Playfield Multipliers

A playfield multiplier (2X, 3X, …) scales a swath of scoring at once. The trick is to keep the multiplier in a single variable and have every affected rule reference it, so raising the multiplier instantly boosts all of them.

A shared multiplier

Multiply each rule’s points expression by the same variable. Every rule then scales by whatever that variable currently holds:

score "event" "ramps_multiplied" {
  when   = tag.ramp_entries.activated
  points = 100 * var.playfield_multiplier
}

score "event" "bumpers_multiplied" {
  when   = tag.pop_bumpers.activated
  points = 10 * var.playfield_multiplier
}

Here ramp_entries is a tag both ramp-entry switches declare (tags = ["ramp_entries"] on their device blocks). Binding the tag group keeps one rule per concept — adding a third ramp later is a one-line tags edit, not a new scoring rule.

Raising and resetting it

Drive the multiplier from gameplay — light it on a qualifying shot, drop it back at ball end:

event_handler "raise_multiplier" {
  when      = shot.multiplier_lane.complete
  condition = var.playfield_multiplier < 3
  actions {
    increment = "playfield_multiplier"
  }
}

event_handler "reset_multiplier" {
  when = system.ball.end
  actions {
    set_variable {
      name  = "playfield_multiplier"
      value = 1
    }
  }
}

How it works

Because every rule reads the same variable, you change the multiplier in one place and the whole group follows. This pairs naturally with modes — a mode can raise the multiplier while it’s active and a score "modifier" can gate other bonuses on mode.<name>.active. See Organizing Modes into Modules.