UK Machine Record
Stern · 2024 · at 16 UK venues.
Stern's JAWS is one of the newer machines that feels immediately at home in the UK scene, helped by the fact that it has been turning up at clubs, arcades and tournament locations since its release. It puts you on Amity Island as Brody, Hooper or Quint, with the shark itself becoming the game's main target, literally. The playfield's motorised Great White crashes through the boat, while the moving Shark Fin and Orca upper playfield give the game plenty of physical personality.
Designed by Jack Danger, JAWS is less about memorising a giant rule tree on your first game and more about understanding what the game is asking you to do next. The shark is the obvious attraction, but the real game develops around qualifying and stacking the various objectives. It has that classic Stern quality of looking straightforward for the first few minutes before revealing considerably more underneath.
The UK version of the game is particularly interesting because JAWS has become one of the machines you are increasingly likely to encounter at dedicated pinball venues rather than just private collections. If you only remember one thing before you play: don't just shoot the shark because it looks good; understand what the game has lit first.
Written by Silverball
Silverball guide · JAWS
JAWS is an enormous machine with a dozen things running at once, and the single biggest decision in it is one most players make by accident: whether to spend the equipment you collect, or hoard it and sell it to Quint.
Played JAWS enough to have an opinion? Write it up.
Front and centre at the top, and the playfield tells you the job itself: complete the arrows around it for a Shark Encounter. Hit the fin while it is up to attach a barrel and light Jaws Multiball at the ramps.
The curve of lights across the middle, printed with its own name. Chum the water at the captive ball, then feed the red arrows to build it up.
The fan of panels above the flippers, which fills in as you go. Gear is lit at the right ramp by taking a quickshot, the harpoon lane, then the fin.
Written by Silverball
Strategy tips written by players on PinTips , not by Silverball. Best-voted first.
Shoot chum bucket repeatedly, once chum bucket is full, hit pop up fin to attach harpoon - If miss fin, relight by hitting left ramp next to chum bucket - after fin hit a yellow shot to start jaws multiball
A set of 3 Shark Tower targets lights a set of 5 Beachgoers, one per shot. Extra ball at 8 Beachgoers collected, Rescue Multiball at 15.
(Premium/LE only) Upper playfield Orca Wheel Award stops on any switch hit OR action button. Time it to pick which award you get.
An orange blinking center button means the left outlane ball save is ready (“life ring”). Only press it when appropriate.
Beach Tower Sets start Feeding Frenzy. Complete Towers again for awards, 3rd target 3x. Switch hits boost award. Totals added to EOB Bonus!
If a table's Shark Fin Target is malfunctioning / disabled, all Fin Target shots will be collected at the center Beach Tower target instead.
Tips belong to the players who wrote them. Read them all, vote, or add your own on PinTips, a Match Play project.
Close-ups of the JAWS playfield, with our note on what each one is showing you.
The sculpted great white, beside the shark encounter plastic.
The chum bucket, with its newton ball hanging beneath it.
The yellow barrel riding the wireform, over the EXTRA BALL lamp.
COMPLETE CHUM LINE TO LIGHT READY BARREL, printed across the water.
Photographs of the machine. We haven’t been able to confirm the source. The captions are ours.
Community tutorials on YouTube, not made by Silverball.
Videos from YouTube, curated from channels we rate. They belong to their creators, who aren’t affiliated with Silverball; links open on YouTube so the view counts for them. A creator who’d rather not be listed can get in touch and we’ll remove it.
How JAWS was sold to operators — Stern, 2024. The back is the feature list the manufacturer led with, which is a fair record of what the machine was meant to be famous for.
Front
BackManufacturer’s sales flyer — Stern’s own artwork. We haven’t been able to confirm the source of this scan.
One reviewer's opinion, not a Silverball verdict, and not a guide to playing.
Jaws Pinball Machine Review: Keith Elwin’s Greatest Game? | Stern’s Masterpiece Improved with ModsGonzo's Pinball Flipperama · 2025 · on YouTube
🦈 Stern Pinball's JAWS - Pro vs. Premium Pinball Machines | First Impressions & Gameplay Comparison!Gonzo's Pinball Flipperama · 2024 · on YouTubeVideos from YouTube, curated from channels we rate. They belong to their creators, who aren’t affiliated with Silverball; links open on YouTube so the view counts for them. A creator who’d rather not be listed can get in touch and we’ll remove it.
Where a machine sits is Pinball Map’s work, not ours, find JAWS near you on their map. Ratings, tips and tournament results here are ours.
