Star Wars: Fall of the Empire
The third Stern Star Wars, built on a classic fan layout. Pick your Rebel characters, spell FORCE to light missions, and score in big chunks through multiballs and character modes.
Know the Playfield
Five standup targets distributed across the playfield — left side, center, and right side.
Spelling F-O-R-C-E is what turns on the whole game. Until FORCE is complete, the character shot inserts stay dark and you can't start missions. You'll hit these naturally during normal play, but knowing where the unlit letters are lets you clean up the remaining ones intentionally. Every single ball starts here.
Center of the playfield, wide ramp fed from either flipper.
Han's mission shot, the Falcon's advance shot, and your default when nothing else is lit. More of your scoring runs through this ramp than any other single shot on the table. If you're comfortable here, you're comfortable on this game.
Right-center, whirlpool ramp behind a drop target. Chewie's shot.
The Sarlacc is the key to surviving multiballs. Ten spins inside the pit lights the action button for add-a-ball — keeping an extra ball in play during Lightspeed or Hoth can double your multiball scoring window. It's also how Jabba's Palace events get triggered, which are some of the biggest point chunks on the table.
Left side, dead-end shot that feeds back to the left flipper via a spiral around the AT-AT model.
This is the Battle of Hoth multiball lock. Shoot it three times (after lighting locks via the Droids target below the AT-AT) and you're in a full multiball. It's also Luke's mission shot. The VUK return makes it safer than it looks — missed approaches don't drain as often as you'd expect.
The center ramp is Han Solo's mission shot, the Falcon's advance shot, and the safest repeatable shot on the table. Feed it from either flipper — it's wide and forgiving. Every time the blue hyperdrive light under the Falcon model is lit, a center ramp shot advances the Falcon toward Lightspeed Escape Multiball. During Han missions it's your primary scoring shot. When you don't know what to do, shoot the center ramp. It almost always does something useful.
FORCE targets are the most common trap. New players chase them too deliberately and end up shooting at small standups under pressure instead of making comfortable ramp shots. The FORCE letters accumulate naturally during normal play — by the time you've shot the center ramp three or four times and done a few orbit shots, you're usually most of the way there. The other trap is character paralysis: eight characters light up and players stall trying to pick the optimal one instead of just shooting the easiest available shot. Han's center ramp is almost always the right answer when you're unsure.
Your Game Plan
Spell FORCE, Start a Mission
BALL 1Let FORCE Happen, Then Clean It Up You Got This
Don't open Ball 1 by hunting FORCE Standup Targets — shoot the Center Ramp and left orbit instead. FORCE letters accumulate as the ball bounces around. After three or four comfortable shots, check the display to see which letters are still dark. Then deliberately pick off the missing ones — each FORCE target is a small standup, earnable from the nearby flipper with a controlled shot. When F-O-R-C-E is complete, all eight character inserts light up.
Start a Mission — Pick Han First Earnable
When FORCE is complete, the character inserts glow by difficulty: yellow = easy, green = medium, blue = hard. Han Solo (the Center Ramp) is yellow — start there. Shoot the center ramp when Han's insert is lit to begin his mission. During the mission, the display shows which shots score — blue shots progress it, white shots build value. Chewie (Sarlacc Pit) is your backup if Han isn't available: knock down the drop target in front of the pit, then shoot the ramp.
Advance the Falcon Toward Lightspeed You Got This
When the blue hyperdrive light under the Falcon model is lit, the Center Ramp advances the Falcon's progress bar toward Lightspeed Escape Multiball. Track your progress on the display — there's a Falcon graphic with a segmented bar that fills from left to right as you hit the ramp. You'll also see the bar build physically on the Falcon toy as lights advance along its hull. This happens naturally if you're already shooting the center ramp for Han missions — you're doing double duty without extra effort.
Get Into a Multiball
BALL 2Start Lightspeed or Battle of Hoth Multiball Earnable
You have two paths. Lightspeed: if you advanced the Falcon on Ball 1, keep shooting the Center Ramp — when the Falcon bar fills, Lightspeed Escape Multiball starts automatically. Battle of Hoth: hit the Droids Target (the standup below the AT-AT, left side) to light a lock, then shoot the Luke VUK (left side dead-end shot, feeds back to your flipper) to lock a ball. Three locks starts Hoth. Either multiball is a major scoring opportunity — pick the one that's closer to ready.
In Multiball: Sarlacc Pit for Add-a-Ball First Earnable
The moment any multiball starts, your first shot is the Sarlacc Pit (right-center, behind the drop target — knock the target down first, then shoot the ramp). The ball spirals inside and accumulates spins. At 10 spins, the action button lights for an add-a-ball. Getting that extra ball in play early dramatically extends your multiball window and total scoring. Don't chase jackpots first — secure the add-a-ball, then hunt jackpots.
Keep Spelling FORCE Between Multiballs You Got This
FORCE resets at the start of each ball. Between multiball attempts, keep shooting comfortable shots and let the FORCE Standup Targets accumulate. The sooner FORCE is complete, the sooner you can layer a character mission on top of whatever multiball you're building toward.
Score Everything You Can
BALL 3Start the Best Available Multiball Immediately Earnable
Check where you are on Lightspeed and Hoth at the Ball 3 plunge. If either is close, go straight for it before doing anything else. Lightspeed: center ramp shots until the bar fills. Hoth: one or two more Luke VUK locks. Multiballs are your biggest scoring windows — getting into one early on Ball 3 gives you the most time to work it.
Run Whatever Missions Are Available Earnable
Spell FORCE quickly (hunt the dark letters), then shoot whatever character mission is lit in yellow or green. Han's Center Ramp is always the priority. If you've already run Han's missions, Lando (Death Star Ramp) and Leia (right orbit) are the next easiest. Don't spend Ball 3 reading the display — just shoot the lit characters in easiest-to-hardest order.
If Jabba Is Available, Take It Earnable
Jabba's Palace events are triggered by hitting the Sarlacc Pit drop target twice — the ball then spirals into the pit and you select an event with the action button. On Ball 3 with nothing to lose, Rancor is the right pick: it's a combo mode with no timer where you hit orange shots in sequence. No clock pressure, solid point chunks, and the Sarlacc pit is a comfortable shot anyway.
Stay Alive Out There
- → Center Ramp Is Your Safe Shot: When the ball is moving fast and you're not sure what to hit, shoot the Center Ramp. It advances at least one thing (Han mission, Falcon bar, or FORCE letters in the upper lanes) on almost every ball state. It's wide enough to hit under pressure and almost never puts you in a dangerous position.
- → The Sarlacc Drop Target Is a Drain Trap: The drop target in front of the Sarlacc Pit sits close to the right flipper. A weak shot at it can bounce back fast and catch you mid-flipper. Hit it with conviction or don't hit it at all. When the target is down and the pit is open, the ramp shot is safe — the ball returns to your left flipper via the spiral.
- → Trap and Read the Insert Colors: After FORCE completes, eight character inserts light up simultaneously and it's easy to panic-fire at whatever looks brightest. Trap the ball on a flipper, take two seconds to find the yellow insert (easiest mission), and shoot that one. Reading inserts is faster than it sounds once you practice it.
- → Orbits Feed Back Safely: The Left Orbit and Right Orbit both feed back to the opposite flipper and advance FORCE letters in the upper lanes. When you're uncertain between shots, an orbit is a low-risk choice that makes progress. They also light the skill shot multiplier lanes, which is free value.
Don't Be a Hero
- ⚠ Don't Hunt FORCE Targets Aggressively: The FORCE Standup Targets are small and spread around the playfield. Hunting them one-by-one at the start of a ball often leads to awkward angles, missed shots, and unexpected drains. Shoot your comfortable shots (center ramp, orbits) and let FORCE fill passively — then pick off any stragglers with deliberate shots.
- ⚠ Don't Stack Multiballs Until the Loop Feels Automatic: Lightspeed and Hoth can technically be stacked — start Lightspeed before locking the third Hoth ball. It's a massive scoring window. It's also a lot to manage. For league play, run one multiball at a time until you can reliably hit jackpot shots under pressure. Stacking is in Level Up territory.
- ⚠ Don't Chase Hard Characters on Ball 1: Blue-coded characters (hard difficulty) have awkward shot locations and tight timing windows. Luke, R2, and C-3PO all have missions that require shots most league players can't hit consistently under pressure. Stay in yellow and green until the game feels comfortable. Han and Chewie will carry you through most of a league game.
- ⚠ Don't Force a Death Star Multiball: Death Star Multiball requires lowering a target at the top of the Death Star Ramp, then locking three balls there. The ramp is on the left side and the lock target is finicky. Unless you're on Ball 3 and both Lightspeed and Hoth are unavailable, don't make Death Star your plan.
The biggest mistake on this game is trying to do everything. Eight character missions, three multiballs, Jabba events — it's a lot. Players who score well pick one multiball to build toward (usually Lightspeed via the center ramp) and run missions that use that same shot. Han + Lightspeed via the center ramp is the most coherent single-lane strategy on the table.
Stern games with action buttons are hit-or-miss on whether the button does anything useful. On SW:FotE it matters. During Jabba's Palace, it selects your event as the ball spirals in the Sarlacc. During multiball, it collects add-a-ball once the Sarlacc pit hits 10 spins. Watch the button indicator in the lower-left of the display — when it's lit, press it.
Most league machines are Pros. The Premium adds a moving Death Star target and physical Hoth snowfield toy. Strategically the games play the same — the Pro Death Star Ramp just has a fixed target at the top. The core loop (FORCE → missions → multiballs) is identical on both models.
Completing both orbit shots (left and right) advances JEDI letters in the upper lanes. Spelling JEDI qualifies a shot multiplier that applies to your next major shot. Most players don't notice this happening — but if you see JEDI complete on the display while you're setting up a jackpot collect, that jackpot is about to score much bigger. The orbits are building this passively the whole game.
The Research Pile
Every claim is sourced. Here's where we got our homework for this guide.
Primary source. Noah Crable's comprehensive written tutorial covering character perks, mode details, multiball mechanics, Jabba events, and tournament strategies.
Travis's video walkthrough of the full game loop, multiball strategies, and Sarlacc pit mechanics. Primary source for the Sarlacc add-a-ball priority and center ramp philosophy.
Community wiki rulesheet with detailed scoring data and code version tracking.
Manufacturer rulesheet covering FORCE target difficulty levels, skill shot mechanics, and multiball rules.
Community strategy discussion including tournament strategies and JEDI multiplier optimization tips.