# A Battle Plan for Williams’ Medieval Madness Pinball

**Source:** Kineticist  
**Type:** article  
**Published:** 2026-07-20  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.kineticist.com/news/medieval-madness-tutorial

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## Analysis

A detailed rules guide for Williams' Medieval Madness pinball machine, explaining the progression of major gameplay modes including Peasant/Damsel ramps, Joust orbits, Trolls, Multiball Madness with stacking mechanics, and the endgame Royal Madness mode. The guide documents shot values, mode completion requirements, jackpot scoring, and hurry-up stacking strategies.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Medieval Madness features 5 types of Multiball Madness that can be lit and stacked to increase ball count and jackpot values, up to 4-ball multiball with 1,000,000 point super jackpots — _Direct rules documentation for Medieval Madness gameplay mechanics_
- [HIGH] Royal Madness is the endgame mode unlocked after completing all 5 Multiball Madness types and playing Multiball Madness itself, offering either an extra ball or 15,000,000 points as reward — _Royal Madness rules section describing unlock conditions and rewards_
- [HIGH] Hurry-ups can be stacked indefinitely with no meaningful limit, with values scaling from 1,000,000 base to exponentially higher amounts based on stack depth — _Castle Hurry-ups rules documenting stacking mechanics and point progression_
- [HIGH] Troll Bombs can be earned through standup target hits, Merlin's Magic mystery awards, or ricochet mechanics, and count as single hits during Trolls mode — _Trolls mode rules detailing Troll Bomb acquisition and application_

### Notable Quotes

> "There is no meaningful limit to how many hurry-ups can be stacked."
> — **Kineticist (rules author)**
> _Key strategic insight about Medieval Madness endgame scoring potential; indicates rules depth and skill expression ceiling_

> "Shots corresponding to earned Madnesses score Super Jackpots, while other major shots just score regular jackpots."
> — **Kineticist (rules author)**
> _Fundamental multiball scoring rule that incentivizes strategic shot selection and Madness stacking_

> "Completing Royal Madness... resets all Madness progress so Multiball Madness can be played again the next time each major shot is completed."
> — **Kineticist (rules author)**
> _Describes the cyclical progression loop that enables sustained high-scoring play and long games_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Medieval Madness | game | Classic Williams pinball machine from the 1990s featuring medieval fantasy theme with ramps, orbits, trolls, and multiball modes |
| Williams | company | Pinball machine manufacturer that produced Medieval Madness |
| Kineticist | organization | Source publishing detailed rules guides and strategy documentation for pinball machines |
| Merlin's Magic | product | Mystery award feature in Medieval Madness that can grant Troll Bombs or additional Multiball Madnesses |
| Royal Madness | product | Endgame mode in Medieval Madness unlocked after completing all major multiball modes |

### Signals

- **[gameplay_signal]** Medieval Madness demonstrates sophisticated rules architecture with stacking mechanics (hurry-ups, multiball stacking), mode progression gating, and emergent scoring strategies that reward player mastery and strategic shot selection (confidence: high) — Unlimited hurry-up stacking, multiball madness stacking with escalating jackpots, conditional mode unlocks (Royal Madness requires prior completion of all 5 Madness types), and timer-reset mechanics that reward rapid shot execution
- **[gameplay_signal]** Game allows theoretically unlimited scoring through hurry-up stacking and multiball jackpot multiplication, enabling expert players to achieve exponentially higher scores than casual players (confidence: high) — 5-stacked hurry-ups worth 12,000,000+ points; Royal Madness repeat plays with 250,000 point bonuses; 4-ball multiball with 1,000,000 point super jackpots; timer-reset mechanic on Royal Madness encourages rapid consecutive shots
- **[design_philosophy]** Medieval Madness uses layered mode progression where completing basic tasks (4 shots per ramp, 3 orbit shots, 8 standup hits) unlocks access to multiball, which itself unlocks endgame content (Royal Madness), creating a natural difficulty and engagement curve (confidence: high) — Peasant/Damsel left/right ramps require 4 progressive shots each; Joust requires 3 shots; Trolls requires 8 standup hits; Royal Madness only available after all 5 Madness types completed plus Multiball Madness play
- **[design_innovation]** The hurry-up stacking system in Medieval Madness represents a significant design innovation enabling indefinite point growth and skill differentiation; players must rapidly cycle between major shots (Castle, ramps, orbits) to maintain hurry-up timers (confidence: high) — Hurry-ups start at 1,000,000 and increase by 500,000-3,500,000 per stack level with no stated cap; timer resets on any major shot completion; this creates a dynamic scoring state where execution speed directly translates to point multiplication
- **[historical_signal]** Medieval Madness exemplifies 1990s Williams design philosophy emphasizing ramp shots, multiball modes, timed hurry-ups, and clear mode progression—foundational mechanics that became industry standard (confidence: high) — Prominent ramp and orbit shots; multiball stacking; timed hurry-up mechanics; mystery awards; progressive shot sequences; modes building toward endgame content

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## Transcript

Peasant left ramp: completed by making 4 shots, which are Rabble Rouser (25,000), Angry Mob (50,000), Ugly Riot (75,000), and Peasant Revolt (100,000). Damsel right Dragon Breath (25,000), Dragon Snack (50,000), Dragon Death (75,000), and Damsel Saved (100,000). The fourth shot opens a diverter to the castle tower in the back right of the game and drops the ball into the bumpers afterward; this extends the ramp, making it a slightly taller and more difficult shot. Joust orbits: completed by making 3 total shots, and either side counts as one of the 3. The 3 shots are Joust Charge (50,000), Joust Clash (75,000), and Joust Victory (100,000). Joust Charge and Joust Clash go all the way around the orbit to come down the other side, while Joust Victory (or any orbit shot while Super Jets is running) will be directed to the top lanes. Trolls: hit either of the standup targets to the sides of the Castle main entrance a total of 8 times to qualify Trolls! at the saucer. Hitting the standups a total of 8 more times before starting or during Trolls! earns a Troll Bomb. Troll Bombs can also be earned as a Merlin’s Magic mystery award or by ricocheting off a Troll and into either Merlin’s saucer or the lock lane. During the Trolls! mode, you have 30 seconds to hit both Trolls popups 3 times each. A Troll Bomb counts as one hit on whichever Troll has taken more damage, biased towards the one on the left if they’re tied. Completing the Trolls! mode qualifies Troll Madness as part of Multiball Madness. Multiball Madness and Hurry-ups If Multiball Madness has not been played yet, completing any of the 5 shots listed above lights a Multiball Madness at the saucer. The more shots you complete, the more Multiball Madnesses can be lit at once; you want to light as many as possible, because the more Madnesses are stacked, the more balls you get for multiball and the more points jackpots are worth. Shots corresponding to earned Madnesses score Super Jackpots, while other major shots just score regular jackpots. - 1 Madness: 2 ball multiball, jackpots score 100,000, super jackpots score 400,000 - 2 Madnesses: 3 ball multiball, jackpots score 125,000, super jackpots score 550,000 - 3 Madnesses: 3 ball multiball, jackpots score 150,000, super jackpots score 700,000 - 4 Madnesses: 3 ball multiball, jackpots score 175,000, super jackpots score 850,000 - 5 Madnesses: 4 ball multiball, all shots score super jackpots worth 1,000,000 Shots to the Castle lock during Multiball Madness award 2x the super jackpot value. If Troll Madness is part of Multiball Madness, the Trolls will pop up alternately. Hitting one awards half of the super jackpot value and causes the other Troll to pop up instead. It is possible to start Trolls! mode and Multiball Madness at the same time. If you complete Trolls! mode during Multiball Madness, Troll Madness will be added to the multiball, and the multiball will restart, adding any lost balls back into play and raising all jackpot values. If Merlin’s Magic mystery award is lit at the same time as one or more Multiball Madnesses, Merlin’s Magic can add another Madness to the multiball that was not previously lit. If a shot is completed multiple times, or if a shot is completed for the first time but Multiball Madness has already been played, it will start a Castle Hurry-up instead. Castle Hurry-ups start at 1,000,000 points and count down to 250,000 before timing out. To collect a hurry-up, shoot the Castle front door once. The hurry-up counts down somewhat slowly, and there’s enough time to complete another major shot before the hurry-up times out. If you do, the hurry-up restarts, but at increased value; this is referred to as stacking hurry-ups. A 2-hurry-up stack starts at 3,000,000 points. A 3-hurry-up stack adds 2,500,000 to the starting value, for a total of 5,500,000. Each hurry-up stacked past the 3rd adds 500,000 more than the previous one did, so the 4th hurry-up adds 3,000,000 for a total of 8,500,000, the 5th adds 3,500,000 for a total of 12,000,000, and so on. There is no meaningful limit to how many hurry-ups can be stacked. The game keeps track of how many hurry-ups you collect in a game. Every hurry-up in a stack is counted if more than one is running, so a 5,500,000 point hurry-up counts as 3. Extra balls are lit after collecting a total of 10 and 40 hurry-ups over the course of the game. Royal Madness If all 5 types of Multiball Madness (Catapult, Joust, Peasant, Damsel, and Troll) have had their shots completed at least once, and Multiball Madness itself has been played, then Royal Madness will be lit at the saucer during single ball play. Royal Madness is a single-ball mode with the goal of making 2 shots each to the Catapult, the orbits, and both ramps, as well as 1 shot to each Troll. The first shot to a feature in Royal Madness scores 200,000 points, and the second scores 1,500,000 (plus an additional 250,000 for each time Royal Madness has previously been played this game). Royal Madness is timed to 20 seconds, but the timer resets every time a shot is made. Completing Royal Madness awards either an extra ball or 15,000,000 points, depending on game settings, and resets all Madness progress so Multiball Madness can be played again the next time each major shot is completed.

_(Acquisition: web_scrape, Enrichment: v5)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-08-03 | Item ID: 12cc628f-96c9-4f9a-84c2-b3628ffc3b84*