Concord Champ '25: Quarters, Game 3/4 on The Shadow by Bally. Streamed from The Flipper Room.

TL;DR

Concord Champ '25 Quarters: Shadow gameplay with strategic analysis of loop combos and multiball on vintage Bally classic.

Summary

Key Claims

• Shadow loop combos have no cap and start at 10 million, increasing by 3 million per loop hit (10, 13, 16, etc.), reaching 50+ million in home play

  high confidence · Rick describes his experience with the game: 'There's no cap. It starts at like 10 million and then 13, 16 and... at home I've had it up to over like 50.'

• Loop combo values exceed jackpot values in multiball on Shadow, making the upper loop shot the primary strategy

  high confidence · Rick: 'Value keeps increasing. It actually gets better value than a jackpot in multiball.'

• Shadow has multiple viable strategies: loop combos, vengeance mode (spelling out ramps for 10 million each), and upper playfield play used by European competitors

  high confidence · Host notes: 'There's so many different ways to play it... Then you have the vengeance... spell out and kind of like you take out the rings on the flashing here, right? And then every ramp is like worth 10 million each.'

• Mode shot on Shadow is very tight and located between the ramp and orbit, making it a challenging but valuable target

  high confidence · Host: 'The mode shot is very tight on this game. It's uh it's that little uh shot in the in between the ramp and the orbit, right? And it's super tight.'

• Shadow upper playfield has finicky controls and inconsistent play, making it an unreliable strategy despite its use by some European players

  medium confidence · Rick: 'you know, it's inconsistent for me and I I certainly wouldn't depend on it... you got to stay up there a while. There's quite a few shots, right? And the controls up there is a little bit finicky.'

Notable Quotes

• “There's no cap. It starts at like 10 million and then 13, 16 and— at home I've had it up to over like 50.”

  Rick @ ~5:30 — Explains the unlimited growth potential of loop combos in Shadow, a key strategic mechanic.

• “Value keeps increasing. It actually gets better value than a jackpot in multiball.”

  Rick @ ~7:00 — Justifies why loop combo strategy is superior to jackpot hunting on Shadow.

• “There's so many different ways to play this... Then you have the vengeance. Sometimes when you can just nail the ramps, you can kind of spell out and kind of like you take out the rings on the flashing here, right? And then every ramp is like worth 10 million each or something like that.”

  Host @ ~12:00 — Highlights the strategic depth and multiple viable approaches to scoring on Shadow.

• “The mode shot is very tight on this game. It's uh it's that little uh shot in the in between the ramp and the orbit, right? And it's super tight.”

  Host @ ~13:30 — Identifies a mechanically challenging but important shot on the playfield.

• “Dan Dempsey is a former world champion in Arcanoid, that for sure. Or in the old days, pong.”

  Host @ ~45:00 — Humorously references Dan's apparent mastery of the upper playfield mechanics, suggesting previous competitive gaming background.

Entities

Signals

• ?

  community_signal: European players employ upper playfield-focused strategies on Shadow, though this approach is considered inconsistent and unreliable compared to loop combo strategy in North American competitive context.

  medium · Host: 'One of the strategies that the Europeans do is just play the upper playfield.' Rick: 'you know, it's inconsistent for me and I I certainly wouldn't depend on it.'

• ?

  competitive_signal: Shadow loop combo strategy is the primary competitive approach, with uncapped value potential (10M base, +3M per hit, reaching 50M+). Multiple viable strategies exist (vengeance mode, upper playfield), but loop combos dominate due to superior multiball jackpot value.

  high · Rick's explicit strategy: 'I go uh loop combos. And then when a multiball presents itself, I'll take it.' Loop values exceed jackpots per Rick: 'Value keeps increasing. It actually gets better value than a jackpot in multiball.'

• ?

  design_philosophy: Shadow demonstrates exceptional tournament-friendly design despite mechanical complexity: multiple viable strategies, skill-based shot precision requirements, and no dominant single path to victory.

  high · Host: 'It's surprising how well this game holds up given how many mechs are in the game like and and but it's still very tournament friendly in a way... There's so many different ways to play it.'

Topics

Sentiment

positive(0.78)— Enthusiastic, knowledgeable commentary with genuine appreciation for Shadow's design depth and player skill. Some frustration from players during difficult moments (drains, missed shots), but overall tone is respectful and engaged. Community camaraderie evident between commentators and players.