A band under the glass
A groove plays under the table the whole game, in the style of a 1990s sound card — kit, bass and electric piano on G, Em, C and D, or a tabla theka with a tanpura. The tempo and the beat are on the LED panel, and a ring of lamps round the stage counts the matras.
Everything is an instrument
The bayan and dayan pop bumpers are a tabla pair (a kick and a snare in the kit grooves), the dholak a tom. The eight lanes are Sa Re Ga ma Pa Dha Ni Sa (shuddha ma, written small) — G A B C D E F# G. The Aroha ramp runs up the scale, the Avaroha ramp runs down, the tanpura spinner trills, and each flipper plays a low bass note: the chord's root on the left, its fifth on the right.
The classic rules
Three balls. Light all eight swara lanes for a saptak and the bonus multiplier climbs to 5×. Knock down the three Tihai targets and the table plays a tihai that lands on the next sam. The Manch (the stage) holds the ball and kicks it out exactly on sam. Missions, an extra ball every third mission, a ball saver after each launch, and a tilt if you shove too hard.
The four rhythm levels (Ears)
1 · Call & response — the table plays one bar, you play it back with the flippers (left the low drum, right the high). 2 · Keep time — tap every beat, then the band drops out for bars; you are judged on staying steady. 3 · Odd metres — 7/8 as 2 + 2 + 3, 5/4 as 3 + 2, and Rupak 3 + 2 + 2, with syncopated calls. 4 · Tihai — a phrase three times, gaps between, the last stroke exactly on sam: work out where to start (3 × phrase + 2 × gap − 1 back from sam).
