Silverball guide · Star Trek: The Next Generation
Collect artifacts, not points
Seven missions, a warp ladder and a six-ball finale. The scoring is almost entirely decided by four small objects you pick up along the way.
UK Machine Record
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Williams · 1993 · at 8 UK venues.
8
UK venues
8
machines mapped
#25
most-located of 246
1993
released
Dot matrix4 playersSolid state
DesignSteve Ritchie, Dwight Sullivan, Greg Freres
ArtGreg Freres
SoftwareDwight Sullivan, Matt Coriale
About
Williams' Star Trek: The Next Generation is one of the machines that demonstrates just how far pinball rules had developed by the mid-1990s. Steve Ritchie took the Star Trek universe and built a game around missions, diplomacy, multiball and some wonderfully aggressive shots. The centre lock mechanism and Borg ship are the obvious attractions, but the real game is about choosing which mission to pursue and building towards Final Frontier.
It can feel overwhelming on a first game because almost everything on the playfield seems to be asking for your attention. Once you learn the major shots, though, the chaos starts to make sense. The ramps are relatively safe; the harder shots are where the big rewards live.
There are still plenty of these in British collections, and they remain a favourite with players who like a machine with serious rules depth. Don't try to start every mission. Pick one and build towards it.
Written by Silverball
Collector · casual
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The playfield
Strategy tips · 12
Strategy tips written by players on PinTips , not by Silverball. Best-voted first.
Top tip 14 votes
Learn the shuttle simulation pattern. R-L-R-R-L-L-R-L-R. Don't forget to avoid mines and collect points in between tunnels.
General5 tips
- General
Repeat "Picard Maneuver" combo (left orbit to side ramp) consecutively for big points & increase your warps.
- General
If you get command decision, the safe bet is the Rescue mission. 21 switch hits awards an artifact (50M). Hit center scoop to earn 5 hits
- General
Hit the neutral zone immediately (<1 second) after Search the Galaxy ends to receive the Gamma Quadrant award, even if you didn't earn it.
- General
After collecting 4 artifacts, time out the rest of the missions. When you start Final Frontier you get 1B for each set of 4 artifacts.
- General
Comboing Alpha or Beta ramps within 10s builds up from 5M to 50M Explosive Millions. Comboing 50M ramps is decent points.
Multiball2 tips
- Multiball
Choose "Light Lock" before you plunge your first two balls and then "Light Holodeck" on your third. You'll get multiball every game!
- Multiball
The initial cannon shots in mball increase jackpot value by 10 million each time. Do whatever it takes to line up those shots.
Secrets & easter eggs4 tips
- Secrets & easter eggs
Hit both flippers when Data says "If you had propelled the ball on the proper trajectory you would have been rewarded" for 10M points.
- Secrets & easter eggs
Secret video mode called Riker's Poker: When you get the holodeck, hold the trigger and press the right flipper.
- Secrets & easter eggs
If you are close to a high score, you can buy in one extra credit ball and still get on the leader board
- Secrets & easter eggs
When you light Holodeck and DMD says "Holodeck 3 is Ready" pull the trigger 3 times for a secret mission where all targets are 1M+ for 20s.
Tips belong to the players who wrote them. Read them all, vote, or add your own on PinTips, a Match Play project.
Community tutorials on YouTube, not made by Silverball.
Star Trek The Next Generation Pinball Tutorial & Gameplay (Bally Williams 1993)Majestic Pinball · 2024 · on YouTube
Star Trek Next Generation Pinball TutorialPAPApinball · 2014 · on YouTube
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.
The original flyer
How Star Trek: The Next Generation was sold to operators — Williams, 1993. 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.
Flyer scan via the Internet Pinball Database. The artwork is Williams’s.
Nobody we follow has reviewed this one
Same short list of channels as the tutorials. A machine with no review here has not been passed over — it simply hasn’t been covered by anyone we list.
Where a machine sits is Pinball Map’s work, not ours, find Star Trek: The Next Generation near you on their map. Ratings, tips and tournament results here are ours.