Adam analyzes...
Fish Tales, now here is a simple fun game I really like playing. I owned one for a while but that game was a horror story and a story for another time
First, let’s talk about the multiball which is pretty simple. There is the “Casters Club on the right hand side of the machine, you put 3 balls in there and multiball starts.
The multiball can be made harder as there is a controlled drop target in front of the Casters Club that you have to knock down first to light lock but generally your first multiball you won’t have to. During multiball, you put a ball back in the lock to light a hurry up Jackpot. You have about 15 seconds to shoot the left loop and get the ball in the upper scoop on the top right corner to score a Jackpot.
Jackpots start at 20 million and the value can be increased by hitting the fish on the left and right hand side. Each Jackpot scored adds 10 million to the next one. I’m also pretty sure that if you keep all 3 balls in play and put a second ball in the lock you can get a Double Jackpot but no one bothers with that and I’ll explain why later. You need to collect 3 Jackpots and these Jackpots carry over from multiball to multiball. Once you collect 3 Jackpots, Super Jackpot is now lit on the captive ball for a whopping 100 million that you can collect AS MANY TIMES AS YOU LIKE as long as you keep 2 balls in play.
The main strategy is to get to multiball, plow through your first 3 Jackpots and then just flail away on the Super Jackpot for as long as you can. 100 million a shot is a sweet payoff. That value also doubles if you make it around the super a second time. I’ve never made it to a 3rd super in the same game but I guess one could assume it could add another 100 million to the shot making it 300 million a shot. Either way it is a huge scoring opportunity.
The next major item on the game is the Boat in the center of the game. You criss cross back and forth to each shot on the boat to light the small fish in front of the boat. When you collect all of them you will then light Monster Fish which is a hurry up. The value starts at 20 million and increases by 10 million each time you successfully make a monster fish.
To collect a monster fish you just need to hit the spinner while making a left orbit shot. Making a right orbit to hit the spinner won’t work but you can backhand the left loop enough to make the spinner and collect the monster fish. The nice thing about this strategy is if you never miss the ball never leaves your control. Both shots on the boat feed to opposite flipper so you can really just keep shooting them over and over again. The ball will only ever leave your control when you shoot to collect the monster fish and the ball feeds back down from the top hole through the pop bumpers.
Then there is the center captive ball, or long cast. Every time you roll over the left inlane or shoot the right loop when long cast is not lit you light long cast.
To collect a long cast you need to shoot the right loop and have it make it all around the loop. You can also combo the long cast into the lock for a fast cast of increasing value starting as 2 million and adding 1 million for every fast cast. Collecting a long cast lights one of the awards on the captive ball those being in order they can be collected:
Hold Bonus
Light Video Mode
Rock the Boat
(This is a good timed mode where every shot to the boat awards 10 million)
Lite Extra Ball
Instant Multiball
Once you have completed the captive ball you can not collect or light any more long cast items until you drain.
The last item is the fish in the main section of the playfield. You collect the fish by shooting the stand ups on the right and left hand side.
Every time you complete the stand ups and collect a fish you have a short period of time to “Tell a Tale” by shooting the left loop. The spinner will multiply the value of the fish by whatever it lands on from 0 – Total Lie to 5 x value.
Collecting all of the fish starts right away Feeding Frenzy where you need to shoot all of the purple fish for 5 million each and then a 20 million for the last fish to complete. The 4 fish being left loop, right loop, and left and right shot on the boat. And that is pretty much it, Fish Tales is a fun game and I enjoy playing it. It does have a singular overpowering strategy in the Super Jackpot but I still find the game fun to play since getting it is not as easy as it sounds.
Fish Tales, now here is a simple fun game I really like playing. I owned one for a while but that game was a horror story and a story for another time
First, let’s talk about the multiball which is pretty simple. There is the “Casters Club on the right hand side of the machine, you put 3 balls in there and multiball starts.
The multiball can be made harder as there is a controlled drop target in front of the Casters Club that you have to knock down first to light lock but generally your first multiball you won’t have to. During multiball, you put a ball back in the lock to light a hurry up Jackpot. You have about 15 seconds to shoot the left loop and get the ball in the upper scoop on the top right corner to score a Jackpot.
Jackpots start at 20 million and the value can be increased by hitting the fish on the left and right hand side. Each Jackpot scored adds 10 million to the next one. I’m also pretty sure that if you keep all 3 balls in play and put a second ball in the lock you can get a Double Jackpot but no one bothers with that and I’ll explain why later. You need to collect 3 Jackpots and these Jackpots carry over from multiball to multiball. Once you collect 3 Jackpots, Super Jackpot is now lit on the captive ball for a whopping 100 million that you can collect AS MANY TIMES AS YOU LIKE as long as you keep 2 balls in play.
The main strategy is to get to multiball, plow through your first 3 Jackpots and then just flail away on the Super Jackpot for as long as you can. 100 million a shot is a sweet payoff. That value also doubles if you make it around the super a second time. I’ve never made it to a 3rd super in the same game but I guess one could assume it could add another 100 million to the shot making it 300 million a shot. Either way it is a huge scoring opportunity.
The next major item on the game is the Boat in the center of the game. You criss cross back and forth to each shot on the boat to light the small fish in front of the boat. When you collect all of them you will then light Monster Fish which is a hurry up. The value starts at 20 million and increases by 10 million each time you successfully make a monster fish.
To collect a monster fish you just need to hit the spinner while making a left orbit shot. Making a right orbit to hit the spinner won’t work but you can backhand the left loop enough to make the spinner and collect the monster fish. The nice thing about this strategy is if you never miss the ball never leaves your control. Both shots on the boat feed to opposite flipper so you can really just keep shooting them over and over again. The ball will only ever leave your control when you shoot to collect the monster fish and the ball feeds back down from the top hole through the pop bumpers.
Then there is the center captive ball, or long cast. Every time you roll over the left inlane or shoot the right loop when long cast is not lit you light long cast.
To collect a long cast you need to shoot the right loop and have it make it all around the loop. You can also combo the long cast into the lock for a fast cast of increasing value starting as 2 million and adding 1 million for every fast cast. Collecting a long cast lights one of the awards on the captive ball those being in order they can be collected:
Hold Bonus
Light Video Mode
Rock the Boat
(This is a good timed mode where every shot to the boat awards 10 million)
Lite Extra Ball
Instant Multiball
Once you have completed the captive ball you can not collect or light any more long cast items until you drain.
The last item is the fish in the main section of the playfield. You collect the fish by shooting the stand ups on the right and left hand side.
Every time you complete the stand ups and collect a fish you have a short period of time to “Tell a Tale” by shooting the left loop. The spinner will multiply the value of the fish by whatever it lands on from 0 – Total Lie to 5 x value.
Collecting all of the fish starts right away Feeding Frenzy where you need to shoot all of the purple fish for 5 million each and then a 20 million for the last fish to complete. The 4 fish being left loop, right loop, and left and right shot on the boat. And that is pretty much it, Fish Tales is a fun game and I enjoy playing it. It does have a singular overpowering strategy in the Super Jackpot but I still find the game fun to play since getting it is not as easy as it sounds.
