A-Force

"Look around! It seems like New York, but look at all those Soviet signs. When the Cosmic Cube shattered, did it rewrite reality?"

- Black Widow

A-Force
Date available	September 27, 2016
Category	Marvel
Based on	Characters from A-Force created by G. Willow Wilson, Marguerite Bennett and Jorge Molina
Designed by	Thomas Crofts
Plunger mechanism	Straight into right ramp and toward bumper rollovers
Skill shot type	Plunger strength (regular), flipper-assisted (super and Marvelous)
Number of return lanes	3
Number of flippers	4
Outlane protection	2 low-power spring-loaded kickbacks
Number of main missions	5
Wizard mode type	Final timed multiball mission
Number of side modes	4
Number of multiball modes	3 (1 mandatory, 2 optional)

A-Force is one of the two Marvel pinball tables that are part of the Women of Power pack, released in the fall of 2016 and available for Zen Pinball 2, Pinball FX 2 and Pinball FX 3. Based on the 2015 comic book series of the same title, this table covers an original story in which Black Widow and Madame Masque accidentally end up in a different reality where the Soviet Union takes over the United States after a fight that destroys the Cosmic Cube. The two unlikely partners must put aside their differences to restore reality.

Table overview

The upper half of the table

At the back left corner of the table is a crossramp that curves across a rock face and away from the corner to eventually enter a diverter mechanism built inside a toy replica of the A-Force tower, which is also the same destination of a dueling, shorter crossramp at the opposite corner of the table. Balls that enter this structure from behind via either crossramp can be diverted into one of two exit habitrails: a left habitrail destined for the leftmost inlane, with a diverter near its terminus that takes the ball to Black Widow's wrist stinger blaster on the left rebound or a right exit habitrail leading to the right inlane with a diverter midway through its course, which can drop the ball to a right mini-flipper when activated.

The left crossramp curves over some sort of garage containing a jeep that Black Widow and Madame Masque must hijack to evade capture while in the new Soviet reality. Right next to it is a clear bumper area that is the terminus of the table's right ramp. Balls that enter it pass through rollovers that spell HELI and exit it through three holes to drop the ball at different places in the bumper area it is installed above: between the two left bumpers, between the frontmost and right bumpers, or behind the right bumper. The left drop hole places the ball into what is also the terminus of the table's leftmost lane. The middle hole puts the ball near a left mini-flipper used to access the right crossramp.

The bumper area gates the left entrance of a mini-orbit dedicated to Titanium Man, an enemy that Black Widow and Madame Masque must fight on their quest to restore reality. The right bumper is also itself a ball trap that spins the ball a random number of times, with a front-facing door that opens to lock the ball inside. Beside this bumper is a very short lane to a saucer that catches the ball, then diverts it around and behind the right bumper and back into the bumper area, before dropping into the left mini-flipper or down the left lane. Besides the entrance to this saucer is the other end of the Titanium Man mini-orbit. The entrances of all these lanes are diagonally staggered to allow the ball to hit the right crossramp at the other end of the table, which curves over buildings in the Soviet-dominated New York City and right under a toy water tower, before reaching the A-Force tower. A sinkhole is just to the left of this crossramp, between the crossramp and the right Titanium Man mini-orbit.

The left mini-flipper used to access the abovementioned right crossramp is installed directly in front of of the frontmost bumper, and a magnet is installed to the right of it to help the player use it. This flipper sits to the right of a sinkhole and the entrance of the left crossramp. Not far from this flipper, on the other side of the table, is a sinkhole enclosed in the helmet of Titanium Man, whose visor is a barrier target. Enough space is left on the right side of the helmet to allow the ball to reach the right end of Titanium Man's mini-orbit. Along the right table wall is a platform where a figure of Madame Masque, one of Black Widow's enemies, usually stands. This platform is inclined towards the front of the table to allow the ball to drop down a short exit habitrail leading to the right inlane.

The lower half of the table

In front of the entrance of the left crossramp is a short left ramp that curves left to merge into the left exit habitrail. Shots up this ramp may be diverted to the abovementioned stinger wrist blaster. The front corners of this ramp's entrance each contain a target shaped into Black Widow's symbol, To the left of this ramp is the table's leftmost ramp, which leads to the bumper area. To the right of this ramp, otherwise known as the stinger ramp, is a side-facing target bank that can be accessed with the right mini-flipper on the other side of the table, which is placed between the path to Titanium Man right mini-orbit and the bumper ramp's entrance. A third Black Widow target is installed in front of this other mini-flipper.

There are five return lanes, three on the left and two on the right. The left return lanes spell CAR and the right inlane is the kickback activation inlane. There are two rebounds, with the left one containing a toy replica of Black Widow's wrist-mounted stinger blaster, aimed at the platform on the back table wall, which can launch the ball there and drop it into an exit habitrail at the end leading to the right inlane. There are also two flippers, with lamps for score multipliers near them. The left apron contains a helicopter pad and the right apron contains a replica of a metro station in the new Soviet-ruled reality.

The plunger

The plunger is a spring-loaded mechanism, shaped into Madame Masque's pistol, that launches the ball up a short shaft that merges into the trajectory of the table's bumper ramp to take the ball there. The goal of the skill shot, in which Madame Masque must shoot a spotlight to avoid detection, is to shoot the ball to the bumper area with the proper force such that it drops into one of two lit middle HELI rollovers en route there, whose position can be switched between the 2nd and 3rd position via flipper operation. A successful skill shot scores 1 million points and opens up a time limited chance to shoot the right crossramp as the ball falls to the left mini-flipper for a super skill shot worth at least 2 million points. A successful super skill shot opens the chance to hit the other crossramp for a Marvelous Skill Shot worth at least 4 million points, via the other mini-flipper. The base skill shot value can be increased by 500,000 from one of the random awards.

Objective and missions

The goal of this table is to help Black Widow and Madame Masque put aside their differences and work together to undo a dangerous new reality where the Soviet Union won the Cold War and took over the United States of America through five missions. To start a mission, the player must shoot either crossramp three times to lock the ball in the A-Force tower, then choose which mission to play using the flippers. On the first wizard mode run of a session, the player is not required to beat the mission successfully, but on subsequent runs, the player must beat each mission successfully. Missions will fail prematurely when the ball is lost. Successful missions will score 15 million points in addition to any points scored from the mission; this value can be increased by 2 million by shooting the right sinkhole four times during normal play. The following missions must be started (or completed on subsequent wizard mode runs) to start the wizard mode:

• Two Widows Sting: Black Widow is just getting used to her new surroundings when a doppleganger loyal to the Soviet Union threatens her. To gain the upper hand over her, the player must land three shots on her with the stinger, shifting between attack and defense roles, with the defense phase starting first. In the defense phase, the player must shoot the bumper ramp, right Titanium Man mini-orbit or bumper ramp within 10 seconds to dodge Soviet Black Widow's attack. After that, a 10-second attack phase will begin where the player must shoot the bumper ramp, stinger ramp or the left crossramp. The mission ends in success after 3 successful attacks against Soviet Black Widow, or in failure after 3 failed defense phases.
• High Speed: Black Widow and Madame Masque must hijack a jeep and evade the pursuing Soviet forces. First, the player must shoot three combos, guided by lit lanes, to help Black Widow hot-wire the jeep to begin the escape within a time limit. Then, the player must help Black Widow and Madame Masque fend off pursuing jeeps by hitting small toy jeeps that advance down certain lanes until they are pushed back far enough to explode. If the player allows four jeeps to make it to the end of a lane before the same number are pushed back and destroyed, the mission will fail; otherwise, it will succeed.
• Black Widow Comrade: With the Soviet Black Widow on their trail again, Madame Masque puts her powers to use to take down this doppleganger. The player must first stun the enemy by shooting the right side of the Titanium Man mini-orbit within 10 seconds, then follow through with a right crossramp or left ramp shot that feeds the stinger to attack. Three successful attacks will defeat Soviet Black Widow and finish the mission successfully; if the player takes too long to land a blow, she will hit Madame Masque. Three hits will end the mission in failure.
• Prevent the Reinforcements: Black Widow and Madame Masque must stop the Soviets from delivering weapons to reinforcements. The player has 85 seconds to destroy 10 crates dropped by a helicopter across the playfield, taking off from the left apron. Helicopter Multiball locks are temporarily made inaccessible during this mission due to the helicopter dropping off reinforcements.
• Titanium Man: During their quest to restore reality, Black Widow and Madame Masque face one other significant obstacle: Titanium Man. While maintaining a 2-ball multiball, the player must hit Titanium Man's visor, or the back of his helmet, enough times to reduce his health on the scoring display to zero; doing so clears the mission, while losing either ball fails the mission. Hits to the back of his helmet deal more damage, and progress towards Titanium Man Multiball will be disabled during this mission.

Once all five missions are started (or cleared on subsequent wizard mode runs), the wizard mode, Restore the Reality, will be ready to start the same way other missions were started. This is a final, timed 4-ball multiball mission where Black Widow and Madame Masque must battle the Soviet Madame Masque to recover the shattered Cosmic Cube, which she uses to create fake cubes that the two must discern, represented as the four balls. The player has 45 seconds to shoot 12 lit lanes to reveal and eliminate 1 fake cube (and ball) and this procedure must be repeated two more times, with 45 seconds allotted per procedure, to remove all fake cubes. Immediately before the mission begins, Titanium Man will disable the main flippers, so Black Widow and Madame Masque will have to use their weapons to propel the balls in the main flippers' absence. Once the fake cubes are eliminated, the player must lock the last ball, representing the true Cosmic Cube, into the stinger ramp to defeat Soviet Madame Masque and finally restore reality. The player is only allowed one attempt at this wizard mode and it will fail if the player takes too long to eliminate one fake cube, or drains the ball on the final shot.

Side modes

The following side modes can be activated during play:

• Sharpshooter: Black Widow can master her stinger blaster to defeat enemies. If the player makes 5 shots to the stinger ramp, it will lock the ball into the stinger blaster on the left slingshot. The player must then use the flippers to aim the stinger blaster at the right table wall and hit a figure of Soviet Black Widow to attack Madame Masque, scoring 2 million for a successful shot. The side mode fails if the player misses or takes too long to shoot.
• Patrol Car: Black Widow and Madame Masque must remain undetected in their dangerous mission, and their cover may be at risk of being blown when a patrol car is nearby. If the player spells CAR on the left return lanes (with their lit positions cycling with flipper operation), the player must race against time to shoot the left lane as many times as possible to push an advancing patrol car back to the bumper area for 2 million. Every time the mode has been completed, CAR must be spelled one more time to activate it.
• Tower Defense: The A-Force tower, which somehow ended up in the Soviet-ruled reality, is besieged from all sides. This side mode begins after a certain number of bumper hits, in which the player must hit the crossramps as many times as possible in 30 seconds to claim a hurry-up value starting at 2.5 million points and decreasing to 100,000 points. If She-Hulk has been collected, the hurry-up will start at 5 million.
• Titanium Man Bashing: Black Widow and Madame Masque can attack Titanium Man to make sure he doesn't interfere with their mission. If the player shoots the Titanium Man mini-orbits enough times, a hurry-up will start where the player must hit Titanium Man's visor as many times as possible to claim a hurry-up value starting at 2.5 million points and decreasing to 100,000 points. If She-Hulk has been collected, the hurry-up will start at 5 million. If both Titanium Man Bashing and Tower Defense are active, the display will show the current score pools for both.

Multiball

There are two optional multiball modes that can be activated:

• Titanium Man Multiball: Titanium Man continues to be a persistent foe in Black Widow and Madame Masque's mission. After enough hits to Titanium Man's visor, the visor will open to reveal a saucer that the ball can be locked into for Titanium Man Multiball. After three balls are locked, multiball will begin and the player can score jackpots worth 1 million by shooting the Titanium Man mini-orbit. Hitting both sides of the mini-orbit will qualify a super jackpot worth 4 million that can be claimed by shooting the saucer in Titanium Man's helmet; collecting the super jackpot will light an extra ball. This mode will continue until the player drains down to a single ball.
• Helicopter Multiball: The Soviets are distributing weapons to reinforcements to make Black Widow and Madame Masque's mission harder. If the player spells HELI on the bumper rollovers, the next shot into the central saucer right of the bumper area will lock one ball for Helicopter Multiball; locking three balls will start the mode, in which jackpots worth 100,000 points can be scored by destroying weapon crates placed throughout the table. Spelling HELI at any time during normal play while the lock is already lit or the Prevent the Reinforcements mission is active will add 25k to the base jackpot value.

Perks

The following perks can be activated during play:

• Ball Saver: At the start of each ball and multiball mode, a 15-second ball saver will activate. Once it expires, it can only be reactivated with a random reward.
• Kickbacks: Kickbacks can be activated by dropping the ball into the right inlane to start a time-limited chance to shoot the stinger ramp to progress towards activating one, with the left kickback taking priority over the right one. The number of ramp shots needed to activate a kickback starts at 1 per ball and increases every time the kickbacks are activated. Kickbacks persist across balls until they are used.
• Bonus Multiplier: Hitting all 3 Black Widow targets will start a 15-second hurry up where the player can shoot any of five flashing lit lanes (the left lane, stinger ramp, both ends of the Titanium Man mini-orbit or the bumper ramp) to advance the bonus multiplier up to 10x. Each lane can only be used once per advancement, and the multiplier level is only good for the current ball unless a multiplier hold is earned from random awards. If the bonus multiplier is maxed, any of the five lanes above can be shot for score rewards of 1 million points during the hurry-up timer.
• Random Awards: If the player hits all 3 targets of the random award target bank lining the right outer wall of the stinger ramp, the player can shoot the left sinkhole for a random award, including instant activation of kickbacks, reactivation of the ball saver, lighting an extra ball, increasing the skill shot value by 150,000, 5 million points, or a multiplier hold.
• A-Force Members: Black Widow and Madame Masque are able to summon the aid of the A-Force to help their plight. The player can progress towards reaching a random A-Force member by first knocking down a target in the right bumper's ball trap, then shooting the ball inside to make it spin a random number of times. The scoring display shows how much distance needs to be traveled to find an A-Force member, and once it reaches zero after repeated shots into the ball trap (with the ball trap barrier resetting after each use of the trap), the player can then shoot the right sinkhole near the right crossramp to get a certain A-Force member. Members are scored in the following order:
  • She-Hulk: Increases the starting size of the score pool for Tower Defense and Titanium Man Bashing side modes.
  • Captain Marvel: Increases score rewards for shooting valid target lanes in mission modes.
  • Spider-Woman: Increases the time limits for missions.
  • Thor (Jane Foster): Increases the time limit for the wizard mode.
  • Wasp: Reduces the number of shots needed to remove a fake Cube/ball in the wizard mode.
• Extra Ball: Extra balls can be lit by beating the wizard mode, earning a super jackpot in Titanium Man multiball, getting a particular random award, maxing out the bonus multiplier or finding all five A-Force members. All extra balls are claimed by shooting the central saucer.

Tips

• It is essential to master cross-shots to excel at this table. It is not too difficult to pull them off, due to special table aids like a magnet or a special habitrail exit that will drop the ball conveniently to the mini-flippers you need to hit them. Conveniently, you can shoot the end of the Titanium Man miniloop that's opposite of the mini-flipper you want to access - this is the most reliable way to reach either one.
• Recruit the A-Force members! Look especially for Thor (Jane Foster) and Wasp if you want an easier wizard mode; plus collect them all for an extra ball! Also, take advantage of table perks to earn kickbacks, ball savers and extra balls.
• Use side modes and optional multiball modes to help you practice beating most of the missions and take advantage of how the latter can be activated during a mission to increase ball survivability.

External links

• Official table trailer (0:00 - 0:36 of the Marvel's Women of Power Pinball Pack trailer)
• Table walkthrough by ShoryukenToTheChin (PDF)