More Instructions for Royal Flush Pinball

(This page is devoid of graphics so that you can print it.)
 

This is not a complete manual, but here are a few hints for using the game:

After starting the game the Macintosh menu bar disappears. It will reappear automatically when the mouse cursor is moved towards the upper part of the screen (where the menu bar normally is shown). This is not true when a game is in progress however: in that case the game must first be paused by pressing the "esc" key.

All game options are available from the so called "Pinball CafÈ" as well as from the menu bar. Most menu commands have keyboard shortcuts as well.

The game can be played with the keyboard as well as the mouse. On many Apple keyboards the shift, control and option keys on the left side of the keyboard can be distinguished (by the software) from the ones at the right side of the keyboard. When you first start Royal Flush, the program finds out whether your keyboard supports this feature or not. If it does, this is the default key assignment used:
 

Left flipper = Left shift-key

Right flipper = Right shift-key

Plunger = Down arrow

Nudge from the left = Left alt-key

Nudge middle = Space bar

Nudge from the right = Right alt-key

If you own a keyboard where the left and right side modifier keys can not be distinguished, the keyboard is set up as follows:

Left flipper = x

Right flipper = . (dot)

Plunger = shift-key

Nudge from the left = z

Nudge middle = Space bar

Nudge from the right = /
 

In the Options menu you'll find the "Setup Game Controls" command, which allows you to reassign these functions to other keys.

The game can be played with the mouse as well. At the start of a game pressing the mouse button, moving back the mouse and releasing the button launches the ball. During game play moving the mouse nudges the play field. Pressing the button operates the right flipper. Using the "Setup Game Controls" dialog this behavior can be modified to operate either flipper or both flippers with the mouse button. If you operate only one flipper with the mouse, you must use the keyboard to operate the other flipper.

More than one player can play at a time. To accomplish this, press "-G" before launching the first ball of the game. Every -G adds one player. The maximum number of players is 4. Hint: instead of a "human" player you can add a "computer" player by pressing "-D" at this point.

The game keeps a list of the ten best scores. If you finish a game with a score high enough for the top ten, you are presented a "High Rollers Club" screen, in which you can enter your initials or nickname using the keyboard (you can use backspace to correct a mistake). Press "return" after you finished.

You can configure the machine with the "Open Backglass" command, or by clicking on the backglas of the machine in the cafÈ. You can change things like the power of the sling shots and the flippers, or the tilt sensitivity.

Each machine setting you configure has its own top ten list! If you change the configuration, for example go from 3-ball to 5-ball play, the top ten list is reset. You can however save the high scores, along with the machine settings, in a file using the "Save Settings As" command. The "Open Settings" command can then later on be used to restore the settings and the high scores. A settings file only stores the pinball configuration and the top ten list, not the keyboard and mouse configurations. By the way, if you open a settings file first, and then obtain a high score, the score is automatically saved to that file. In that case the Top Ten board shows the name of the settings file.

There is one "special" game configuration: Tournament Mode. You can enter this mode by pressing the "Tournament Reset" button in the back box settings. The top ten list of tournament mode is always kept, even when the configuration of the machine is changed. The number one score can be entered in the "Royal Flush tournament entry form" on my web site. To do this, go to the High Scores (-H) screen while in tournament mode. Press the space bar to generate the "magic number", and choose the "Copy Highscore" command from the Edit menu. Then go to the entry form at http://www.xs4all.nl/~gp/Royal%20Flush/RFHighEntry.html, enter your name in the "name" field, and paste the contents of the clipboard in the "score / magic" field. Then press "submit". My web site has the top ten list of all time high scores.

The game has a "magnet" mode, which allows you to draw the ball around with a powerful magnet and explore the game. To activate this feature, click on the magnet next to the machine in the cafÈ, or choose "Magnet Game" from the "Game" pull down menu. Then insert a coin and start the game (Command-G, or "Start Game" from the "Game menu). During a magnet game, you can press the mouse button while the ball is in the play field. A magnet appears that allows you to draw the ball around. Magnet mode is automatically reset when you return from the play field to the cafÈ. High scores obtained in a magnet game are not registered!

An excellent strategy guide for the game can be found on the web at http://www.pcpinball.com/rulesheets/rf1/rfabg.html