Medieval Madness
One of the most beloved pinball machines ever made. Destroy 6 castles, rescue damsels, defeat trolls, and rally peasants to dethrone the King of Payne. Hilarious callouts, forgiving layout, and deep rules that reward every skill level.
Know the Playfield
Center of the playfield — the large castle toy with a drawbridge and portcullis gate.
The castle is the anchor of the entire game. Destroying castles is your biggest single scoring event, it's one of your six objectives, and every shot to it is worth something (drawbridge progress, gate progress, or the actual destruction). If you can only hit one thing on this game, make it the castle.
Right-center of the playfield, a scoop/saucer with three standup targets below it.
This is where you start Trolls! mode, Multiball Madness, and Royal Madness. Hit the three star standup targets below it to light Merlin's Magic (a random award), then shoot the saucer when the lit modes are ready. The number of madness boosts you've accumulated determines how many balls and how big the jackpots are in Multiball Madness.
A row of blue dot inserts directly above the flippers at the bottom of the playfield.
These are your game state at a glance. Each lit dot = one completed objective. All six lit = Battle for the Kingdom is qualified. After every significant shot sequence, glance at this row to see where you stand. The two hardest to light (Castle Crusher and Master of Trolls) take the longest — start working on those early.
Two large pop-up targets flanking the left and right sides of the castle entrance.
Trolls pop up and block the castle entrance during Trolls! mode and Troll Madness. They can also block the Castle Lock shot on the left. Hit them during their active phases to rack up troll kills toward Master of Trolls. When they're not active (lying flat), shots pass through normally — you can't hit them when they're down.
The center shot into the castle is the most important shot on the game and more forgiving than it looks. Shoot straight up the middle — the castle is angled slightly, which actually helps direct balls in. Every castle shot either lowers the drawbridge, raises the gate, destroys a castle, or collects a Castle Hurry-Up. It never wastes a hit. When in doubt about what to shoot: hit the castle. It's always doing something useful, it never drains you directly on a clean approach, and destroying a castle is one of the biggest point chunks in the game.
Medieval Madness is one of the friendliest drainers in pinball — the designer specifically said it was built to appeal to novice players. The bigger challenge is patience. Destroying the 6th castle requires hitting the drawbridge 6 times, then the gate 7 times, then shooting inside — that's 14+ shots on one objective, and the gate hits send the ball back at you unpredictably. Master of Trolls requires 10 troll kills, which can only happen during specific active modes. Players who try to rush Battle for the Kingdom on Ball 1 usually burn themselves out. The game rewards steady, systematic play across all three balls far more than hero shots.
Your Game Plan
Hit the Castle, Build Madnesses
BALL 1Destroy Your First Two Castles Earnable
Castle 1 is the easiest castle in the game — 1 drawbridge hit to lower it (the wooden bridge in front of the gate drops), then 2 gate hits to raise the portcullis (the metal grate rises), then shoot the open entrance to destroy it. You'll hear a cannon fire and see the castle walls collapse on the display — that's a castle down. Watch the Castle Progress on the backglass: a row of six castle icons shows which ones are destroyed (they crumble and go dark). Castle 2 needs 2 drawbridge hits, then 3 gate hits. Destroying 2 castles lights an extra ball at the Merlin Saucer — that alone makes Ball 1 a success.
Shoot the Ramps and Orbits to Build Madness Boosts You Got This
Every 4 shots up the Left Ramp (Peasant Ramp, left side) lights Peasant Madness. Every 4 shots up the Right Ramp (Dragon/Damsel Ramp, right side) lights Damsel Madness. Every 3 Joust Orbit shots (either orbit — left or right, they both count) lights Joust Madness. Watch the lit inserts along each shot path — they show your current count toward each madness. These build naturally during play; you don't need to hunt them specifically. Each lit madness means more balls when you start Multiball Madness.
Light Trolls and Work Toward Master of Trolls Earnable
Hit the two Troll Standup Targets flanking the castle entrance a total of 8 times (they're in front of the drawbridge, one on each side) — watch the troll-related inserts light up as you hit them. After 8 hits, shoot the Merlin Saucer to start Trolls! mode. During Trolls!, both troll pop-up targets rise and you have 30 seconds to hit each one 3 times. Every troll defeat in any mode (Trolls!, Multiball Madness, Royal Madness) counts toward your 10-troll Master of Trolls total.
Start Multiball Madness
BALL 2Start Multiball Madness With as Many Boosts as Possible Earnable
When multiple madness inserts are lit (Joust, Damsel, Peasant, Troll — the four orbit/ramp madnesses), shoot the Merlin Saucer to start Multiball Madness. More lit madnesses = more balls (1 madness = 2-ball, 2 madnesses = 3-ball, etc., max 4 balls) and bigger jackpots. Check the madness inserts above each shot to see which are lit before committing to the saucer — you want at least 2 lit for a real multiball. During Multiball Madness, the shots for each lit madness score super jackpots, and the Castle Lock (the hole to the left of the castle entrance, over the moat) scores a double super jackpot.
Destroy More Castles — Use Multiball as Cover Earnable
During Multiball Madness, you can still progress toward destroying castles by hitting the Castle Entrance. With multiple balls in play you have natural safety — if one ball drains mid-gate-sequence, you still have others live. Castle hits during multiball count toward your Castle Crusher progress. The later castles (4th, 5th, 6th) are much harder to destroy in single-ball play because they require so many gate hits. Using multiball as cover for castle destruction is smart play.
Collect Castle Hurry-Ups When They Light You Got This
After Multiball Madness ends, you'll hear 'Shoot the Castle!' — a Castle Hurry-Up has started at 1 million points and is counting down. It's not counting down quickly. Collect it with one castle shot. Multiple hurry-ups can stack (from completing multiple madnesses) — the display shows the stacked value climbing quickly. Two stacked hurry-ups start at 3 million. Just shoot the castle before they time out.
Everything You Have
BALL 3Check Your Blue Dots and Chase the Closest Objective Earnable
Look at the row of Blue Objective Inserts above the flippers the moment you plunge. Count the unlit ones. Whichever objective is closest to completion (most progress already built) is your Ball 3 focus. If you're one castle away from Castle Crusher, go straight to the castle. If Trolls is close, start Trolls! immediately. Don't try to complete multiple objectives from scratch on Ball 3 — pick the one and commit.
Start Multiball Madness One More Time Earnable
Even if you started Multiball Madness on Ball 2, you can start it again. The madness inserts reset each ball but build back quickly since the ramps and orbits are your natural scoring shots anyway. Get 2+ madnesses lit, then shoot the Merlin Saucer. Multiball Madness is your biggest scoring event and worth running whenever you can qualify it.
If You Have All 6 Dots — Shoot the Castle for Battle for the Kingdom Good Luck
If all six blue objective inserts are lit, Battle for the Kingdom is qualified — shoot the Castle Entrance to start it. This is a 4-ball wizard mode where you must shoot 6 Battle Jackpot shots (the orbit, ramps, catapult, etc.) then beat the King of Payne by hitting the castle gate 7 times. If you have Troll Bombs saved (awarded when balls ricochet off trolls into the castle or saucer), use them during Battle for the Kingdom — the trolls otherwise block the gate. Each Battle Jackpot is 2.5 million; the final castle entry is 50 million. This is a bucket list achievement in pinball.
Stay Alive Out There
- → The Ramps Catch Failed Shots: Medieval Madness has a patented feature where weak ramp shots that don't make it all the way up feed back to the flippers instead of center-draining. So an underpowered Left Ramp or Right Ramp shot is not a disaster — the ball returns to you. Shoot the ramps with confidence. You can afford to try.
- → Orbits Are Fast — Hold Your Flipper: The Joust Orbits are extremely fast and open by default (no gates to slow the ball). When a ball comes flying back down the orbit from bumpers, hold your flipper up to loop pass it to the other flipper instead of firing it. Shooting a live orbit ball without controlling it first is a common drain. Stop it, trap, then plan.
- → Gate Hits Bounce Back Unpredictably: When the drawbridge is down and you're hitting the castle gate (the metal portcullis), the ball bounces back hard and at variable angles. After every gate hit, brace both flippers and watch the ball. You'll catch it most of the time, but gate bounces are the most dangerous moment in the castle destruction sequence. Don't panic-flip — watch and react.
- → Save Your Troll Bombs: Troll Bombs are earned when balls ricochet from Troll Targets into the castle or Merlin Saucer. They let you instantly defeat a troll (press the launch button) and count as a troll kill. Save them for Battle for the Kingdom if you get there — during BFTK the trolls block the gate and won't go down without bombs. Using them casually during normal play feels satisfying but costs you in the wizard mode.
Don't Be a Hero
- ⚠ Don't Rush to Multiball Madness With Only One Boost: Multiball Madness with only one madness lit is a 2-ball multiball with modest jackpots. It's not much better than normal play and wastes the saucer shot. Wait until you have at least two madness boosts lit before committing to the Merlin Saucer. The additional balls and jackpot sizes are worth the few extra ramp and orbit shots to get there.
- ⚠ Don't Chase the Castle Lock on Ball 1: The Castle Lock (the hole to the left of the castle entrance, over the moat) is a difficult shot that starts Castle Multiball. It requires 3 locks and is blocked when the Left Troll is raised. On Ball 1 before you have a feel for the machine, hunting this shot leads to awkward angles and drains. Stick to ramps, orbits, and the castle entrance until you're comfortable.
- ⚠ Don't Attempt Battle for the Kingdom Without Troll Bombs: Battle for the Kingdom's second phase requires hitting the castle gate 7 times with both trolls blocking it — unless you have Troll Bombs. Without bombs, the trolls are nearly impossible to play around during the final phase. If you've been using your Troll Bombs casually during the game and you somehow qualify BFTK, you'll likely fail the final phase. Bank the bombs.
Castle 1 requires 1 drawbridge hit + 2 gate hits + 1 entrance shot = 4 shots. Castle 6 requires 6 drawbridge hits + 7 gate hits + 1 entrance shot = 14 shots. Each gate hit on the later castles bounces the ball back hard. Most league players will complete 2-3 castles in a game. That's normal. Four castles is a great game. Five is exceptional. Six plus the King of Payne's castle is a meaningful achievement.
The ramps, orbits, and catapult feel low-scoring during single-ball play — 25k to 100k per shot on a game where good scores are in the hundreds of millions. Don't be discouraged. The ramps and orbits are building madness boosts for Multiball Madness, where those same shots score super jackpots in the millions. The single-ball shots are setup; Multiball Madness is the payoff.
Medieval Madness was remade by Chicago Gaming Company (CGC) around 2016 — you might see either the original Williams (1997) or the CGC remake at league. They play essentially identically in terms of strategy. The CGC version has updated electronics and LEDs but the same rules, same layout, and same feel. Everything in this Bar Napkin applies to both.
The Research Pile
Every claim is sourced. Here's where we got our homework for this guide.
Strategy guide written by Keith Elwin himself — one of the best players in the world, and later the designer of Jaws and Jurassic Park. Covers advanced ball control, castle destruction sequencing, and Royal Madness strategy.
Comprehensive rulesheet covering all objective requirements, scoring values, multiball mechanics, and Easter eggs.
Community strategy discussion covering castle destruction approach, Multiball Madness stacking, and Castle Multiball extra ball strategy.
Modern rules breakdown with scoring values and shot-by-shot analysis of Castle Hurry-Up stacking.
Design history, production run details, and cast information.