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Silver Slugger

Gottlieb • 1990 • SS
Strategy updated: September 20, 2026

Lock Stealing: Balls locked in a saucer via a mystery award can be stolen by other players

Progressive Jackpot: Starts at 500K and when collected resets to 500K, progressive across players and games

Tied Ballgame: If players are tied in Runs at the end of the game, they will each get to play a bonus ball for 10 seconds. No additional points are added to their score, the only goal is to see who can score more runs by hitting the lower left and right standup targets.

Strategy

Complete the center drop bank to collect letters in HOMERUN while also boosting Bonus X by completing sets of the lower left standup targets. Shoot spinners to hit Home Runs, and boost end of ball Runs bonus multiplier by completing sets of the lower right standup targets. Mystery awards can be valuable, light saucers to collect by completing the top lanes. Watch the playfield for Jackpot to be qualified from switch hits and shoot the right spinner to collect.

Skill Shot

Plunge to the top flashing lane, which loads the bases and awards a HOMERUN letter

Key Rules

Baseball Rules

  • The center of the playfield contains the baseball diamond with 4 inserts for the bases

  • A lit insert indicates a runner on that base, and advancing the runner to home scores a run

  • Runs are shown in red numbers at the top of the backglass and are worth 10K times the orange multiplier during end-of-ball bonus

Top Lanes

  • Roll through a lit lane to unlight it, cycle the lights with the right flipper

    • best to get up top via the left lane for a kickout from the saucer into a top lane

  • Unlighting all 4 lanes awards a Walk and advances the base runners and relights the saucers for a Mystery award

Center Drop Targets & Bonus Multipliers

  • Unlit or solid lit drop targets score 5K, a flashing drop target scores 50K

  • Complete the bank in any order to receive 1-3 letters in HOMERUN (setting dependent)

    • If HOMERUN already completed, then the bank scores 100K per letter times the yellow multiplier

    • The first completion after HOMERUN letters collected also awards a special

    • HOMERUN letters carry between balls, unless HOMERUN was fully collected

  • Complete the drop bank in left to right order to light the kickback in the left outlane

  • Hit all standup targets on the lower left, converting each from flashing lights to solid for +1 Yellow Bonus X (Max: 7x), used as multiplier for HOMERUN letters

  • Hit all standup targets on the lower right, converting each from flashing lights to solid for +1 Orange Bonus X (Max: 7X), used as multiplier for all Runs scored

Home Runs, Saucers, & Mystery Awards

  • A clean shot to either spinner that lands in a saucer will award a Home Run

  • If the ? insert is lit, the saucer also earns a mystery award (lit by completing top lanes)

    • 5K

    • 100K-500K

    • 1M

    • 100K-500K added to Jackpot value

    • Instant MB (2-ball): any full shot to the vari-target earns a Grand Slam

    • Ball is Locked: ball stays in saucer, the next mystery will always be the Instant MB, but now 3-balls

    • Spots Single or Double: gains progress toward the Cycle

    • Pick Off Play: 20-second mode, hit the roving lit drop target for 500K

    • Million Bases: complete lower left or right standup targets for 1M

    • Grand Slam HR Derby: shoot spinners to the saucers for 1M

    • Light Special: collect by completing drop target bank

    • Light Extra Ball: collect at bottom lanes, rotate lane with right flipper

  • If you lock a ball in a saucer, the right outlane is lit for Last Chance and will kick the ball out of the saucer allowing you to keep playing instead of ending the ball

Jackpot

  • The Jackpot lights after a certain number of switch hits at the right spinner lane indicated by a large orange insert

    • Hitting too many switches before collecting will turn off the Jackpot and it will need to be relit

  • Collect the Jackpot whenever lit by shooting the right spinner hard enough that the ball causes the left spinner to also spin

  • Initially Jackpots are worth 500K, raise the value from Mystery Awards or from a left inlane to right spinner (5K/spin) hurry-up (15-seconds)

Cycle

  • Rolling through the right inlane lights the vari-target for lit insert value (single, double, triple)

  • Making a Single, Double, Triple, and Home Run on the same ball completes the cycle and lights an extra ball on one of the bottom lanes (movable with right flipper)

silver-slugger-pf.jpg playfield
Playfield image by Ken (scottamus)
Backglass image by marcobus2005