Star Wars: The Clone Wars

> "The Council is ready to receive you."
>
> - Announcer

***Star Wars: The Clone Wars*** is one of the first three *Star Wars* pinball tables released in 2013 and available for *Zen Pinball 2*, *Pinball FX 2* and *Pinball FX 3*. Based on the 2008 animated television series of the same name, created by George Lucas and set between the events of *Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones* and *Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith*, it recounts the daring exploits of Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, his Padawan apprentice Ahsoka Tano and esteemed Clone Captain CT-7567 "Rex" in the Clone Wars, in which the Jedi lead countless clone armies to defend the Republic from the Separatists and the Sith.

## Table Overview

### The upper half of the table

The back wall of the table features a walkway where figures can stand on during certain modes. It is placed in front of a large door like the ones seen aboard a Republic *Venator*-class Star Destroyer. Two smaller doors flank this large blast door, perpendicular to it on the back end of the side walls and facing each other. These doors can also open to reveal battle droids.

Much of the lanes in the upper half of the table are framed by a left ramp and a large, somewhat asymetric orbit right beside it with both sides spelling TRAINING. This ramp, whose entry is tunneled and features a figure of Anakin Skywalker standing over its entrance, leads down a habitrail that drops the ball at a left mini-flipper at the left orbit's entry. The ramp also is marked with the word COUNCIL. Besides the left orbit entrance is another ramp that leads down to the leftmost inlane. Its entrance is gated by a toy model of a T-6 Jedi shuttle that is turned perpendicular so that it blocks the lane, but it can rotate to level position to allow the ball to enter the ramp. Right beside this ramp is a one-way miniloop lane with the word LOCK that drops the ball down the left orbit while passing right under the entry of the T-6 ramp.

A center ramp is placed to the right of the mini-loop with the word GUNSHIP. This ramp usually leads up to the back of the table, then takes a sharp right turn down a long habitrail down to the right inlane, but this ramp may sometimes divert to a sinkhole at the back table wall which leads up to a mini-playfield installed behind the main playfield (see below). To the right of this ramp is a bumper area, which has two points of entry: an upper entrance with two rollovers that spell R2-D2 (with 2 alphanumeric characters per rollover) accessed by incomplete shots through the main orbit and a lower entrance placed between the center ramp and a Liberation crossramp that wraps around the bumper area. A toy model of a Republic Gunship is placed on top of the bumpers. In front of the right front corner of this crossramp is a right mini-flipper that can best take the ball either into the mini-loop or the center ramp. The Liberation crossramp takes the ball up a short, looping habitrail that drops it right back onto that flipper.

This right mini-flipper also lines the left side of a question mark-shaped ramp that leads the ball down to the right habitrail, and is also marked with the word COUNCIL. The entrance of this ramp, however, is quite more complicated in design, in that there is a sinkhole midway through the ramp entry, creating a gap that the ball needs to jump across with a strong flipper shot in order to clear the ramp. This sinkhole can also be accessed from a left cross shot from the left mini-flipper. At the left side of the front end of the ramp, before the sinkhole, are a series of three targets that spell REX. To the right of this ramp's entry is the right orbit. The entry of the right orbit has a small platform where a figure of Ahsoka Tano may stand in certain modes.

### The lower half of the table

Between the left side of the table and the left corner of the left ramp's entry, there is a sinkhole where balls can be locked. An identical sinkhole is also present between the right orbit and the plunger shaft on the right side of the table. The left table wall resembles the kind of hallways seen in Republic ships and buildings, while the right table wall resembles a typical street in Coruscant, the capital of the Republic. A holographic ramp may appear in the table's dead space during certain modes.

There are five return lanes, three left and two right, that spell CLONE. There are two rebounds and two flippers at the end, with the words "CLONE WARS" near the flippers, written in Aurebesh, the official writing script of the Republic. Each outlane features a spring-loaded kickback, and there are a series of lamps indicating current score multiplier level between the right outlane and the plunger shaft.

The left apron appears to resemble a hallway in the Galactic Senate building, with a hologram table projecting the series' title logo and the right apron appears to resemble an escape pod chamber, which becomes the basis of the plunger.

### The mini-playfield

The mini-playfield is themed off of the training facilities on the planet Kamino where newly bred clone troopers partake in rigorous combat training before they are sent to the front lines of the war. It is divided into two stages. The first stage is a symmetrical conical-shaped playfield, with the pointed end facing the back of the table. There are a total of 8 pop-up drop targets with a green lamp per target lining the back walls of this playfield. When four targets on one side are hit, they can collapse to reveal a sinkhole. A final sinkhole is located at the backmost portion of the playfield, where the ball can be shot into to advance to the second and final stage once conditions are met. Two flippers are placed at the base, guarding an outhole where a ball drain would result in failure. The ball first enters the mini-playfield through a one-way exit hole on the right side of this playfield before rolling to the right flipper.

The second level is much larger and is based on the Citadel Challenge that first appeared in the Season 3 premiere episode "Clone Cadets". There is a large orbiting habitrail connected by ramps jutting out from either side of the playfield. Behind either of these ramp entries is a large rectangular target. The top of the playfield consists of an orbit wrapping around two ramps that lead down to either of the two flippers at the bottom of the playfield. A third ramp in front these two may also pop out in the middle of the playfield, which jumps the ball over to the target pole at the core of the Citadel that must be captured by the clones to defeat the training droids guarding the Citadel, resulting in completion of the training test.

### The plunger

The plunger shaft is a straight path that leads up to the right orbit. When the ball is about to be launched into play, the wall separating the right orbit from the end of the plunger shaft will lower, allowing the ball to be shot into play via an escape pod launched from the plunger, which then explodes at the end of the shaft to bring the ball into play, where the wall will come right back up to prevent the ball from dropping down the shaft again. There are three types of skillshots that can be performed: a mini-skillshot that is achieved by using moderate plunger power to drop the ball into the bumper area midway atop the orbit, a regular skillshot that is achieved by shooting the plunger at full strength so that it rolls the ball down to the left mini-flipper and it is used to hit the Liberation crossramp and a super skillshot that is achieved by shooting the sinkhole in the right Council ramp's entry instead.

## Objective and missions

The goal of this table is to recount the events of key episodes of the *Star Wars: The Clone Wars* television series, as well as help the Jedi muster Republic forces to defeat the Separatist droid army, as well as hunt down the apprentices of the Sith Lord Count Dooku, Asajj Ventress and Savage Opress, through five missions and a mandatory completion of the mini-playfield mode. To start a mission, the player needs to be received by the Jedi Council, a group of highly esteemed Jedi who determine the next course of action in the Clone Wars. This is done by shooting either ramp a total of 7 times to spell COUNCIL. Then, the ball needs to be locked into the sinkhole at the right Council ramp to be able to choose and start a mission that was not previously completed successfully. Each mission must be completed successfully with the ball kept in play to progress to the wizard mode; draining the ball during a mission will fail it. *(Draining the ball midway through spelling COUNCIL will not reset the spelling, but draining the ball after spelling the word completely will do.)* Once completed successfully, a main mission cannot be repeated until the wizard mode is attempted.

The following 6 missions (consisting of 5 main missions and the mini-playfield mode) must be completed to unlock the wizard mode:

* **War on Christophosis**: The premiere film released to promote the series begins with Anakin and Ahsoka being sent to the planet Christophosis to liberate it from the Separatists. However, the droid army is carrying a huge shield that prevents the clone army from engaging it and only these two Jedi can sneak behind enemy lines to disable it! To destroy the shield generator, the player needs to shoot the left ramp or the right orbit to get the ball around and inside the energy shield as it blocks all other lanes, then once the ball is inside, the player must use the mini-flippers to shoot either the one-way lock mini-loop or the Liberation crossramp to obtain a bomb (depending on whichever one is lit), which will then become the ball. The mini-flippers must then be used to deliver the bomb to the shield generator blocking the center ramp to plant it. Six bombs are needed to deliver enough power to destroy the generator, so this procedure must be repeated five more times to finally disable the shield. Once the shield is gone, the player helps Anakin and Ahsoka lead the Republic forces to finally take down the now-vulnerable droid army by shooting all 8 unique major lanes once to flush out the enemy droids from every street and district of the capital city.
* **Cloak of Darkness**: Based on the ninth episode of the first season, this mission is all about Ahsoka aboard the Republic Star Destroyer *Tranquility* fending off Asajj Ventress, who is trying to rescue the captured Separatist leader Nute Gunray before he is to appear in court to answer for his crimes. As Ahsoka leaps to the back of the table to take on Asajj, the player must help her hold her own against this assassin by hitting Asajj from behind with an energized ball three times. To accomplish this, the player must first shoot three lit lanes to disable an energy field blocking the right Council ramp, shoot that ramp and the T-6 ramp once each to energize the ball and lastly shoot it up a pop-up ramp in the dead space of the playfield that will fly right up and hit Asajj from behind. *(The player has a 30-second time limit to hit Asajj once the energy gate is turned off, or the mission will fail with Nute Gunray being allowed to escape the ship. The gate will turn back on once Asajj is damaged by an energy ball. If the player tries to hit Asajj with a normal ball, she will turn around and slice it in half, resulting in a few seconds lost as a new ball is shot back into play.)*
* **Weapons Factory**: Based on the sixth episode of the second season, this mission focuses on Ahsoka Tano and Barriss Offee's daring mission to destroy a special Separatist droid factory back on Geonosis capable of producing powerful tanks that could overwhelm the Republic army. The player needs to get Ahsoka and Barriss into the factory reactor by performing two particular 3-way combos, each within a time limit. The first one involves shooting the lock mini-loop, the Liberation crossramp, then the center ramp. The second one involves shooting the T-6 ramp, the right Council ramp and then lastly, the left orbit. Once both combos are completed successfully in time, Ahsoka will commandeer one of the supertanks and take aim at the reactors, and the player must help her destroy them by shooting lit lanes while a 3-ball multiball begins, while taking care not to let two of those three balls drain. After the lit lanes are hit, the player must finish the mission by locking *all* remaining balls into the lock sinkholes at either side of the table to help Ahsoka and Barriss escape the factory's destruction.
* **Attack on Kamino**: Based on the second episode of the third season, "ARC Troopers", this mission focuses on Anakin's efforts to secure critical samples of the clone trooper's DNA while Tipoca City falls under siege by the Separatists invading the clone homeworld of Kamino. The player needs to help Anakin fend off Asajj Ventress, the leader of the Separatist invasion, in a lightsaber duel to keep her from taking the DNA through a three-stage 2-ball multiball mission where *both* balls must be kept in play at all times.  *Each stage ends with one ball being trapped on a hidden magnet near the lock miniloop, becoming a target that must be hit with the other ball as Anakin gets into an intense clash with Asajj.* The three stages are as follows:
	+ In the first phase, as Anakin begins his duel against Asajj, the player must shoot two lit lanes with the first ball, before shooting it at the locking miniloop to finish the first phase in the abovementioned ending procedure marked in italics to send a second ball into play.
	+ In the second phase, the player must shoot another two lit lanes while keeping both balls in play as Asajj begins to make use of dual-wielded lightsaber attacks, then finish the second phase with the abovementioned ending procedure marked in italics.
	+ In the third and final phase, the duel between Anakin and Asajj reaches climatic intensity and the player must shoot all 8 unique major lanes once with both balls to press Anakin's attack on Asajj and get her away from the DNA before finishing the third phase with the abovementioned ending procedure marked in italics, which will also finish the mission successfully with the destruction of both balls and a new ball being shot into play.
* **The Monster**: Savage Opress, a powerful Nightbrother trained in the dark side of the Force, has been responsible for the deaths of several Jedi Knights according to the eleventh episode of the third season, "Witches of the Mist". Anakin must find and defeat Savage before he causes more trouble. The player draws Savage to Anakin by hitting a floating platform that a figure of Savage stands on a total of six times, which moves a little every time it is struck twice. *(In order for a hit to count, the player must hit the platform with the ball with a direct flipper shot.)* After the platform is hit 6 times, it is destroyed and Savage will leap to the back of the table and duel Anakin as he arrives from a side door. The player must now help Anakin battle Savage by shooting 9 lit lanes, three at a time as indicated.
* **Clone Training**: Clone troopers must undergo rigorous training before heading to the frontlines to fight the Separatists, as the first few episodes of Season 3 demonstrate. When no missions are running, the player can start a training session by shooting either orbit a total of 8 times to spell TRAINING, then shoot the center ramp as it diverts the ball to the mini-playfield at the back. To successfully complete the training session, the player must clear both stages of this dual-level mini-playfield without draining the ball in either level. In the first, lower level, the player helps the clone troopers complete target practice by hitting all 8 drop targets on the back wall to expose a sinkhole that each half of the targets obstruct, and will unblock once they are all hit. The player must then shoot the exposed sinkholes to unlock the exit sinkhole at the middle that will bring the ball to the second and final stage that's further up, which must then be shot to complete the first stage. The second stage has the player helping the new troopers complete the Citadel Challenge by shooting lit lanes to dodge the enemy fire and take cover, then shoot a pair of ramps in either direction a total of 10 times to close in onto the citadel and raise a pop-up ramp in the middle of the play area that must be shot to launch the ball into the citadel target in order for the clone cadets to capture the citadel and pass the training. The training minigame must be completed at least once, but can be completed multiple times to raise the clone rank and unlock bigger rewards for beating the wizard mode.

Once all 6 missions are completed, the player will unlock the wizard mode, **Final Confrontation**, in which Anakin and Ahsoka take on both Asajj Ventress and Savage Opress to defeat them once and for all. This is a 4-ball multiball mission that is started the same way as the main missions, and the goal here is to defeat both Sith apprentices through the following procedure:

* The player begins the mode helping Ahsoka duel and defeat Asajj Ventress. This is accomplished by alternating between shooting the T-6 ramp and the right Council ramp 3 times for a total of 6 shots, then hitting the bumpers a total of 100 times.
* After Asajj is defeated, the player then focuses on helping Anakin defeat Savage Opress by shooting any ramp except the right Council ramp a total of 15 times, then locking *all* remaining balls into either of the side sinkholes to finish him off for good.

The player is only allowed one attempt to beat the wizard mode and it will fail if the player fails to lock all balls at the end of the mode, or drains all but one ball before reaching the end of the wizard mode.

## Side modes

The following side modes can be activated when no modes are active:

* **Gunship Hurry Up**: The Republic gunship is a fast aircraft that can mobilize troops and bring them to the frontlines when time is of the essence. If the player spells GUNSHIP on the center ramp through 7 shots up it, a hurry-up mode will begins when there player can earn a lot of points by shooting the same ramp as many times as possible to load up the gunship with troopers. The amount scored in this mode is then banked to the total score once time expires or either side sinkhole is shot.
* **Liberation Hurry Up**: Republic forces can mobilize great forces to free planets from Separatist control. If the player shoots the Liberation crossramp 5 times, a hurry up mode will begin where the player has a chance to earn points from a dwindling score pool shown on the scoring display (starting from 8 million) by shooting the same ramp as many times as possible, which each ramp hit awarding whatever amount of score is remaining on the display.
* **Point Rain Hurry Up**: Based on the fifth episode of the second season, "Landing at Point Rain", this mode provides an opportunity to score points by helping Ahsoka coordinate the landing of clone trooper gunships for the second battle of Geonosis. This mode begins when the mission start sinkhole is hit 5 times either through weak shots up the right Council ramp or a low cross shot from the left mini-flipper. The toy gunship will then fly to the middle of the table and a ramp will appear that must be shot to bring the ball inside the ship and load the troopers inside. Once the ball is inside, another ball is shot into play and the player must shoot certain ramps to move the gunship around enemy anti-aircraft fire and help it reach Point Rain. A total of 6 shots are needed for a successful landing. The particular ramp that must be shot depends on what command Ahsoka issues: *a) When Ahsoka prompts to move the gunship left, the player must shoot the T-6 ramp. b) When Ahsoka prompts to move the gunship to the center, the player must shoot the center Gunship ramp. c) When Ahsoka prompts to move the gunship right, the player must shoot the right Council ramp.* Each order must be followed swiftly before the gunship is hit by enemy fire, and the amount of time left before the move must be made is shown on the scoring display. If time expires, the gunship will take a hit. If the gunships sustain a total of 3 hits, the mode will end. A successful landing will award a landing bonus amounting to (1,000,000 + (500,000x)), where x is the number of previous successful landings since the side mode was started, and the mode will start again with a greater reward.

### Multiball

There are two multiball modes that can be started when no modes are running:

* **Clone Multiball**: The Republic needs numerous clone troopers to keep the peace and defeat the Separatists. To rally the troops, the player can lock three balls through the following method: shoot the one-way lock miniloop four times to spell LOCK, then lock the ball into either of the now-lit sinkholes at the sides of the table. After the third ball is locked, the 3-ball multiball will begin. To earn a jackpot, the player must shoot each orbit once, then shoot a lit lane. Every 3rd jackpot collected will make a super jackpot available to claim by shooting the Liberation crossramp.
* **T-6 Multiball**: The T-6 shuttle is a craft chosen by Jedi for travel across the galaxy to accomplish their missions. To start a 2-ball multiball about the shuttle, the player can hit the shuttle toy blocking the T-6 ramp, turning it level with the playfield and opening up the ramp, then shoot it 5 times. During this multiball, flashing jackpot lanes can be shot for extra points, while super jackpots can be earned from shooting the Liberation crossramp.

## Perks

The following perks can be earned during a session:

* **Gunship Ball Saver**: Gunships can rescue Republic allies in trouble. A 30-second rescue ball saver will activate at the start of a ball (with a shorter one activating at the start of a multiball mode), and once it expires, it can be reactivated by hitting the gunship bumpers 30 times through incomplete orbit shots.
* **Reinforcement Kickbacks**: Clone troopers will often need reinforcements to hold their ground against the Separatists, represented by high-power spring-loaded kickbacks that can be activated by spelling CLONE. Doing so when no kickbacks are active will turn on the left kickback, and repeating this procedure will then turn on the right kickback. Kickbacks are only good for the current ball.
* **R2-D2's Score Multiplier**: R2-D2 is a very resourceful astromech droid and skilled hacker who can aid the Republic and disrupt the Separatists. If the player spells out R2-D2 on the bumper rollovers, the score multiplier can be increased. However, it is only good for the current ball.
* **Captain Rex's Random Award**: Clone Captain Rex is one of the most esteemed Clone leaders who has gained a high rank through rugged, seasoned experience. He inspires morale among his troopers and helps them accomplish their missions. The player can have a taste of his supportive leadership by spelling REX on the side targets at the left corner of the right Council ramp. Every time REX is spelled, a random award is dispensed, which may be more points, a multiplier increase, a ball saver, a kickback or an extra ball.
* **Extra Balls**: Extra balls can be earned as a random prize from Rex's Random Award or by maxing out the score multiplier. Any awarded extra balls are claimed immediately.

## Tips

* Try to practice making incomplete orbit shots to reach the bumper area through, where you can have a chance to raise the multipliers through the R2-D2 rollovers en route to an extra ball and activate the ball saver with enough bumper hits.
* You should also try going for random awards by spelling REX for a chance to earn a helpful perk if it isn't a big score boost. Prizes can award kickbacks, a ball saver, a multiplier increase or even an extra ball. You'll probably need to use low cross shots from the left mini-flipper or a particularly angled shot from the left flipper to spell out the name.
* It is very, very easy to fail missions prematurely and the efforts needed to restart a mission can prove very costly and tedious, but there are good measures that you can take to prevent this:
	+ Take full advantage of ball protection mechanisms to avoid mission-ending drains. Quickly get the kickbacks turned on at the start of each ball and keep them on and ready for the next unfortunate outlane drain. Try to get the ball saver re-activated through the random award or bumper hits for added measure.
	+ If a mission doesn't have a time limit, take advantage of its absence to play more cautiously and execute more focused shots while the ball saver isn't immediately available.
	+ Since the Weapons Factory and Final Confrontation both end with a multiball mode that must be completed by locking all remaining balls, it would be helpful to reach that final locking sequence with just 2 balls in play instead of the usual 3 or 4 for easier ball management and a better chance to successfully finish the mission.

## External links

* Official table trailer
* Table walkthrough by ShoryukenToTheChin (PDF)
* Official table soundtrack on Bandcamp (tracks 9 - 16 of *Star Wars Pinball Soundtrack*)