Guns 'n Roses (Flipper) (e)

          "Guns 'n Roses" Rules Sheet, version 2.0 (August 21, 1994)
          ==========================================================

                                by Michael Dunn
                                ===============
                             a540mrd@pic.ucla.edu
                    "DDS" on the high score boards at UCLA

                           Changes From Version 1.0
                           ========================

Playfield Layout: Added trick to get credit for two Mini-Loop shots at once.
Plunger Awards: Added in effect of lighting 6th member, and how to launch the
   ball using the flippers.


The Ramps: Corrected the value of the ramps at Fun With Bonus.
Mystery Award: Added three awards.

Modes: Lots of changes here.  Riot is now explained in full detail.

Multiball: Completed chart of jackpot values.

Other: Corrected how to relight the Kickback.  Added info on the ball saver,
   the SNAKE sequence, and bumper scoring.

Strategies: Wrote some!

Thanx to Mark Phaedrus (phaedrus@halcyon.com) and Noel Steere
(nss3@midway.uchicago.edu) for their help with this revision!

                                 Introduction
                                 ============

     These rules are based on version 2.00 CPU/2.00 Display.
     Guns 'n Roses (GnR for short) is the Data East pin following "WWF Royal
Rumble."  It is a widebody machine, and has a tall plastic GnR logo on top of
the backbox.  The gameplay rules are pretty straightforward, following the
trend of WWF, but there are more side awards to go for during the game than in
WWF.

     The distinctive feature of the game is the Rose Plunger, which is placed
similarly to the left-side plunger in FunHouse.  Its handle is made in the
shape of a rose, which, along with the gun shaped autoplunger, ties in nicely
with the GnR theme.

                               Playfield Layout
                               ================

I'll start at the lower left corner and go clockwise.

Left Outlane: Has a kickback.  When the kickback is on, the white light labeled
   "Patience" will be lit.  This is the fairest kickback scoop I've ever seen!
   Since the kickback sends the ball up the middle of the board to the Bumpers,
   the outlane is only gently curved.  There's rubber on the lane divider, and
   the outlane itself isn't huge, so nudging a ball out of the outlane is
   fairly easy to do.

Left Inlane: This lane lights the right ramp for a short time during normal
   play.

Left Drop Targets: These are placed above the Left Outlane.  Their position is
   similar to the standups on TNG, but the drops are turned counterclockwise a
   bit to face the middle of the board, rather than the slingshot.

Upper Flipper: This flipper is in exactly the same spot as the upper flipper on
   Tommy, that is, at the entrance to the Left Orbit.  It can hit the Captive
   Ball, Mini Loop, and the Center Scoop.

Left Orbit: This is only a half-orbit, since a ball shot up this lane will be
   deflected down to the Rollover Lanes by a one-way gate.  There is a switch
   near the curved part of the Orbit, which you must hit to get credit for a
   shot to the Orbit.

Guitar: This is a saucer obscured from view by the big G Ramp.  It's the mode
   start shot.  If you duck down, you'll see that there is a very narrow metal
   lane that starts about halfway past the entrance to the G Ramp, which tries
   to guide the ball into the saucer.  I've found that hard shots from the
   right flipper sometimes bounce out of the saucer.  The ball is kicked into
   the Left Orbit and rolls to the Upper Flipper.

Captive Ball area: The ball rests to the left of the G Ramp entrance.  It rolls
   up a short lane to a small round open area.  Along the curved top wall of
   that area are the D-U-F-F standups.  There is a slingshot in the left side
   of the area, and the left Bumper forms the right wall of the area.  So, the
   ball can often stay up among the kickers for quite a while.

G Ramp: This ramp is made of light yellow plastic, molded in the shape of a
   "G".  It's very steep, with a narrow entrance.   It's the same width all the
   way around, so it doesn't have the problem of rejecting balls that WWF's
   left ramp had.  The plastic loops above the Left Orbit, which unfortunately
   obscures the Guitar saucer and some of the mode lights.  There are two globe
   lights above the entrance: the yellow light indicates the Ramp will feed the
   Rose Plunger, and the red light indicates the Ramp will award a mode
   jackpot.  When the ball is not diverted to the Rose Plunger, it is fed to
   the Left Inlane.

Snake Pit: A green plastic bowl, placed above the curved part of the Left
   Orbit.  Picture the Spinout skill shot in Taxi, move it to the other side of
   the board, and that's what the Pit looks like.  The Rose Plunger sends the
   ball here.  When the ball drops out, it lands in the orbit.  The bottom of
   the bowl is fairly flat, so a full-strength plunge can send the ball
   spinning for quite a while.

Rollover Lanes (J-A-M): These three lanes lead down to the Bumpers.  The
   autoplunger/Right Hole habitrail drops the ball just above the lanes.

Bumpers: Three yellow bumpers.  The left Bumper forms the right wall of the
   Captive Ball area.  The ball exits the bumper area down the center-left of
   the board, and can roll anywhere between the left flipper and the left
   outlane.

Mini-Loop: This is a loop that is hit from the Upper Flipper.  It runs past the
   right of the bumper area, then joins up with the Orbit and leads back to the
   Upper Flipper.  There is a rollover switch about 1/4 of the way up the lane,
   which you must hit to get credit for a shot.  Since there's only one switch
   in the loop, you can get credit for two shots if the ball is not hit
   completely around the loop but instead crosses the switch, stops, and rolls
   back over the switch again.

Center Scoop: This is a rather large scoop that can be hit from any flipper.
   The kickout sends the ball straight at the left flipper.  A red globe light
   above the scoop lights when Mystery or a mode jackpot can be collected here.

R Ramp: This ramp is made of red plastic, in the shape of an R.  It's easier to
   hit than the G ramp; in fact, backhanding it with the right flipper is not
   hard at all.  The ball is always fed to the Right Inlane.

Right Hole: This is a saucer at the end of a long straight lane.  It can be hit
   from either lower flipper.  The ball is kicked up onto the autoplunger
   habitrail, which feeds the Rollover Lanes.

Right Orbit: Balls shot up the Right Orbit will travel all the way around to
   the left side, or fall to the Rollover Lanes if they were traveling slowly.
   Depending in the situation, you may have to shoot the entire orbit or just
   this side to collect an award.

Right Drop Targets: Similar to the targets on the left side.

Right Inlane: This lane lights the G Ramp for a short time during normal play.

Right Outlane: This lane has an adjustable post (with rubber) that can be moved
   sideways.  Even if the post is all the way to the left, this outlane is
   pretty wide, so practice your nudging!  Draining down this outlane during
   normal play awards an odd-change bonus called "Michelle."

Slingshots & flippers: Two of each, normal places.

Magnets: Whenever more than one ball is in play, the magnets will be active.
   There are three magnets, which can be activated independently (like the
   magnets in TAF).

Autoplunger: This is a silver gun.  The trigger is used to launch balls and
   toggle the lock on the currently lit mode.

Rose Plunger: This manual plunger is on the left side of the cabinet.  The ball
   is dropped here when the G Ramp is lit for Multiball start, Snake, or Super
   Snake.  Plunging sends the ball spinning in the Snake Pit.

Globe status lights: There are four globe lights, one above each plunger, and
   two above the rules card.  The gun plunger light is red, and is lit when the
   currently lit mode is locked.  The Rose Plunger light is yellow, and flashes
   when the G Ramp will feed the ball to the plunger.  There is a white light
   just above the rules card, which is lit when the current player has one or
   more extra balls.  Finally, a red globe near the white one flashes when the
   Magnets are active.

                                Plunger Awards
                                ==============

     There is no skill shot in GnR.  Instead, you can choose from 4 awards at
the start of each ball:

Add Member: Spots a band member.  If you use this to spot the 6th band member,
   Multiball will start immediately, with 6 balls and the jackpots' base value
   at 50M.

Start Guitar Feature: Starts the currently lit mode.
Super Pops: Bumpers are worth 2M per hit for the rest of the ball.
Mystery Value: Gives a random award.  See the section on Mystery for details.

     These awards are always the same.  Select the award you want with the
flippers, and collect it by launching the ball.  The lit award will also slowly
cycle to the right if you don't press a flipper.

     You can launch the ball by pulling the autoplunger trigger, or holding in
the right flipper button and pressing the left flipper button.  If you choose
the second method, pressing the right flipper will change the award, but
pressing the left won't.


                                   The Ramps
                                   =========

     During normal play, the G Ramp spots letters in "GUNS N" and the R Ramp
spots letters in "ROSES".  Your progress is shown by lights in the GnR logo in
the center of the playfield.

     Each shot to a ramp (whether or not you've completed the associated
letters) is worth 5M.  If the ramp was lit by the opposite Inlane, it's worth
10M.  If you alternate the Ramps without missing, the value increases by 5M per
hit until you miss.  So you could shoot 4 ramps and get 10M, 15M, 20M, and then
25M.  When a ramp's timer runs out, the value drops back to 10M.

     When you light all 10 letters, a 50M hurry up stars.  Shooting either ramp
collects the current value of the hurry up and freezes the countdown for a few
seconds.  The round ends when the value reaches 30M.

     Every shot to a ramp adds to your end of ball bonus: 200K for each G Ramp,
and 100K for each R Ramp shot.


                                 Mystery Award
                                 =============

     The Center Scoop and autoplunger can award a Mystery Value, which is
usually something good.  Awards include: 25M, 50M, Super Kickback (unlimited
kickback for the rest of the ball), 20x bonus, Super Pops (2M per hit for the
rest of the ball), Mega Pops (3M per hit for the rest of the ball), extra ball,
special, Multiball.

     Light the Center Scoop by hitting the Mini-loop.  It takes 2 loops to
light the Scoop the first time, then 3 loops the second time, and so on.
Choosing Mystery Value from the autoplunger will also increase the number of
loops needed to light the Scoop.  So, if you choose Mystery at the start of
ball 1, you'll need 3 loops to light the Scoop the first time.

     Each time you hit the Mini-loop, the display tells you how many more hits
are needed to light the Scoop.


                                    R-O-C-K
                                    =======

     During normal play, completing the Left Drops spots "R" and "O", and the
Right Drops spot "C" and "K" (that's one letter per completion).  Spotting a
letter is worth 10M.  When you complete all four letters, a 100M hurry-up is
lit at the Left Orbit.  The value freezes while the ball is in the Bumpers, and
times out at 20M.

     If a mode ends while the ROCK countdown is still lit, you cannot start
another mode until you collect ROCK or it times out.


                                 Guitar Modes
                                 ============

     GnR has 9 modes, plus the Wizard Bonus.  At the start of the game, Matt
Scoring will be lit.  Each bumper hit moves the lit mode up one (skipping over
completed modes, of course).  During multiball, the lit mode does not change.

     A really great and useful feature is the ability to "lock" to currently
lit mode.  When you lock the mode, it will not change when the Bumpers are hit.
 Pulling the autoplunger trigger toggles the lit mode between locked and
unlocked.  When the mode is locked, the red globe above the autoplunger lights.

     At the start of each ball, and at the end of each mode, the currently lit
mode is automatically unlocked.  However, if you start a mode while it was
locked, at the end of the mode, the globe light will remain lit even though the
next mode is unlocked at first.  (This has been fixed in later ROM revisions.)
Pulling the trigger while a mode is running or during multiball has no effect.

     In general, only one mode can run at one time.  The exception is: if you
have a non-Multiball mode running and Coma is lit at the Right Hole, you can
start Coma during the first mode.  This not only makes both modes run
simultaneously, it also effectively makes the first mode a Multiball mode,
which can greatly increase scoring (especially in Matt Scoring).

     You can also start Multiball at the Right Hole during a one-ball mode.
Doing this does not affect the mode, but Multiball displays and animations take
precedence over the mode's displays, so you'll have to rely on the playfield
lights to know when the mode ends.

     Another cool feature is the Double shot.  When you start certain modes at
the Guitar, shooting the Mini-loop increases the value of the mode (it isn't
always a true doubling of the mode's value, though).  The loop is only lit for
a few seconds.  Modes started from the autoplunger cannot be doubled.

     During count-up and hurry-up modes, the count pauses when a bumper is hit,
and remains paused for a few seconds after.

-- Extra Ball --
     Awards an extra ball, NQA.  This can't be doubled.  :(

-- Gilby Rolls --
     A video mode.  The display shows a 3/4 overhead view of Gilby riding a
motorcycle down a three-lane road.  Steer the bike with the flipper buttons.
Running down a pedestrian is worth 5M, and passing a car is 1M. Crashing into a
car ends the mode.  The mode also ends if you survive long enough.  There is a
string of about three pedestrians at the very end of the mode.  (The sequence
of cars and pedestrians is always the same.)

     The Double shot is lit at the end of the mode.  Hitting it doubles the
point total.

     After the mode ends, you will probably want to lock the next mode.  The
mode above Gilby is EB.  If you've already collected that, the next mode is the
high-scoring Axl 3 Ball.  If you've collected THAT too, the next mode is Dizzy
Ball, which is a bit tougher but still has high scoring potential.

-- Lite Coma --
 This doesn't immediately start a mode, it lights the Right Hole to start Coma.

     Coma starts as a 2 ball multiball, with a jackpot of 10M.  Each bumper hit
adds 250K to the jackpot.  Shoot the Right Hole to collect the jackpot.
There's also a 20 second timer.  Hitting the Right Hole before it runs out
launches another ball into play.

     Coma ends when the timer runs out and only one ball remains in play.
     Double does not light for this mode.

-- Slash Solo --
     This is a count-up round.  The value starts at 20M.  Shoot either orbit
(you only need to hit the switch in the Right Orbit) or the Mini-loop to
collect the current value of the count-up.  The mode ends when the count-up
reaches 50M.

     Shooting Double makes the count-up go from 40M to 100M.  [Note: the values
may differ on other ROM revisions.]

-- Matt Scoring --
     This mode's jackpot starts at 10M.  Each switch scores 250K and adds 250K
to the jackpot.  Every few switch hits increases the switch value by 250K.
Shooting the Left Orbit collects the jackpot and doubles the switch value.  The
mode lasts 20(?) seconds.

     Hitting Double makes the switch value start at 500K.

-- Super Snake --
     A 50M hurry-up is lit at the G Ramp.  Hitting the Ramp collects the
hurry-up value and feeds the ball to the Rose Plunger.  Each spin in the Snake
Pit advances the display 1x-2x-3x.  When the ball falls out of the Pit, you are
awarded the hurry-up value multiplied by the lit multiplier.

 The mode ends when the hurry-up counts down to 15M or you collect the points.
  
   Hitting Double raises the hurry-up starting value to 100M.

-- Duff Rocks --
     You have 30 seconds to get 10 hits on the DUFF targets in the Captive Ball
area.  Doing so awards 100M.
     Hitting Double raises the value to 200M.

-- Dizzy Ball --
     This is a 2 ball multiball.  Each ramp hit scores 10M + 1M for each drop
target hit.  Hitting a ramp also increases the value of the next ramp by 1M.
The ramp value has a maximum of 50M.  The mode ends when one ball drains.
     Hitting Double raises the initial ramp value to 20M.

-- Axl 3 Ball --
     This is a 3 ball multiball.  The Center Scoop awards Mini-Jackpots, worth
10M plus 1M for each drop target hit, to a max of 30M.  The mode ends when 2
balls drain.
     Hitting Double raises the starting value of the jackpot to 20M.







-- Riot (Wizard Bonus) --
     This is a 6-ball multiball mode.  The object is pretty simple: keep the
balls in play as long as possible. :>

objective      gives you       and it's worth
---------------------------------------------
40 switches       "R"            40 million
60 switches       "I"            60 million
80 switches       "O"            80 million
120 switches      "T"           100 million
Mini-Loop      Riot Jackpot       1 billion!

     In addition, hitting either ramp at any time scores 10M.
     After collecting the Riot Jackpot, it starts over.  You need more switches
for each letter (I think the second "R" needs 140) and the letter value
increases by 20M each time, with no maximum.

     Each time you reach an objective, a ball is autoplunged (unless there are
already 6 balls in play).  The mode ends when only one ball remains in play.
Matt Scoring will be lit after Riot ends.


                                   Multiball
                                   =========

     To light Multiball, hit the Right Hole to add band members to the stage.
Each hit is worth 10M and adds one member.  When you get 5 members on the
stage, you have a choice.  Shooting the Right Hole again will start a 6-ball
Multiball with the jackpots starting at 50M.  Shooting the G Ramp will send the
ball to the Rose Plunger.  Each spin in the Snake Pit advances the display
35M-65M-35M-65M-35M.  The lit value when the ball falls out will be the base
value of jackpots.  4 balls are then autoplunged.

     Hitting a Ramp collects a jackpot and unlights the ramp.  After you hit
both ramps, the Right Hole is lit for a 100M jackpot.  After you collect the
100M, another ball is launched and both ramps relight for jackpots.  Hitting
both ramps again lights the Right Hole for 100M.  Once you collect the second
100M jackpot, another ball is launched and the Mini-loop is lit for the Super
Jackpot, which starts at 250M and increases 1M for each bumper hit.

     While the regular jackpots are lit, each switch adds 200K to the jackpot
values.

     If you drain all but one ball without hitting either Ramp, you can restart
Multiball by hitting the G Ramp or the Right Hole.  Jackpots are reset to their
base value when Multiball is restarted.

     For the first two Multiballs, the band members you collect are saved
between balls.  But starting with the third Multiball, you must collect all 6
on the same ball.

     If, at the start of ball 3, you haven't started Multiball, it will be lit
for you.  However, the number of balls you will have and the base value of
jackpots depends on how many band members you lit during balls 1 and 2.

     At the start of ball 3, both Multiball start shots will be lit.  The Right
Hole will still add a band member before starting Multiball.
     Here's a list of info regarding multiball when it's lit for you:

# members  # balls   Right Hole         G Ramp
                    jackpot value   jackpot values
--------------------------------------------------
    0         2          n/a           10M/40M
    1         2          25M           15M/45M
    2         2          30M           20M/50M
    3         3          35M           25M/55M
    4         4          40M           30M/60M
    5         5          45M           35M/65M
    6         6          50M             n/a



                     Other Scoring and Miscellaneous Stuff
                     =====================================

Kickback: The Kickback is lit at the start of each ball.  Relight it by
   shooting the Mini-Loop or both banks of Drop Targets.

Ball Saver: The ball saver is active at the start of each ball, but there is no
   light to tell you that it's on.  It is also active at the start of a
   multiball mode or Multiball itself.  You will also be saved if you lose the
   last 2 balls of a multiball round at the same time: the round will end but
   one ball will be saved (this is a nice new twist to ball savers).

Multiball note: Multiball and multiball modes end as soon as the next to last
   ball lands in the outhole.  There is never a grace period.

Axl Combo: During normal play, shooting the entire Right Orbit and then the
   Center Scoop awards the Axl Combo, which is worth 5M plus 1M for each shot
   to the unlit Scoop during that ball, to a max of 30M.  On some machines, you
   can score this by holding up the upper flipper when the ball is shot quickly
   around the Orbit.

Michelle: This bonus seems to depend on how long you've kept the ball in play.
   I once got a Michelle bonus of 51M after a particularly successful Riot
   Ball!

SNAKE: During normal play, shooting the entire Right Orbit adds a letter in
   S-N-A-K-E (and spots one of the JAM lanes).  Completing SNAKE lights the G
   Ramp to feed the Rose Plunger.  Once you load the Plunger, four awards will
   be displayed.  Launch the ball to collect one of the awards.  Awards
   include: 25M, 50M, Bonus 20x, Add Band Member, Super Kickback, and maybe
   others.

Fun With Bonus: (1M + 200K for each G Ramp hit during that ball + 100K for each
   R Ramp hit during that ball + 1M for each Guitar mode played during the
   game) * bonus multiplier.

Bonus Multipliers: Completing JAM advances the bonus multiplier from 1x to 2,
   4, 6, 8, and 10x.  After reaching 10x, completing JAM awards 20M per
   completion.  Collecting a JAM 20x award also makes JAM worth 20M per
   completion.

Bumper scoring: If you don't collect a Super/Mega Pops award, the bumpers start
   each ball at 100K per hit.  Every ten bumper hits raises the value by 100K,
   to a max of 1M.  Once the value reaches 1M (or when you collect a Super/Mega
   Pops award), the bumper value cannot be increased.

Match sequence: The animation shows a woman pulling her shirt off over her
   head.  The picture then scrolls down, and she's covering herself with a big
   card (on which is displayed the match number).  If you don't match, you get
   the very neat quote, "aww, dude!"  If you do match, WAIT!!!  You should know
   by now that you have to wait until the match animation finishes before the
   credit is actually awarded.  This delay seems very long, compared to other
   recent DE pins.
        There is an option in the menus called "Modesty Option."  Switching
   this OFF changes the match animation.  The girl still pulls her shirt off,
   but when the picture scrolls down, she's not covering herself, and one match
   digit appears on each breast.

EB Buy-in: You can buy one ball at the end of ball 3.  You don't get any extra
   awards when you buy a ball.  BUT--you must press the EB button sometime
   *during* the game in order to get the option of buying-in.  Once, I finished
   with 4.2B but since I forgot to hit that button during the game, no buy in!
   D'oh!  Moral: hit that EB button as soon as the first ball is served to the
   plunger.

Duff Jackpot: During normal play, completing the DUFF targets awards a jackpot,
   which is worth between 20M and 100M.  When the captive ball hits a DUFF
   target, a special display is shown on the DMD.  While this display is up,
   each hit to the bumper adds 1M to the jackpot.  This jackpot carries over
   between players and games.

                                  Strategies
                                  ==========

-- Getting extra balls --
     The ability to lock the mode pretty much guarantees you one extra ball.
If you do not choose Start Guitar Mode when you start a ball, check the mode
lights and make note of how many bumper hits it will take to get the lit mode
to EB.  Listen to the bumpers, and lock the mode after the right number of
hits.

     If you lock EB but don't collect it before draining, just select Start
Guitar at the beginning of the next ball to collect it.

     If Gilby Rolls is the lit mode, catch the ball on the lower left flipper.
From that flipper you have a clear shot at the center bumper.  Shoot that
bumper and lock the mode (which will change to EB) immediately.

-- Backhanding --
     GnR has three shots that are perfect for backhands: the Guitar Saucer, the
R Ramp, and the Right Hole.

     The Guitar Saucer is the hardest of the three to hit, but it's worth doing
if your Saucer tends to reject quick shots from the right flipper.  You need to
flip very early, almost as if you were doing a slingshot post pass.  The ball
should hit the right side of the metal lane and be guided into the saucer.

     The R Ramp can be worth tons of points if you can consistently backhand
it, especially during Dizzy Ball and the Ramp hurry-up round.  Since the R Ramp
feeds back to the right flipper (for another backhand shot), you can collect
many awards with little effort. :>

     The Right Hole is nearly always a good target.  If there's a mode running,
or if EB is the lit mode, then those are better shots, but otherwise I hit the
Right Hole whenever I can.  Where backhanding comes into play is in how easy
the shot seems (to me at least) from the right flipper.  It seems much easier,
and if you miss, the ball will be moving slower and will be easier to control.


-- Mode Choices --
     My usual strategy is to choose Start Guitar every time.  Adding band
members is easy to do during play, and if you're consistent on hitting the
Mini-Loop, you'll have Mystery lit in no time.

     After Matt Scoring finishes (that's always the first mode) of course go
for the EB.  If Gilby Rolls is the lit mode and you have the ball caught, go
ahead and play Gilby, and as soon as the ball is kicked back into play, lock
the EB mode.

     After getting the EB, I don't really have a preferred choice of modes.  If
you have been hitting the Orbits well that game, you should go for Slash Solo.
If the captive ball area seems bouncy, go for Duff Rocks.  If you can hit the
Ramps consistently, go for Dizzy Ball.  (Do you see a pattern here?)

     Basically, any mode can be worth a lot, but take the modes whose shots
you're good at first.  If you're just having an overall bad day, there's always
the video mode, which is worth about 65M (or 130M doubled).


-- Riot Ball --
     About 3 weeks ago I made a change in the way I play Multiball rounds that
have more than three balls, and I think it's helped me a lot.  In my normal
playing stance, the center of my palms rest on the corners of the lockdown bar,
and my middle fingers rest on the flipper buttons.  I have my left foot placed
forward of my right one, and I'm bent over a bit at the waist.  I found that I
couldn't react quickly enough when several balls were near the flippers.

     So, the change I made was to stand more upright, feet together, and take
my hands off the lockdown bar.  The only place I was in contact with the
cabinet was the tips of my middle fingers, which rested on the flipper buttons.

     This new stance made it easier to flail at balls when I needed to, and
although my accuracy suffers (since I'm not comfortable playing upright),
accuracy isn't that necessary in Riot Ball.