
Black Knight 2000 was produced by Williams in 1989. It uses system 11 technology and is game number 563. 

Overview and Game Story

Black Knight 2000 is a classic and fantastic pinball game. The sequel to the equally fantastic Black Knight (nine years BK2k's senior), it shares many similar gameplay and thematic features. The game pits *You* versus the Black Knight. Your objective is to knock down the Drawbridge, storm the castle, fight the Black Knight, and take the King's Ransom. 

The Black Knight has mellowed since his original incarnation where he wanted to "slay" you. He's really more like a grade school bully now, aparently only wanting your money. He repeatedly demands that you give your money to him, but makes no other threats. The choir of angels, perhaps having had their money taken by the BK, really wants you to defeat him. They provide moral support and motivation with helpful phrases like You've Got the Power and You can do it. 

The three ball multiball is the symbolic start of the actual fight between you and the Black Knight. The playfield darkens, then with appropriate lightning sounds, the playfield lights illuminate and flash in the shape of a sword. No matter how many times I've seen it, I'm immediately psyched to take on the Black Knight! The balls are kicked onto the playfield and it's sheer mayham for as long as you can keep them all in play! 





Overview

Black Knight 2000 is a non mode game. The gameplay revolves around making several key shots and repeating. The "goal" is to Spell ransom, initiating a High Scoring three ball multi-ball Extravaganza! 



Abbreviations


PF - Playfield MB - MultiBall BK2k - Black Knight 2000 
SR - Steve Ritchie WMS - Williams BK - Black Knight 




Playfield Layout

Starting from the left flipper, continuing clockwise around the playfield. 

Lower Playfield: 
Left Outlane. Typical SR design, huge scoop, but with a kickback 
"KNI" targets. Drop Targets spelling first half of "Knight" 
Skyway Ramp. Ramp to the upper playfield. 
Left U-Turn Entrance. A small tight loop. 
"GHT" Targets. Drop Targets spelling second half of "Knight" 
Right U-Turn Entrance. 
Lightning Wheel Entrance Lane. Lane leads to a kicker to upper PF and, if lit, spins the Lightning lane. 
Double Knight's Challenge Entrance. When lit, starts the Double Knights Challenge. 
Right Outlane. Standard design, but guarded with a MagnaSave magnet. 

Upper Playfield (starting with flipper, then counter clockwise): 
Upper Flipper. Used to hit the drawbridge, and make loops. 
Upper PF drain. Takes ball from upper PF and drops it on the lower, above right sling shot. 
WAR lanes. Three LaneChangeable Lanes. 
Pop Bumbers. Three Pop Bumpers, mostly, I think because all good games have Pop Bumpers! 
Draw Bridge. Three stand up targets with the ability to lower below the playfield to reveal the upper ramp. 
Upper Ramp. A powerful shot up this ramp, leads the ball to the BK's castle. 
Black Knight's Castle. The balls queue here for multiball. 
The Loop. The left side of the upper PF is a metal turnaround that sends the ball back to the right along the upper edge of the PF. 
WIN lanes. Three LaneChangeable Lanes. 

Details of Play, and playing strategies and tips, coming soon! 



Legal Mumbo Jumbo

Black Knight 2000, was created by Williams in 1989. Black Knight 2000, Multiball, LaneChange and lots of other pinball words are trademarks of Williams and are so no noted. 





From: phaedrus@halcyon.com (Mark Phaedrus)
Subject: Re: Request: BK2000 Rules
Date: 26 May 1993 12:58:17 -0700


	Okay, you asked for it!  Gape in horror as Phaedrus attempts a rule
sheet entirely from memory! :)

	             *** BLACK KNIGHT 2000 RULES SHEET ***
     ObLegalStuff:  Black Knight and Black Knight 2000 are undoubtedly
trademarks of Williams Co.  As far as I know, "Give me your money!" is not
anybody's trademark.

     Object of the game:  Batter down the door and storm the Drawbridge to the
Black Knight's castle.  Climb the Skyway for points and extra balls.  Take the
Knight's Challenge for millions.  Collect the King's Ransom.  You get the
general idea.

GAME FEATURES

     Dual Playfield:  Black Knight 2000 is a double-level-playfield design.  The
ball starts out on the upper level, and can drain to the lower through the WAR
lanes; from there it can drain out of play or reach the upper playfield again
through the Skyway or the Lightning lane.

     Skyway:  The long ramp up the left side of the machine, that leads from
the lower to the upper playfield.  Can be lit for the Hurry-Up bonus by the
WAR lanes, for the Skyway Million by the KNIGHT targets, and/or for Extra Ball
by repeated loops.  It also sets up the loop for Ramp-Loop Combo.  Strongly-
hit balls going up the Skyway will go around the Loop to the upper flipper;
less-strongly-hit-balls will go down the WIN lanes, and the occasional very
weak shot may drop down into the bowels of the machine, winding up in the
Lightning hole, which counts as if you'd hit it normally.

     KNIGHT targets:  There are six drop targets in the lower playfield,
arranged in two banks of three; K-N-I on the far left below the Skyway
entrance, and G-H-T right in the middle.  The targets are on a timer; when you
first hit one, the next letter in BLACK starts flashing, with the flash rate
increasing as the timer runs down; all six targets are reset when the timer
expires.  Clearing all six targets resets them all, spots a letter in BLACK
and relights Kickback and Magna-Save.  To make this easier, the two banks
(K-N-I and G-H-T) are scored separately; so, for example, if you clear K-N-I
before the timer expires, you are given credit for that, and even if the
timer then expires, you need only clear G-H-T after that to get the BLACK
letter and the relights.  If you lose a ball while some targets are down,
you still have credit for those targets being down at the start of your
next ball, and the timer does not start until you actually hit a drop target
on the new ball.  Spotting the final letter in BLACK lights the Skyway for
an extra 1M.

     U-Turn lane:  A lane whose two entrances are on either side of the G-H-T
targets.  Hitting this lane scores 25K (and adds to your bonus); subsequent
hits score increasing values, eventually going all the way to 250K.  The
lane is on a timer, with the flashing rate of the U-Turn lights increasing as
the timer runs down; when it runs out, the U-Turn value resets to 25K.
U-Turn shots also light the Challenge Lane for the Double Knights Challenge.

     Kickback:  The left outlane has a kickback, which is relit by clearing
the KNIGHT targets.

     Magna-Save:  The right outlane is protected by the Magna-Save magnet,
which is positioned right above the right inlane.  When Magna-Save is lit (by
the KNIGHT targets), hitting the button just above the right flipper button
turns on the Magna-Save magnet for five seconds; if your timing is quick
enough, the magnet will snare the ball before it can make it down the outlane,
hold it in place for a few seconds, then drop it down the right inlane.

     Lightning Lane/Wheel:  This lane is just to the right of the U-Turn lane,
and is marked by the "SPIN" light.  Hitting it will cause the ball to be
kicked out onto the upper playfield.  When the "SPIN" light is lit (it starts
the game lit, goes out when the lane is hit, and is relit for a few seconds
by the left inlane), hitting this lane spins the Lightning Wheel, which gives
one of the following pseudo-random awards:
       Points:  Anything between 20K and 250K, depending on the wheel slot.
                Expect a lot of 20K's when your score is high...
       Extra Ball, Special:  Pretty self-explanatory.
       Lower Drawbridge:  Opens up the door to the Drawbridge ramp.
       Knights Challenge:  Starts the Double Knights Challenge round.
       Spot RANSOM:  Adds a letter to RANSOM.

     Challenge Lane:  The lane at the far right of the lower playfield, to the
right of the Lightning Lane.  Hitting this lane when it's unlit earns you a
derogatory remark and spits the ball out again; hitting it when it's lit (by
the U-Turn lane) starts the Double Knights Challenge round.

     Loop:  The upper playfield is constructed so that a ball hit low and strong
from the upper flipper will go all the way around the field and back to the
upper flipper again.  The first loop shot scores 25K (and adds to the bonus);
consecutive loop shots after that score 50K, 75K, and so on.  There are
additional rewards for consecutive shots.  Two loop shots in a row hold the
bonus multiplier for the ball.  Also, two loop shots in a row light Extra Ball
on the Skyway for a few seconds; if you collect it, then three loop shots in
a row will be required to light Extra Ball again, and so on.

     WIN lanes:  the three lanes just above the pop bumpers; the plunger feeds
to this area.  Clearing all three lanes advances the bonus multiplier, and
lights RANSOM on the Drawbridge for a few seconds.

     Drawbridge:  the ramp on the upper playfield, which leads up to the lock
area.  At the start of the game, the drawbridge is closed (the door blocks the
ramp); you must hit each of the three parts of the drawbridge, marked by the
1-2-3 lights (though you don't have to hit them in that order), to open the
bridge.  After that, shooting a ball up the Drawbridge locks it.  Depending
on the difficulty settings of the machine, and whether or not you've already
scored a Jackpot this game, the Drawbridge may or may not close again at
this point; if it does close, you'll have to hit 1-2-3 again to open it.
Locking the third ball starts Multiball.  (Note that many BK2K machines have
a slight flaw, which causes balls to occasionally not be read when they
go into the lock; to prevent this, it doesn't hurt to gently shake the
machine side-to-side for a second or two when the ball enters the lock,
to make sure it contacts the sensor.)  For a few seconds after the WIN lanes
are cleared, locking a ball in the Drawbridge spots a letter in RANSOM.

     WAR lanes:  the three rollover lanes just to the left of the upper
playfield's flipper.  If the ball actually goes through one of these lanes,
it drains to the lower playfield; however, in practice, the ball often
rattles around the entrance to one of these lanes, triggering the sensor,
then bounces back out into the upper playfield again.  Clearing the WAR
lanes lights Hurry-Up on the Skyway; during Double Knights Challenge,
clearing the WAR lanes scores 1 million.

     Last Chance:  On the final ball of the game, if exactly two balls are
in the lock, the outlanes light for Last Chance.  Losing a ball down the
outlane immediately kicks the two locked balls into play.  This can only
be used once per player per game.

SPECIAL SCORING MODES

     Hurry-Up:  This is indicated by the Hurry-Up light on the Skyway.  It's
lit by clearing the WAR lanes on the upper playfield.  The Hurry-Up value
starts at 200K, stays there for a second or two, then counts down by 10K
intervals to 0; hitting the Skyway awards the Hurry-Up value.  Even if the
value is very low, it's still worth collecting it, because if you do, the
next Hurry-Up starts at 500K, then 750K, then 1M, then 1.5M.

     Double Knights Challenge:  This is indicated by the green light on the
Challenge lane to the right of the lower playfield.  It's lit by making
U-Turns, and started by hitting the Challenge lane.  This is a 2-ball
multiball (so it's unavailable when there are two balls already in the
lock); another ball is served to the plunger, and the ball in the Challenge
lane is ejected as soon as the second ball hits a playfield switch.  The
Drawbridge closes at the start of Double Knights Challenge, and will not
open during it.  During the Challenge, clearing the WAR lanes scores 1M.
When a ball drains, you return to normal play, but the Drawbridge is still
closed.

     Multiball:  This is started by locking the third ball up the Drawbridge;
note that in a multi-player game, the game doesn't distinguish among balls
locked by different players, so whoever locks the third ball gets the
multiball, and the players who locked the other two balls are out of luck.
The object of Multiball is to shoot a ball up the Drawbridge to score the
Jackpot.  Depending on the difficulty settings of the machine, and whether
or not you have already scored a Jackpot, you may or may not have to
open the Drawbridge by hitting 1-2-3 first.  I can't remember whether or
not you can collect multiple Jackpots during one Multiball; if you can,
you must reopen the Drawbridge between Jackpots, and the Jackpot value
resets to 1M each time it is collected (it has a maximum value of 4M).

     King's Ransom:  The six letters in R-A-N-S-O-M are displayed on the
backglass.  Shooting a ball up the Drawbridge within a few seconds after
clearing the WIN lanes, or hitting Spot RANSOM on the Lightning Wheel,
lights an additional letter in RANSOM.  Lit RANSOM letters carry over
from game to game; I can't remember whether they carry over from player
to player in a multi-player game.  Lighting the final letter in RANSOM
awards the King's Ransom.  The bonus multiplier goes to its maximum (5x)
and is held.  For twenty seconds, all three balls are in play, balls are
fed back to the plunger as fast as they drain, Jackpot is lit, clearing
the WAR lanes score 1M, all U-Turns score 250K, and the Skyway scores
1M and an extra ball the first time it is hit.

STRATEGY

     The simplest strategy for BK2K can be summed up in four words: avoid
the lower playfield.  Most of the big points are on the upper playfield,
and while the ball is on the upper playfield, you can't lose it!

     The most important shot to learn is the Skyway.  You should practice
it to the point where you can nearly always one-touch a ball draining off
the upper playfield right back up into the Skyway off the right flipper,
preferably without trapping it first.  This one shot will make your score
skyrocket, since it prevents draining and sets you up for big points from
Hurry-Up and extra balls galore from the Loop.

     On the upper playfield, learn to make Loop shots; they're the key
to extra balls, and with practice you can also learn to drop the ball into
the WIN lanes to light Ransom.  When Hurry-Up or Extra Ball lights on the
Skyway, don't be afraid to let the ball drain to the lower playfield
to collect it; once you've practiced the Skyway shot sufficiently, the
reward is well worth the minor risk.  Also, it's vital to learn the art
of nudging the ball around the WAR lanes; a good player can nearly
always make the ball dribble its way across the tops of the lanes to the
upper flipper, keeping it on the upper playfield, and probably getting
credit for at least one of the lanes in the process, even on a machine
with pretty tight tilt settings.

     During Multiballs, you pretty well have no choice but to learn to
deal with the lower playfield.  The Challenge Lane will hold onto a ball
going into it for about ten seconds before letting it go, which is a
good way of getting a ball out of the way.  Also, don't forget the
Lightning Lane; even if it's not lit, it still gets the ball back to the
upper playfield.  Multiballs are also a good time to shoot for the KNIGHT
targets, if you need to relight the Kickback or Magna-Save; with all
the balls bouncing around, you'll hit your share of drop targets anyway.
I recommend _not_ shooting at the drop targets unless you need to relight
something; every time you clear them, the timer accelerates, so it gets
that much harder to clear them when you actually need them.  And the
bonus for completing BLACK is pretty paltry; you can get much greater
rewards by concentrating on the upper playfield and making your Hurry-Ups.

     During King's Ransom, concentrate on making the Skyway and Drawbridge
shots at least once each, since that's where the big points are.  Don't
mess up your shots with the balls already on the playfield just to
plunge a new ball in (unless you're going to use the new ball to shoot
for the Jackpot); in particular, if a ball pops into the plunger lane
with less than five seconds left in King's Ransom, and you're confident
that you're not going to lose one of the balls in play in the next few
seconds, leave it there!  It's effectively an extra ball; when King's
Ransom ends, just leave the other ball in the plunger lane, and plunge
it out when you finally lose the last ball in play.
