Jurassic Park pinball tournament strategy: paddock first, multiball second
More tournaments in Minnesota have used Jurassic Park than any other machine. How paddocks work, how to start Raptor Tri-Ball and T-Rex Multiball, which to stack on what, and what 762 tracked games say about who wins on it.
·6 min read·Tilt Stats
Jurassic Park is the fourth most-played machine in our data by games, and the first by reach. It has appeared in 440 tracked tournaments, more than any other machine, and 333 different players have a result on it. If you play competitive pinball in Minnesota, you will be drawn on it.
This is the 2019 Stern designed by Keith Elwin. The 1993 Data East game with the same name has different rules, and a lot of advice online mixes the two.
The short version
- Plunge all the way, then shoot the left ramp from the right flipper for the first skill shot.
- Shoot one white arrow and then the left ramp to start a paddock.
- In the paddock, shoot a red shot to rescue staff, hit a yellow target beside the truck to set a trap, then shoot the flashing capture shot.
- With the ball cradled on the left flipper, backhand the raptor pen until Raptor Tri-Ball starts.
- Start the paddock before the multiball, every time.
Skill shots
After a full plunge there are four skill shots, made one after another. Each pays more than the last, and each adds three seconds of ball save.
| Order | Shot | Award |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Left ramp | 2M |
| 2 | Right ramp | 2 times that |
| 3 | Tower side ramp | 4 times |
| 4 | Right orbit | 6 times |
A soft plunge sends the ball to a flipper for the secret skill shots: the C lane on the far left for 6M, the O lane for 8M, or the narrow pops target for 10M.
The left ramp is the practical choice. It is a right flipper shot that returns to the left inlane, and it is the shot that starts your first paddock.
Paddocks
The paddocks are the spine of the game. Each one is a dinosaur to catch, and the playfield map moves you from one to the next.
Inside a paddock there are three jobs. Red shots rescue park staff. The yellow standups on either side of the truck set the trap. When the trap is ready, a flashing shot captures the dinosaur. A capture pays a bounty, from 2.5M at the first level to 12.5M later, doubled if the paddock was perfect. It also gives you a lasting perk and a large multiplier on your next Amber collect.
One rule costs people captures. If every staff member has been rescued or injured before you capture, the dinosaur escapes and you get no bounty and no perk. Rescuing is worth points, and the capture is the goal.
Raptor Tri-Ball
System-J's tactics page calls this one of the most valuable multiballs on the game, and it is built from a shot you can repeat.
The raptor pen is on the left: three standup targets in front of a dead-end lane with a target at the back. Complete the standups twice, capture the raptor at the rear target, then keep hitting the pen until the fence integrity reaches 0%. A shot into the lane starts the multiball.
The pen is a backhand from the left flipper. From the right flipper it is a riskier shot. So when the ball is cradled on the left and nothing better is lit, shoot the pen. Be ready to get the ball back under control after each one.
In the multiball, the first phase is both ramps and the second is the five CHAOS shots.
T-Rex Multiball
Hits on the truck, the captive ball in the center, spell T-REX. That starts a hurry-up at 500,000. Orange shots raise the value, and the left ramp collects it and starts a two-ball multiball.
There are two cautions. Truck hits tend to leave the ball out of control. And there is no ball save while the hurry-up is running, only once the multiball starts.
In the multiball the jackpots start at the value you collected. Making the jackpot shots in order from left to right adds 1x each time. Shooting them out of order freezes the multiplier.
What stacks with what
A paddock can run under one multiball, and it can run under a Control Room mode or a T-Rex event. That is the reason for the rule in the short version. Start the paddock, then start the multiball, and the rescue and capture shots are being made with extra balls in play.
Control Room modes and T-Rex events cannot run together.
The first Supply Drop you collect during T-Rex or Raptor multiball adds a ball. After any Supply Drop, the Lite 2x standup starts 45 seconds of 2x playfield scoring.
Outlanes
Each outlane has a save, and neither starts the game lit in competition.
The left one is Escape. It is lit by the four skill shots or by the far-left standup, and it has to be used inside a timing window that shrinks from 20 seconds to 6 as the game goes on. The right one is Nedry, lit by hits on the Lite 2x standup.
On a competition install, Escape is set to hard and starts the game unlit. There are no extra balls and two tilt warnings.
Pro or Premium
On a Premium or LE the T-Rex picks balls up off the left ramp and throws them, and the raptor pen can hold a ball. On a Pro the T-Rex does not move, a post at the left inlane holds the ball instead, and the pen cannot lock. The rules are otherwise the same.
What the tracked games say
| Tracked tournament games | 762 |
| Tournaments it appeared in | 440 |
| Players with a game on it | 333 |
| Typical game | 20:24 |
| Upset rate | 29.5% |
| Difficulty | 35 out of 100 |
Numbers are from late September 2026. The Jurassic Park machine page has the live ones.
The upset rate is how often the lower-rated player in a pairing finishes ahead. At 29.5%, Jurassic Park is among the dozen most reliable machines for the stronger player, out of 97 we can compare. The rules reward planning and the long ball times give plans room to work. If you are the favorite, it is a strong pick. If you are not, look for something shorter in the upset rates by machine ranking.
A typical game takes a little over 20 minutes, so think twice in a round with a time limit.
Two players share the top of the leaderboard among those with at least 20 games. Angie DonCarlos has finished ahead of 76% of the opponents she has faced on it across 40 games, and Luke Nahorniak is within a fraction of a point of her across 35. Eric Fryc, Adam Turgeson and Nathan Reardon follow. The scouting report shows how you compare with your own group.
Where to play it
- Northstar Pinball Collective in Savage, 293 tracked games. See the Northstar guide.
- LITT Pinball Bar in Minneapolis, 165 tracked games. See the LITT guide.
- Blainbrook in Blaine, 111 tracked games.
- Stray Dog in Minneapolis, 38 tracked games since May 2026. See the Stray Dog guide.
- Full Tilt Tavern used one in tournaments as recently as September 2026.
Before your next game
The Jurassic Park playbook has player tips, videos and rulesheet links, and the scores tab includes Insider Connected scores from local venues. For the full rules we leaned on the Pinball Rulesheets wiki and System-J's tactics page.
Keith Elwin's other games in this series are Iron Maiden, Godzilla and JAWS. The whole series is in the machine strategy guides.