From: keatesm@cs.man.ac.uk (Martin Keates(MSC RJH))
Newsgroups: rec.games.pinball
Subject: Re: Addam's Family Questions and Hints (TAF in OC)
Date: 22 Jul 92 10:02:38 GMT

>1.  Many players play the game with a preset strategy (i.e. Go for Bear kicks
>or pile up mansion rooms).  Don't do that.  Use a strategy based on the   
>machine.  If the machine seems to kick out the ball from the electric chair
>and deposit it between the flippers, it makes no sense to risk going for
>a mansion room, only to have the ball drain immediately afterwards.  If the
>machine seems to have an easy bear kick ramp, then shoot for bear kicks.
>Basing the strategy on the machine has raised my high score from 296 million
>to 544 million.

So what you're saying is that you have a preset strategy for each machine you
play.
I just tend to start by aiming for all the shots and then going for whatever
I'm playing well enough on the day to hit.

And if the electric chair chucks the ball straight down the middle I won't
play the game - I'd complain and turn it off.

I don't think that accumulating bear kicks is particularly worthwhile, once
you've got the first extra ball, unless you're going to get the second and
the super bear bonus (and get bored out of your mind).
The first thing I check on a machine is ease of making the combo shots - if
these are easy, you'll get the most points by repeatedly going for 4-ways
(getting you adv-X's, T-H-I-N-G letters and stars as well as all the
immediate points).

>2.  If you shoot the train often enough to get a Train Wreck, you may want
>to build up the graveyard value.  Hitting a Train Wreck holds the graveyard
>award and carries it over to the next ball, instead of resetting it to 1 Mil

I hardly ever shoot for the train, because the ball tends to bounce off a
swamp target and down the left outlane. However multiball and quick multiball
give a good opportunity to get a few wrecks, but it means that I hardly ever
get the train wreack extra ball (about 3 times, ever :( ).
Also, there's so many points available up the million+ ramp and you get a
shot at the swamp and you keep control of the ball that I can't see the
attraction of the train, anyway.

>3.  This one is a rarity, but if it happens, take advantage of it.
>Situation:  You completed G-R-E-E-D, opening the vault and thing for locking
>a ball.  You then get "Get Ball to Thing" on the mansion.  If you shoot the
>ball into the vault while the "Thing Lock" countdown is happening, the ball
>will be locked, but the countdown will continue.  At this point, IMMEDIATELY
>try for the skill shot.  If you make the skill shot, it will award you the
>number of points left in the countdown and start multiball, where you shoot
>the ball into the vault, not up the left ramp.

Not quite. There's no need to put IMMEDIATELY in upper case like that,
because the thing timer will stop, and you can take all the time in the world
to make the skill shot (and let the ball drain if you score no points for
another attempt). The only time that this isn't the case is on a machine with
faulty switches (bumpers going off by themselves, that kind of thing) so that
the game thinks that the ball is in play and restarts the countdown.
Oh, and it is possible to get a 15M thing bonus - but you have to spot the
room on the mansion (or do it on the tour).

>Now for my questions:

>1.  I know of three ways to light the extra ball (getting enough bear kicks,
>lighting/touring the mansion, and getting enough train wrecks).  Are there
>any others (i.e. getting the bonus multiplier up to a certain point)?

No.
The bonus multiplier goes up to 6X (or is it 5?) at which point the "lite
adv-X" light goes out. No bells or whistles, no extra ball and definitely no
special lit.

>2.  In the graveyard, each of the bumpers can either be unlit (10,000 pts.),
>lit (20,000 points), or flashing (30,000 pts.).  I know that you can get 
>all bumpers flashing by getting the mansion award "Graveyard at Max".
>What targets must be hit in order to advance the bumper value and get the
>graveyard at max without getting the mansion award?

This is what the GRAVE targets do, as well as giving you a 2M+ bonus for
hitting them all.
Next time you play, watch the graveyard as you hit the bearkick ramp, one of
the bumpers will light up.

>Thanks    -  John David Moody 

My pleasure - Martin.
Newsgroups: rec.games.pinball