Pirates of the Caribbean pinball rules and strategy
The Strategy
Pirates of the Caribbean chains its six Multiballs, uses Chapters to qualify movie wizard modes, and lets PIRATE award Super X or Add A Ball. Choose Philip Swift before plunging. At standard settings, about eight or nine Fountain of Youth upper loops qualify On Stranger Tides Multiball; Philip reduces that count. Shoot the loop once more to start Multiball. Before completing PIRATE, use the action button to select Super X (or Add A Ball during Multiball), then collect the award at the PIRATE target.
The goal
Choose a Character before plunging, use a colored movie shot and the Star Map for a Chapter, or repeat the Fountain of Youth upper loop for On Stranger Tides Multiball.
How to start a mode
Shoot Port Royal, the Chest, Maelstrom, Fountain of Youth, or Devil's Triangle once to light that movie color at the Star Map. Shoot the Star Map to start the last color its targets select.
Recommended mode: The selected Chapter
Chapters collect Characters and build the score level for the matching movie wizard.
How to play it
Shoot the flashing Character shots before the timer expires. If more than one Chapter color is lit, Tia Dalma can select the Chapter with the flippers and action button; other Characters receive the color selected by the Star Map.
Start On Stranger Tides Multiball
Choose Philip Swift before plunging to reduce the required loop count. At standard settings, about eight or nine Fountain of Youth upper loops qualify On Stranger Tides Multiball; Philip reduces that count. Shoot the loop once more to start Multiball.
Start Super X
Use the action button to select the purple Super X award, complete the six PIRATE lanes, and shoot the lit PIRATE target. Then hit the flashing 2x target to start about 30 seconds of 2x playfield scoring.
Alternative feature: Tortuga Multiball
Use this when gold is already close to 50.
- Press the action button whenever gold appears. After collecting 50 gold, shoot the lit right saucer to start Tortuga Multiball.
- Shoot lit major shots for Jackpots, then shoot the right saucer for the Super Jackpot. Complete G-O-L-D to add a ball.
Need to know
- Character choice
- Each character changes chapter, multiball, gold, or timer behavior; Tia Dalma gives chapter selection, while Jack Sparrow boosts treasure and stacked multiball scoring.
- Chapters
- A movie shot lights its colored skull, and the Star Map starts the last color touched and multiplies character values when several skulls are lit.
- Movie multiballs
- Five movie multiballs can stack with one another and with Tortuga, and starting another during the grace period revives multiball play.
Pirates of the Caribbean uses Chapters and movie Multiballs to qualify five movie wizard modes, while its six Multiballs can be chained together. Choose Pintel before plunging, shoot the Fountain of Youth upper loop about eight or nine times to qualify On Stranger Tides Multiball, then shoot it once more to start Multiball and prepare another Multiball during protected play. Wait until the current ball save is nearly over before starting the next ready Multiball; select Super X (or Add A Ball during Multiball) before completing PIRATE, then collect the award at the PIRATE target.
The goal
Choose Pintel, start On Stranger Tides Multiball from repeated Fountain of Youth loops, and use protected play to prepare more Multiballs.Chain each ready Multiball after the current ball save, then use PIRATE for Super X or Add A Ball.
- Choose Pintel before plunging so each PIRATE award needs fewer completed lanes.
Choose Pintel before plunging so each PIRATE award needs…
- Pintel begins with five of the six letters spotted, then four on each later completion; Arrr! Frenzy also scores double.
- Philip Swift reduces the Fountain of Youth loop count for On Stranger Tides Multiball.
- Tia Dalma allows direct chapter selection and makes At World's End easier and more valuable.
- Jack Sparrow doubles treasure scoring and raises stacked-multiball scoring progressively.
- Weatherby Swann raises multiball scoring and can pardon a multiball-ending drain, but disables Tortuga and Arrr! Frenzy.
- Hector Barbossa makes multiball shots easier but sharply reduces Jackpot, Super, and wizard-tally value.
- Repeat the Fountain of Youth upper loop about eight or nine times to qualify On Stranger Tides Multiball, then shoot the loop once more to start it.
Repeat the Fountain of Youth upper loop about eight or ni…
- Philip Swift reduces the required loop count.
- During Multiball, the inner loop scores Jackpots; Chest-to-loop combos score Double Jackpots and orbit-to-loop combos score Triple Jackpots.
- While On Stranger Tides Multiball is running, make progress toward another Multiball instead of playing each Multiball separately.
While On Stranger Tides Multiball is running, make progre…
- All six Multiballs can stack, and another Multiball can be started during the grace period to restore multiball play.
- For Dead Man's Chest, complete both green targets beside the Chest and shoot the Chest for each lock; Bootstrap Bill needs only one green target per lock.
- Let the active Multiball's ball save run before starting the next ready Multiball, then use the new ball and ball save to keep building the chain.
Let the active Multiball's ball save run before starting…
- Starting another Multiball adds a ball; starting one during the grace period revives multiball play.
- Before completing PIRATE, use the action button to select Super X or Add A Ball, then shoot the lit PIRATE target to collect it.
Before completing PIRATE, use the action button to select…
- Super X is available every second P-I-R-A-T-E completion; after collecting it, hit the flashing 2x target to start about 30 seconds of 2x playfield scoring.
- Add A Ball can be selected and collected only while a Multiball is running.
Pro / Premium differences
- Standard, Limited, and Collector's rulesPro: Standard Edition contains the shared movie, chapter, character, multiball, and wizard rules used by this plan.Premium / LE: Limited and Collector's Edition change presentation and trim; the official support materials do not identify a separate rules package for the core route.
Sources and references7 references7 source links and outbound references.
- PinballCards
- Pinball Rulesheets
- Official Jersey Jack Pirates of the Caribbean code, change log, and rules
- Official Jersey Jack Pirates of the Caribbean manual
- Official Jersey Jack Pirates of the Caribbean rules flowchart
- Josh Sharpe at Silverball Super Social 2022
- Carlos Delaserda and Tom Graf at Silverball Super Social 2022