Family Guy

"Oh, this is fun, huh?"

-Stewie Griffin

Family Guy 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 follows select events from the long-running animated sitcom about the complex and often dysfunctional life of the Griffin family, Quahog’s most notable residents.

This is the second pinball adaptation of the television series, with the first one being a physical table designed by Stern in 2007 designed by Pat Lawlor, a famous Williams pinball table designer.

Table overview[]

The upper half of the table[]

The back and left table walls are based on the interior walls and architecture of the Quahog home, with the main stairway taking up much of the former, ascending from its right side above a doorway on the opposite side. A large orbit wraps around almost all the table lanes, with the left side representing Stewie, the youngest of the three Griffin children and the right side representing Lois, the mother of the family. Stewie's orbit is gated by a flag representing one of Brian's books, Faster than the Speed of Love. In front of its apex is a series of three "wacky waving inflatable arm-flailing tube men", sold by Al Harrington. To the right of this orbit is a blue ramp that takes a sharp left hairpin turn into a habitrail that feeds the leftmost inlane, representing Brian, the family pet dog.

Along the right outer wall of its entrance is a small target bank spelling MEG, the oldest child in the family. It sits behind a crossramp dedicated to the middle child, Chris Griffin. Shaped into the first letter of his name, it curves right, before dropping into the apex of Lois' bumper rollover, either feeding the upper flipper or the bumpers depending on the strength of the shot. Nearly perpendicular to its entrance is another lane with four drop targets representing the other citizens of Quahog, the fictional town where the Griffins live, which merges into the entrance of Stewie's orbit when all four drop targets are lowered. To the right of this lane is a central lane dedicated to The Clam, a bar frequented by Peter Griffin and his friends. It leads into the left of three bumper rollovers situated in front of the apex of Lois' orbit, which open to it. If a Clam mode is currently available, the central lane will be replaced by a saucer in the shape of a clam that ejects the ball onto the left exit of Ernie’s ramp.

The bumper area, placed in front of three bumper rollovers each containing a television icon, represent the broadcasting tower and satellite dishes of Quahog's local news network. Balls that enter this bumper area can exit down the Clam middle lane or Lois' orbit. In front of this bumper area are two more ramps: one dedicated to Ernie the Giant Chicken (which Peter occasionally fights) and another dedicated to Peter himself. The former's habitrail path forks when it goes above the bumper rollovers, either leading left down a snaking S-shaped rollover to merge with the left exit habitrail originating from Brian's ramp, or leading right towards another exit habitrail to feed the right inlane, which Peter's ramp also merges into. The entrance to Ernie's ramp can rise to expose a ball locker trap that can also be blocked by a cardboard target of him. The entrances to almost all lanes can be blocked by drop targets representing "leafers", annoying tourists who take too long looking at trees. A figure of Peter stands next to Lois' orbit.

The lower half of the table[]

On the left side of the table is a large time machine model that Stewie uses for various purposes. A figure of him stands before the time machine. To the right of the two is the table's leftmost lane, a short one to the left of his orbit that leads to a sinkhole and ejects the ball to either left inlane. Another sinkhole is present on the opposite side of the table, but is blocked by a target of Glenn Quagmire, a close and very promiscuous friend of the Griffins. Balls that enter the sinkhole feed the plunger lane during normal play, or fall down the stairs at the back wall of the game at the start of Giggity Multiball. Behind it is the table's upper flipper, used to hit Meg's target bank or Chris' crossramp. It also is the gate for the Under Arm lane, which runs behind Glenn's varitarget/sinkhole and into a hidden area underneath the plunger ramp.

There are five return lanes that spell SWEET, three on the left and two on the right. Each outlane is guarded by a kickback. There are two slingshots, with Stewie's teddy bear Rupert sitting on the left and the house mailbox on the right. There are also two main flippers, with lamps for bonus multipliers near them. On the left apron is a figure of Brian, standing behind a sofa. The opposite apron has a piano.

The plunger[]

The plunger is a spring-loaded plunger mechanism provided by Joe Swanson, a wheelchair-bound police officer. He launches the ball up a ramp themed off of the sidewalks of the Griffin's neighborhood that rises up briefly to jump the ball into play. The goal of this skill shot is to plunge with enough strength to hit the figure of Peter in the crotch. Doing so will award 1 million points for a perfect shot and half the amount if the ball launches into Peter without the ideal power level. For each successful skill shot, the next one is worth 1 million points more.

Objective and missions[]

The goal of this table is to sort out the complicated life of the six-member Griffin family through six missions, one for each member. Players only need to start missions to progress to the wizard mode, but completing missions will increase the jackpot value for the wizard mode. Each mission has its own activation procedure and involve spelling the name of a particular family member which it is tied to. Missions can be repeated as many times as possible, but each must be started once to unlock the wizard mode. All missions have a time limit and will fail if time expires or the ball is lost. When a mission is completed successfully, its difficulty will increase with each subsequent completion for the current session, and the score for completing it will increase by 1 million.

The following missions must be started to unlock the wizard mode:

Stewie: In the season 11 episode "Total Recall", Stewie's teddy bear Rupert has been recalled for having loose eyes (which would pose a choking hazard to boys his age) and is about to be destroyed. Stewie must dash through the factory and save Rupert from the furnace. This mission begins when the player spells Stewie's name with 6 shots up his orbit, and involves shooting either of his parents' lanes (Peter's ramp or Lois' orbit) a total of six times, while avoiding the trap in Ernie's ramp representing the furnace which Rupert is about to fall into. Two shots to the furnace, or the depletion of the time limit, will end the mission in failure. After the parents' lanes are hit enough times, the player must shoot either Brian or Stewie's lanes within five seconds to catch Rupert and finish the mission successfully for 2 million. On subsequent attempts, only Stewie’s lane will be lit for the final shot. The timer for the mission starts at 30 seconds and 5 seconds are added with each successful shot.
Brian: Brian has developed questionable romances with various women. After the player spells his name with five shots up his ramp, his mission will begin where the player must recall each of his past lovers by racing against time to shoot a randomly lit lane several times, with the target lane changing after each shot. Possible lit lanes are Meg's target bank, the citizens' lane or the parents' lanes. After the requisite target lanes are hit, the player must shoot Stewie's orbit to finish the mission. Completing the mission scores 3 million; for subsequent attempts, 1 more shot to Meg’s target bank than the last successful attempt will be required to finish the mission. The timer for this mission starts at 30 seconds, with each successful shot adding 5 more seconds.
Meg: Meg is the most mistreated child of the three Griffin children. If the player spells her name on the side-facing target bank, a mission will begin where a shrinking score pool starting at 2 million appears on the scoring display and the player must shoot any of four lit lanes to redeem what is left of it as it shrinks, with each shot recalling the family’s poor treatment of Meg. After the score pool shrinks to 50,000 points, the player must lock the ball into Glenn's sinkhole to finish the mission and recollect the total points scored during the mission. On subsequent attempts, the score pool will start at 1 million more and less time will be given to make the sinkhole shot at the end of the mission. 20 seconds are given to collect the points currently displayed and 10 seconds are given to make the final sinkhole shot; this decreases by 2 seconds each time the mission is played, to a minimum of 5 seconds. Check out the display when the Meg targets are the next shot remaining.
Chris: The middle Griffin child, Chris, is frequently menaced by an evil monkey hiding in his closet. If the player spells CHRIS with five shots up his crossramp, the player must hit the evil monkey twice as he appears as a drop target that rapidly changes positions between Stewie’s orbit, the Clam orbit, and Lois’ orbit. To slow him down, the player can shoot lit lanes to help Chris set up traps for him. Completing the mission scores 3 million; subsequent attempts will require 2 more shots to the evil monkey than before to finish the mission. The timer for this mission starts at 30 seconds, with each lit shot adding 5 seconds to the timer.
Peter: Peter Griffin is the proud patriarch of the Griffin family. If the player shoots his ramp 5 times and spells his name, the player will start a mission in which the player must shoot one of three lit target lanes four times to recall Peter’s rather eclectic ideas and catchphrases. The lit lanes change after each shot. Completing the mission scores 2 million; subsequent attempts will require one more lit lane shot. The timer for this mission starts at 30 seconds, with each lit shot adding 5 seconds to the timer.
Lois: In the season 3 episode "Lethal Weapons", Peter decides to have his wife stick it to the leafers who invade town and snarl traffic as they gaze upon the trees in the area. If the player shoots her orbit four times to spell out her name, the player will help her battle five leafers represented as drop targets, knocking them down before time expires. Completing the mission scores 2 million; subsequent attempts will raise the leafer targets at a slower pace instead of raising them all at once. The timer for this mission starts at 30 seconds, with each defeated leafer adding 5 seconds more.

Once all six missions are started, the wizard mode, Family Matters, involving the entire Griffin family, will begin on the next shot up the Clam lane. This is a four-ball victory multiball where lit lanes award jackpots and Chris' crossramp awards a super jackpot worth 5 million, which can be shot as many times as possible. The value of the jackpots depend on how many of the missions were successfully completed. This mode continues until all but one ball is lost.

Side modes[]

There are many different side modes, which each fall into certain categories.

Duo Side Modes[]

These three side modes unlock after the player finishes two particular family member missions (regardless of whether they did so successfully or not), and represent an iconic moment between particular pairs of family members. Each completed duo mode scores big points in end-of-ball bonus.

Save Stewie: Stewie's time machine has malfunctioned, reversing the flow of time and potentially undoing his very existence. If the player starts up Brian and Stewie's missions, the player can shoot the left sinkhole to begin a mission where the player must shoot six lit lanes, each of which will stop the ball temporarily before sending it very quickly towards the flippers as time reverses. After the necessary shots are made, the player must lock the ball back into the left sinkhole to finally repair the time machine and score 10 million. The timer for this mode lasts 30 seconds; shooting lit lanes will add 5 seconds to the timer.
Guess What? In the season 2 episode "Road to Rhode Island", Chris plays a game with his sister Meg where she has to guess a word that is definitely not "kitty" (even though it is). This mode is unlocked when the player starts Meg and Chris' missions, and a shot to the under arm lane will begin the mode. Then, the player must alternate between shooting the left two lanes and the right two lanes (excluding sinkholes and the under arm lane) three times (left, right, left) to help Meg guess the word in vain. Making the three shots in 30 seconds will score 10 million.
Saggy Naggy: Based on the season 10 episode of the same name, this mode follows Peter creating a puppet of Lois in response to her constant nagging. This mission is unlocked when Peter and Lois' missions are started, and begins with the next shot up Peter's ramp. The player then hits the bumpers as many times as possible in 30 seconds to collect nags from Lois that Peter can use for the puppet. Each bumper hit scores 100,000 points, and the total points scored during the mode will be scored again at the end of the mode.

Citizens of Quahog Side Modes[]

These side modes are started by knocking down all four targets of Quahog citizens in the citizens' lane. The drop targets are arranged in random order, so the frontmost target dictates which mode will start once all targets are down. Starting (not necessarily finishing) all of these side modes will light an extra ball and allow all four side modes to be played again. Unlike the main missions, the timers for the citizens’ side modes can’t be extended.

Consuela: A Latina cleaning maid who serves Quahog for a price. The player helps her do her job cleaning the scoring display by shooting four lit lanes in 20 seconds for 2 million.
John Herbert: An elderly pedophile who does unspeakable deeds. The player must shoot any of three flashing lanes a total of five times in 20 seconds to complete his side mode for 2 million.
Dr. Elmer Hartman: The family doctor the Griffins consult, who seems to be guilty of malpractice. The player must help him do his job, albeit incompetently, by hitting the bumpers 30 times in 20 seconds for 2 million.
Seamus Levine: A mysterious fisherman with a human head, but wooden body that can be prone to damage. In his mode, the player must shoot a randomly lit lane four times to find each of his missing limbs. The target lane changes after 8 seconds have expired and every time it is shot, and after each shot, the number of potential target lanes will gradually decrease from 4 all the way to 1. Finding Seamus’ parts in 30 seconds will finish the mode for 2 million.

Clam Side Modes[]

Starting each of these three modes will lock a ball for Clam Multiball. These modes are based on frequenters of the Clam bar and will start at random. Two of them are 20 second score hurry-up modes in which the player must shoot certain lanes as many times as possible to claim whatever amount of a shrinking score pool on the scoring display remains for big points, while one is a standard mode that has a different completion value depending on how it was finished. The first Clam mode will start after five shots to the clam orbit; further modes will require eight shots to be made.

Joe Swanson: A paraplegic cop. The player must shoot any of the ramps accessible from the lower flippers to seize hurry-up scores starting at 2 million.
Glenn Quagmire: A promiscuous friend and neighbor of the Griffins. The player must shoot orbit lanes to collect hurry-up scores starting from 2 million.
Cleveland Brown: A close friend of the Griffins who is often seen trapped in a bathtub that is about to fall. In his mode, the player must save three tiny bathubs appearing at the apex of lanes that gradually slide down to the open play area by hitting them with the ball. Each tub takes about 10 seconds to break, and shots to the tubs will add three seconds or save them and cause them to disappear. The mode ends when all three tubs are either lost or saved, and a value is scored based on the saved tubs (1 million for 1 tub saved, up to 5 million for all three).

Sibling Rivalry Video Mode[]

There is one video mode on this table, in which Stewie imaginatively engages in battle with his illegitimate brother, Bertram (whom Peter fathered in a prior illicit relationship). Unlike most video modes, this mode takes up the entire display until it has been either failed or won. This mode begins by shooting the left sinkhole three times. It is a side-scrolling shooter in which Stewie pilots his jet and shoots down Bertram's helicopter squadron, using the flippers to change altitude and the launch button to fire. The player must destroy 10 helicopters and destroy Bertram's helicopter in a boss battle, but must be careful as Stewie's jet can only take three hits before going out of commission. Defeating Bertram awards 2 million points. Subsequent video mode attempts will require one more shot to the sinkhole to start and will score 1 million more for completing them.

Multiball[]

There are three Multiball modes in this table, all of which are mutually exclusive and can’t be started during each other (with the exception of Giggity Multiball during The Clam Multiball). Multiballs can only be started when a mode isn’t running, although Chicken Fight Multiball can be started during normal play and during a main mission if the ball locker is active.

Chicken Fight Multiball: Peter occasionally engages in violent throwdowns with a giant chicken mascot named Ernie, regardless of everything else going on in his life. If the player shoots Ernie's ramp enough times (2 for the first activation increasing by 2 for subsequent activations), it will be blocked by a target representing him. Hitting him several times (same rules as above) knocks him out and opens a ball locker trap that can be shot to start a quick 2-ball multiball mode representing a fight between Peter and Ernie. Several pieces of junk will be spread across the playfield, with each piece collected lighting one lane to award a jackpot starting at 100,000 and increasing by 10,000 per jackpot, and collecting all three pieces lighting the crossramp to score a super jackpot worth 2 million. If the two balls happen to hit each other, a 100,000 bonus will be scored. This mode continues until either ball is lost.
Clam Multiball: The Drunken Clam is a popular bar in Quahog where debauchery rules the night. After the player starts the three Clam side modes, the next shot to the clam orbit will start a 3-ball multiball mode where any flashing lane awards a jackpot starting at 1 million that can be increased by locking balls into the Clam in the center lane. This mode continues until all but one ball is lost.
Giggity Multiball: Glenn's favorite word is giggity; he likes it so much that sometimes, he just doesn’t know when to stop. Players can lock one ball into Glenn's sinkhole by first hitting the varitarget blocking it, but after 10 seconds, the varitarget will re-block the hole. Once three balls are locked, a 3-ball multiball will begin where one jackpot worth 1 million is available on each of three randomly lit lanes. Once they are all collected, the player must claim a super jackpot on Chris' crossramp for 5 million before 3 more jackpots on three different lanes will have to be collected. This mode continues until all but one ball is lost.

Perks[]

The following perks can be activated during play:

Ball Saver: At the start of each ball and multiball mode, a 20-second ball saver will activate. Once it expires, it can be reactivated as a Sweet random award or an Under Arm shot reward.
Kickbacks: Performing a 5-way combo will allow the player to activate the left kickback by shooting the left sinkhole. Doing so again before the left kickback is used will activate the right kickback, and doing so while both kickbacks are lit will score a kickback bonus of 2 million. Both kickbacks are low-power spring-loaded and will persist from ball to ball.
Score Multiplier: The bonus multiplier can be advanced up to 10x by lighting all 3 bumper rollovers, whose lit positions cycle on flipper operation. Maxing out and holding the bonus multiplier will light an extra ball. The bonus multiplier level is only good for the current ball, unless a multiplier hold is earned from either completing the three rollovers once 10x has been reached or through enough Under Arm shots.
Quahog 5 News: The Quahog 5 local news network isn’t the most trustworthy source of news around, but it’s the only one that serves Quahog, so they’ll take what they can get. Every 30 bumper hits will result in a television broadcast of yet another crazy news report and a growing score reward starting at 100,000, increasing by 100,000 points more for each broadcast.
Sweet Random Award: Spelling SWEET on the return lanes, whose lit positions cycle with flipper operation, will grant a random award. Possible awards include reactivation of the ball saver, 1 million points, super spinner / ramps / bumpers, activation of either kickback or progression towards starting a mission.
Under Arm: The upper flipper gates off a secret lane that can only be accessed by holding the right flipper button while the ball approaches the left flipper and using it to shoot the ball behind the raised mini-flipper into the secret lane. This shot is called the "under arm" shot and it leads back to the plunger, which will automatically shoot the ball back into play. Making multiple shots to this lane grants special perks, given in a certain order. These include small points (100,000 plus 100,000 each time collected), reactivation of the ball saver, a multiplier hold, or lighting an extra ball (once per game).
Combos: Combos can be collected at any time during play, even during Multiball modes, with each combo scoring 100,000 times the length of the combo. Making a 5-way combo will briefly light the left sinkhole to activate a kickback, and making a 10-way combo will light an extra ball (the first time) or score an “extra score” of 5 million (on subsequent attempts).
Speed of Love: Brian is a talented writer, with one his novels being Faster than the Speed of Love. The player can earn increasing score rewards starting at 100,000 and increasing by 100,000 for every 50 spins of the flag in Stewie's orbit, which will increase the titular "speed of love" and get Stewie to annoy Brian more. Increasing it to its max level with 500 spins will light an extra ball.
Extra Balls: Extra balls can be lit at the under arm shot by executing a 10-way combo, as the 10th under arm shot award, maxing out the bonus multiplier, starting all Citizens of Quahog side modes or reaching the maximum level of the Speed of Love scoring reward.

Tips[]

Spell SWEET on the rollovers very frequently as you shoot the lanes to earn random awards. This is the easiest and most reliable way to light the kickbacks.
To reach the wizard mode, you need to master cross-shots to hit Chris' crossramp (Meg’s target bank can be hit either from the upper flipper or a lucky bounce from the right flipper). The best way to reach the upper flipper is to shoot Stewie's orbit, the Clam lane, or Lois’ orbit when a combo isn’t active. The latter two shots might not always bring the ball down Lois' orbit, but if it does, it will drop the ball at a slower speed for an easier chance for you to land a cross shot.
As combos can be collected during Multiball modes, there’s no reason to go for them during single-ball play. This stack can lead to an easy extra ball, as well as “extra scores” of 5 million that often score more than the jackpots the game wants you to shoot for.
The left exit of the bumper area has a nasty tendency to send balls between the two flippers and right down the drain. To prevent this, try nudging the game as the ball exits the bumpers or don’t use the flippers at all when the ball exits. The latter option is more effective than it might seem, as the distance between flippers that aren’t active is shorter than that between flippers that are.
Try holding the ball on the left flipper during normal play to activate the status report. You’ll like what you see (or hear…)

External links[]

Official table trailer
Table walkthrough by ShoryukenToTheChin (PDF)
Official table soundtrack (tracks 10 - 13 of the Balls of Glory Pack Soundtrack)

Balls of Glory
Family Guy · American Dad! · Archer · Bob's Burgers