Stranger Things pinball tournament strategy: four chapters and a bonus worth keeping

Stranger Things is a two-flipper Stern from Brian Eddy, who designed Attack From Mars, and the family resemblance is plain: two ramps, two orbits, and a thing in the middle to hit. It has 696 tracked tournament games in our data and has appeared in 417 tournaments, second only to Jurassic Park.

The Demogorgon in the center draws the eye and the shots. Tournament players mostly work the outside of the playfield instead, where the chapters are, and let the middle come to them.

The short version

1. Plunge at the flashing drop target for the skill shot.
2. While the ball save is on, hit both green targets beside the left ramp, then shoot the left ramp to lock a ball.
3. Pick one ramp or orbit and shoot it three times to start a chapter. Then follow the lit arrows.
4. Every time the ball rolls through an inlane, use the flippers to move the lane lights so it lights a new one.
5. Leave the drop targets alone unless the ball save is on.

Skill shots

Each grows a little every time you make it. A plunge that touches no switch at all can be taken again.

Chapters and Total Isolation

Chapters are the modes. Three hits on the same ramp or orbit start one, and each of the four main shots has its own. Shots in a chapter pay 1M to 3M, and finishing one pays 7M. A few have a large prize for doing it perfectly, such as 40M for finding Barb on the first shot.

A chapter counts as played once you have started it. You do not have to finish. That matters for the main goal of a tournament game, which is Total Isolation. Play four chapters, one from each of the four main shots, and Total Isolation lights at the left ramp. It is a multiball with jackpots starting at 1M, and three of them light a super jackpot worth everything you collected.

The left lane, a dead end beside the left ramp, spots chapter shots for you until you have played two chapters. It also gives the mystery award.

The bonus

On this game the end-of-ball bonus is often the largest single item in a score, and several guides say so.

The base bonus carries over from ball to ball, so things you started on ball one are paid three times. The multiplier goes to 5x. Completing the return lanes raises it on every second completion, and the other completions light the mystery award. That is the reason for steering the lane lights on every pass.

A tilt forfeits the bonus. On a game where the bonus can be most of the ball, stay well inside the tilt.

Telekinesis Multiball

The two green standups on either side of the left ramp light the locks. Three shots up the left ramp then start a three-ball multiball. Five jackpots light a super jackpot at the left eject.

The left ramp returns to the left inlane, which makes it one of the two safe shots on the game. On a Pro you can backhand it from the left flipper. On a Premium with a lock lit, a diverter rejects backhands, so shoot it from the right flipper.

Order of operations

The stack the guides recommend is a chapter first, then Demodog Attack, then Telekinesis Multiball.

The order matters because of what blocks what. Starting Demodog Attack first stops chapters from starting. And Telekinesis cannot start while Total Isolation is ready, so take Total Isolation when it lights.

Burn it Back

The narrow lane on the right side of the center loops under the Demogorgon and comes out the left orbit lane at speed. Three shots light the outlane save, which covers the left outlane only. Seven light 2x scoring, which you start at the left eject and which runs for 60 seconds. The thresholds are adjustable, so read what the machine tells you.

The Demogorgon and the drop targets

Four drop targets stand in front of the Demogorgon. Knocking them down opens the Demogorgon modes.

The trouble is that the drop targets send the ball straight back down the middle. Two ways around it: clip the outer edge of the bank instead of hitting it square, or shoot the left eject, which fires the ball at the targets for you. Tournament players start the Demogorgon modes when the targets happen to fall and do not go hunting for them.

You get one Demogorgon bomb per game, on the action button. The guides suggest using it as the Trap 'Em multiball starts.

Where the ball drains

• The drop targets, as above.
• The right ramp is the hardest shot on the game, and a miss is punished.
• The left lane holds the ball and then releases it down the left orbit lane in a way you cannot predict. Be ready to nudge.
• A weak left orbit shot rolls back.
• Balls hop as they leave the inlanes, which makes post passes unreliable.

The left ramp and the left orbit both feed an inlane, and they are the shots to fall back on.

In competition mode the mystery awards come in a fixed order. With extra balls off, an extra ball pays 15M instead. Some events turn the ball save off, which makes the opening shots at the green targets riskier.

What the tracked games say

Numbers are from late September 2026. The Stranger Things machine page has the live ones.

The upset rate is how often the lower-rated player in a pairing finishes ahead. Stranger Things sits at 32.8%, under the average of 35.5% and in line with most modern Sterns. It favors the stronger player without being lopsided. The full ranking is in upset rates by machine.

Among players with at least 20 games on it, three are close together at the top: Luke Nahorniak, Adam Turgeson and Chris Frame have each finished ahead of about 70% of the opponents they have faced. Daniel Hammond and Trevor Klungseth follow. The scouting report shows how you compare with your own group.

Where to play it

• Blainbrook in Blaine, 233 tracked games. See the Blainbrook guide.
• LITT Pinball Bar in Minneapolis, 174 tracked games. See the LITT guide.

Northstar Pinball Collective ran 232 tracked games on one through January 2026. Check the venue page for the current lineup.

The Premium and LE add a magnet lock and a projector, and let you pull locked balls into another multiball with the action button. On a Pro the locks are held by a post.

Before your next game

The Stranger Things 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.

For the game this one descends from, see Attack From Mars. The whole series is in the machine strategy guides.