Boooooooom News:
Last week we met David Riel (DJ) as he destroyed The Addams Family. This week he hosted our league at his house. Let's have a look. DJ has over 20 machines in his collection, so many that he can't fit them all in his game room. Let's look in the garage:
From left to right, that's Congo, Demo Man, Ghostbusters and Jurassic Park.
Oh wow! Congo is one of my favorites. Let's have a closer look at that playfield:
I love this game. This was based on the movie CONGO, and many of the game's callouts come directly from that movie. The ambient music that plays in the background is a treat. And the playfield layout really makes the game flow.
When it comes to competitive play, some strategies are better than others. Here is quick breakdown of my initial competitive strategy on Congo:
- Plunge a skill shot - you can plunge the ball into the lit target on the left side of the playfield (they rotate) or into the left outlane for the super skill shot. If you miss your skill shot, sometimes you can just drain it down the middle and try again. Check to see if the targets are still strafing - if they are you can safely drain down the center. Repeat until you have hit a skill shot or the skill shot phase is over.
- Collect enough diamonds to light your first lock - this can be accomplished by hitting the MAP ramp, collecting MAP award #1 and shooting the left loop. Once Lock is lit - lock ball 1.
- Light mystery and shoot the mystery saucer. Most of the time, the first mystery award is Diamond Hunt Multiball. Use this multiball to collect as many diamonds as you can. When multiball ends, lock ball 2.
- Focus on GRAY. If you spell GRAY you get to play the mini game inside the egg in the middle of the playfield. Spell CONGO before the time runs out and receive the first GRAY award - 20 diamonds. Lock ball 3. Start multiball.
- During multiball - shoot ramps. These are your jackpots - if you followed the steps above, these jackpots will be very valuable. If I am still going after accomplishing this, I move on to secondary strategies (and beyond).
- In competitive pinball often the goal is to find the best balance between risk and reward. The above strategy often strikes the correct balance. Try it out and let me know how often you are able to achieve the multiball before your game is over.
One interesting thing about a home collection, is that the person with the keys to the machine will be there if something goes wrong:
Here we see DJ fail to release a ball from Gene's mouth. Eventually when the player releases the flipper, the game performs a ball search and the ball comes out. Quick reflexes by the player save the day, and play continues!
Thanks DJ for allowing us to play at your house, and thanks for permitting me to write this article - I told DJ that if he joins us here at Steemit, I will give him half of the SBD I earn on this post. I hope he takes me up on it.