super Jack*Bots), the Mega Visor mode is active. The Visor closes; the object now is to re-open it. The side row targets are ignored; only the Visor targets themselves count, and each hit spots one light in the column you hit, with 50M awarded for each light spotted. Twenty-five hits are needed to complete the card, which means a potential 1.5 billion points can be scored along the way. The player can hit any combination of colors to open the Visor.

When the visor opens up, the player can lock the balls in the eye sockets as before, and doing so earns a chance at a Mega Jack*Bot (always valued at least 1 billion points per Jack*Bot, although the Machine will still say "Super Jack*Bot!" when this is achieved). To score a Mega Jack*Bot, shoot the ball up the left ramp after locking a ball.

Casino Games

To activate Casino Run, the player first needs to play all four Casino games. Games are initiated by hitting the Game Saucer when it is lit during single-ball play; if it's not lit, hitting the ramp or Cashier target will relight it, as will the Keno awards the first time through. Before the first Casino Run is unlocked, the Game Saucer will always be lit at the start of each ball; for the second and subsequent Casino Runs, the player must hit the ramp or Cashier to relight it. (Also, the Cashier target stops relighting the Game Saucer; the player has to make actual ramp shots.)

The Casino Games

There are four games in total Pin-Bot can play: Pin-Bot Poker, the Slot Machine, Roll the Dice, and Keno. Pressing the EXTRA BALL button repeatedly when it flashes gives the player an opportunity to cheat at the games, but this doesn't always happen.

In all four games, the machine will ask the player to either accept the total or attempt "DOUBLE OR NOTHING." If the player chooses to double, they have a limited time to shoot the ball under the left ramp and hit the Cashier target. Doing so doubles the player's winnings; if time expires or the ball is lost, no points are scored for that game. If the player takes too long to respond, the game will automatically pick the option to simply collect the bonus.

Pin-Bot Poker

This game uses the poker hand displayed at the center of the playfield. The Poker Targets, Keno awards, Casino Run, and Slot Machine can all light cards in this hand. (Completing the hand the first time lights an Extra Ball.) Points are awarded based on the value of the hand: 10 million points for a single deuce, 15 million for an ace or ace-deuce, 20 million for one pair, 30 million for two pair or three of a kind, or 50 million for a full house (all five cards). In addition, a flat 50 million is scored for each hand the player has already filled. The resulting total can be doubled later.

If the player successfully cheats, Pin-Bot pulls an extra Ace from his sleeve. ("Ace of Clubs?") This can give players a hand that is normally impossible: four Aces, worth 149M million points. (Players can still double this to 298 million if they wish.)

Slot Machine

The slot machine wheels spin and reveal a random award:

This is the hardest of the games to successfully cheat, but if done, Pin-Bot will slam the reels, and it will change to "Extra Ball Lit."

Roll the Dice

The game is based on the "Dice Game Wager" which begins at 3 million points, and increases by 100,000 points each time the ball makes contact with the bumpers located just below the mini-bagatelle playfield (known as the Solar Jet Bumpers). The Machine rolls the dice, and whatever she rolls is multiplied by the Dice Game Wager (i.e. 5,500,000 x 6 = 33,000,000). Players can then decide to double if they wish.

If the player successfully cheats, Pin-Bot will simply flick the dice so that the result is always a 12, and announce, "BOXCARS!"

Keno

This game is based on the Keno card (the 5x5 grid of lights under the visor); the player's progress on the grid determines how many squares are chosen for the random drawing. Six squares are picked at random, and the player wins 5 million points per square matched, plus 5 million points just for participating. If all six squares match, the player wins 50 million points. Players also win an additional 25 million points for every card filled previously. In the event the player has less than five squares lit on the grid, the game will allow the player to use the full center column to give them a chance at making some matches.

If the player successfully does a cheat, Pin-Bot will slam the whole card, giving the result that 25 matches were made, awarding the player 99 million points.

As before, the player can then decide whether or not they want to try and double the winnings.

Casino Run

After all four games have been played, the Casino Run mode is activated; the player must shoot the Game Saucer trap again to activate it. During this run, the player has 45 seconds to spin the wheels as many times as possible. Shooting the Game Saucer trap or one of Pin-Bot's eye sockets spins the wheels. The player then has to decide whether to collect the bonus and end the run, or risk it and continue playing (akin to the bonus round of the game show The Joker's Wild). Players can unlock an Easter egg by pressing the EXTRA BALL button when it flashes during the introductory sequence to Casino Run, and if successful, they will see a cow jumping over the Moon.

Spins of the wheels can award the following:

While the timer is counting down, the player's Casino Run Bank, which begins at 100 million points, adds 4 million points each time the ball hits a switch, rollover, or bumper. Players must remember that the clock is ticking; if time expires, they lose everything in their bank.

The game awards a credit at the end of its conclusion after the player enters their initials if they have the highest total Casino Run score to date.

The game also has an Easter egg hidden; if the player holds both flippers while the wheels are spinning, they might instead receive a hint for the game Mortal Kombat 3 (Midway Games was co-owned at the time with Williams/Bally). Getting the hint also awards an extra ball. (Mortal Kombat 3 also has a Kombat Kode that explains getting the hint in this game, instructing players to "Hold Flippers During Casino Run"; another hint is for another pinball table, No Fear: Dangerous Sports, which also provides an MK3 hint.)

End-of-Ball Bonus

The following criteria applies to scoring for the end-of-ball bonus:

The entire bonus then gets multiplied by the bonus multiplier; this will be between 1x and 5x.

If the player presses the EXTRA BALL button repeatedly during the bonus count, Pin-Bot may cheat on the bonus multiplier by slamming the screen; this gives an extra bonus X. Cheating successfully in this manner is the only way to achieve a 6X. The bonus multiplier must be at least 2X to allow the player to cheat.

Buy-Ins and High Score Lists

The player is allowed up to 3 buy-ins following the last ball, for a maximum of six total balls, not counting extra balls. For this reason, the game has two high score lists: one with buy-ins and one without buy-ins. The player with the highest score without a single buy-in is the player deemed Grand Champion. The game also allows players to enter their initials if they have the highest Casino Run score to date.

Legacy

A licensed digital version of this table was released to The Pinball Arcade in April 2015 along with its predecessors, but the license with WMS expired on June 30, 2018.

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