There’s No Place Like the Outlanes
By Kevin Birrell
Wizard of Oz is the first game by Jersey Jack Pinball, and it is clear that the team behind the game has taken advantage of their new pinball platform to develop interesting features never before seen on games from any manufacturer. From making every insert in the game multi-colored to using an LCD to display stackable modes and features, there’s no doubt that Wizard of Oz is full of innovation. While the software isn’t even close to complete yet, there are already some very interesting features 
that don’t just feel like they were cut and pasted out of the code from another game. One of those features is a pair of modes that allow the player to save their ball by completing certain tasks once their ball has drained down the outlanes. Toto Escapes is started
when the player drains down the right outlane and rolls over all four TOTO targets. The ball is then re-plunged and the player has about ten seconds to shoot the right ramp (or other shots depending on the settings) to return to regular play.
The second mode, “There’s No Place Like Home”, is the more involved of these modes and can be started when the ball drains down the left outlane. The ball will bounce between the State Fair Balloon bumper in the outlane and the five standup targets next to it, and if it hits all five targets the ball is re-plunged for “There’s No Place Like 
Home”. In this mode, the player attempts to save their ball and re-enter normal play by completing all four stages of the mode without draining. First, the player has to spell RAINBOW by hitting the seven targets in the upper right area of the playfield. Banking the ball off the witch and into the R and A targets is a good way to finish this off if 
you’re having trouble. Second, the player must shoot the Crystal Ball and the Throne Room saucer. Third, the player has to make the left and right loop shots. Finally, the player must shoot the ramp to finish the mode and continue normal play. The little “sepia to color” effect when you do this is pretty cool!
All normal scoring and other modes are disabled during TNPLH, so there’s not much to do except try and get your ball back. It’s pretty hard, but the reward of essentially an extra ball (even in tournament play where extra balls are disabled) is pretty sweet!
Originally Published in Skill Shot 31