Solo: A Star Wars Story

> "Hey, kid. I'm putting together a crew. You in?"
>
> - Tobias Beckett

***Solo: A Star Wars Story*** is one of the three *Pinball FX3* tables that adapts the events of the eponymous 2018 *Star Wars* anthology film, *Solo: A Star Wars Story*. This table takes the closest inspiration from the film, following the misadventures of a young Han Solo as he journeys into the criminal underworld and joins a crew to pull off a daring heist.

## Objective

The goal of this table is to help Han Solo pull off his first heist in the criminal underworld through eight missions representing major scenes from *Solo: A Star Wars Story*. Each mission has its own start procedure and must be completed to unlock **Kessel Run**, which must then be completed to unlock the wizard mode, **Showdown**. Missions can be repeated to increase the jackpots in the wizard mode by 1 million, even after they are initially completed.

### Single-ball missions

These six missions are timed, single-ball affairs, which must be completed successfully without losing the ball. Outside of **Conveyex Robbery**, these missions have limited scoring potential; if the player has to repeat certain shots during the same attempt at the mission, the scoring will be vastly reduced.

* **Speeder Chase**: Han Solo is on the run, having stolen a speeder to escape the White Worms, a criminal gang headed by the towering Grindalid Lady Proxima. If the player spells CORELLIA with 8 shots into the saucer besides the left orbit (only 4 shots are required the first time), a mission will begin where the player must help Han get away from the White Worms, as well as local Imperial police forces in two separate "chase" sequences. In each of these two chase sequences, a drop target of Han's speeder and a drop target of his pursuer's speeder will appear next to each other, with the former to the right of the latter. They will both scroll across the drop target track from the left side of the table to the right. The player must hit the pursuing speeder while avoiding Han's speeder to increase the distance between the two, and must hit it five times before a 15-second time limit that resets with drop target hits runs out to help Han escape. Hitting Han's speeder will reduce the time available for the mission and bring Han's pursuer closer to him. The mission will score a minimum of 10 million (1 million per drop target hit) when it is completed.
* **Recruited**: Han enlists in the Imperial Army and is sent to the muddy planet of Mimban with a detachment of troops to quell an uprising there. If the player spells MIMBAN with six shots up the left orbit, with each spinner hit increasing the timer each fighter is raised by .10 seconds, a mission will begin where the player helps Han hunt down and eliminate three Mimbanese fighters. To defeat each one, the player must hit a hard-to-hit drop target of one 3 times, with limited time for each hit. Before the first hit, the drop target will pop up, hide and pop up at different places. After the first hit, the drop target may slide across the table for some distance before hiding, and before the final hit, it will move for longer distances as it tries to flee. Finishing the mission will score a minimum of 27 million (1, 3, and 5 million for the three hits to each soldier).
* **Beckett**: Han encounters a band of smugglers led by Tobias Beckett, who plans to steal an Imperial hauler for his big heist. If the player spells BECKETT with 7 shots to the right sinkhole, a mission will begin where the player must help him sneak up to the hauler while watching out for a nearby All-Terrain Defense Turret. The player must shoot seven lit lanes, while avoiding unlit lanes, to move a drop target of Beckett from the left side of the table to the other side. If the player hits the drop target itself, it will move backward, resulting in the loss of some mission progress, and if the player shoots the wrong lanes 4 times, Beckett's cover will be blown and the mission will fail. Finishing the mode will score a minimum of 7 million (1 million per shot) and a unique callout if the mission was finished with no mistakes; if a shot was missed, repeating the shot will score 100,000 instead.
* **In the Pit**: Han is sentenced to the "penal pit" where he is expected to be killed and eaten by the Wookiee Chewbacca, whom he befriends and convinces him to escape together. If the player hits the bumpers 50 times with several shots to the crossramp, the bumper platform will lower and this mission recounting how the two escape the penal pit will start. In the first part, Han fights Chewbacca, and their drop targets will pop up at the center of the table, flanking a pole that they are chained to at the pit; the player must hit Chewbacca 8 times within a time limit to help Han subdue Chewbacca. After that, the player must hit the pole three times to destroy it for 1, 3, and 5 million, freeing them both; then, the player must alternate between hitting the two targets to help them escape in the final phase, making 10 target shots in total. All phases have a 30 second timer that resets upon target hits, or by hitting the chain during the third phase. Successfully completing the mission will score a minimum of 27 million.
* **Conveyex Robbery**: Beckett receives word that the Empire is keeping a shipment of coaxium, essential for hyperspace jumps, in a moving conveyex train on the planet Vandor-1, and his crew will have to secure their theft of the coaxium by dealing with 3 Range Troopers. If the player spells VANDOR with 6 shots up the Vandor lane, a mission will begin where the player must help Beckett's crew secure their theft of the coaxium by dealing with 3 Range Troopers. To defeat each Range Trooper, the player must hit the boots of a Range Trooper figure that walks onto the front left portion of the table 5 times to knock him over, or can instantly defeat the trooper with a well-aimed cross jump worth 10x the value for defeating him normally. The amount of points earned for each hit and defeat of the Range Trooper depends on how soon the first hit has been landed, and is set by a dwindling score pool that starts at 1 million and increases by 1 million for each successive Trooper defeated and each shot to the conveyex rail. The player must hit the Range Trooper before he gets to the entrance of the Vandor lane. Once the Range Troopers are defeated, the table's conveyex track is severed, resulting in the destruction of the train carrying the coaxium and the stolen hauler taking one of the cars. Enfys Nest's gang of Cloud-Riders will then attack the crew, with their own plans for the coaxium. The player must then hit a drop target of one of the Cloud Riders members and then hit a drop target of Enfys Nest herself twice, with each hit dispensing what amount of bonus points remain in a dwindling score pool starting at 20 million on the display at the time of impact. Completing the bonus round is not required to finish the mission successfully - only the three troopers need to be defeated - but defeating the Cloud Riders will light an extra ball as well. Expect scores of around 50 to 60 million for finishing this mission.
* **A Proper Ship**: Han asks Lando to lend his ship, the *Millennium Falcon*, to help get the smugglers to Kessel. If the player spells KESSEL by shooting each Kessel ramp 3 times, a mission will begin where the player helps Lando pilot the *Falcon* to Kessel by shooting four lit lanes within 30 seconds: the left orbit, both Kessel ramps, and the right orbit. The mode can alternately be completed by a U-turn with a weak shot to either Kessel ramp to collect whatever shots were needed. Successfully completing the mission will score 10 million.

### Revolt Multiball

On Kessel, Lando's droid L3-37 stages a slave revolt to screen the smugglers' theft of the coaxium. **Revolt Multiball** is the main multiball mode of the game, and starting it is one of the tasks required to qualify the **Kessel Run**.

Balls are locked for Revolt Multiball through a complex system that transfers the locked balls under the spiral ramp to the right standup target, then to the center standup target. To lock a ball, the player must:

* Shoot the spiral ramp with enough force to "capture" the ball at the left of the ramp's entry. This can be done even if a mission is already active.
* Shoot the spiral ramp again to execute a "transfer" as it diverts the ball to the captive ball target, which collapses to hold the captive ball.
* Shoot the captive ball to lock it under the *Millennium Falcon*.

Each locked ball also increases the timer and slows down the rotation of the **Lando Award** described in the *perks* subsection.

Once 3 balls are locked in play, Revolt Multiball will begin. To score jackpots, the player must shoot the moving drop target of a Pyke Syndicate Sentinel, then strike the quickly-moving drop target of a Pyke Syndicate Emissary for a super jackpot worth 3x the jackpot value within 10 seconds. The locks at the spiral ramp remain active during Revolt Multiball; completing the three steps of the lock process add 1, 2, then 3 million points to the jackpot value, and adds another ball into play. Jackpots can be further multiplied by shooting the top cross jump hole or by making the hole in the very back of the center lane where the balls were locked, which will increase the jackpot multiplier by +1x; this multiplier can also be increased during single-ball play as a random Lando Award.

### Kessel Run

After completing all six missions and **Revolt Multiball**, the player will be prompted to spell KESSEL at the left and right ramps to start the **Kessel Run**. This difficult final mission acts as a gateway to the **Showdown** wizard mode. Other missions can be started and completed while Kessel Run has been qualified, though **A Proper Ship** will be disabled due to this mission taking priority over it. Each phase of the Kessel Run is timed for 15 seconds; the timer resets with each lit shot, and 5 seconds can be added during the second phase by shooting the giant Summa-verminoth target.

An Imperial fleet pursues the *Falcon* after the smugglers steal coaxium, and Han is forced to attempt the dangerous Kessel Run, which he would live to tell the tale about, to escape. The player must first shoot two randomly lit orbits or center ramps to help the *Falcon* escape from an Imperial Star Destroyer. After that, a pop-up cardboard target of a giant Summa-verminoth will appear and block every lane except the orbits and the Correlia saucer. The player must shoot the orbits to turn the *Falcon*, shooting one of them three times in succession to turn the *Falcon* to get it around the beast, and then escape by shooting the orbit on the opposite side once. The player must then finish the Kessel Run by making four more random lane shots. Finishing the mission awards a total of 14 million (and one damaged *Falcon*), and deactivates all missions from being started until Showdown has been started and finished.

### Showdown

Once all eight missions are completed successfully, shooting the right scoop will start **Showdown**, in which the smugglers must battle the Cloud-Riders, who attempt to disrupt the smugglers' efforts to refine the coaxium. This is a 4-ball victory multiball that lasts as long as at least 2 balls are in play. At the start of the wizard mode, the jackpot value is calculated; 100,000 x missions completed for target shots, and 1,000,000 x missions completed for the Dryden Jackpot.

First, the player must defeat the Cloud Riders by hitting drop targets of Enfys Nest and two of her allies. If the player hits Enfys Nest immediately at the start of the mode, the player can fight her and get a quick chance at the Dryden Jackpot; otherwise, the player must defeat her two associates before being able to take on Enfys. Once all three are defeated, Dryden Vos will appear and the player can knock him down for the Dryden Jackpot. Once he is defeated, the process of defeating Enfys and Dryden resets. All playfield scoring can be doubled during this Multiball for 30 seconds by first locking a ball at the spiral ramp and then releasing it. The player can only play the wizard mode once before the table resets all mission progress.

## Side modes

### Big Duo Multiball

**Big Duo Multiball** is the sole optional side mode in this table, a 2-ball multiball representing Han and Chewbacca's early friendship that starts once two balls are locked by hitting the upper target at the Vandor lane to force the platform in front of the lane into jump-ramp mode, then shooting it to hit a target at the back left corner of the table. Han will collect each ball there and toss it to Chewbacca, who will lock it into a habitrail near the the bumper area. Once both balls are locked, they will release into the bumpers, with the number of bumper hits increasing the base jackpot value (starting at 1 million) by 100,000. Jackpots can be earned by shooting the Beckett sinkhole or the sinkhole exposed by the raised platform, and once both jackpots are collected, two super jackpots worth double the jackpot value can be collected by shooting the crossramp; though the player has only two tries to get it due to the platform gating the Vandor lane, which provides access to the mini-flipper needed to hit the crossramp. The first time a super jackpot is collected in a game, extra ball will be lit at the right sinkhole. This mode will continue until either ball is lost.

## Perks

The following perks can be activated during play:

* **Skill Shot**: The goal of the skill shot is to shoot the ball with high force such that it goes through the reverse scoop to reach the cross-jump platform, but not too strong, so that the ball will reach the platform at a speed slow enough for the player to successfully make a cross jump. The large hole awards a skill shot worth the decreasing score amount shown on the display, while the smaller hole, being more difficult to hit, awards a super skill shot worth double the skill shot value. The starting value of the score pool increases by 1 million with each successful super skill shot.
	+ A **secret skill shot** can also be scored if the player shoots the ball such that it drops into and down the right orbit, then uses the right flipper to hit the Beckett sinkhole within a short amount of time. The player has 8 seconds to choose a reward with the flippers and launch button, which alternates between random small point values or credit for completing one of the first seven missions.
* **Ball Saver**: At the start of each ball and multiball, a 15-second ball saver will be activated. Once it expires, it cannot be reactivated normally. A very short ball saver will be activated when hitting drop targets or the Range Trooper figure during certain missions, or when a Magna-Save is activated.
* **Magna-Save**: Spelling QIRA on the return lanes will activate a Magna-Save that can be used to save the ball from draining when it approaches either outlane by pressing the launch button. Up to 3 uses of the Magna-Save can be stacked at once, and they will persist across balls, with future completions of QIRA simply scoring a bonus that starts at 100,000 and increases by 100,000. Magna-Save charges can also be earned as a random award from Lando.
* **Bonus Multipliers**: Every time the player executes a cross-jump shot by shooting the reverse scoop and then successfully shooting the top hole when only one ball is in play and no combos are active, the bonus multipliers will increase by +1x. The multipliers are only good for the current ball unless they have been held from one of the Lando Awards, which can also be used to advance the multipliers by +3x. There is no limit to how high the multipliers can be raised.
* **Combos**: The player can score combos by shooting lanes consecutively within 10 seconds of each other, without repeating any lane more than once. Combos score points ranging from 3 million for a 3-way combo to 20 million for an Ultra Combo using all eight shots. Collecting an Ultra Combo will multiply the combo value by +1x for the rest of the game, and light an extra ball at the right scoop the first time one is collected.
* **U-Turns**: Weak shots to either Kessel ramp may fall back to the lower flippers by draining down the entrance to the opposite ramp. If this occurs, a U-Turn will be scored, worth 100,000 points and increasing by 100,000 points for each successive U-Turn in a game. Collecting a U-Turn during the mission **A Proper Ship** will also complete the mode without having to make all four shots.
* **Lando Awards**: Lando Calrissian, sketchy as he is, can prove helpful in Han's heist. If the player hits the Lando target or captive balls twice within 3 seconds (increasing by 1 second per ball locked) and then hits a drop target of Lando himself in front of the target within the same time limit, a random award will be dispensed, with an award roulette spinning on the scoring display while the Lando drop target is raised. The roulette speed and amount of time given to make the drop target depends on how many balls were locked for Revolt Multiball; the more balls have been locked, the slower the roulette will spin and the more time will be given to hit the target, up to 5 seconds. Prizes include:
	+ 100,000 (x number of times collected this ball)
	+ +1x Jackpot Multiplier
	+ +3x Bonus Multiplier
	+ Hold Bonus X
	+ Fast Lock (locks a ball for **Revolt Multiball** instantly)
	+ +1 **Magna-Save**
	+ Slow-Mo Jump (next reverse scoop shot slows the game down until the upper right flipper is used)
	+ Spinner Millions (spinner scores 1 million x number of times this is collected for one shot)
	+ Light **Extra Ball**
* **Extra Ball**: Extra balls can be lit at the right sinkhole by defeating Enfys Nest at the end of the **Conveyex Robbery** mission, earning a Super Jackpot in the **Big Duo Multiball** for the first time in a game, by completing the Ultra Combo sequence, by performing 3 cross-jumps in a row without missing, or from a rare **Lando Award**.

## Tips

* The cross-jump maneuver might be tricky, but it sure is fun to pull off; plus, it can light an easy extra ball early in the game. Lando Awards are similarly difficult, but worth going for as long as you have balls locked before activating it - this will make the timer for both hitting the targets and the roulette itself easier to manage.
* Revolt Multiball is very high-scoring, and a well-played Revolt Multiball with a high Jackpot Multiplier can sometimes score more than even the wizard mode. Only nine total shots are required to start Revolt Multiball, making this a safe strategy for getting big points with minimal risk.
* Since losing the ball during a mission results in its failure, protect the ball by acquiring and using Magna-Saves (which persist across balls) and watching out for situations where unexpected ball drains may occur. If the ball is draining down the left outlane and you have no magna-saves available, you might be able to save the ball with a well-timed right nudge that will push the ball through the gate between the left outlane and left inlane and safely bring it behind the left flipper.
* The wizard jackpot value can be increased by completing any mode more than once, and the easiest one to complete in this regard is A Proper Ship, which only requires three shots to both Kessel ramps to start and can be finished with a weak U-turn shot as well. Alternatively, before starting Kessel Run, focus on making progress towards the rest of the missions without starting them to make it easier to get to Showdown a second time.

## External links

* Official table trailer
* Table walkthrough by ShoryukenToTheChin