The Premium model.
The Mandalorian is a Physical Pinball Table released in mid-2021 by Stern Pinball. It was designed by Brian Eddy, with coding by Dwight Sullivan, artwork by Randy Martinez,note and specially-made voice work by Carl Weathers (reprising his role as Greef Karga).Based on the show of the same name, the player assumes the role of the Mandalorian himself. A bounty hunter by trade, they must play through various Missions and Encounters inspired by the series to reach "This is the Way" and get a shot at earning their signet. They can also earn Beskar by completing Missions or the timed "Scope", which can be traded in at the Foundry for armor, weaponry, and other helpful upgrades. In addition, the mysterious Child that the Mandalorian must protect stands on the playfield, able to bestow one of several different awards if the player earns them. Rounding out the key features are enemy Ambush modes and the three Razor Crest Multiballs (achieved by repeatedly hitting a shot near a small model of the namesake ship).
Notable mechanical components include a small mini-playfield patterned after the Mandalorian's helmet. On Premium and Limited Edition models, it can rotate to become vertically oriented during Encounters. Other differences between the two include a horseshoe scoop ramp and a magnet representing the Child's Force abilities.
This game contains examples of:
- Adapted Out: While the majority of the series' recurring cast appears in the game's artwork, Cara Dune is completely absent. This is presumably because she was written out of the show following her actress's
Role-Ending Misdemeanor in early 2021. - Arrange Mode: There are several modes that can be activated prior to starting a game.
- "Team Play" changes multiplayer to group each person into one of several different teams, keeping track of their scores both individually and as a unit. It comes in 2 vs. 2, 2 vs. 1, and 3 vs. 1 varieties.
- "Monster Play" applies "Impossible Play" settings (high difficulty and reducing the player's ability to keep a flipper raised) solely to the first player in a multiplayer game. ("Impossible Play" itself affects every player.)
- Colour-Coded for Your Convenience:
- The center of the playfield groups the three primary objectives by color: Missions are yellow, Encounters are red, and the Razor Crest multiball modes are green.
- During an Encounter, every light on the upper playfield will momentarily flash to indicate whether the right target was hit: green for a hit, red for a miss.
- Context-Sensitive Button: The action button activates one of the Mandalorian's weapons, but which one changes depending on what would be must useful in the player's current situation. For instance, one weapon which adds a ball is only available during multiball modes.
- Cooperative Multiplayer: Changing the mode to "Co-op" before starting a multiplayer game causes everyone to share a score and Beskar (though any purchases made with the latter are still individual).
- Harder Than Hard: "Impossible Play" sets the difficulty as high as possible (including removing the ball save period entirely and shortening the timer for Timed Missions) and renders the player unable to keep a flipper raised for more than a few seconds at a time.
- Late-Arrival Spoiler: Several characters whose appearances in the original series were meant to be surprises are shown with little fanfare throughout the game's artwork.
- Boba Fett, whose first appearance in the series was a Wham Shot, not only appears on the playfield and backglass but gets a pair of stand-up targets with his name right beside them.
- While his identity is obfuscated elsewhere in the art package, Luke Skywalker is shown on one of the slinger bumpers, face and all. His mere presence spoils what was originally an extremely unexpected moment at the very end of the second season finale.
- Match Sequence: The game plays a scene from "The Marshal" where a Krayt Dragon attacks and sinks into the sand, with the match number being overlaid on the screen afterwards.
- Mythology Gag:
- One optional, official Game Mod is a shooter handle shaped like the knob on the Razor Crest's controls (which the Child repeatedly tries to play with).
- The animations for obtaining and using an extra ball both show the Mandalorian attacking a wall adorned with graffiti, much like those seen on Tatooine in "The Marshal".
- Score Multiplier:
- Lighting the Scope, a Hunter mode, or Boba Fett increases the general score multiplier by one each. Lighting all three at once instead multiplies scoring by six.
- Finishing "This is the Way" increases the multiplier by one for the rest of the game.
- Skill Shot:
- The regular skill shot requires plunging the ball into one of two lit "CHILD" lanes, which gives the player some points and other awards (including adding to their bonus multiplier and lighting the Child's mystery award).
- The Super Skill Shot requires launching the ball and making three sequential shots to immediately start a mode (or immediately get some Foundry equipment if one is already lit). There are three potential final shots, each of which starts a different kind of mode: Missions, Encounters, and Razor Crest Multiballs.
- Spelling Bonus: C-H-I-L-D lights one of many possible bonuses (such as a ball save or a Score Multiplier level).
- Stuff Blowing Up: The center of the playfield features a massive explosion in the background primarily for the Rule of Cool. (The game's lead artist noted that the main goals were situated within it specifically to "highlight the excitement of all the conflicts throughout the series."
) - Unflinching Walk: The Premium version's backglass art depicts the Mandalorian casually walking towards the viewer while several explosions go off behind him.
- V-Formation Team Shot: Downplayed in the Premium version's backglass artwork. The Mandalorian himself is front and center, with the rest of the cast arranged behind him in a V-formation – however, half of them are villains, with the other heroic characters staying on the other side of him.
- Wizard Mode: There are three mini-wizard modes and a final, full example.
- Starting each of the three multiball modes lights "Precious Cargo", based on "The Prisoner". The player must destroy four droids by hitting shots near the center of the playfield, then make several more while under a time limit.
- Completing three Encounters lights "You Have What I Want", based on "The Rescue". Over multiple phases, the player must make a set number of shots to save the Child from Moff Gideon.
- Starting five Missions lights "I Like Those Odds", based on "The Sin". There are three primary phases, each representing part of the Mandalorian's rescue of the Child. All of them require hitting every lit shot to finish, with a "victory lap" period following the mode's completion for bonus points.
- The final wizard mode, "This is the Way", requires completing all three mini-wizard modes to start. It is composed of three rounds, each beginning with a phase where the player has to make five shots with increasingly narrow requirements. Once that's done, a multiball phase begins and every shot is lit for a jackpot – the timer is determined by how fast the player finished the initial phase. When all three rounds are completed, the player receives ten million points and a signet (which increases the Score Multiplier for the duration of the game afterwards).
