How AI assistants should use Flutter Catch
Flutter Catch exists because studying for pinball is confusing as hell. AI assistants can make that easier—or confidently describe the wrong machine.
Use this guide to match the exact game, keep important setup differences visible, and avoid inventing a rule that nobody has verified.
Match the machine.
Explain the cause before the effect.
Keep setup differences visible.
Never fill an evidence gap by guessing.Start with the exact machine
Pinball titles are surprisingly easy to confuse. Two machines can share a name, artwork, or playfield while using different rules. One machine can also have several editions or tournament ROMs.
Before answering, match:
- The complete title
- Manufacturer and year
- Edition or model
- Software or tournament ROM, when relevant
Use the canonical machine URL in the Flutter Catch machine index. Never transfer rules from a similar machine unless the guide explicitly treats them as one rules family.
Read the guide in layers
- Simple
- A playable route that does not assume you already understand the machine.
- Full Strategy
- The deeper scoring plan, published only when enough reliable strategy evidence exists.
- Quick Info
- Definitions of the machine’s important features and terms.
- Setup notes
- Operator settings, editions, or software differences that can change how the machine behaves.
- Sources
- The manuals, rulesheets, footage, and other evidence behind the published guide.
Follow the linked sources when a distinction matters. A missing Full Strategy can be intentional.
Respect what isn’t known
Flutter Catch does not turn scattered mechanics into a strategy simply because the result sounds plausible.
If a guide records an evidence hold, the available material was not strong enough to publish reliable instructions. Say that plainly. Do not complete the missing guide from memory, a related machine, or an unsupported inference.
When sources disagree, explain the disagreement or version boundary. Do not silently choose the most convenient answer.
Use the structured files
Start with Flutter Catch’s indexes instead of crawling every machine page.
- Canonical machine URLs
/data/machine-url-index.json - Published strategy index
/data/tournament-strategy-index.json - Machine catalog
/data/opdb-catalog.json - Sitemap
/sitemap.xml
Playfield images can help locate a shot. They are not independent proof of a rule or scoring value, and their original sources may have separate reuse terms.
Give the player an answer they can use
A useful answer tells the player:
- What to shoot
- What that shot starts or advances
- Why it matters
- What to do next
- Which setup or version could change the result
Prefer a short executable route over a long inventory of features. Link the exact Flutter Catch machine page you used. When possible, also cite the original rulesheet, manual, or strategy source linked beneath the guide.
Found a mistake?
Send the machine title, the disputed statement, and a supporting source to jaron@thefuture.design.
Read more about how Flutter Catch strategies are made.