No Good Gofers

> "You're on our turf now!"
>
> - Buzz

***No Good Gofers*** is one of three Williams pinball tables released in the fifth wave of Zen Studios' Williams pinball collection, available in *Pinball FX 3*, the macOS version of *Zen Pinball 2* and the *Williams Pinball* mobile app.  It is a golf-themed table in which the player must complete 9 holes of golf, while fending off two gophers who constantly wreak havoc.

## Table overview

### The upper half of the table

A large orbit, referred to by Bud and inserts in front of the orbit entrances as the "Cart Path", wraps around all the major table lanes, with both orbits gated by a metal spinner. At the top left of the orbit's apex is a hole that drops the ball into the Putting Green sinkhole if a weak shot is made to either cart path. To the right of the left cart path is a crossramp that takes a sharp hairpin turn to travel down a gutter that deposits the ball into the leftmost inlane, almost always setting up a jump ramp shot. In front of this crossramp is a bank of three standup targets, the bottom two used for skill shots and the upper target used to light the Sand Trap saucer; while to the right of this crossramp is a short lane leading into a sinkhole called the Putting Green, which can be hit from either right flipper. The Putting Green has two possible destinations; it can either eject balls into the bumper area, or send them flying to the lower flippers. This sinkhole lies to the left of the table's center ramp, which turns left to merge with the exit of the crossramp. A ramp that with a similar, parallel path is installed directly above it, called the Driving Range ramp.

The Driving Range ramp is one of three elevated shots that the ball can only reach through a small jump ramp further down the table that lowers to be part of the main playfield. The other two shots, which flank it respectively to the left and right, are a toy model golf cart (unusually equipped with a rocket launcher) with two standup targets below it, and a sinkhole gated by a small slanted ramp labeled the "Hole in One" sinkhole. To the right of the center ramp is the table's right ramp, with a front-facing entrance and a hairpin turn feeding the right inlane; a shot to the upper playfield that rebounds out of the Hole in One can also exit through this ramp. The right cart path orbit, the last major lane, sits to the right of this ramp. Both front-facing ramps have entrances that can lift to reveal sinkholes, which can be blocked by toy targets of Bud and Buzz, the two "Gofers" who cause mischief on the golf course.

### The lower half of the table

Under the long pathway of the crossramp, but in front of and to the left of the left orbit, is a narrow bumper area. Balls can only enter this bumper area from behind, via the Putting Green sinkhole. In front of the right orbit, along the right table wall, is an upper right flipper used to access the crossramp or the Putting Green. The central and frontmost bumpers are fronted by a single standup target, the right one marked with a lightning bolt insert, with a saucer that ejects the ball towards the standup targets on the opposite side in front of the frontmost bumper. The aforementioned standup target bank has four left-facing standup targets with inserts of the letters in KICK, and behind this target bank is a front-facing standup target.

In the middle of the table is the jump ramp, which is pivotal to hitting the three abovementioned elevated lanes. As it is normally raised out of reach, it can only be used if it lowers into the playfield by shooting either the crossramp or by hitting the captive ball enough times to qualify the left inlanes to lower it. The aforementioned captive ball is directly to the left of the jump ramp, while a spindisk called the **Whirlwheel** (resembling an award wheel) sits in front of it, just beside the kickback target bank. There are five return lanes, two slingshots and two lower flippers. The left outlane is guarded by a spring-loaded kickback. Lamps for golf course progress, bonus multipliers, and the current cart path value sit in the dead space between the rebounds.

### The plunger

The plunger is a spring-loaded mechanism that launches the ball up a straight shaft that takes a left curve turn, bringing it into play in a diagonal path. The goal of the skill shot is to plunge with a low amount of plunger strength to hit the skill shot target bank in front of the crossramp. The first skill shot of a game scores 500,000 points, increasing by 250,000 per skill shot, and lights the Putting Green if it wasn't already lit. Alternatively, the player can apply full force to the plunger to shoot the ball up the crossramp and feed the ball to the left flipper. This will count as a crossramp shot that collects anything that was lit there and lowers the jump ramp immediately.

Skill shots are activated at the start of every new ball, whenever a ball is physically locked, and if Buzz chooses **double skill** or **triple skill** off of the *Gofers' Choice* **Whirlwheel** award - which will double or triple the skill shot value.

## Objective, holes, and the Whirlwheel

The goal of this table is to complete a game of golf while dealing with two mischievous Gofers named Bud and Buzz. While Bud is dim-witted and tends to help you out more than hurt, Buzz loves to make snarky comments and will give you a hard time as you try to complete your golf game.

To start the wizard mode, **Hole in One Challenge**, the player must complete nine golf "**holes**". (*Since there are 18 holes in total, like on a real golf course, a full run involves two instances of the wizard mode; after the second one ends, the bonus value will be reset and the table progress will reset back to the first hole.*) To complete a hole, the player must shoot a certain number of randomly lit shots to **drive** the ball, which can be any orbit or ramp, then shoot the ball into the Putting Green sinkhole to finish the hole and collect a **Whirlwheel** award based on its current position, which can be changed with spinner and bumper hits; the 7th hole will instead award **Short Circuit**, and the 9th and 18th holes will start **Hole in One Challenge** in place of an award. Lit shots can be spotted by hitting the captive ball when "Drive" is flashing (which spots the leftmost lit shot), making a **skill shot**, or as a random award from **Gofer's Choice** (the latter two light the Putting Green immediately). (*Shooting the Putting Green sinkhole early will issue a Water Hazard score award, a random score ranging from 100 points to 99,000 points.*) The player can only make progress towards completing holes during single-ball play when no modes are running, and progress towards completing holes is saved between balls.

The number of shots required to light the Putting Green depends on the hole:

* For the first hole, there will be no lit lanes and the player can immediately shoot the Putting Green to clear the hole and advance.
* For holes 2 - 9 (en route to the first wizard mode), the player must shoot two lit shots before being allowed to advance to the next hole.
* For holes 10 - 18 (en route to the second wizard mode), the player must shoot three lit shots before being allowed to advance to the next hole.

### Strokes

Each hole has a certain par value that is subtracted from the total number of "strokes" made for it at the end of the hole, with the best score without performing a hole-in-one being 2 and the worst score being 7. Shooting a lit shot (or the Putting Green sinkhole to finish a hole) counts as a stroke, and the stroke count can be further raised or lowered through certain actions. Shooting the Hole in One during normal play by activating the jump ramp will instantly complete the hole in a single stroke. The stroke count increases by 1 when the player drains down the outlanes, starts the **Sand Trap** side mode, or earns **Bad Shot** from the Whirlwheel. The stroke count decreases by 1 if the player hits Bud or Buzz when they pop out.

### Whirlwheel Awards

Each time the player completes a hole by shooting the lit Putting Green (unless the hole was the 7th, 9th, or 18th hole), the **Whirlwheel** will spin and grant the player one of 16 possible awards. The Whirlwheel rotates by one segment during play every time either the bumpers are hit, the captive ball is struck, either spinner makes a complete rotation, or the jump ramp is lowered. When a hole ends, the segment of the Whirlwheel that is closest to the front and directly behind a yellow arrow pointing up is dispensed immediately. The awards that can be scored are:

* *Hole in One*: Instantly scores the current hole-in-one value and completes the current hole with a single stroke, replacing however many strokes it actually took you to complete the hole.
* *Bad Shot*: Were you really expecting the Gofers to play fair? If the wheel lands on this, you'll get no award from the current hole, and the next hole will start at the maximum number of strokes.
* *Lite Ripoff*: Lights the captive ball to instantly start **Ripoff Multiball**. Rules described in the **Multiballs** section. Unlike the reward from hitting the captive ball enough times, the captive ball isn't lit on a timer.
* *Speed Golf*: Starts the 3-ball **Speed Golf Multiball** immediately. Rules described in the **Multiballs** section.
* *Free Lock*: Instantly locks a ball for **Multiball** without having to light the lock manually. If the first ball was locked this way, a new ball will enter the plunger; otherwise, the ball will be virtually locked and ejected into the bumpers.
* *Player's Choice*: "Round and round she goes!" The player gets to stop the **Whirlwheel** themselves by pressing either flipper. Any of the 16 awards listed here can be scored from this award (yes, even *Player's Choice* again).
* *Lite Outlanes*: Lights the outlanes, whose inserts cycle between the left and right outlane with slingshot hits. The lit left outlane collects an **extra ball**, while the lit right outlane scores a **special**.
* *Pop-A-Gofer*: Starts the **Pop-A-Gofer** side mode immediately. Rules described in the **side modes** section.
* *Warp*: "You're warped alright!" Instantly skips between 1 to 3 holes, applying the stroke number for the current hole to each skipped hole. If you reach the 9th or 18th hole this way, **Hole in One Challenge** will start instantly. Warping past the 4th hole will still light the **extra ball**, but **Short Circuit** will be skipped if the player warps past the 7th hole.
* *Lite Q Jackpot*: Lights the side ramp for an instant **jackpot**, worth 1,000,000 times the number of the current hole, up to a maximum of 10,000,000. It's not as easy as it looks...
* *Gofer Attack*: Starts the **Gofer Attack** side mode immediately. Rules described in the **side modes** section.
* *Cart Attack*: Starts the **Cart Attack** side mode immediately. Rules described in the **side modes** section.
* *Lite Extra Ball*: Lights an **extra ball** for collection at the Putting Green.
* *Gofers' Choice*: You've had your fun, now it's time for the Gofers to have theirs. This random award allows Bud to pick from a roulette and includes instantly starting **super jets**, starting the **Dance Party** side mode, **super drive** (qualifies the next hole instantly), and big points (1,000,000). Sometimes, Buzz will pick the award instead - he likes giving you **double skill** or **triple skill**, for a chance at a multiplied skill shot (as long as you can stand his taunting).
* *Big Spinners*: Lights both spinners for 7,500 per spin, averaging around 50,000 extra points per cart path shot if you rip the spinners well.
* *Lite Kickback*: Lights the kickback at the left outlane. This can be seriously helpful considering how tough lighting the kickback can be.

### Hole-in-One Challenge

After holes 9 and 18, the **Hole in One Challenge** begins immediately (if the mode starts after hole 18, a 10 million point bonus will be awarded at the start of the mode). This is a 4-ball victory multiball that continues until the player drains down to a single ball. During this mode, everything is lit; the **jackpot** will be lit at the crossramp, **Ripoff Multiball** will be active, **big spinners** will be active, **super jets** will be active, and the **jump ramp** will lower on inlane hits for a shot at the Hole in One for a **special** and an **extra ball**. The **jackpot** is worth 1 million points times its ordinal number (i.e., first jackpot scores 1 million, second jackpot scores 2 million, and so on) and only relights once the Hole in One shot has been scored, while the center and right ramp follow the same scoring rules as they do in **Ripoff Multiball**. The first hole in one during this wizard mode will be qualified by rolling over an inlane, but subsequent ones will require a shot to the crossramp to set it up.

## Side modes

The following side modes can be activated during play:

* **Cart Attack**: The Gofers' golf cart is equipped with a rocket launcher that could cause some destruction... if it didn't keep firing at them. If the player shoots the golf cart via the jump ramp three times or collects *Cart Attack* off the **Whirlwheel**, a 20-second side mode will begin where the player can shoot any orbit or ramp to score points. The first shot awards 250,000 points, while subsequent shots each are worth 100,000 points; shooting the golf cart at any time during this side mode will count as two shots, and increase the value accordingly. If the player starts Cart Attack by banking the ball off the golf cart into the hole-in-one, all scoring during the side mode will be doubled. Subsequent activations of Cart Attack in the same session require 15 shots to the golf cart instead of 3 (ie. the mode starts at 18, then 33 golf cart hits after the first activation). The value of the shots during Cart Attack is held between activations and only resets at the end of a game.
* **Pop-A-Gofer**: The player finally gets a chance to get revenge on the Gofers. This 20-second side mode starts after collecting *Pop-A-Gofer* off the **Whirlwheel** or by hitting the golf cart via the jump ramp 8 times. Bud and Buzz will constantly lower and raise to block the ramp entrances and can be struck as many times as possible for 1 million points per hit. Subsequent activations of Pop-a-Gofer in the same session require 15 more shots to be made to the golf cart (ie. the mode starts at 23, then 38 golf cart hits after the first activation).
* **Gofer Attack**: Buzz booby-traps the ball to explode. This side mode starts when *Gofer Attack* is collected off the **Whirlwheel**. A 1 million point score pool is seen on the scoring display and will rapidly decrease to 500,000 until the captive ball is struck. Shooting the captive ball scores the current value of the hurry-up and disarms the trap.
* **Sand Trap**: Sand traps prove to be the bane of any golf player, and the Gofers have given them a mind of their own. If the player shoots the sand trap saucer when lit, a dwindling score pool will appear on the scoring display and one of the kickback target lights will cycle across the target bank rapidly. The player must press the left flipper when the "C" target is lit to launch the ball from the sand trap saucer and win whatever amount remains from the pool; if they wait too long, the mode will fail and the ball will be kicked out automatically. The starting scoring pool for this side mode increases from a base value of 1,000,000 every time the player hits a bumper (2,500 points if unlit, 10,000 when lit ones and 25,000 points when flashing), or hits the target in front of the skill shot target bank (by 50,000 points). This side mode is automatically lit at the beginning of a session, but for subsequent activations, the player must hit the sand trap target to light the saucer.
* **Short Circuit**: Buzz messes around with the wires in the pinball machine and gets electrocuted. This side mode starts in place of the usual **Whirlwheel** reward following the 7th **hole** of the golf course, and requires the player to hit any of the kickback targets while the Whirlwheel is spinning out of control to raise Buzz in front of the right ramp, then hit him for a big score reward within 20 seconds. The reward starts at 2,000,000 points, grows by 1,000 points per switch, and is locked in as soon as a kickback target is hit. Failure to hit Buzz will lower him back into the playfield and require the kickback targets to be hit once more.
* **Dance Party**: The Gofers throw a crazy dance party on the course. This 30-second timed side mode can only be started from the *Gofers' Choice* **Whirlwheel** award, and lights the cart path to score 500,000 points per shot. With each shot, more and more gofers join the dance party on the scoring display.

### Multiball

There are three multiball modes that can be activated:

* **Multiball**: The Gofers take revenge into their own hands with the balls you've locked. Shots to the center ramp (1 for the first Multiball activation, increasing to 3 for the second, 7 for the third, and 9 for further activations) will collect TNT crates, and will eventually draw out Gofers that the player can knock down to light locks. Bud will be the first to raise, in front of the center ramp; repeating the process again will raise Buzz in front the right ramp - although Buzz will only be up for 25 seconds before another center ramp shot must be made to draw him out again. (*The procedure needed to light each lock can be skipped by collecting Free Lock off of the **Whirlwheel***.) After 2 balls have been locked, the next shot to the Putting Green will start a 3-ball multiball mode. The crossramp awards a **jackpot** worth a base value of 3,500,000 points. Earning a jackpot qualifies the jump ramp to lower the next time the ball lands in the left inlane; shooting the Hole-in-One sinkhole grants a **super jackpot**, worth double the jackpot value for the first collection, then the normal jackpot value plus an **extra ball** for all subsequent collections. The jackpot at the crossramp can be relit by shooting the right ramp or by collecting a super jackpot, and will be worth 1,000,000 more points than the previous jackpot with no known limit. This multiball ends when the player drains down to one ball; if the player fails to score a jackpot before returning to single-ball play, the player has 10 seconds to shoot the Putting Green sinkhole to **restart** the multiball. The multiball restart will only activate once per multiball attempt.
* **Speed Golf Multiball**: This is a quick 3-ball multiball that starts when *Speed Golf* has been collected off of the **Whirlwheel**, or after 13 hits to the golf cart via the jump ramp (then 28, 43, etc. for subsequent activations). This frenzy multiball allows the player to earn 250,000 points (increasing by 1,000 points per switch hit) by shooting any of the three elevated lanes via the jump ramp. Shooting the golf cart or hole in one during this multiball will award double the value. The multiball ends when the player drains down to one ball.
* **Ripoff Multiball**: Completing the **captive ball reward** cycle described in the **perks** section twice, or collecting *Lite Ripoff* off of the **Whirlwheel**, will light the captive ball for 10 seconds (*without a timer if it was collected off the **Whirlwheel**; subsequent activations of Ripoff Multiball will require one more cycle than the last, up to 5*)*.* If the player strikes the captive ball once more during this time period, an add-a-ball multiball mode will start. This mode starts as a 2-ball multiball mode with the captive ball, center ramp, and right ramp flashing. A new ball will be added every time the captive ball is struck 5 times during the multiball, meaning up to 4 balls can be in play during this multiball. The two front-facing ramps are worth at least 150,000 points when lit - shooting the second ramp scores twice the ramp value and relights both ramps to score jackpots again. The score reward for shooting the ramps increases by 25,000 points per captive ball hit. This multiball ends when the player drains down to one ball.

## Perks

* **Ball Saver**: At the start of each ball, a short free ball saver will activate; if less than 3 unique switches have been hit, regardless of how much time has passed, the ball will still be saved. Once it expires, it cannot be reactivated normally. (*Every time the ball saver is used, the player must manually plunge the ball back into play.*)
* **Kickback**: The left outlane is guarded by a kickback, lit by default at the start of each session. Up to 2 kickbacks can be stacked (which persist across balls), and can be lit by spelling KICK at the right standup target bank, either by striking each target in that bank twice or by hitting the front-facing right standup target four times. Collecting *Lite Kickback* off of the **Whirlwheel** will also award a kickback.
* **Cart Paths:** The base value for shooting either cart path starts at 50,000 points. If the player shoots the same cart path entrance again within 6 seconds, the value will increase by 50,000 points per shot until enough time has passed without shooting an orbit and the value resets. The base value can be increased up to 100,000, then 150,000, by making the 2nd and 4th lit cart path awards by rolling over the leftmost left inlane or right inlane, then shooting the opposing cart path entrance.
* **Bonus Multiplier**: Rolling through the leftmost left inlane or right inlane lights the opposing side of the cart path to collect one of the lit cart path awards shown above the flippers. The 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 6th shots in the sequence advance the bonus multiplier by +1x, up to a maximum of 5x. Reaching 5x bonus for the first time in a session also lights the extra ball.
* **Super Jets**: Hitting the jet bumper standup target in front of the middle bumper will score 25,000 points and light a currently unlit bumper. Once all 3 bumpers are lit, further hits to the jet bumper target will start making each bumper flash; once all 3 bumpers are flashing, Super Jets will activate, making all bumper hits worth 7,500 points per hit and lighting the jet bumper target for a super jets bonus of 50,000 points. One of the *Gofers' Choice* awards from the **Whirlwheel** can also start Super Jets instantly.
* **Captive Ball Rewards**: Striking the captive ball scores the topmost lit insert in a series of rewards: *Drive* (spotting a lit shot towards the current hole), *Increase Bud Value* (by 25,000 points), *Increase Buzz Value* (by 25,000 points), *Increase Golf Cart* (by 100,000 points), and *Driving Range* (qualifies the next left inlane drain to activate the jump ramp for a shot at the driving range). Collecting two cycles of these rewards with 10 hits to the captive ball (with one more cycle required for subsequent attempts) will start a 10 second chance to start **Ripoff Multiball** with one more hit to the captive ball.
* **Range Award**: Shooting the elevated center ramp with the jump ramp whenever lowered will award at least 50,000 points. The Range Award increases every time either of the two front-facing ramps are shot - by 35,000 points for the center ramp, and 50,000 points for the right ramp.
* **Hole in One Award**: The value for making a Hole-in-One shot starts at 1,000,000 points. Shooting the crossramp increases this value by 100,000 points per shot.
* **Combos**: Shooting the center ramp, followed by the right ramp and then the left orbit with no switches in between will score a 3-way combo worth 500,000 points. Making a shot to the crossramp after shooting the left orbit will score a 4-way combo for 1,000,000 points.
* **Special**: A Special can be earned by making a Hole-in-One shot during **Hole in One Challenge**, or by draining the ball down the right outlane when it is lit for a special via the *Lite Outlanes* **Whirlwheel** award. Specials score an **extra ball**.
* **Extra Ball**: Extra balls can be collected at the Putting Green, and are lit by making it past the 4th **hole**, collecting the *Lite Extra Ball* **Whirlwheel** award, reaching 5x bonus, collecting any super jackpot after the first during **Multiball**, or scoring 15 million points in a session. All extra balls besides the bonus multiplier extra ball and points extra ball have no limit on the number of times they can be collected. If the player earned the *Lite Outlanes* **Whirlwheel** award and drains the ball down the left outlane when it is lit, an extra ball will be awarded immediately.
* **End-of-ball bonus**: Bonus is calculated by rewarding points for the strokes made to finish each hole; 10,000 points for 7 strokes, 25,000 + 25,000 for 6 - 2 strokes, and 250,000 for hole-in-ones. Once the player completes 18 holes, the bonus will reset. All bonus points are multiplied up to 5x by the **bonus multiplier.**

## Tips

* The crossramp shot is arguably the most important shot in the game, as it lowers the jump ramp, scores the jackpot during **Multiball**, and is necessary to score the valuable Q Jackpot that can be lit off of the **Whirlwheel**. The easiest way to feed the upper right flipper for a shot at the crossramp is by shooting the left orbit; during **Multiball**, the right ramp will be constantly raised when a jackpot is available, allowing you to shoot under the right ramp to feed the upper right flipper. This can make going for jackpots quite a bit easier.
* **Cart Attack** is a very lucrative mode, as the values of each shot during the mode carry over between activations and it can be started with only 3 shots to the golf cart on the upper playfield. Bringing any Multiball mode into Cart Attack (or **Pop-A-Gofer**, although this is more rare) can often score more points than you'd expect.
* The captive ball and the Gofers have a tendency to quickly send the ball in dangerous directions. This can also happen if you strike the posts flanking the jump ramp when it lowers. Remember to nudge the table left or right if the ball looks like it will drain, and keep your kickback lit whenever necessary. If the ball enters the kickback by exiting the bumpers, don't worry - the kickback will save the ball for you.

## Censorship

* In three places (the backglass, the dead space above the flipper and the right slingshot), depictions of the golfer smoking a cigar were removed.

## External links

* Table walkthrough by ShoryukenToTheChin (PDF)