Archer

> "I can't hear you... over the sound... of my deafening awesomeness!"
>
> - Sterling Archer

***Archer*** 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 is based on the many exploits of the agents of the International Secret Intelligence Service, including the well-known agent Sterling Archer.

## Table overview

### The upper half of the table and fold-out mini-playfield

The back half of the left table wall has a panel that folds out to reveal a mini-playfield of sorts, which is solely comprised of pins and rollovers that the ball hits on its way down, draining down to the table's left exit habitrail, destined for the leftmost inlane. This mini-playfield is accessible through an alternate pathway of the table's central ramp, the Danger Zone ramp. It curves left to a diverter junction, which normally diverts the ball left down a straight path that leads to the abovementioned left exit habitrail, although on the way there, the ball can be diverted left again by either of two more diverters; one that takes the ball across a sideways habitrail and another that brings it back into the main play area, through an exit that's too narrow to re-enter with the flippers. In the area between all these diverters is a replica of the lab of Dr. Krieger, the International Secret Intelligence Service's top researcher. It has a robot arm called CB that can grab a ball.

Near the robot arm, there is a target bank that spells LAB, placed between the third Danger Zone ramp diverter's exit to the main playfield and the left end of a miniloop dedicated to raising funds, gated by a spinner shaped into a credit card. The LAB target bank can collapse to reveal a sinkhole. The miniloop wraps around the rising entrance of the aforementioned Danger Zone ramp, but the right end of the miniloop can only be accessed through a lucky shot from the bottom left flipper or the upper right flipper directly in front of it. Full counter-clockwise shots up the right end of this miniloop won’t occur unless certain modes are active, as the back wall of the right end is actually a tension spring gate that can push away to divert the ball backwards down the table's leftmost lane. The outer wall of the right end of the miniloop juts out a little to contain a small, inward-facing target bank that spells CB, the abovementioned robot arm. To the right of the miniloop is the typical exit of the table's left lane, if not for a hidden vertical upkicker that pops the ball up to a raised bumper area that's the terminus of the plunger. The bumper area has two exits: a hole that drops the ball down the end of the table's long left lane and a front exit that leads down a curvy habitrail towards the right inlane. The bumpers contain the faces of Pam Poovey, Cherlene Tunt and Dr. Krieger.

An automatic launcher lies to the right of the left lane's exit, which is the destination of the abovementioned cross-habitrail that diverts from the Danger Zone ramp. It pops the ball up a left hairpin turn that merges back into the left lane's exit. Balls that fully exit the left lane will roll directly to the upper right flipper for a chance to hit the right entrance of the miniloop. To the right of the auto-launcher lane is the long pathway of the right ramp, leading to a magnetic saucer that holds the ball briefly, but not before pushing through a one way gate that drains the ball down to the automatic launcher once the saucer releases it. The saucer represents the Service's armory, where their different weapons and gadgetry are stored. Drop targets can pop up and block the entrances of most shootable lanes, with a track for a sideways-moving target in the middle of a table.

### The lower half of the table

The entrance to the long left lane is placed further down the table's left side. It starts out as a tunnel passageway that travels under the lab and the Danger Zone ramp, before arcing to the back table wall and towards its exit. To the left of it is a twin target bank representing the "call" and "hang up" buttons of a phone and to the right of it is a smaller target being the first letter of the word SPY. Striking the "hang up" target when flashing will cause the former to collapse and reveal a sinkhole, representing Malory Archer, Sterling's mother and former leader of the Service who constantly pesters her son with phone calls that he does not wish to answer. The left lane can also be blocked by a drop target.

In front of the mini-flipper is a rotating turntable, flanked by two more targets that spell the remaining portion of the word SPY. It contains a toy model of Archer's signature car that blocks access to a sinkhole; at certain times, the car will exit the turntable and jump over the left flipper opening a sinkhole behind the turntable, while other modes will replace the turntable with a spinner post or a hologram display. To the right of the last SPY target is the entrance to the armory ramp, which is a straight pathway leading to the abovementioned magnetic saucer underneath the bumper area. It can also be blocked by a drop target. There are five return lanes that spell FIELD AGENT, with each rollover representing one letter in each of the two words, followed by two rebounds and two main flippers. Each outlane is guarded by a spring-loaded kickback. Indicators corresponding to the bonus multiplier and the current awesomeness level / multiplier are located near the flippers. Figures of Archer Sterling and Lana Kane stand on the table aprons, which feature silhouettes of them.

### The plunger

The plunger is a spring-loaded mechanism, powered by the biting force of an alligator from the swamps of the Louisiana bayou. It launches the ball up a straight shaft through a one-way exit gate into the bumper area. The goal of the skill shot is to hit the Danger Zone ramp immediately after launching the ball into the bumper area and dropping it down the right exit habitrail. The value of the skill shot starts at 100,000 and rises by 100,000 with each bumper hit at the start of each ball. Alternately, the player can go for a super skill shot by plunging with just enough force that the ball is sent straight to the bumper area's exit sinkhole, worth 2 million points.

## Objective and missions

The goal of this table is to help Archer achieve **awesomeness** through the completion of many missions. The amount of awesomeness gained depends on the difficulty of the mission and the awesomeness multiplier's current level.

### Missions

Each mission has its own unique activation method and must be completed without losing the ball. Missions can be repeated and completed as many times as possible until enough awesomeness is earned to start the **Awesomeness Multiball**.

There are five sets of missions, containing three missions per set:

**Bumper Missions**
Archer's ordeals are anything but ordinary! Weird as his life might be, they’re not the most awesome tasks and won’t score as much awesomeness (although **Gator!** will). When the bumpers are hit 25 times, Archer's car will drive off the table and one of these three random missions will start when the sinkhole behind his car is shot:

* **Whack-A-Krieger**: Clones of Dr. Algernop Krieger plot to launch a missile full of nerve gas at New York City, and the original Krieger must stop them. This is a video mode where the player must quickly press buttons to attack the clones as they appear on the scoring display, landing the requisite number of hits before time runs out. The left flipper attacks clones on the left side of the display and vice versa, while the launch button hits clones at the center of the display.
* **Woo-A-Lady**: Archer seeks to impress women - if he can find the right pickup lines. The player helps out by shooting the left lane or the armory enough times to rotate the hologram display on the turntable, then locking the ball back into the car sinkhole.
* **Gator!**: Archer must stand his ground against a monstrous alligator with limited ammunition. The player must shoot lit lanes to attack the alligator, but has limited ammunition and will miss if the player shoots an unlit lane. When the player's pistol magazine depletes, a shot up the armory will reload the pistol, consuming one clip. The mission succeeds when Archer deals enough damage to the alligator by making five lit shots, and fails if he runs out of ammo altogether.

**WOODHOUSE Missions**
Sir Arthur Woodhouse has always been a butler and father figure to the fatherless Archer. As all three of these missions are simple to complete and boil down to simple housework, they collect much smaller amounts of awesomeness when completed. Spelling WOODHOUSE with enough shots up the right end of the miniloop will start one of three random missions:

* **Scrambled Eggs**: Archer's favorite breakfast is scrambled eggs, which Woodhouse is very skilled at making. The eggs are represented as a sideways-moving drop target that will only remain active for 10 seconds.
* **Spy Training**: Woodhouse is happy to let Archer take in some target practice with his many pillows. The pillow will always spawn as a drop target in front of the right end of the miniloop, and must be shot within 10 seconds.
* **Discipline**: Woodhouse teaches Archer discipline by asking him to keep unworn clothing off the floor. The player helps out by hitting three suitcases of clothing that appear throughout the table.

**ARCHER Missions**

The Service's finest agent embarks on missions to protect the world. The difficulty and absurdity of these missions guarantees that you’ll get a ton of awesomeness from completing them. Spelling ARCHER with six hits to the car toy to remove it, then locking the ball in the sinkhole behind it will start one of three random missions:

* **Ride the Limited**: Archer fulfills his lifelong dream of fighting atop a moving train when the Canadian terrorist Kenny Bilko breaks free and tries to escape. The player must shoot three lit lanes to land blows on Bilko. Failure to do so results in Bilko going on the offensive, and the player must shoot the Danger Zone ramp on a 10-second timer to evade his attacks. Three failures to do so results in a knockout for Archer and failure of the mission. The player must complete three sets of 3 lanes to defeat Bilko and win the mission.
* **Drifting Away**: Archer's car is missing - and it might have fallen into the hands of the pursuing yakuza. The player must spin the car spindisk until 8 drop targets of the yakuza pursuers appear, which must all be knocked down to defeat them all and complete the mission. The pursuers will only be active for a limited time, and the spindisk will have to be hit to raise them again.
* **Pirate King**: Archer becomes a pirate king, but forgets to share his treasure and must face a mutiny. The player must shoot five lit lanes to stop the mutiny, but after each target lane is hit, the ball will come out of the car sinkhole and become a grenade, which must be locked back into the same sinkhole within 10 seconds. 3 destroyed grenades will end the mission in failure, while 5 successful lane hits and grenade deflections will result in success.

**DANGER ZONE Missions**

Archer likes danger - and the "danger" of his romantic tension with field agent Lana Kane. The name says it all - these missions will award tons of awesomeness for finishing them. Spelling DANGER ZONE at the center ramp will start one of three random missions:

* **Archer's Alley**: Archer's marksman skills are tested when he must gun down hitmen at a swimming pool in a hotel, while trying not to shoot Lana, Baby AJ or Brett. This is a minigame where the player aims and shoots at pop-up targets of enemy hitmen by using the flippers to turn and the launch button to fire at cardboard cutouts, with 15 bullets and 30 seconds to shoot 10 of them and clear the mission.
* **Excelsior**: The Excelsior, a helium-powered airship, is imperiled by a time bomb. The player must shoot three sets of three lit lanes while avoiding a moving target, before time runs out, to help Archer defuse the bomb. Hitting the target causes him to cut the wrong wire, taking 5 seconds off the clock.
* **Swamp Ride**: Archer fulfills another of his many lifelong dreams - stealing an airboat - on a mission to protect a pipeline. The player has two minutes to scare off alligators while aboard. This can be done by shooting one of three target lanes that divert the ball to the airboat mini-playfield. The player must watch the arrow at its start to indicate the angle which the ball will be launched down the mini-playfield and must hit all 8 rollovers once to scare off each alligator. After each visit to the mini-playfield, drop targets of alligators must be knocked down for another chance to enter it again; if no flashing lanes were hit, the player will be able to access it again immediately.

**LAB Missions**

Dr. Krieger plans different experiments in his lab that appear to be for the betterment of mankind. These can pay off big - no, not because they’re beneficial or whatever, but because they guarantee awesomeness for finishing them. Spelling LAB on the back left target bank near the left end of the funds miniloop will collapse it to reveal a sinkhole that can be shot to randomly start one of these three missions:

* **Man-Ant**: Dr. Krieger plans to complete a formula that gives him the proportional strength of an ant. The player must hit the spinner at the left end of the miniloop 10 times to charge the machine, and hitting the bumpers will increase the number of ants and score collected once the player shoots behind the LAB drop targets. Once enough ants have been collected, the player shoot the sinkhole behind the LAB drop targets within 10 seconds. Repeating this process three times will finish the mode and score a bonus based on the number of ants collected, because that's how you get ants. If the player fails the transfer three times, the mode will end in failure.
* **Cybo-Practor**: Dr. Kreiger must practice implanting cybernetics into agents. The player must choose 3 of 6 lit lanes to shoot, then shoot the three selected lanes again, both within 30 seconds each.
* **Mind Matters**: Dr. Krieger must catch Pam Poovey and Cherlene Tunt to cure their health issue and stage fright respectively. The player must shoot six lit lanes in order, from the right to left side of the playfield, within 60 seconds.

### Awesomeness Multiball

Once enough awesomeness is gained to spell out AWESOMENESS, **Awesomeness Multiball** will immediately start, and a 50 million "Globetrotter" bonus will be awarded if the player completed missions from all five mission categories described above. This is a 4-ball victory multiball where both miniloop entrances award the regular **jackpot value**, and all other lanes award a super jackpot that is worth 4x the jackpot value. This mode will continue until all but one ball is lost, and an **extra ball** will light at the center ramp upon exiting out of the wizard mode.

## Side modes

*Strictly speaking, there are no side modes that can be started and completed for extra points, besides multiballs.*

### Multiball

There are 3 multiball modes on this table. **CB Multiball** and **Malory Multiball** can be stacked, as both of their lock methods remain active during the multiball modes.

* **CB Multiball**: Krieger creates different robotic machines, including one known plainly as CB. If the player spells CB at the twin target bank just outside the right entrance of the miniloop twice (+1 per multiball activation), the CB robotic arm will capture the ball when it enters the left end of the miniloop. Spelling CB again after one ball has been locked will release the locked ball for a multiball. Jackpots can be earned by shooting both sides of the miniloop; repeated, alternating shots to both sides of the miniloop will score more.
* **Malory Multiball**: Malory, Archer's mother, constantly annoys her son with phone calls. At random times, Archer's phone will ring. Hitting the green target at the left phone target bank or waiting for the phone to time out will increase the value for hanging up by 100,000, while hitting the red "hang up" target at the left phone target bank will play one of Archer’s many prank voicemails, collect and reset the hang up value, and lower the targets to reveal a sinkhole to lock the ball into. Repeating this process 3 times will start a 3-ball multiball where jackpots can be earned by shooting the left lane or the right end of the miniloop, which can be multiplied by +.1x with every spin of the spinner.
* **Avalanche Multiball**: After one of the ten more complex missions are successfully completed, the player has 10 seconds to lock the ball at the Danger Zone ramp. Once all four are locked, the player must release them one by one by lighting up rows of rollovers in the avalanche mini-playfield, which can be accessed by the center ramp, the armory, or the lab or car sinkholes. After four balls are released or when 2 minutes pass, the multiball will properly begin and all lit lanes will award the **jackpot value**. Lighting all the rollovers in the avalanche mini-playfield again awards a super jackpot worth 5x the jackpot value, and each rollover hit there also raises the jackpot (there are no limits to how high the jackpot value can be). This mode continues until all but one ball is lost.

## Perks

The following perks can be earned on this table:

* **Ball Saver**: At the start of each ball and multiball, a 30-second ball saver is activated. Once it expires, it can be reactivated by buying it at the **armory** starting at 5,000 funds. The armory ball saver acts differently than most, as it doesn’t have a timer and simply disappears the next time a ball drains.
* **Kickbacks**: Each outlane is guarded by a kickback, but to activate the kickbacks, the player must buy them from the armory with 2,500 funds. Kickbacks carry over between balls until they are used.
* **Bonus Multiplier**: Every 15 million points scored will advance the bonus multiplier by +1x, to a maximum of 10x bonus. It is only good for the current ball unless a multiplier hold is purchased from the **armory** with 25,000 funds.
* **Funds and Armory**: The International Secret Intelligence Service has an armory that can procure crucial assets and tools for success if enough funds are gathered. Funds are raised with shots to the spinner at the left end of the miniloop, which are then spent at the armory by spelling SPY on the small, scattered target posts, then shooting the ball up the armory ramp. Here, the player can choose which perk to buy (jackpot increase, kickbacks, ball save, +0.1x awesomeness multiplier, bonus multiplier hold, or light extra ball), using the flippers to decide which perk to buy and pressing the launch button to confirm the purchase. There is also an option to exit and return the ball to play. The lowest priced award is the jackpot increase (1,000 funds), and the highest priced is the extra ball (100,000 funds).
* **Jackpot Value**: At the start of the game, jackpots score 500,000 points. Collecting jackpot increase from the **armory** will increase the jackpot value by 50,000 points for the rest of the game.
* **Extra Balls**: Extra balls can be instantly collected by maxing out the bonus multiplier, starting the wizard mode, buying an extra ball from the armory, or starting the Malory Multiball by hanging up on her three times.

## Tips

* You have complete freedom on which missions you want to complete to earn enough awesomeness, so take advantage of that to only go for the mission sets that you’re comfortable with playing. Remember that the missions from the bumpers and the Woodhouse missions tend to score far less awesomeness than the other sets; it might be better to ignore these unless you’re close to starting them.
* Be strategic with acquiring armory perks! Raise lots of funds, then once you have a lot, carefully spell out SPY on the target posts to unlock the armory at the right ramp. Crucial perks to buy there are the awesomeness multipliers, permanent ball save, and extra ball. If you’re worried that the SPY targets will cause drains, try completing them during the ball save timer at the beginning of a new ball.
* Malory Multiball is generally not worth the risk of going for, as hilarious as the prank voicemails are; CB Multiball is a little easier to activate but still doesn’t score much. Avalanche Multiball is where the big points are and should be prioritized over the other two Multiball modes at all times if you’re looking to get a high score.

## External links

* Official table trailer
* Table walkthrough by ShoryukenToTheChin
* Official table soundtrack (tracks 5 - 9 of the *Balls of Glory Pack Soundtrack*)