Square Head pinball rules and strategy

The Strategy

Send the plunge into the upper bumper group and keep the ball working among the five scoring bumpers and four symbol-change bumpers until the grid shows a full X or O line. The completed line lights rollovers and a gobble hole for an additional ball, but the qualification disappears when the current ball goes out. Collect a lit award before the drain, then rebuild the grid on the next ball.

The goal

Build an X or O tic-tac-toe line in the upper bumper group, then collect a lit rollover or gobble hole for an additional ball before the feature resets at the drain.

  1. Send the plunge into the upper bumper group and use its first contacts to begin filling the tic-tac-toe grid.

  2. Keep the ball among the five scoring bumpers so their corresponding squares collect X or O marks.

  3. Use contacts with the four passive bumpers to change the active symbol when that helps finish one three-in-a-row instead of splitting progress between X and O.

  4. Complete any horizontal, vertical, or diagonal line of three matching X or O marks to light the additional-ball rollovers and a gobble hole.

  5. Before the ball goes out and resets the feature, collect whichever lit rollover or gobble hole arrives under control, then rebuild the grid on the next ball.

Need to know
Grid marks
The five scoring bumpers place the currently active X or O in their corresponding tic-tac-toe squares.
Symbol change
The four passive bumpers change whether subsequent scoring-bumper hits place X or O.
Three-in-a-row
A completed line of X marks or O marks lights rollovers and a gobble hole for additional balls.

Machine setup

  • Confirm Gottlieb Square Head model 199, OPDB exact variant GRKB8-MLqzr, the sole cataloged June 1963 one-player add-a-ball EM. Do not transfer this guide to Egg Head or another tic-tac-toe machine.
  • Check the installed ball count, tilt behavior, high-score additional-ball thresholds, and any event conversion or limit on added balls before play.
  • Test all five scoring bumpers, four passive symbol-change bumpers, nine grid lamps, lit rollovers, both gobble holes, ball-count unit, flippers, and slingshots before competition play.
Sources and references3 source links and outbound references.
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