Rules & Strategies
NOTE: The following is based on this particular game set for three ball play. Results may vary.
It's all pretty straight forward - collect the 15 billiard balls which are scattered about the playfield in the form of rollover lanes and stationary targets. As more billiard balls are collected, more scoring features are activated.
The 1-ball is the most challenging to collect because it's only available at the top center rollover and there's no reliable way to shoot the ball in play back to the top of the playfield. Skillful (or lucky) plunger shots are the way to go. There are five top rollover lanes corresponding to billiard balls 4, 2, 1, 3 and 5 from left to right. Balls 4 and 5 are both awarded for rolling through either lane 4 or 5. Balls 2 and 3 are both awarded for rolling through either lane 2 or 3. Balls 4, 2, 3 and 5 are also available at the outlanes and inlanes. Again, balls 4 and 5 are both awarded for rolling through either outlane. Balls 2 and 3 are both awarded for rolling through either inlane. Any rollover lane scores 3,000 points lit or unlit.
There are two rollover lanes on each side of the playfield corresponding to billiard balls 6, 9, 10 and 11. Balls 10 and 11 can be shot. Balls 6 and 9 require a lucky bounce or ricochet. Balls 10 and 11 are both awarded for rolling through either lane 10 or 11. Balls 6 and 9 are both awarded for rolling through either lane 6 or 9. Again, any rollover lane scores 3,000 points lit or unlit.
There are three stationary targets. Each target awards a pair of billiard balls. The left target collects balls 7 and 13. The center target collects balls 12 and 15. And the right target collects balls 8 and 14. Any target scores 500 points lit or unlit.
Collected balls are displayed in a rack in the middle of the playfield which also indicates the end of ball bonus.
As noted above, the more billiard balls collected, the more scoring opportunities are available. There are two eject holes. One hole is at the top left of the playfield and corresponds to the left diagonal line of billiard balls in the rack (balls 4, 6, 10, 13 & 15). Likewise, another hole is at the top right of the playfield and corresponds to the right diagonal line of billiard balls (5, 9, 11, 14 & 15). Each unlit billiard ball is worth 100 points whereas each lit billiard ball is worth 1,000 points. Accordingly, each hole shot is worth 500, 1,400, 2,300, 3,200, 4,100 or 5,000 points depending on how many billiard balls are lit.
There are three pop bumpers worth 100 points or 1,000 points when lit. The bottom pop bumper is lit if the second from top row of billiard balls are lit (balls 6, 7, 8 & 9). The top two pop bumpers are lit if the top row of billiard balls are lit (balls 4, 2, 1, 3 & 5).
Special is lit after all fifteen billiard balls have been collected. The Special rotates from the left eject hole to the right eject hole to the top center (1-ball) rollover lane and back to the left eject hole. Note that it's possible to simultaneously collect the 1-ball (top center rollover) and earn a Special. This can happen when billiard balls 2-15 have already been collected. At that point there's a one in three chance that the Special will be located at the top center rollover.
The game has a conventional lower playfield arrangement with a pair of outlanes and a pair inlanes. From left to right the lanes correspond to billiard balls 4, 2, 3 and 5. Balls 4 and 5 are both awarded for rolling through either outlane. Balls 2 and 3 are both awarded for rolling through either inlane. Any rollover lane scores 3,000 points lit or unlit. The game has a center post between the flippers. The slingshots score 10 points per hit. There's also a 10 point rebound switch next to the 10-ball rollover lane and another 10 point rebound switch next to the 11-ball rollover lane.
Sure Shot has an end of ball bonus feature equaling 1,000 points per billiard ball collected as indicated by the rack lamps in the middle of the playfield. That's up to 15,000 bonus points per ball in play. Collected billiard balls are cumulative and do not reset from ball in play to ball in play.
I did not experiment with the game set to five ball play. In comparing the instruction cards (see below) there appears to be two differences...
1) The 2 & 3 billiard balls, the 4 & 5 billiard balls, the 6 & 9 billiard balls and the 10 & 11 billiard balls are not awarded in pairs if the game is set to five ball play.
2) If the game is set to five ball play, all rollover lanes score 500 points instead of 3,000 points.
Personally I think three balls is a good length of play time.