VP8 Bally SS Recreation Cirqus Voltaire (Bally, 1997) VP8 v1.4

(Excerpts from rulesheet by Matt Magnasco)

OBJECTIVE
~~~~~~~~~

Your task is to complete all 9 marvels to join the Cirqus. Once you complete
that, a multi-level wizard mode automatically begins.

To join the cirqus, you have to get all of these marvels, in any order:

1. Juggler
2. Acrobats
3. Ringmaster Frenzie
4. Defeat all Ringmasters
5. Spin
6. Boom!
7. Menagerie
8. Highwire Multiball
9. Side Show

Juggler. Shoot the left loop 3 times to light the Juggler, and three more times to lock three balls and start juggler multiball. The jackpots are worth 500k. If you can shoot two balls into the juggler within about a 10-second period, you'll get a 1M double jackpot. If you can shoot a third ball in there within another 10 seconds, you'll get a 2M super jackpot. If you fail to get the double and/or super jackpot within the allotted time, all balls are ejected from the juggler locks and the jackpot value resets to 500k. Spotting this marvel does not start Juggler Multiball

Acrobats. Shoot the right ramp 4 times. Shots do *not* need to go around the full length of the ramp. As long as they make it up about the first four inches or so of the ramp, the switch will trip and score an acrobat. Completing the acrobats will light Super Spinner on both spinners, where each spin is worth 10k. The switch is mounted at the beginning of the ramp, flush with a wall, so, more often than not, you'll score acrobats with incomplete ramp shots. The switch will score from either direction. Spotting this marvel will light super spinner on both spinners as well.


Ringmaster Frenzie (RMF). Play the multiball associated with defeating Ringmaster #2. RMF is a 2-ball multiball and the ringmaster raises himself up a few inches to allow access to the hole. Each shot to the ringmaster during RMF awards 250,000 points.

If you have can hit the ringmaster in QUICK succession, you will get a larger award: If you can get one in then another you get 250k + 500k. It seems if you have a 4 ball multiball, it's quite easy to get the 500k jackpot often, sometimes even 750k or 1M. "Quickly" is defined as "while the jackpot animation is playing, and for an infinitesimal amount of time thereafter."

Defeat all ringmasters. Defeat 4 Ringmasters, playing Frenzie, Razz, and Special multiballs. Spell WOW to raise up each Ringmaster, and then hit each one five times to defeat each one. The two standups on either side of the Ringmaster will spot hits on him. To raise the first Ringmaster only requires one hit on any of the WOW targets; all other Ringmasters require 3 hits (any target is okay).

Defeating the first Ringmaster awards 1M, the second awards 2M, the third awards 3M, etc. Once you have completed Ringmaster Battle (see section), you cannot defeat another Ringmaster until after you have played Join the Cirqus (the wizard mode; see section).

Once you have played Join the Cirqus, the first ringmaster you defeat will start Ringmaster Frenzie. The next starts Razz, etc.

After spelling WOW, a magnet built into the Ringmaster's head will catch the ball, hold it while the Ringmaster taunts you, and then randomly fling it around the playfield. There *is* a ballsaver after each fling, lest the Ringmaster fling the ball SDTM. If he flings it onto the lock queue, the game will award a "sneaky lock". Unfortunately, a more common occurence is that the Ringmaster will weakly fling the ball off, and it will end up sandwiched between the back of the Ringmaster and the
WOW targets. This problem should resolve itself after one ball search.

Spin. Shoot the inner loop (the one surrounding the Ringmaster) four times to spell S-P-I-N. On prototype versions this marvel is called the Crank, and is awarded slightly differently. "Spin" requires four *consecutive* spins of the spinner. Once the ball has gone through the loop, you have about two seconds to send it through again to complete the remaining spin(s). The spinner itself does not award the spins; the two rollover switches in the loop do. Consequently, incomplete shots may award letters, much like how incomplete shots to the right ramp may award acrobats.

Boom!. Spell V-O-L-T by rolling over the red rollovers (a la WCS) to charge up the Boom! balloon. I believe that you either need to roll over each rollover once or roll over only the lit rollovers to spell V-O-L-T. The ballon/bumper is raised for about 10 seconds (the timer stops if the ball is temporarily out of play by being in the side show, on the Ring-master's magnet, etc.), and if you hit it enough times, you'll light an extra ball. The Boom! EB count is cumulative, per player, throughout the
game (e.g., Boom! one yields 6 hits, and Boom! two yields 12 hits. You have 18 hits toward an EB). Each subsequent raising of the Boom! bumper requires spelling V-O-L-T multiple times.

Menagerie. To the left of the racquetball ball's cage is a pseudo-slingshot. Hit it enough times, or the white standup just above the cage, to spot hits toward the menagerie. It awards different things at different levels, and the idea was taken from Pat Lawlor. After shooting the requisite shots to award the Menagerie marvel, the next level is spot marvel, then light extra ball, etc. Think of what Bear Kicks, Robots, Blasts, etc., award from your favorite Pat Lawlor game and you get the idea of the Menagerie. Don't hold your breath trying to get the Menagerie extra ball. From what I have seen, the awards are:

1. Award Menagerie
2. Spot Marvel
3. Light EB
4. Spot Marvel
5. Spot Marvel
6. Big Points (see "Bugs")

Regardless of what the next award should be, the first award after having completing wizard mode will ALWAYS be Award Menagerie.

Highwire Multiball. Lock three balls on the left ramp queue by hitting the LIGHT and LOCK standups. Once one lock has been lit, hitting the targets again will light another lock. IOW, lit locks may be stacked. However, only for the first multiball may locks be stacked. Multiballs two and higher require that each lock be lit individually, and the number of times you have to hit the LIGHT and LOCK standups increases as well. Jackpots are worth 1M and are the Juggler, Acrobats, and Ringmaster loop. The Ringmaster loop jackpot ONLY scores from the left entrance to the loop.

After a few jackpots, however, the jackpots will start moving, so that you don't sit and rape the Ringmaster loop.

Spotting this marvel does not start Highwire Multiball.

Side show. After hitting the yellow Ringmaster standups enough times, the Side Show becomes lit just past the Juggler magnet. This is the equivalent of the Stroke of Luck in AFM, and it awards:

* The Amazing Roonie (video mode)
* Cannonball Run
* Popcorn Mania
* Neon Multiball
* Big Points: 500k
* Big Points: 250k
* Go For the Hat Trick
* Light Spot Marvel
* Light Lock
* Extra Ball

The Sideshow is lit at the beginning of the game, and is re-lit
after every 5-6 hits on the yellow BallyHoo targets on either side
of the Ringmaster.

Video Mode: Roonie is a kangaroo, and you need to jump over
objects just like on Dr. Who. It is 20 seconds
long, and you have to survive all 20 seconds of
it. Unlike in Dr. Who, though, Roonie has only
one size of jump (long), instead of Dr. Who's
short and long.

Completing video mode awards a total of 2.9M.
Each jump is worth about 180k, and there is a 1M bonus for successfully completing it. If
Roonie falls down, there is only a 100k bonus
(in addition to all previous successful jumps,
of course.)

Video mode is extremely boring, and not worth
much. There is no extra ball available. Also,
there is a display bug where a '3' might be an
object for Roonie to jump over. Like in AFM
and ST:TNG, the '3' scores nothing and, for all
intents and purposes, is invisible to the game.

Cannonball Run: Fire the cannon in the backbox. You have
10 seconds to fire as many cannonballs as
possible, and those which make it to the top
"Cirqus Luck" switch are worth an additional
per hit, so the first Cirqus Luck is 250k,
the second is 500k, etc. I don't think
that there is any skill involved in
shooting the cannonball, so don't be disappointed if you don't get any Cirqus Luck. Expect to be able to fire a cannonball about once every 2-3 seconds.

Cannonballs fired during this round do NOT
count in the game total. This is not a
bug, either (ask voltaire@wms.com why).

Popcorn Mania: Each switch scores 30,000 points. After
enough switch hits, the DMD will fill up with
popcorn and then award a Popcorn Jackpot. Go for those spinners and jet bumpers!
Popcorn jackpots start at 500k and increase by 100k each time.

This mode, if started, is active during any
multiball(s). There is a 20-second timer.

Neon Multiball: Taken verbatim from AFM's strobe multiball. The neon tube paralleling the right habitrail is the only thing lit, and you have a 3-ball multiball to hit the WOW targets (any one will do) 10 times to light an extra ball. There is an average-length ballsaver at the beginning (~6-7 sec), and a short ballsaver at the end -- taken directly from Strobe.

The next award, at 20 hits, is a puny 1M.

Big Points: Self-explanatory. Worth 500k or 250k.

Hat Trick: The Ringmaster will raise up to his full height
and your task is to shoot three balls into
him within 20 seconds. Shots 1 and 2 are
each worth 500k, and shot 3 (the Hat Trick) is worth 1M. During Hat Trick, you can not
hit nor defeat the Ringmaster.

This mode, if started, is active during any
multiball(s). There is a 20-second timer.

Light Spot Marvel: Lights Spot Marvel permanently on the
lock ramp (lit until collected).

Light Lock: Ooh, a toughie.

Extra Ball: Another toughie. (Note: I have never seen
this award; the Cirqus Voltaire web page claims
it exists.)

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