Williams• 1988• System 11B• Barry Oursler

Cyclone

Ride the Comet, build the Cyclone Gate Jackpot, collect the Ferris Wheel bonus, spin the backbox Mystery Wheel, and use 20-second double scoring to turn simple shots into serious points. Cyclone has no multiball; the entire game is about rhythm, timing, and repeating the right shot.

System 11B No Multiball Comet Ramp Gate Jackpot Ferris Wheel Mystery Wheel

Playfield

2 flippers · 3 ramps

3 pop bumpers · Ferris Wheel

Main scoring

Comet + Cyclone

1M shot · progressive Gate Jackpot

Production

9,400

Pinside listed production

Estimated value

$2,960–$3,440

Current Pinside estimate range

The game at a glance

Two ramp ladders, one big jackpot, and no multiball safety net.

Cyclone is a single-ball scoring game. The center Comet ramp builds toward a 1 Million shot, while the right Cyclone ramp builds toward the progressive Gate Jackpot. The top lanes start 20 seconds of double scoring, the Ferris Wheel stores a bumper-built bonus, and the Spook House opens access to the physical Mystery Wheel in the backbox.

Why it feels different

There is no mode stack, wizard mode, or multiball bailout. Your score comes from repeating ramps before their timers expire, controlling the right-inlane returns, and deciding when the side attractions are worth leaving the main scoring loop.

The safest mental model

Think in timed ladders. Comet wants five consecutive strong shots for 1M. Cyclone wants three consecutive shots for the Gate Jackpot. Everything else either increases those opportunities or adds secondary value around them.

No multiball Cyclone has zero multiball modes. Every scoring opportunity happens with one ball in play, so control, return-feed knowledge, and resisting low-value dangerous shots matter more than they do on many later games.

New player guide

How to play in seven steps

Plunge for the 100K Shuttle hole.
The elevated shooter ramp has five scoring holes. The center 100K hole is the skill-shot target. Each successive ball increases the skill-shot multiplier, up to 5X.

Complete the three Park Entrance lanes.
Use the flipper buttons to lane-change. Completing all three begins 20 seconds of double scoring. Completing them again while double scoring is running adds another 20 seconds.

Start building the Comet.
Make strong center-ramp shots in sequence: 40K → 60K → 80K → 100K → 1M. The early steps allow 20 seconds; the final 1M shot must be made within 10 seconds.

Build the Cyclone ramp toward the Gate Jackpot.
The right ramp scores 50K → 100K → Gate Jackpot. The second and third shots must each arrive within 15 seconds. Complete the duck bank to relight the ramp after a jackpot attempt.

Use the right inlane to light the Ferris Wheel.
The right inlane lights Ferris Wheel for 15 seconds. A lit Ferris Wheel collects a bonus that starts at 50K and grows by 3K for every pop-bumper hit.

Open the Spook House when Mystery is worth the risk.
Hit the drop target, then make the cellar-hole shot within 15 seconds. The backbox wheel can award points, Extra Ball, Special — or Zilch.

Use Boomerang and target banks to build the rest of the game.
Boomerang raises bonus multiplier from 2X to 7X. Cats relight Comet; ducks relight Cyclone, build Hold Bonus, and can eventually light Extra Ball.

Center ramp progression

Ride the Comet — and stay on it until the million.

Full rulesheet ↗

The Comet is the center ramp and one of Cyclone's strongest repeatable scoring routes. Weak shots fall into the first ramp hole and dump into the bumpers without advancing the feature. A clean shot must travel the full ramp and return through the lower Cyclone ramp to the right inlane.

40KInitial lit Comet value.

60KSecond consecutive strong ramp shot.

80KThird consecutive strong ramp shot.

100KFourth consecutive strong ramp shot.

1 MillionFifth consecutive shot; only 10 seconds after the 100K shot.

RelightComplete the three cat targets at Ball Toss.

2×

Double scoring applies to the Comet million If Park Entrance double scoring is active, the 1M Comet shot scores 2M. That makes lane completion immediately before a Comet run one of the strongest scoring combinations in the game.

Right ramp progression

Ride the Cyclone for the progressive Gate Jackpot.

Qualification

Shot 1: 50K.
Shot 2: 100K, if made within 15 seconds.
Shot 3: Gate Jackpot, if made within another 15 seconds.
After collect or timeout: complete the three duck targets to relight Cyclone.
Unlit ramp: scores 25K without advancing the lit ladder.

The Gate Jackpot

The jackpot has a 500K minimum and 4M maximum.
Each top-lane rollover adds 5K to the Gate Jackpot.
The jackpot carries over from game to game, so location play can leave a very large value waiting.
Unlike most scoring, double scoring does not double the Gate Jackpot.
The ramp returns to the right inlane, so the third-shot setup often requires a controlled transfer back to the left flipper.

↔

The real difficulty is the third shot The Cyclone ramp feeds the right inlane, but the ramp itself is most naturally attacked from the left flipper. The jackpot sequence therefore tests whether you can transfer control back across the playfield before the 15-second timer expires.

Stored-value feature

Ferris Wheel: build it in the bumpers, collect it from the left orbit.

How it works

The Ferris Wheel bonus starts at 50K.
Every pop-bumper hit adds 3K.
The right inlane lights the Ferris Wheel for 15 seconds.
A lit left-orbit/Ferris Wheel shot collects the accumulated bonus.
Unlit Ferris Wheel shots still score 25K.

Why the shot is strategically useful

The Ferris Wheel physically carries the ball and returns it through the left-side ramp.
The return feeds the left inlane / left flipper area, which can help set up another Cyclone ramp attempt.
Uncollected Ferris Wheel bonus carries to the player's next ball.
If double scoring is active, the Ferris Wheel collect is doubled.

Ferris Wheel is more than a novelty A healthy bumper build plus double scoring can make Ferris Wheel a meaningful six-figure shot, and its return feed can solve the control problem created by the Cyclone ramp's right-inlane return.

Spook House & Mystery Wheel

You pay your money, you take your chances.

Opening the Spook House

Hit the single drop target beside the Comet ramp.
The target stays down for 15 seconds.
Shoot the exposed cellar hole before the target resets.
The ball then triggers the rotating Mystery Wheel in the backbox.
After the award, the ball is kicked back into play from the Boomerang scoop.

Possible Mystery awards

Point awards ranging from 5K to 200K.
Extra Ball.
Special.
Zilch — literally no points.
The randomness makes Mystery entertaining, but not necessarily the best tournament priority.

Do not fire directly at the drop target unless the feed is safe The target can reject the ball toward the center drain or send it airborne. A ricochet hit is often safer than treating it like a normal standup target.

Supporting scoring systems

Park Entrance, target banks, Boomerang, and bonus.

Park Entrance & double scoring

The three top lanes can be changed with the flipper buttons.
Each rollover scores 1K and adds 5K to the Gate Jackpot.
Completing all three begins 20 seconds of double scoring.
Completing them again while active adds another 20 seconds.
The center lane is hardest to receive naturally, so leave it unlit when the ball is entering the bumpers.

Cats & ducks

Cats / Ball Toss: complete all three to relight Comet.
Completing cats also lights the Hold half of Hold Bonus.
Ducks / Shooting Gallery: complete all three to relight Cyclone.
Completing ducks lights the Bonus half of Hold Bonus.
Second duck-bank completion on the same ball scores 50K; the third lights Extra Ball.

Boomerang

The scoop sits above the left slingshot.
Lit Boomerang advances end-of-ball bonus multiplier from 2X to 7X.
Either inlane relights it.
Lit shots score 50K; unlit shots score 10K.
The Boomerang is a difficult shot, so bonus multiplier should not automatically override safer ramp scoring.

Center post & drains

Cyclone has a fixed center post between the flippers.
Some apparent straight-down-the-middle drains will bounce back into play if you do not panic-flip.
The outlanes score 10K and can award Extra Ball when lit.
Slingshots and flipper buttons toggle a lit Extra Ball between the two outlanes.

Competitive play

Tournament strategy

The dependable opener

Take the 100K skill shot. Later balls can make it worth up to 500K.
Use the top lanes intelligently. Double scoring is one of the few ways to multiply the game's largest fixed awards.
Choose a ramp plan. Comet is the 1M route; Cyclone is the progressive-jackpot route.
Stay on a lit ladder. Once you begin a timed sequence, switching goals throws away progress.

When Comet is the better play

The Comet million is deterministic once you can repeatedly make the center ramp.
Double scoring turns that million into 2M.
The right flipper is usually the best flipper for the Comet shot.
Weak ramp shots do not advance the sequence, so learn the required shot strength before committing to a timed run.

When Cyclone is the better play

Check the Gate Jackpot value before deciding how hard to chase it.
A large carried-over jackpot can dominate the scoring on a location game.
The real challenge is transferring from the right-inlane return back to the left flipper before the timer expires.
A lit Ferris Wheel can provide an alternate route back toward the left flipper.

Setup-specific checks

Test the Comet return and whether weak shots safely fall to the bumpers.
Watch the Ferris Wheel exit before relying on an easy left-flipper feed.
Check how aggressively the slingshots feed the outlanes.
See whether the center post is forgiving enough to justify letting SDTM balls bounce rather than panic-flipping.

★

If you only remember one competitive strategy Use the top lanes to start double scoring, then commit to a scoring ladder instead of wandering: Comet for a doubled 1M, or Cyclone for a large Gate Jackpot. Keep shooting the same feature while its timer is alive.

Long-ball value

Bonus, Hold Bonus, and Extra Balls

Cyclone does not have a modern long-game wizard mode, so its deeper progression is about preserving value across the ball: building end-of-ball bonus, holding it, increasing the multiplier, and earning Extra Balls.

End-of-ball bonus

Bonus increases from the start of ball, rollovers, stationary targets, and inlanes.
Outlanes contribute a larger 3K increment to the base bonus.
Boomerang advances the multiplier from 2X through 7X.
Complete cats to light Hold and ducks to light Bonus; together they preserve bonus.
Hold a flipper button before the ball ends to view the current Outhole Bonus status.

Extra Ball routes

Extra Ball can be awarded from the Mystery Wheel.
Complete the duck targets three times on the same ball to light Extra Ball.
A consolation Extra Ball can light if the first two balls are lost very quickly.
Extra Ball toggles between the left and right outlanes with slingshot and flipper activity.
It is possible for both outlanes to be lit at once under the right combination of awards.

There is no wizard mode to wait for Cyclone's “deep game” is simply a better version of the opening game: larger Gate Jackpot, more valuable skill shots on later balls, stronger bonus, and more disciplined timed-ramp execution.

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