How to Train Your Dragon

"The only upsides are the pets. While other places have ponies or parrots, we have... dragons!"

- Hiccup

How to Train Your Dragon
Date available	September 3rd, 2021
Category	Zen Pinball Party
Based on	How to Train Your Dragon directed by Dean De Blois
Designed by	Zoltan Vari
Plunger mechanism	Straight into diverter area (manual); into the right orbit (ball saver)
Skill shot type	Plunger strength (regular), flipper assisted (super / hidden)
Number of return lanes	4
Number of flippers	3 (one upper right flipper)
Outlane protection	Stackable magna saver (max of 3)
Number of main missions	3
Wizard mode type	Victory multiball
Number of side modes	2
Number of multiball modes	1

How to Train Your Dragon is one of the six Animated Heroes tables exclusive to Zen Pinball Party, released on September 3rd, 2021 for Apple Arcade. Based on the 2010 film of the same name, the table follows an outcast Viking named Hiccup who strives to become a dragon slayer; however, when he captures his first dragon and realizes that it's friendly towards him, he decides to befriend it instead.

Objective

The primary goal of this table is to fully train and befriend Toothless before defeating the gargantuan Red Death dragon. This is done by completing three smaller objectives called "side quests", all listed on the left page of the Dragon Journal above the flippers: "Never Steals Food", "Never Shows Itself", and "Never Misses".

These three side quests must be completed to fully train Toothless:

• "Never Steals Food": One of the first ways Hiccup tries to befriend Toothless is by feeding him fish. At the start of the game, no fish will be in the basket above the "Fish" standup targets; the basket must be filled with fish by hitting the bumpers at least once, then giving Toothless the fish by hitting either standup target. The value of the fish basket grows by about 300,000 points per bumper hit with no known limit, and resets each time it has been collected. Feeding Toothless one fish is enough to complete this side quest; feeding him 10 fish in total will light an extra ball.
• "Never Shows Itself": Hiccup surprises everyone when he plays around with Toothless. Hitting the captive ball on one side of the playfield, then hitting the other captive ball within 5 seconds will begin a brief "Chase" mode where Toothless will hop around and chase a light that moves around the playfield. Each alternating captive ball shot while the mode is active scores increasing millions (ie. 1 million for the first shot, 2 million for the second, etc.), and making 4 hits during a single run of the mode will light an extra ball. The mode ends once either the 10 second timer (which resets upon captive ball hits) runs out, or when Toothless is accidentally hit with the ball. Simply collecting the first captive ball shot during the mode is enough to complete this objective.
• "Never Misses": Toothless' flame breath can be very helpful - as long as he doesn't use it on Hiccup. Shooting either the left or right orbit will quickly flash the insert at the orbit that was just shot for about 5 seconds; if the orbit is made again, Toothless will fire his flame breath at the ball, doubling all playfield scoring for 30 seconds. Repeating this progress while the timer is running will reset the timer; resetting it 3 times in a row will light an extra ball. The objective will be solidly lit as soon as the 2x playfield scoring starts.

Once the player trains Toothless by completing all three side quests, The Red Death will be qualified. This 4-ball multiball wizard mode is started the same way as Flying Multiball described below; once the Multiball sequence has been started, both ramps will constantly be lit to feed the catapult, as will the catapult shot itself. All lit jackpot shots send the ball flying up the diverter platform to hurt the Red Death dragon for a Mega Jackpot worth 2 million. The wizard mode ends and the objectives will be reset once the player drains back down to one ball.

Side modes

Two side modes are available and can be started at any time during single-ball play; the side modes are mutually exclusive, and neither can be started while one is already active, but the Never Steals Food and Never Misses side quests can still be progressed towards and qualified during Catapult Rampage. The hidden skill shot allows either of these side modes to be started without having to qualify either of them.

• Catapult Rampage: Once the catapult has been fired at all four diverter positions and all four of the yellow arrow inserts at the shot are lit, a 30-second timed hurry-up mode will begin where the ramps and catapult shot will be lit to load the catapult. When the ball is fed to the catapult, 10 seconds will be given for the player to launch the ball using the launch button, and the diverter platform will begin rotating clockwise. Once the ball has been launched, the platform will stop at whatever location it was on when the button was pressed (if the ball hits a wall and feeds the plunger again, the timer will be reset). If the crossramp is hit while the 30-second timer is running, the timer will reset; hitting both captive balls will pause the timer for 10 seconds. Each time a catapult lane is made that hasn't been made, increasing millions will be rewarded (1 to 3 million); the final shot will award 10 million, end the mode, and light an extra ball if the mode has been completed for the first time. All four catapult positions will then have to be made to start the mode again.
• Hurling Hurry-Up: Hiccup strives to impress his crush, Astrid, by showing off his axe-throwing skills. Each time the diverter changes positions, the sinkhole will be lit to collect one letter in "ASTRID"; once the word has been spelled, the mode will start. This hurry-up mode gives the player 30 seconds and unlimited balls, but only the upper right flipper is active - meaning the player has to make only crossramp shots during this mode, worth 1 million per shot. Making 10 crossramp shots during the mode will light an extra ball. The mode ends once the timer runs out, and all balls will drain to revert play back to single-ball play. Every further time Hurling Hurry-Up is started during a game, 10 additional seconds will be added to the timer.

Multiball

One 4-ball multiball mode is available at any time during single-ball play until the side quests have been completed. During this multiball, all other objectives are disabled until the multiball ends.

• Flying Multiball: Gobber hopes to teach Hiccup proper dragon training, but Hiccup has plans of his own. To light the three locks, one shot to both ramps must be made, followed by a shot to either ramp with enough strength to pass through the curvy lane on the diverter platform; only one ramp will be lit for a lock at a time, while the other ramp will deplete the dragon's limited breath and allow a ball to be locked after six shots have been made. Once all three balls have been locked, one final shot to the sinkhole will start Flying Multiball. During Flying Multiball, either ramp will score a Jackpot with a base value of 2 million (increased by 100,000 per spinner hit, or 200,000 per spinner hit if multiball is running). Once the Jackpot has been collected, the player can either shoot 6 ramp shots to relight the jackpot, or load the catapult to score a Super Jackpot worth double the value of the normal jackpot; hitting both captive balls will briefly light one of the ramps to score this Super Jackpot as well. The Multiball ends and the jackpot value will be reset back to its base value once the player returns to single-ball play. The process of qualifying Flying Multiball never becomes more difficult.

Perks

• Skill Shot: At the start of each ball and after having locked a ball, a two-part skill shot will be available depicting Hiccup practicing his axe throwing skills. The ball must first be plunged with enough strength to drop onto the lower path of the diverter area for a skill shot, then shot up the crossramp using the upper right flipper for a super skill shot. The skill shot is worth a set 500,000 points, while the super skill shot starts at 1 million points and increases by 1 million for each super skill shot made on the current ball; the value resets between balls. A successful super skill shot also holds the bonus multipliers for the next ball.
  • A hidden skill shot is made available at the catapult shot for about 5 seconds if the ball is plunged such that it doesn't enter the diverter area at all and falls back down the right ramp habitrail towards the right flipper. Making the hidden skill shot will give the player a choice between either starting the Hurling Hurry-Up mode or the Catapult Rampage mode; the flippers select the mode, and the launch button will select a random mode. 15 seconds are given to make an option.
• Ball Saver: A 15-second ball saver is active at the start of every ball and at the start of either Multiball mode, and will return balls that drain out the entrance to the left orbit. There is no way to reactivate the ball saver.
• Magna-Save: The most important piece of equipment a dragon slayer can have is their shield. Hitting both the "MAGNA" and "SAVE" standup targets once each will qualify a Magna-Save, which can be used to magnetize the ball to an inlane, or away from the outhole, if timed properly. Up to 3 Magna-Saves can be stacked at once, and will persist across balls.
• Bonus Multiplier: A fatal flaw of the Monstrous Nightmare dragons is their tendency to set themselves on fire. Spelling "FIRE" at the four return lanes will light the sinkhole for about 10 seconds to advance the bonus multiplier by +1x; rolling over the flashing return lane during this time will reset the timer. The bonus multipliers can be held between balls by successfully making a super skill shot.
• Dragon Manual: Reading up on the history of dragons proves useful for Hiccup. At any time during single-ball play, hitting the crossramp with enough strength such that the ball reaches the spinner at its apex will increase the jackpot value for Flying Multiball by 100,000 points per spin, with no known limit. If the spinner is shot during Flying Multiball, the jackpot will increase by 200,000 points per spin instead. The jackpot value resets once Flying Multiball has been played.
• Combos: Shooting either the left or right ramp, followed by the orbit on the opposite side, will score a 2-way combo worth 2 million. Shooting the right ramp, then the left orbit, then the crossramp will score a 3-way combo worth 3 million. Combos can only be collected if the locks haven't been qualified. There is no way to increase the combo value.
• Extra Balls: Extra balls can be lit at the sinkhole by feeding Toothless 10 fish, making 4 lit captive ball shots during a single Chase mode, resetting the double scoring timer 3 times while the timer is already running, making all four catapult shots during Catapult Rampage, and by making 10 crossramp shots during Hurling Hurry-Up.
• End-of-ball bonus: 100,000 per fish collected this ball + 20,000 per lit chase captive ball hit this ball + 100,000 per 2x scoring start, all multiplied by the bonus multiplier. Expect around 20 million for a bonus with lots of multipliers following a long ball.

Tips

• Flying Multiball is the easiest way to get high scores on this table thanks to the jackpot value and how it's increased. Be sure to hit the crossramp several times before starting Flying Multiball to get your jackpot value high, then keep Flying Multiball going for as long as possible to score big. The Red Death has easier jackpots to collect, but they cannot be increased through any method, making the wizard mode a disappointment scoring-wise.
• The Chase mode can be somewhat dangerous, as no ball save is given for balls that ricochet down the drain after hitting Toothless. If the risk isn't worth it, hold the ball on a flipper and time out the mode.
• Stack up on Magna-Saves early and often. Like in many Zen tables with this feature, Magna-Saves can quickly save an otherwise doomed ball - even the ones you wouldn't expect to be saved. The minimal effort required to qualify a Magna-Save translates to potentially longer ball times.

External links

• Official table trailer