Williams Pinball app -- so confused! Help!

I recently installed the (free) Williams Pinball app for my Android phone. The pinball tables are AMAZINGLY fun, but... You can't just play a normal/full game. And you can't directly pay for access to a table. :huh:

Instead you play "challenges" to, (e.g. get 10,000,000 points in a certain time limit), and get awarded with tickets, Z coins, table parts, XP crowns. You can pay in tickets to do extra challenges, or gamble by playing online, or upgrade your table to new star levels.

IT MAKES NO SENSE AT ALL!!! :rotfl:

There's one pinball table I really like. I just want to play a normal game, and maybe compete for the best high-score with other players in some way. Does anyone know if this is possible? Are there certain strategies that would help (e.g. only spending Z coins on some things, saving all tokens until a certain level, or...???)

Is anyone else playing this game? :)

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  • boo_star
    boo_star Posts: 3,202
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    esuhl wrote: »
    I recently installed the (free) Williams Pinball app for my Android phone. The pinball tables are AMAZINGLY fun, but... You can't just play a normal/full game. And you can't directly pay for access to a table. :huh:

    Instead you play "challenges" to, (e.g. get 10,000,000 points in a certain time limit), and get awarded with tickets, Z coins, table parts, XP crowns. You can pay in tickets to do extra challenges, or gamble by playing online, or upgrade your table to new star levels.

    IT MAKES NO SENSE AT ALL!!! :rotfl:

    There's one pinball table I really like. I just want to play a normal game, and maybe compete for the best high-score with other players in some way. Does anyone know if this is possible? Are there certain strategies that would help (e.g. only spending Z coins on some things, saving all tokens until a certain level, or...???)

    Is anyone else playing this game? :)

    It has in-app purchases, it being "free" is a hook.

    Avoid at all costs.
  • esuhl
    esuhl Posts: 9,409
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    boo_star wrote: »
    It has in-app purchases, it being "free" is a hook.

    Avoid at all costs.

    Why? I don't have a problem with in-app purchases in principle. I'm just trying to get my head round the baffling way it's been implemented.

    Anyway, I managed to upgrade the Theatre of Magic pinball table to "two stars" by playing a few challenges. That's enough to allow me to play it normally. It didn't cost anything.


    :j

    It's a fun game, despite the truly awful UI and insane number of points and tokens and parts and everything else.
  • esuhl
    esuhl Posts: 9,409
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    Well, I asked the developers and they sent me a little guide. Everything makes sense now! (I just wish all that info was included in the game.)

    As for the monetisation model of the app... it's quite cleverly done... in a way that seems quite fair.

    You can play for free by winning challenges, which unlock more challenges, better physics and table visuals, etc.

    In-app purchases are priced in a way that you'd be mad to pay to unlock everything... And the challenges are actually FUN to play, so it's only worth paying if you're desperate for instant access.

    And there are OPTIONAL adverts, which you can choose to watch for an extra reward. I HATE adverts, but I really like this opt-in method.
  • esuhl
    esuhl Posts: 9,409
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    I trust the developers won't mind me re-posting the guide they sent me... Just in case it helps anyone else:

    Getting Started
    When you first open the app, you will be prompted to choose your starting table - choose whichever you'd like. This table will be unlocked on Grade 1 (for more information about Grades please consult the Table Grades section of our Help Portal) and the game will guide you to play a Basic Challenge.

    Upon completing that, you will be able to promote your chosen table to Grade 2. Now you are able to play this table offline and start on your quest to unlock others.

    Table Grades
    You can have 4 Table Grades in Williams Pinball that will be shown next to the icon of a table as stars. Depending on these, you can access different features on your pinball tables.

    Grade 1: Unlocks Basic Challenge
    Grade 2: Unlocks Arcade Play. Advanced Challenge, Ball Skins, Offline Play
    Grade 3: Unlocks Pro Challenge, Flipper Skins, Visual Extras
    Grade 4: Unlocks Save Game, Ball Trails, Pro Difficulty, Pro Physics, Practice Play

    Daily Challenges
    Challenges are bite-sized quests in Williams Pinball where you need to reach a specific score through various scenarios.

    There are 3 kinds of Challenges:
    - Survival: Reach ever-increasing score targets to advance. Unlimited ball save.
    - 1 ball: Reach the target score with only 1 ball. Extra balls only give scores.
    - 5 minutes: Reach the target score within 5 minutes. Unlimited ball save.

    In Williams Pinball you'll be able to play a set of challenges with increasing difficulty, these are:

    Basic Challenge - Unlocks on Table Grade 1
    Advanced Challenge - Unlocks on Table Grade 2
    Pro Challenge - Unlocks on Table Grade 3
    Premium Challenge - You can acquire this from the In-Game Store

    Arcade Play
    Arcade Play is your classic pinball experience. Unlocking at Table Grade 2, Arcade Play let's you enjoy the traditional experience of playing a game on your pinball machine with 3 balls. Extra balls are enabled, there is no time limit and the game ends after you lose all balls.

    Currencies and table parts:
    In Williams Pinball you can earn various currencies to upgrade and unlock tables and customization items.

    Tickets: Tickets can be earned by watching ads, completing challenges, leveling up or they can be exchanged for Zen Coins. Tickets are used when promoting a pinball table to a bigger grade, to refresh the Daily Challenges and to participate in League Play on the Google Play version of the game.
    Zen Coin: Zen Coins can be earn by leveling up or completing challenges. You can also purchase Zen Coins in the In-game Store if you choose.
    Table parts: You can earn table parts by playing the Daily Challenges. Table parts are used when promoting a pinball table to a bigger grade.
  • hm ... avoid unnecessary expenses
  • oxroxx
    oxroxx Posts: 22
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