DPX Releases Early Alice's Adventures in Wonderland Rules

DPX published an early draft of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland code. Did you see it?

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Long-time readers know this about me already, but I'm a marketer by trade. I studied it in college and spent over a decade in the field at both the individual contributor and leadership levels before making a run at more entrepreneurial endeavors and starting Kineticist. I offer all this as preamble to say that every now and again the pinball industry does things that make me scratch my head as they go against every marketing instinct in my body.

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Take, for example, this recently shared draft code document for the upcoming game Alice's Adventures in Wonderland from Dutch Pinball Exclusive (DPX), the collectors oriented offshoot of Dutch Pinball (The Big Lebowski). The document was shared by official company representative Rens Hooijmaijers to a Pinside forum thread devoted to generating hype for the upcoming release. The act of creating and sharing this document is something I generally applaud.

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However, the missed opportunity this activity represents is emblematic of a lot of pinball marketing that too often doesn't fire on all cylinders. Granted - there are a lot of potential reasons for these misfires. Limited resources, skills gaps, competing priorities. I've seen it all.

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In an ideal world, this is an artifact that would be shared first to official DPX brand channels (first the website as a blog post or news release, then to corresponding social media channels, including Pinside). It makes for a great piece of "behind-the-scenes" content that buyers of a niche, hand-made product would normally eat up. Picture designer Melvin Williams walking players through highlights of the rules in a quick video update that's embedded on a DPX-owned property. This could then be used as the basis of an email blast to buyers and fans and repurposed in social channels.

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But DPX doesn't really have any of that marketing infrastructure established, and it's easier to just post something on Pinside and call it a day.

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The problem with this approach is that instead of engaging a potential audience of tens of thousands of Dutch Pinball and DPX fans and customers with relevant content, (and giving creators an easy way to talk about the brand and their products) this update gets relegated to post #3,523 of an 11 month old forum thread that on a great day reaches hundreds, and only the most hardcore of hardcore pinheads will ever see it.

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The other kicker here is that by releasing an early draft of the rules, it addresses some of the early customer feedback that was expressed in hobbyist circles coming out of the game preview at the 2024 Pinball Expo show. Since that time, there have been several widely discussed announcements of product delays, and this is the kind of update that, were more people to see it, could ease worry and keep pre-order buyers engaged.

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Anyway - consider this our signal boost! Copied below are the draft rules for the DPX game, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, which is set to start shipping to customers any week now.

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Generally, I like that it seems they have made an effort to add more opportunities for players to use the game's upper playfield area, which is arguably it's standout feature. Otherwise, the outline looks like a little bit of a wood-chopping grind. Mad Hatter's Tea Party, which is a 2-ball multiball that encourages players to shoot into the pop bumpers could either be quirky fun or something skilled players will try and avoid. I do like the inclusion of all the side-quests and mini challenges so that there's plenty to do even when not in a mode or a multiball.

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Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland Rulesheet

Code version 0.80

Alice’s Journey Through Wonderland 🎩🐇

🌟 Skillshot – Down the Rabbit Hole!

The skillshot is a two-stage adventure:

• Soft Plunge: Choose your fate by locking in a score appearing on the enchanted screen. Take the plunge down the rabbit hole to collect your reward. Avoid pop bumpers or rollovers, or fail the skillshot!
• Super Skillshot: Plunge into the VUK within 5 seconds to earn 1 million points and unlock a 5-second mini-playfield journey. Each target hit adds another million points!

🔮 The Ultimate Quest – Unlocking WONDERS

Conquer Wonderland by collecting all WONDERS letters. Complete modes to earn letters; some are hidden throughout Wonderland.

• Shoot the Ramp 🎢 – Qualifies a mode.
• Shoot the Scoop 🎯 – Begins a mode.
• Rollover Under the Clock ⏳ – Adds 5 extra seconds to any active mode, max 60 seconds.

🎭 Change the Mode Inserts by Pop Bumper Hits!

🕰 White Rabbit

Chase the elusive White Rabbit by following flashing shots. Hurry!

🌀 Caterpillar’s Riddles

Answer Caterpillar’s questions by hitting blinking shots to prove you are truly Alice.

🎩 Mad Hatter’s Tea Party

• Set the clock rollover to 6.
• Initiates 2-ball multiball.
• Smash pop bumpers to break teacups and throw cake.
• Unlock Jackpot Madness!

♦ Knave of Hearts

• Shoot left orbit to enter Queen’s Throne Room.
• Defend yourself in a courtroom with magnetic flippers.
• Hit 3 targets for freedom.

⚔ Army of Cards

• Shoot 7 times beneath the mini playfield to defeat the Queen’s army.

👑 The Queen of Hearts Wizard Mode

To face the Queen:

• Collect 7 WONDERS letters.
• Defeat Jabberwocky Multiball.
• Complete all modes.
• Find the 4 suits of Wonderland.

Final Showdown: Defeat 21 guards (1 lower, 20 mini-playfield). Painting Roses Red helps reduce guards.

🌹 Painting the Roses Red

• Shoot U-turn on the left (outside a mode).
• After 3 shots, battle guards on mini-playfield for 10 seconds.
• Each hit reduces guard count (minimum 4 remaining).

🎲 Side Quests & Mini Challenges

🐉 Jabberwocky Multiball

• Hit left and right ramp targets to activate locks.
• Capture balls in Jabberwock’s Lair.
• Lock 3 balls for multiball frenzy.
• Collect jackpots, aim for Super Jackpot.
• Earns a WONDERS letter.

♠♣♦♥ Find the 4 Suits of Wonderland

(Outside modes, complete to form deck of 21 and earn a letter or jackpot):

• 6x Right Ramp
• 5x Left Orbit
• 5x Right Orbit
• 5x U-Turn

🏑Quick Croquet Multiball

• Hit captive ball 5 times outside modes for 2-ball multiball.
• Hit again to light ramps for jackpots.
• 5 jackpots award WONDER letter.

🕛 Midnight Madness

• Shoot clock rollover 12 times outside modes.
• Loop main ramp to increase scoring multipliers.
• Possible hidden letter or jackpot.

🐱 Cheshire Cat Mystery

• Spell CAT outside a mode.
• Shoot scoop for reward; choose left or right for secret reward or risk nothing!

🍪 Eat Me – Grow Alice Grow!

• Spell EATME by hitting side targets.
• Complete, shoot left orbit for 2x, 3x, or 4x multiplier.

🌀 Outlane Save Feature – The Swirling Wonderland!

• Game starts with 2 saves (Red = 5s, Yellow = 10s, Green = 15s max).
• Spin Wonderland Disc for 5 seconds using top flipper buttons.
• Recharge saves by hitting Save Target and Right Orbit/Ramp for extra time.

🎭 Bonus X – The Looking Glass Trick

• Shoot inlanes at the back to earn Bonus X.
• Use mirror and flippers to steer ball.

🕳 Sneaky Wonderland Escape!

• Ball in VUK grants mini-playfield access.
• Defeat guards to reduce Wizard Mode difficulty.
• Random extra scoring activation.

✨ Not All Who Wander Are Lost

• Explore Wonderland to find hidden secrets, treasures, and high scores!

🌟 Will you be Alice, or just another lost soul in Wonderland? 🌟