Bob's Burgers

> "Um, I'd like to recommend the burger of the day..."
>
> -Bob Belcher

***Bob's Burgers*** is one of four tables in the *Balls of Glory* table pack, based on animated Fox TV sitcoms. Released in the fall of 2015 and available for *Zen Pinball 2*, *Pinball FX 2* and *Pinball FX 3*, this table showcases the daily activities of the Belcher family, proud managers of the titular Bob's Burgers restaurant.

## Table overview

The back table wall depicts the skyline of Seymour's Bay, a fictional coastal city in the New England region of the United States where much of the television series takes place. The table walls represent the buildings that line its streets. At the right half of this table is the condemned Caffrey's Taffy building. Near the back left corner of the table is a Ferris wheel called the Wonder Wheel, a ride in the Wonder Wharf amusement park in Seymour's Bay. A long center ramp dedicated to this park curves around the back left corner of the table behind this wheel, with part of it being reminiscent of the Scream-i-cane, the park's signature wooden coaster. There is a diverter mechanism midway through this ramp that can send the ball into a ball locker behind the wheel. This ramp runs along the back table, passing a toy model of a crane poised to demolish the abovementioned taffy factory, before leading to an exit habitrail headed for the right inlane.

A large orbit wraps around almost all the table lanes. The left orbit, gated with a spinner marked "cash only", represents the Belchers’ efforts to visit food festivals in their truck in the season 2 episode "Food Truckin'". The opposite orbit is dedicated to Mort, a funeral director who operates next door to Bob's Burgers. To the right of the left orbit is a right-slanted target bank spelling BOB, the titular patriarch of the family. Next to that target bank is the looping left ramp dedicated to Mr. Frond, a teacher at Wagstaff School where the Belcher children attend. With blue-colored walls, this ramp turns right before the Wonder Wheel, before making an ovular loop around a figure of Linda Belcher, Bob's wife, and finally merging with the terminus of the crossramp's normal path, leading to an exit habitrail that ends at the leftmost inlane. To the right of the entrance to the left ramp is a short lane leading into a sinkhole, and to the right of that lane is the entrance of the center ramp.

Above the entrances of the previously described three lanes is an elevated crossramp that can only be accessed via an upper flipper. Behind the entrance of this crossramp is a vertical upkicker designed off of a drink machine, which drops the ball above the upper flipper for a chance to shoot the crossramp. Failure to make the shot will cause the ball to drop back into the main playfield. This crossramp has two branching paths, regulated by a diverter; by default, it will force the ball towards the left inlane, but it will alternate with a shorter route that feeds the ball to the right inlane on every shot to the crossramp.

The inner wall of the apex of the right orbit opens to a trio of bumper rollovers, with each one spelling two letters of LOUISE, one of the Belcher daughters. Balls that pass through these rollovers will enter a red tomato-themed bumper area and once they exit, they will drop down into one of the two rightmost table lanes, described later in this section. To the right of the center ramp is another, shorter right ramp dedicated to Hugo Habercore, a health inspector and Linda's ex-boyfriend. This ramp curves right, going behind a figure of Bob himself standing next to a cooking range where he cooks and flips his burgers, before merging with the end of the center ramp. Beside this ramp is the right orbit. The right wall of the entry to the right orbit is lined with a left-facing standup target bank spelling TINA, one of the two Belcher daughters.

To the right of the Tina target bank is a final, rightmost lane dedicated to Jimmy Pesto, founder of his namesake pizzeria and rival of Bob's Burgers. It perpendicularly intersects the right orbit and sends the ball to the drink machine VUK that will take the ball to the upper flipper. Thus, it is the only lane that can access it for crossramp shots. On its way to the VUK, part of the lane's right wall will open to serve as the exit of the abovementioned bumper area. Pop-up drop targets representing the rats that infest the restaurant can appear to block off the entrances of major lanes during the day, and at night, any of them can represent El Diablo, a malevolent racoon.

### The lower half of the table

There are 5 return lanes that spell LINDA, Bob's wife, along with two slingshots and two main flippers. The outlanes are guarded by a kickback. Lamps for bonus multipliers are installed to the left of the left outlane, and a lamp indicating whether or not combos are active is located between the right outlane and plunger shaft. A figure of Louise Belcher, the youngest child in the family, stands on the left orbit. A figure of Gene Belcher, the only son in the family, stands on the opposite apron, wearing a burger costume to promote the restaurant. Lamps for the two optional multiballs are also located on the aprons, one lamp per apron.

### The plunger

The plunger is a bottle of mustard whose squirting force propels the ball up a straight shaft that merges with the right orbit to drop the ball into play. The goal of the skill shot is to plunge with the correct amount of power such that the ball will drop into one of three lit LOUISE bumper rollovers for 1 million points (note that the lit lane cannot be changed using the flippers). A successful skill shot lights one letter in Gene's name on the plunger shaft, and increases the skill shot value by 1 million points; spelling GENE out completely lights an **extra ball**. Plunging too strongly will result in the ball exiting out the left orbit entrance.

### Day and night

As the player plays the table, the time will shift between day and night every 5 minutes, as depicted by the sun or moon passing from left to right on the back panel of the machine. The time of day directly impacts whether or not certain modes can be started, and if a mode is still active right as the time would shift, the time shift will occur after the mode ends. The player can change between day and night more rapidly by holding down the launch button.

## Order Up! & Party Time

*Bob's Burgers* is a uniquely structured table, as the wizard mode is locked behind playing one particular mission several times - Bob needs to serve five customers through the **Order Up!** process, and after serving all five, Bob will be able to throw a party for Tina in the **Party Time** victory multiball. The **side modes** described further in the rules aren't required to reach the wizard mode, but will boost the values for the jackpots in the wizard mode.

### Order Up!

To serve all five customers, the player must shoot the sinkhole 3 times while the table is in daytime mode to start **taking orders**. Only one customer will be served during **Order Up!** by default. If the player shoots the center ramp 4 times beforehand, then **Self-Promotion** will start, adding another potential customer. A total of 3 customers can be served during **Order Up!** using this method. The **Order Up!** process ends if the player drains during the mode and will have to be restarted with three more sinkhole shots.

During the first and second phases of the **Order Up!** process, if the daytime shift is still active, the side modes **Rat's All Folks** and **Green Mold** can be started. If the night shift is about to start after the process ends, then these modes can't be started.

* During **Taking Orders**, all seven major shots (along with the crossramp, for the Burger of the Day) will have their corresponding food and drink inserts flashing. Within 45 seconds, the player must shoot all flashing shots once to build up the order items, which will increase the total bill of the orders and likewise the reward for fulfilling the orders. Once the player collects all eight items or time runs out, **Fry Time** will start.
* **Fry Time** simply consists of shooting any of the lit lanes to add seasoning to the burgers, further increasing the order value by small amounts per shot. This phase lasts for 30 seconds. Once the timer runs out, the player will be able to enter the **Order Up!** phase and serve the customers.
	+ Hitting 10 bumpers while the timer for either the first or second phase is running will overheat the barbecue and start **Burnt Burgers**, giving the player 15 seconds to shoot the right ramp twice to add some smoky flavor to the burgers and further increase the final scores. This timer freezes all other currently active timers until the two shots have been made or the timer ends.
* **Order Up!** gives the player 30 seconds to serve the finished orders to the customers by shooting any flashing shot, each representing one of the customers. Each served order scores a hurry-up value determined by the total bill built up in the previous phases, which caps out at 5 million and is collected for every successful customer served. Customers who aren't served during this final phase won’t carry over into the next attempt at serving them.

### Party Time

Once all five customers have been served through **Order Up!**, Bob will finally have made enough money to throw a big 13th birthday party for Tina in the **Party Time** wizard mode. This 4-ball victory multiball can be started during either day or night with a single sinkhole shot; all shots on the playfield will light to score jackpots which start at 500,000 and increase by 250,000 every time their corresponding **side mode** has been completed, up to 2.5 million. The crossramp, meanwhile, will constantly be lit to score a super jackpot worth 5 million points, which can be increased by 500,000 by either completing **Slumber Party** or by collecting one of **Tina's Awards**, up to a maximum of 10 million. Party Time continues until all but one ball is lost, and the gang shifts into “after party mode”… which ends as soon as it begins.

## Side modes

The majority of *Bob's Burgers*' rules are dedicated to side modes - the Belcher family has a lot going on besides just running their restaurant, after all. While side modes are not required to unlock **Party Time**, the successful completion of each side mode will boost the Party Time jackpot value for their corresponding shot by 250,000, making the wizard mode lucrative for players who can easily beat the table's main objective. Four side modes are qualified in the day, and nine are qualified at night.

Each completed side mode scores 5 million points. Once the jackpot value for their corresponding shot has been maxed out, further completions of the side mode will score 2.5 million points instead.

### Daytime side modes

* **Kids in Crisis**: Started by shooting the left ramp 3 times. Shoot the left ramp 3 more times in 30 seconds to help the kids escape detention and convince Mr. Frond that they're in a crisis.
* **Rat’s All Folks**: Started by shooting the right ramp 3 times. Bob's Burgers calls upon many extermination companies to keep their restaurant free of pests; in 45 seconds, exterminate the rats by knocking down 7 drop targets in front of the major shots.
* **Green Mold**: Started by shooting the right orbit 3 times. Mold will spread across all the major lanes on the playfield (excluding the center ramp); shoot all 7 with the ball within 45 seconds to finish the mode.
* **Burger Wars**: Started by shooting the VUK 3 times. In 15 seconds, make 2 shots to the crossramp to create the legendary Meatsiah and outdo Jimmy Pesto's pizzeria.

### Nighttime side modes

* **Torpedo Hurry-Up**: Immediately after the day turns to night, this hurry-up mode will begin with the right ramp lit to score a value starting from 2.5 million; once this value has been collected, the center ramp will light for the same hurry-up value and give the restaurant's used grease to Torpedo Jones. The mode ends if the value decreases to 100,000 points or if the ball drains.
* **Kuchi-Kopi**: If the player spells BOB on the left target bank, a Kuchi Kopi doll will spawn and move around the table for 45 seconds. Hit the doll with the ball 4 times to win the mode and follow its advice against introducing turkey burgers into the restaurant. Completing this mode the first time will light an **extra ball**. This mode can be started during all other nighttime side modes and takes priority over the **Bob's Bonus** perk at night.
* **The Frond Files**: Started by shooting the left ramp 3 times. Fight off robot clones of Mr. Frond by shooting the sinkhole 4 times in 30 seconds.
* **Taffy Factory**: Started by shooting the sinkhole 3 times, this video mode requires the player to navigate the abandoned taffy factory using the launch button and left and right flipper buttons to try to find a treasure. The mode successfully finishes when the player finds Taff for 5 million points, or it ends prematurely for 1 million if they find Bob and Linda or the 30-second timer runs out.
* **Mascot Race**: Started by shooting the center ramp 4 times. Shoot the center ramp 4 times again within 15 seconds to help Gene win the race.
* **El Diablo**: Started by shooting the right ramp 3 times. Hunt down El Diablo within 30 seconds by hitting a drop target that pops up randomly across shot entrances. After that target is struck, the player has 5 seconds to shoot the sinkhole to capture him and win the mode; failure will allow El Diablo to escape, restarting the timer and requiring the player to catch him again.
* **Crematorium**: Started by shooting the right orbit 3 times. In 30 seconds, extinguish fires on the major lanes to find Bob. Only one of the fires contains him.
* **Slumber Party**: Started by hitting the bumpers 15 times. Shoot all three ramps from the lower flippers, along with the right orbit, to scare away the slumber party guests.
* **Burger Boss**: Started by shooting the VUK 3 times. Shoot any 6 flashing shots within 20 seconds to win the infamous Burger Boss arcade game.

### Multiball

There are two multiball modes, one for each time of day.

* **Food Festival Multiball (Day)**: If the player makes a total of 20 spinner hits at the spinner in front of the left orbit during the daytime, one ball can be locked into the ferris wheel at the center ramp. Each locked ball advances Bob's food truck to a new festival. Repeating the process twice to lock 3 balls will start a 3-ball multiball mode where each lane awards a jackpot worth 1 million points. After all jackpots are collected, the player must shoot the crossramp for a super jackpot worth 5 million, which counts as having won the multiball and increases the left orbit jackpot value accordingly.
* **Trick-or-Treat Multiball (Night)**: Making 50 spinner hits at the spinner in front of the left orbit during the nighttime will advance the ferry to King's Head Island, where the children will begin trick-or-treating. This lower scoring 3-ball multiball constantly lights all shots to award jackpots worth 250,000 points, and the crossramp to score a super jackpot worth 1 million points. Scoring a super jackpot is enough to count as having won the multiball and will increase the left orbit jackpot value.

## Perks

The following perks can be activated during play:

* **Ball Saver**: At the start of each ball and multiball, a 30-second ball saver will activate. Once it expires, it can be reactivated as a random award from **Tina's Awards**.
* **Kickbacks**: Spelling LINDA on the return lanes opens up a 15-second chance to shoot the crossramp to activate a kickback - first the left kickback, then the right. Kickbacks persist across balls, and spelling LINDA if both kickbacks are already lit will make the next hurry-up light an **extra ball** or score a bonus of 1 million points on subsequent collections.
* **Self-Promotion**: Every 4 shots to the center ramp in the daytime will attract another customer, up to a maximum of 3, to allow the player to serve more customers in one instance of **Order Up!** and progress faster towards **Party Time**.
* **Bonus Multiplier**: Spelling LOUISE on the bumper rollovers advances the bonus multiplier by +2x up to 10x, then holds the bonus multiplier for the next ball.
* **Bob's Bonus**: Spelling BOB on the left target bank in the daytime will score 1 million points. During any side mode during the daytime, spelling it will reset the timer.
* **Tina's Awards**: Spelling TINA on the right target bank will grant a random award. This can be one of the following: activating either **kickback**, activating the **ball save**, lighting an **extra ball**, holding the **bonus multipliers**, about 5,500,000 points (a bunch of numbers, they might seem random but they’re her phone number), or increasing the super jackpot value by 500,000.
* **Extra Balls**: When in doubt, spell the names of the Belcher family. Extra balls can be lit at the sinkhole by performing 4 successful **skill shots** to spell GENE, spelling LOUISE after maxing out and holding the **bonus multiplier**, earning a percentage-based **Tina Award**, spelling BOB and beating the **Kuchi-Kopi** side mode at night, or by spelling LINDA and collecting a **kickback** hurry-up while both kickbacks are active. All extra balls can only be earned once per game.

## Tips

* Use **Self-Promotion** to attract multiple customers to Bob's Burgers if you want to get to the wizard mode fast - but if you want high scores, beat some side modes first. After playing the side modes, if the shots are at a very high value, hold the launch button at night and play exclusively for Order Up! and the wizard mode.
* There are two exit habitrails, one on each side of the table, that reliably send the ball to the main flippers if you have trouble with nudge passing. If you want the ball on the left flipper, shoot the left ramp with the right flipper. Conversely, use the center ramp to get the ball to the right flipper.
* During the Order Up! process, **Rat’s All Folks** can make it difficult to shoot all 7 lit shots and can lead to potential drains if the player isn’t paying attention. However, if the process is started right before play shifts to nighttime mode, the side modes will be disabled. Hold the launch button during the process to use this to your advantage, or start the mode with less than two shots made to the right ramp to prevent the mode from getting in the way.

## References & Easter Eggs

* The main goal of the table - serving 5 customers - is similar to the main goal of the 1990 Williams pinball machine, *Diner*.

## External links

* Official table trailer
* Table walkthrough by ShoryukenToTheChin (PDF)