The clock is ticking — Stern’s 2009 24 brings the real-time counterterrorism thriller to the playfield, designed by the legendary Steve Ritchie with a striking Safe House toy stocked with miniature army men that “explodes” by flipping its front down amid flashers and lighting effects. With Kevin O’Connor art and Lyman Sheats code, it’s a tense, mission-driven Stern built around modes, multiball, and the franchise’s signature urgency.
The strategy rewards a player who manages the multiballs and modes smartly. Hit the center ramp to light the lock on the Suitcase ramp, then hit that ramp to lock balls, and pick off the SniperShot with a backhand from a trap on the right. Shooting the lit 24 shots advances your modes, and there’s a clever bit of multiball structure: the Super Jackpot marks the halfway point of completing any multiball, and collecting it adds a ball and grants a ball save. Every sixth 24 mode is itself a multiball, which you can use to extend an existing multiball or as a buffer to slide into another — sophisticated stacking for the strategic player. The yellow MOLE standups light a hurry-up on the center ramp that randomly awards a shot multiplier, with shots climbing up to five-times for big scoring potential.
24 is a moody, atmospheric Ritchie design that captures the show’s race-against-the-clock tension while rewarding a player who learns its mode-and-multiball flow. The exploding Safe House is a memorable toy, and the shot-multiplier hurry-up adds real strategic depth. Lock your suitcases, advance the 24 shots, stack your multiballs, and chase those multipliers. The fate of the nation, and your high score, is in your hands. Tick, tick, tick.