Spelling Bonus

The benefits of getting all the letters are spelled out for you.

"Keep your eyes open for those KONG Letters, they might be worth something!"

— Cranky Kong, Donkey Kong Country Returns

A type of Power-Up that rewards you for collecting a number of letters to spell a word. Typically the letters do not have to be obtained in order, but will automatically move to their correct places on the status bar.

This trope goes back to the "spot letter" targets found on many pinball games. Spelling a sequence of letters (such as A-B-C-D-E) or key words (such as T-R-O-P-E) yielded various bonuses.

Compare Charged Attack, Every 10,000 Points, Set Bonus. Non-game media may invoke Boggles the Mind instead.

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E-X-A-M-P-L-E-S:

G-A-M-E-B-O-O-K-S

• Inverted in the Fighting Fantasy book Temple of Terror. Your objective is to find five artifacts hidden within the titular temple; however, the Big Bad sends an assassin known only as the Messenger of Death after you. The Messenger hides each letter of the word "DEATH" in random locations throughout the temple; if you see all five letters, then you die instantly (each individual letter also has a penalty to your SKILL and STAMINA scores if you see it).

P-I-N-B-A-L-L

• In Sierra's 3-D Ultra Pinball: Creep Night, there are four tables with six letters on each table.
  • Spelling G-O-B-L-I-N on the Castle Tower, M-O-N-S-T-E-R on the Tower Table and O-U-T-L-A-W on the Dungeon Table will light the Ball Locks in preparation for a 3-Ball Multiball session. In addition some of these letters adds additional points to the End of Ball Bonus.
  • The Final Castle Table gives the G-O-B-L-I-N letters an additional function at the final challenge...

• AC/DC: The three drop target banks spell A-C-/-D-C, T-N-T, and R-O-C-K. Lighting the cannon to fire it requiers spelling F-I-R-E.
• The Addams Family: Spelling G-R-E-E-D opens the Bookcase to the Vault, spelling T-H-I-N-G gives a bonus and gets Thing to come out of his box (if you get one or two stars you get more bonus points), and spelling G-R-A-V-E ups the value of the Graveyard Bumpers.
• Aerosmith: A-E-R-O-S-M-I-T-H lights a shot multiplier and a Mystery award.
• Airborne Avenger has A-I-R-B-O-R-N-E-A-V-E-N-G-E-R award an extra ball. Steve Ritchie regrets it in retrospect.
• Stern's Ali pin increases the value of the center saucer for spelling A-L-I, while A-L-I and G-R-E-A-T-E-S-T lights the Extra Ball and Specials.
• Alien (2017): Spelling A-P-C lights the hypersleep lock (which eventually starts Hypersleep Multiball). During the "APC" mode, it instead awards a lit shot to progress through the mode and increases the next one's point value; Spelling D-R-O-P-S-H-I-P temporarily doubles all scoring.
• America's Most Haunted: O-R-B increases the bonus multiplier, G-L-I-R enables Ghost Photos, and W-I-K-I, T-E-C-H, or P-S-Y-C-H-I-C makes the Spirit Guide available.
• Spelling B-L-A-S-T-O-F-F in Apollo 13 starts the infamous Blastoff Multiball, and D-O-C-K lights Mystery.
• Not surprisingly, The Atarians has you spell A-T-A-R-I (via five saucers at the top of the playfield) to double the bonus, while E-X-T-R-A-B-A-L-L lights the extra ball target.
• Austin Powers has two — S-H-A-G starts Shag HurryUp, while M-O-J-O enables Mojo Multiball.
• Avatar: R-D-A increases the bonus multiplier; N-A-V-I enables Na'vi Scoring for Na'vi Multiball; A-M-P starts AMP Multiball; and B-A-N-S-H-E-E starts Banshee Multiball.

• Baby Pac-Man requires spelling P-A-C-M-A-N to earn each power pellet. The outer loops also spell F-R-U-I-T-S and T-U-N-N-E-L, but the player is rewarded even for partial spelling.
  • Mr. & Mrs. Pac-Man Pinball also has the player spelling P-A-C-M-A-N to get an extra life for the maze game.
• Back to the Future: M-C-F-L-Y increases the casino spinner value, D-O-C increases the bonus multiplier, D-M-C lights the multiball lock, and D-E-L-O-R-E-A-N starts the Million round.
• Barracora has B-A-RR-A-C-O-R-A,^note the double "R's" count as one which must be spelled in order. Failure causes all the targets to reset.
• A variation occurs in Data East's Batman pinball; the front of the Flugelheim Museum is a single large target, and opening it requires hitting it multiple times to spell B-A-T-M-A-N.
  • Played straight in Stern Pinball's Batman, where B-A-T-M-A-N starts the various "Bat Mission" modes.
  • Batman Forever uses B-A-T to increase the bonus multiplier, while the "Brain Drain" mode requires spelling C-A-V-E in order.
  • Batman '66: G-A-D-G-E-T earns a gadget, J-O-K-E-R lights the Joker's mode, and C-A-T (spelled twice by making shots to both ramps) starts Catwoman's mode.
• Baywatch: S-P-F raises the bonus multiplier; S-H-A-R-K to activate the Shark Fin Flipper; I-R-O-N-M-A-N enables the Ironman Video Mode; and G-U-A-R-D starts the first sub-Wizard Mode.
• The Beatles: B-E-A-T-L-E-M-A-N-I-A gives one of a series of awards (including doubling the spinner's value); F-A-B and F-O-U-R light modes when completed together.
• Big Bang Bar uses B-A-R to increase the bonus multiplier, while B-R-A-W-L enables Multibrawl Multiball.
• The Big Lebowski features the names of its characters — T-H-E-D-U-D-E, D-O-N-N-Y, W-A-L-T-E-R, M-A-U-D-E, and J-E-S-U-S. Also, Z-E-R-O appears on the outlanes.
• Black Hole has the B-L-A-C-K-H-O-L-E drop targets, which light the g-force accelerators to activate a Score Multiplier.
• Black Knight 2000 has The King's R-A-N-S-O-M.
• Black Rose: S-I-N-K-S-H-I-P lets you make the Broadside shot, and L-O-C-K lights the lock.
• Bram Stoker's Dracula: Spell D-R-A-C-U-L-A during Coffin Multiball to light the jackpot, and spelling V-I-D-E-O lights Video Mode.

• C-A-V-E in Caveman lights the extra ball.
• The Champion Pub: Fisticuffs Multiball is activated by spelling F-I-S-T-I-C-U-F-F-S.
• Checkpoint: F-A-S-T enables Fast Mode; L-A-P advances the player's RPM and adds to FAST; and C-A-R-R-E-R-A scores 50,000 points, increases the RPM value, and advances the jackpot.
• Cirqus Voltaire has the player spell W-O-W to challenge a Ringmaster to a duel, S-P-I-N to complete the Spin Marvel, R-I-N-G to increase the bonus multiplier. and V-O-L-T activiates the Boom! Balloon. The first part of "Join the Cirqus" also requires spelling C-I-R-Q-U-S.
• Congo: Z-I-N-J enables the Mystery Saucer, A-M-Y increases the bonus multiplier and enable Amy Mode, H-I-P-P-O enables the Video Mode, G-R-A-Y starts Gray Attack, and C-O-N-G-O collects the lower playfield reward.
• Corvette has R-A-U-C-O-U-S, awarding 5 million points per letter and an additional 8 million for completing it.
• Starting multiball in Creature from the Black Lagoon requires spelling F-I-L-M. This involves several subtasks, including spelling K-I-S-S (for an extra ball) and P-A-I-D (to increase the bonus multiplier).
• Cue Ball Wizard has P-O-O-L to enable the Video Modes and the Sweet Spot, W-I-Z-A-R-D to light the No Way target, and D-O-U-B-L-E to double all subsequent scores.

• Demolition Man: spell M-T-L to increase the bonus multiplier and light the Cryo-Claw.
• Disco Fever by Williams Electronics: A couple of the bullseye spots light letters of D-I-S-C-O, which awards 5000 points and bonus multipliers. Spelling F-E-V-E-R with the drop targets lights the 1-4 sequence, which gives extra ball and special bonuses.
• Doctor Who: W-H-O lets you earn extra balls, R-E-P-A-I-R enables Unlimited Millions, and E-S-C-A-P-E lights the TARDIS for Video Mode.

• After sinking seven balls and the eight ball in Eight Ball Deluxe, the player can spell D-E-L-U-X-E for a shot at the Super Bonus
  • Eight Ball Champ: Spell C-H-A-M-P to increase the score of the left outer orbit. Spell E-I-G-H-T to light the letters in B-A-L-L, which gives extra points or an extra ball.
• El Dorado: City of Gold has C-I-T-Y-O-F-G-O-L-D on the top drop target bank.
  • Canada Dry (a rethemed version of El Dorado) uses D-R-I-N-K and C-A-N-A-D-A-[space]-D-R-Y for its drop target banks.
• Elvira and the Party Monsters lights a three-million-point shot for spelling E-L-V-I-R-A. The lights carry over from player to player and game to game.
• Embryon has E-M-B-R-Y-O-N to enable the ball lock.
• Evel Knievel has S-U-P-E-R for the double Specials, and C-Y-C-L-E to raise the value of the center bumper.

• F-14 Tomcat uses T-O-M-C-A-T to light the ball locks and start multiball. There's also 1-2-3-4-5-6 to increase the Flyby Bonus multiplier.
• Stern Pinball's Family Guy:
  • The main playfield has F-A-R-T, which starts Fart Multiball, while spelling P-I-N-B-A-L-L enables Stewie's pinball machine.
  • Stewie's miniature pinball table has the names of his family members — B-R-I-A-N, M-E-G, P-E-T-E-R, L-O-I-S, and C-H-R-I-S.
  • Shrek used the same playfield and ruleset, but changed the bonuses accordingly: B-A-B-Y starts Baby Multiball, while the miniature pinball table has F-I-O-N-A, M-A-N (for Gingerbread Man), S-H-R-E-K, P-U-S-S, and C-H-A-R-M (for Prince Charming).
• In Zaccaria's Farfalla, spelling L-O-V-E advances the bonus multiplier.
• Played with in Firepower; F-I-R-E is spelled with the top rollovers, but POWER is a set of three targets.
• Spelling L-I-E in Fish Tales increases your bonus multiplier up to 7x.
• Flight 2000 requires the player spell B-L-A-S-T-O-F-F twice to lock the first two balls, then hit 5-4-3-2-1 (in order) to enable multiball.
• The Flintstones: D-I-G increases the bonus multiplier; 1-2-3 starts one of the four main game modes; B-E-D and R-O-C-K add a letter to CONCRETE; while C-O-N-C-R-E-T-E starts Concrete Multiball.
• Foo Fighters (2023): Spelling V-A-N allows the player to start a Van Mode.

• The Gilligan's Island pinball gives a random reward for spelling L-A-G-O-O-N and then making the Lagoon Shot.
• Ghostbusters: Spelling G-H-O-S-T will cause Slimer to drop down in order to battle him to light your modes.
• Gottlieb's Gladiators starts a two-ball multiball for spelling the M-U-L-T-I lights. Above the playfield, W-E-A-P-O-N lets the player choose a bonus and D-O-U-B-L-E provides double scores.* Godzilla (Sega):
  • Spelling T-A-X-I both starts and finishes Taxi Multiball.
  • The goal of "Save New York" is to spell N-E-W-Y-O-R-K for a massive amount of points.
• Godzilla (Stern): Spelling R-A-M-P-A-G-E lights the Monster Rampage mode.
• Sega Pinball's unreleased Golden Cue required players to spell G-O-L-D-E-N and V-O-D-K-A as two of the conditions for winning (and ending) the game.
  • The released game, Sharkey's Shootout, has P-O-O-L to relight the Mystery Ball, C-U-E to increase the bonus mulitiplier and start Bumper Pool, and P-A-Y-O-F-F to award the current prize value.
• GoldenEye uses 0-0-7 to increase the bonus multiplier, while spelling G-O-L-D-E-N-E-Y-E is one of the requirements for the Wizard Mode.
• Golden Logres has numerous spelling bonuses across its three tables, such as M-E-R-L-I-N and M-A-G-I-C in "Camelot"; D-R-A-G-O-N and E-R-R-A-N-T-R-Y in "Land's End"; and L-O-N-G-I-N-U-S, B-E-A-S-T, and H-O-L-Y-G-R-A-I-L on "Fisher King".
• Guns N' Roses (Data East): J-A-M increases the bonus multipliers; S-N-A-K-E enables the left-hand Rose plunger; D-U-F-F collects the Duff Jackpot; R-O-C-K starts the Rock Hurry-Up; and G-U-N-S-N-R-O-S-E-S starts a countdown bonus mode.
• Guns N' Roses (Jersey Jack): A-X-L lights Axl (one of the steps needed to start a song mode); J-A-M lights the Jam target, which counts towards collecting any missing band members; A-M-P lights Turn it Up! Multiball; G-N-R rewards a patch (and a gameplay benefit alongside it).

• Harley Davidson:
  • In the first game from Bally, H-A-R-L-E-Y advances the Harley Bonus, while D-A-V-I-D-S-O-N lights the Speed Bonus. U-S-A advances the bonus multiplier, while B-I-K-E advances a city.
  • In the subsequent games from Stern Pinball, spelling R-I-D-E or L-I-V-E lights Next City, while H-A-R-L-E-Y pops a wheelie to enable Motorcycle Multiball.
• Williams Electronics' not-quite-a-pinball Shoot 'Em Up Hyperball has a variation; in addition to shooting down the various enemies, players could also score huge bonuses by hitting the lettered targets around the playfield (in order) to spell out a word currently shown on the display.

• A lot of them in Indiana Jones (Stern): M-A-P lights the bonus multiplier, and I-N-D-Y-J-O-N-E-S awards a bonus. An odd use of this trope is employed when spelling out "Raiders of the Lost Ark", as the letters are sometimes awarded in groups.
• Indiana Jones: The Pinball Adventure uses I-N-D-Y to increase the bonus multiplier and collect friends, while A-D-V-E-N-T-U-R-E enables the tilting Path of Adventure playfield.
• Indianapolis 500 has several:
  • Spelling P-I-T increases the bonus multiplier and lights the Pit Stop.
  • Spell I-N-D-Y to collect letters for S-O-U-V-E-N-I-R.
  • For "Go for the Pole", spell P-O-L-E for the Pole Jackpot.
  • Hit the spanner targets to spell various four-letter words (INDY, RACE, CARS, FAST, LAPS, TIRE, etc.) for an ever-increasing Spanner bonus.
• Stern's Iron Maiden is centered around spelling I-R-O-N-M-A-I-D-E-N to enable the three-ball multiball.
• Iron Maiden: Legacy of the Beast: E-D-D-I-E lights a Battle mode; R-E-V-I-V-E lights an outlane ball save with the same name; M-U-M-M-Y progresses towards and starts Mummy Multiball.

• James Bond 007 (Stern):
  • In the cornerstone models:
    • Spelling M-I-6 via the topmost lanes adds a multiplier to the end-of-ball bonus.
    • Lighting all the letters in S-P-E-C-T-R-E increases the jackpot in Bird One Multiball and lights a SPECTRE Weapon mode.
    • Each of the in- and outlanes represents a letter in B-O-N-D. Every other time the player gets them all, they light "High Stakes" (a mystery award).
  • The 60th Anniversary Limited Edition has two sets of drop targets that each spell something:
    • B-O-N-D can either light one of the Bonds for collection or allow the player to collect a gadget by shooting the Oddjob disc.
    • Spelling M-I-6 once lets the player begin choosing a Villain Mode, while spelling it again afterward will start it.
• Jinni Zeala has O-C-E-A-N to collect items for the Felucca Bonus Stage, while J-I-N-N-I starts the Zeala Bonus Stage.

• Johnny Mnemonic: The left loop spots a letter in J-O-H-N-N-Y, and the right one does likewise for M-N-E-M-O-N-I-C. Getting all the letters starts a 20-second frenzy where every switch is worth 15 million points.
• Judge Dredd has J-U-D-G-E, though the letters have to be collected in order.
• Jurassic Park (Data East): T-R-E-X starts T-Rex Triball, and C-H-A-O-S starts another mode.
  • This is a lot more common in its sequel, The Lost World: Jurassic Park: S-I-T-E-B activates the "Site B" mode, T-R-E-X starts "Mobile Lab", and R-A-P-T-O-R starts Raptor Multiball.
• Jurassic Park (Stern): M-A-P allows the player to advance to the next paddock; T-R-E-X lights a T-Rex mode; C-H-A-O-S lights Chaos Multiball. Notably, each letter is invariably lit in sequence.

• Capcom's unreleased Kingpin has K-I-D to advance the bonus multiplier. Spelling either K-I-N-G or P-I-N lights the ball locks, while KINGPIN advances the Gunwheel and is used to defeat the Kingpin in the Final Boss fight.
• Bally's KISS makes this a key mechanic, as spelling K-I-S-S four times is needed for higher scores.
  • Stern's KISS requires spelling K-I-S-S and A-R-M-Y to enable the Hurry-Up bonuses on the outer orbits, while S-T-A-R enables the Love Gun Multiball mode.

• Last Action Hero: C-R-A-N-E enables the ball lock on the crane, R-I-P-P-E-R collects the Ripper Bounty, and LAST-ACTION-HERO starts the six-ball Hero Round.
• Led Zeppelin: R-O-L-L increases the bonus multiplier; R-O-C-K, L-E-D, and Z-E-P increase three of the four primary Score Multipliers.
  • In the Premium and Limited editions, spelling L-E-D-Z-E-P is a necessary prerequisite for starting Electric Magic Multiball.
• Lexy Lightspeed - Escape from Earth: L-I-T-E-L-O-C-K enables the ball lock; L-E-X-Y increases the bonus multiplier.
• Loony Labyrinth: S-T-O-N-E collects the Galopetra Stones; L-O-O-N-Y starts Loony Multiball; while L-A-B-Y-R-I-N-T-H is used to start Labyrinth Multiball and rescue the sacrifices.
  • The sequel Mad Daedalus uses M-A-D to spot a letter in D-A-E-D-A-L-U-S, while A-R-I-A-D-N-E enables an award at the Ariadne Shrine.
• The Lord of the Rings: O-R-C increases the bonus multiplier, while K-E-E-P lights a lock for Two Towers Multiball.

• Magic Girl includes W-I-Z-A-R-D, H-E-X, M-Y-T-H, M-A-G-I-C, P-O-T-I-O-N, P-O-W-E-R, L-O-C-K, and V-O-L-T-A.
• Marvel pinball:
  • Several in Zen Studios' The Avengers: T-R-I-C-K-A-R-R-O-W lights the kickback; S-H-I-E-L-D lights the SHIELD target; and completing A-S-S-E-M-B-L-E starts the Wizard Mode.
  • Even more in Stern Pinball's The Avengers, as nearly every superhero gets in on the act: T-H-O-R, L-O-K-I, H-U-L-K, I-R-O-N-M-A-N, H-A-W-K-E-Y-E, B-L-A-C-K-W-I-D-O-W, and even C-O-S-M-I-C.
  • Avengers: Infinity Quest: I-R-O-N collects Iron Man; S-T-R-A-N-G-E lights a Gem Quest; T-H-O-R starts Thor Multiball.
  • The Captain America board from Zen Studios requires you to spell S-O-L-D-I-E-R-S-Y-M-B-O-L-S-A-V-I-O-U-R-F-R-I-E-N-D to activate Super Jets. Thank goodness you do it via the bumpers rather than any other kind of shot.
  • Deadpool: B-O-O-M lights the boom button; D-E-A-D-P-O-O-L lights various awards on repeated completions. There are two separate target banks for each half of the word, and both of them provide different bonuses on their own: D-E-A-D lights a Battle mode and P-O-O-L lights a Ninja Multiball lock.
  • Zen Studios' Fantastic Four goes nuts with what can be spelled: F-A-N-T-A-S-T-I-C (lights Fantastic Four-Ball lock), F-O-U-R (increases the end-of-ball bonus multiplier), I-N-V-I-S-I-B-L-E (allows a shot up the Human Torch ramp for a lot of points), T-O-R-C-H (lights Ball Igniter), T-H-I-N-G (activates Thing Multiball), F-O-R-C-E F-I-E-L-D (enables the left & right kickbacks), and B-A-X-T-E-R (starts Skrull Invasion once the ball is shot into the Baxter Building). The upper half of the playfield is covered in inserts for these things to spell.
  • Guardians of the Galaxy (2017): G-U-A-R-D-I-A-N-S lights Mystery and advances the end-of-ball bonus multiplier; R-A-M-P-A-G-E doubles all scoring for 30 seconds.
  • Stern's Iron Man plays it straight with Iron Monger, as spelling M-O-N-G-E-R enables the Iron Monger Multiball mode. It's played with, however, for Iron Man himself; spelling I-R-O-N-M-A-N starts various timed Score Multiplier modes, but the letters only appear on the dot-matrix display. The playfield targets are instead labeled with pictures of Iron Man, as Marvel refused to allow "IRON" and "MAN" to appear on separate sides of the playfield.
  • Zen Studios' Spider-Man pinball lights the kickbacks and ball saver for spelling T-H-W-I-P, while S-P-I-D-E-Y awards an extra ball (with a convoluted case of Fun with Acronyms).
  • World War Hulk is just ridiculous with the words. It contains H-U-L-K (lights SAVE targets and awards points), G-A-M-M-A (2x playfield), S-A-K-A-A-R & S-H-I-P (lights Sakaar Multiball lock), A-R-E-N-A (lights the Great Arena mini-playfield), W-A-R-B-O-U-N-D (awards points), and S-A-V-E (activates the ball saver).

• Sega Pinball's Mary Shelley's Frankenstein: F-R-A-N-K-E-N-S-T-E-I-N starts a Creation Scene, and shooting the scoop spells G-E-N-E-V-A for Geneva Multiball.
  • During the "Creature Feature" scene, shooting the ramp spells C-R-E-A-T-U-R-E.
  • C-R-E-A-T-I-O-N itself is spelled by passing a score threshold for each Scene.
• Metallica: Spelling F-U-E-L qualifies the Fuel target for temporary double scoring, and spelling M-E-T-A-L-L-I-C-A starts "And Justice for All..." for cumulative increasing scores.
• Spelling M-E-T-E-O-R in Meteor increases the bonus multiplier.
• Monopoly: Getting the A-B-C lanes scores a bonus, and B-A-N-K starts Cash Grab.
• Monster Bash: D-I-G increases the bonus multiplier; P-H-A-N-T-O-M enables the Phantom Flip; and D-R-A-C-U-L-A starts "Drac Attack" mode.
• Mousin' Around!: C-H-E-E-S-E lights a Cheezy Bonus and an opportunity to increase your current jackpot value; M-O-U-S-E-T-R-A-P lights the "traps" for multiball; P-O-W opens up the "Big Cheese" loop shot; M-I-L-L-I-O-N grants the player an opportunity to score a million points by shooting the Mouse Hole.
• The Munsters: L-I-L-Y starts Lily's frenzy mode; S-P-O-T starts Spot's mode; D-R-A-G-U-L-A increases the Dragula lane's value.
• On Stern Pinball's Mustang, spell G-E-A-R-S to start Gears Multiball, and M-U-S-T-A-N-G to start Mustang Multiball.

• NASCAR has R-A-C-E to light the locks for Race Multiball, while C-H-A-M-P-#1 enables the Champion Challenge Wizard Mode.
• NBA Fastbreak: 3-P-T lights the 3-point shot ramps and S-H-O-O-T both starts and completes Shoot Around multiball.
• Necronomicon: All three tables use M-A-Z-E to award million-point bonuses.
  • "Dreamlands" spells W-I-S-D-O-M for a bonus up to 10 million.
  • "Arkham Asylum" and "Dreamlands" use M-A-D-N-E-S-S to start the sub-Wizard Mode.
  • "Cult of the Bloody Tongue" requires the player to spell A-W-A-K-E-T-H-E-M-A-C-H-I-N-E for the sub-Wizard Mode.
• No Fear: Dangerous Sports requires spelling N-O-F-E-A-R to start the Major Challenges.

• Used in several tables on Obsession Pinball — S-E-A and D-I-V-E-R for "Aquatic Adventure;" W-A-R, L-I-F-E and D-E-A-T-H in "X-ile Zone;" and O-I-L in "Desert Run."

• Unsurprisingly, Paragon has P-A-R-A-G-O-N, which enables the Paragon Tower saucer for a 25,000-point reward.
• The Phantom of the Opera: P-H-A-N-T-O-M lights the Catwalk for unlimited million shots, while O-N-E and T-W-O activates the Organ.
• The ZX Spectrum game Pinball Wizard had S-A-G-I-T-T-A-R-I-A-N, a reference to its programmers.
• Spell P-I-N-K in the Pink Panther pinball to enable the extra ball.
• Pirates of the Caribbean (Jersey Jack): P-I-R-A-T-E can award many different things, depending on what's selected with the action button beforehand; G-O-L-D makes some gold available for the player to collect; M-A-P lights the Map Award.
• Pirates of the Caribbean (Stern): P-A-R-L-A-Y enables the ball saver, J-A-C-K completes Jack the Monkey, and K-E-Y opens the Dead Man's Chest. With the chest open, H-E-A-R-T enables Heart Multiball and collects the Heart Jackpot.
• Plants vs. Zombies Pinball has S-U-N (activates Sun Frenzy), C-R-A-Z-Y (gets Crazy Dave to drive his car onto the playfield), M-A-I-L (lights Mail Multiball lock), R-I-P (lights the center scoop for 50k), and B-R-A-I-N-Z (lights Brainz Main Missions).
• For Data East's Playboy 35th Anniversary pinball, P-L-A-Y-B-O-Y enables the Special, M-A-N-S-I-O-N awards the Mansion Million Countdown, P-I-N-B-A-L-L enables the Extra Ball, and H-M-H (Hugh Hefner's initials) increases the bonus multiplier.
• Police Force: G-U-N increases the bonus multiplier, while P-O-L-I-C-E enables the Top Cop bonus.
• Popeye Saves the Earth: O-Y-L raises the bonus multiplier, while P-O-P-E-Y-E lights a can of spinach.
• Pro Pinball: Big Race USA: T-R-U-N-K lights the "Open the Trunk" saucer.
• Pro Pinball: Timeshock! uses S-C-A-N for the time scanner, W-A-R-P to light Time Warp Frenzy, and M-A-G-N-E-T to turn on the MagnoSave.
• Pro Pinball: Fantastic Journey: Spelling L-U-C-K enables a random award and the MagnoGrab, while G-A-T-H-E-R enables the ball rescue and start an Ultra Round.
• Psycho Pinball has numerous spelling bonuses among its four tables, such as C-A-T, S-P-O-O-K, and G-H-O-U-L for "Trick or Treat", R-E-W-A-R-D, G-U-N, and E-N-G-I-N-E on "Wild West", and W-R-E-C-K, L-A-V-A, and T-A-I-L in "The Abyss".
• Pulp Fiction: P-U-L-P F-I-C-T-I-O-N lights Pulp Fiction Frenzy.
• Rescue 911: E-K-G temporarily increases the scores for the bumpers, while R-E-S-C-U-E lights the ramp for Player's Choice.
• Rick and Morty: S-L-A-M lights the Slam Save; The mode "Pirates of the Pancreas" requires the player to spell out the entire title.

  Rick: C'mon, Morty, hit the shot, spell the thing. This is Pinball 101 stuff.

• RoboCop: 2-0-9 advances the bonus multiplier, while R-O-B-O-C-O-P lights the extra ball.
• Zaccaria's Robot: Hitting the pop-up robot targets advance the corresponding indicator lights to spell R-O-B-O-T and enable the Red Special.
• Gottlieb's pinball game Rock has you hit targets and go through the switches with the light (which can be resetted by hitting the ball into a bullseye target) to spell R-O-C-K and-R-O-L-L-L-I-V-E-S-! which then has you go through the loop for an extra ball. At some points, the letters remain lit after a certain number is lit, but if you drain the ball prior to getting the extra ball, you will have to spell it again for another shot.
• On the bonus screen of the NES version of Roller Ball, the player must spell S-K-Y-H-I-G-H to turn the rollovers into bumpers, then hit them all to either get an extra ball or increase the bonus multiplier.
• Rollergames: J-E-T increases the bonus multiplier; W-A-R lights the locks; A-B-C relights the Atomic Whip (kickback); S-K-A-T-E relights the Magna-Flip and advances W-I-L-L-I-A-M-S; W-I-L-L-I-A-M-S starts the Scoring Cycle hurry-up bonus, which scores up to four million points, and is carried over from game-to-game.
• Rush (2022): Hitting all of the R-U-S-H targets starts a hurry-up mode.

• Spelling V-A-U-L-T in Safe Cracker starts Token Multiball.
• The Shadow: Spelling M-O-N-G-O-L starts Mongol Hurry Up, while K-H-A-N increases the bonus multiplier and lights the side saucer for Khan Multiball.
• Shaq Attaq: One way to start Slammin' Jammin' is to spell S-H-A-Q-U-I-L-L-E.
• Silverball Mania: Spelling S-I-L-V-E-R-B-A-L-L-M-A-N-I-A enables the Wizard Bonus, Supreme Wizard Bonus, and then a Special. Also, each time it's spelled lights one letter in "SILVERBALL" on the backglass; completing it earns four free games.
• Spelling M-I-L-L-I-O-N-S and riding the ramp in The Simpsons (Data East) awards a million points
• A certain shot in The Simpsons Pinball Party spots a letter in S-I-M-P-S-O-N-S, and getting them all unlocks D'oh Frenzy.
• The Six Million Dollar Man: Spelling 5-0-0-0-0 enables the Bionic Power Score bonus and to open the right outlane gate.
• Hitting the lettered bumpers in Slick Chick is required to light the five rollover buttons to enable the Special.

• The Sopranos: Spelling R-I-P on the top rollover tombstones pays respect to one of the fallen and advances the bonus multiplier. Unlike most pinball games, this can advance the multiplier by 1x, 2x, or 3x depending on the subject.
• Williams Electronics' Sorcerer has the player spell S-O-R-C-E-R-E-R to "cast spells" (and enable various bonuses).
• South Park: Super Sweet Pinball contains C-H-E-F (begins the Chef mode), M-A-N-B-E-A-R-P-I-G (lights the center orbit to begin the Treasure mode), S-C-H-O-O-L-B-U-S (lights the lock for Road Trip Multiball), C-A-R-T-M-A-N (begins the Probe mode), S-A-R-C-A-S-T-A-B-A-L-L (lights the Field Goal Jackpot), L-A-D-D-E-R (collects the Ladder Jackpot), K-E-N-N-Y (begins the Kenny mode), R-A-N-D-Y (begins the Bat-Dad mode), J-I-M-M-Y (lights a Kickback), S-T-A-N (begins a hurry-up), K-Y-L-E (lights the lock for Mr. Hankey Multiball), and S-O-U-T-H-P-A-R-K (lights the Wizard Mode).
• Space Jam: S-P-A-C-E-J-A-M enables the Superjam mode, 2-3 enables the Wabbit Hole, F-I-R-E temporarily makes all baskets worth 10 points, and S-L-A-M raises the bonus multiplier.
  • For its Spiritual Successor NBA, N-B-A starts NBA Multiball, F-I-R-E enables Fire Mode, H-O-O-P advances the bonus multiplier, A-L-L-S-T-A-R starts an All Star Challenge, H-O-R-S-E plays the Horse challenge, and M-V-P doubles all scores for 20 seconds.
• Space Shuttle: U-S-A increases the bonus multiplier up to 7X, and S-H-U-T-T-L-E rewards the current Liftoff value.
• Spirit of 76 does this with numbers. Specifically, the 1-7-7-6 and 1-9-7-6 drop targets.
• Spring Break by Gottlieb: Spelling V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N lights the extra ball.
• Spy Hunter: S-H-O-T collects the current Hunter reward, while A-G-E-N-T-G-K gives an increasing bonus and doubles or triples all scores.
  • Bell Games' conversion kit Saturn 2 uses F-I-R-E to give a 5,000 point bonus, while S-A-T-U-R-N-2 gives an increasing bonus and doubles or triples scores.
• Sega Pinball's Starship Troopers: B-U-G raises the bonus multiplier, while shooting the ramps spells S-T-A-R-S-H-I-P and T-R-O-O-P-E-R-S to raise the Recon level.
• Oddly enough, Bally's Star Trek pinball has only one — B-A-L-L-Y.
  • Fixed in Data East's Star Trek pinball, which uses S-T-A-R-T-R-E-K .

• Star Wars pinball:
  • The Empire Strikes Back has the following bonuses: L-A-N-D-O (light ramps for activate magnetic shield), T-I-E (lights Imperial Multiball lock), C-3-P-0 (collects C-3PO Bonus), R-2-D-2 (activates Astro Jets), E-M-P-I-R-E (lights Mystery), J-E-D-I & S-I-T-H (activates Jedi / Sith multiballs), T-R-A-I-N-I-N-G (lights video mode), Y-O-D-A (lights Yoda's Hideout), S-K-Y-W-A-L-K-E-R (advances Bonus X and lights AT-AT Attack), H-Y-P-E-R-S-P-A-C-E (enables Hyperspace Multiball), and F-O-R-C-E (starts a Force Hurry-Up).
  • Star Wars (Data East) uses S-T-A-R-W-A-R-S, of course.
  • Star Wars Trilogy has F-O-R-C-E and F-A-L-C-O-N.
  • The Mandalorian: C-H-I-L-D lights one of many possible bonuses (such as a ball save or a Score Multiplier level).
  • Star Wars Episode I requires the player to spell J-A-R-J-A-R and G-U-N-G-A-N at various times, while spelling J-E-D-I not only advances to the next Jedi Level, but will also activate the Wizard Mode.
  • Star Wars (Stern): F-O-R-C-E bestows one in a progression of awards (culminating in Lightsaber Duel, which must be completed to access the Wizard Mode).

• Stranger Things:
  • D-E-M-O-D-O-G-S lights a Demodog mode.
  • The Demogorgon modes are accessed by repeatedly hitting the center bank of drop targets (unlabeled on the Pro version but given projected, context-sensitive labels on higher-tier editions). On the display, the player must spell various longer sentences ("WILL RUN!", "WILL LOOK OUT!", "WILL LOOK OUT! RUN!") this way.
• Strange Science: L-A-B increases the bonus multiplier, while S-T-R-A-N-G-E-S-C-I-E-N-C-E advances the Spark Bonus.
• Stellar Wars: Spelling 1-2-3-4, S-T-E-L-L-A-R, or W-A-R-S increases the bonus multiplier. Getting S-T-E-L-L-A-R-W-A-R-S awards a 50,000 point bonus and a flashing light show on the Battlescope.
• Gottlieb's Street Fighter II pinball has T-O-R-P-E-D-O (for E. Honda's "Torpedo Head Butt" attack), which starts Torpedo Multiball.
• Striker Xtreme has C-U-P to increase the bonus multiplier, and S-H-O-O-T-O-U-T to collect the Hurry Up bonus and take a free goal shot.
  • The Americanized remake, NFL, uses N-F-L and F-I-R-S-T-D-O-W-N instead. Yes, there's an extra letter required there.
• Superman has his name worth bonuses both separately and together: S-U-P-E-R lights the outlane Special, M-A-N lights the outlane Extra Ball, and S-U-P-E-R-M-A-N awards 30,000 points.
• Super Mario Bros. has the player spell S-U-P-E-R to make Mario... well, super.

• Tales from the Crypt has C-R-Y-P-T for Crypt Multiball (and the Monster Jackpot), while K-E-E-P-E-R lights the left outlane kickback.
• Tales of the Arabian Nights has G-E-N-I-E and B-A-Z-A-A-R, while the "Ali Baba" Tale has S-E-S-A-M-E.
• Tee'd Off: S-L-I-C-E starts a Slice Hurry-Up and lights the Extra Ball, S-K-I-N-S starts the Skins Game, and getting G-O-P-H-E-R on the Gopher Wheel enables the Go-Fore-Par-Tee three-ball multiball.
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Stern): L-A-I-R lights a Training Mode; A-P-R-I-L lights the left outlane ball save (or a hurry-up mode, if it's done again while the ball save is lit).
• Theatre of Magic: Shoot the ramps to spell M-A-G-I-C to light the center loop to lock balls 1 and 2 for multiball, and T-H-E-A-T-R-E for a ten-second chance to collect the Theatre Bonus. Finally, The Grand Finale requires spelling M-A-G-I-C-T-H-E-A-T-R-E in 90 seconds.
• Time Fantasy: T-I-M-E starts Time Ball mode, while F-A-N-T-A-S-Y increases the bonus multiplier and adds five seconds to the Time Ball mode.
• Data East's Time Machine: Spelling S-T-A-R-W-A-R-P lights the million-point center spiral jackpot.
• Spelling M-A-C-H-I-N-E in Time Machine (Zaccaria) lights the Time Hole for a 1,000,000 point Machine Special bonus.
• Total Nuclear Annihilation: C-O-R-E increases the end-of-ball multiplier; R-A-D lights the Mystery Award; S-A-V-E re-lights the ball saver.
• Toy Story 4 (2022): Hitting all the F-O-R-K-Y targets starts the mode "Forky Rescue"; Spelling A-L-I-E-N lights the Take a Chance Wheel for an award; Spelling G-A-B-B-Y-G-A-B-B-Y by hitting the namesake character enough times starts Gabby Gabby Multiball.
• Transformers has just one — spell B-U-M-B-L-E-B-E-E to start a temporary Double Scoring frenzy mode.
• TRON: Legacy: Spell Z-U-S-E to start a timed mode called "Fast Scoring", C-L-U starts the "Terminate Clu" mode, and T-R-O-N invokes various special features (Double Scoring, Super Pops, and Super Spinners respectively), they are among the many objectives needed to progress to activate Portal Multiball.

• Vacation America: M-A-P increases the playfield multiplier, D-R-I-V-E goes to the next city, and V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N enables the extra ball.
• Victory: F-I-N-I-S-H raises the Score Multiplier up to 8x, while F-U-E-L (which must be spelled in order) gives various rewards, up to an Extra Ball.

• The Walking Dead: P-R-I-S-O-N begins the Prison Mode, while W-E-L-L awakes the Well Walker and allows the player to start Well Walker Multiball.
• Weird Al's Museum of Natural Hilarity: According to This Week in Pinball's deep dive, spelling V-I-P raises the VIP Ticket Counter scoop to start a mode.
• Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory: G-U-M lights the kickback; W-O-N-K-A helps progress the Factory Tour; Perhaps the most extreme is "scrumdiddlyumptious", which is progressively spelled through combos and can be cashed in for points by hitting the Most Secret Machine. (Thankfully, partially spelling it works as well, though spelling the entire word causes the current and future combo value to spike.)
• The Who's Tommy: Spelling T-O-M-M-Y enables Tommy Multiball, while during "Pinball Wizard," the player must spell W-I-Z-A-R-D.
• There are oodles of them in Jersey Jack Pinball's The Wizard of Oz:
  • S-C-A-R-E-C-R-O-W, T-I-N-M-A-N, and L-I-O-N recruit Dorothy's companions and enable the multiball locks.
  • W-I-Z-A-R-D awards the Wizard's Throne Room bonus.
  • R-E-S-C-U-E opens the Castle Doors and rescues Dorothy from the Witch.
  • T-O-T-O allows Toto to escape.
  • B-A-L-L activates the Wicked Witch's Crystal Ball modes.
  • R-A-I-N-B-O-W enables access to the Munchkinland upper playfield.
• Spelling S-T-R-I-K-E-R in World Cup Soccer lights the Striker scoop, allowing a random award to be collected.
• WWF Royal Rumble: T-A-G gives various Tag Team awards, D-E-A-D raises the Undertaker, R-I-P rewards the RIP Jackpot, and M-A-C-H-O-M-A-N lights the top hole for Macho Madness.

• The X-Files: F-B-I lights the Episode scoop.

T-A-B-L-E-T-O-P G-A-M-E-S

• Yu-Gi-Oh!:
  • When activated, "Destiny Board" remains on the field and allows the player to place one "Spirit Message" card each turn. When all five Spell Card Zones are occupied, spelling out D-E-A-T-H (or F-I-N-A-L in the English release), the player instantly wins the game. It's somewhat difficult to pull off, both because the effect forces you to avoid using your Spell Card Zones for anything else, and because destroying one letter destroys all of them.
  • "Hero Flash!!" (formerly "HERO Flash!!") is an Elemental Hero support card activated by banishing four other Elemental Hero support cards from your Graveyard - "H - Heated Heart", "E - Emergency Call", "R - Righteous Justice" and "O - Oversoul".

V-I-D-E-O G-A-M-E-S

First-Person Shooter

• Call of Duty: Black Ops: In the First Strike map pack, one part of the Kassimir Mechanism sidequest requires using Lunar Landers to collect the letters L-U-N-A, in that specific order.

Maze Game

• In the Tehkan Arcade Game Guzzler, spelling G-U-Z-Z-L-E-R in green letters across the bottom of the screen awards a Score Multiplier.
• Iggle Pop gives you an extra life for spelling I-G-G-L-E.
• Lady Bug: Collecting E-X-T-R-A in yellow letters gets you an extra life and 500 points, and collecting S-P-E-C-I-A-L in red letters earns you a free game credit in the arcade original or the Vegetable Harvest Bonus in the ColecoVision version.
• In the Arcade Game Mustache Boy, collecting M-U-S-T-A-C-H-E gives an extra life and transports the player to a Bonus Stage.
• Nasen Jack for the Atari 8-Bit Computers: Collecting the letters E-X-T-R-A gives an extra life.
• Wrecking Crew rewards you with an extra life if you find the letters M-A-R-I-O (or L-U-I-G-I as the second player) in that exact order.

Platform Game

• In the original Achievement Unlocked, there are six points, numbered 0-5. Visiting these areas in certain orders would unlock achievements based on the combination of numbers; for instance, visiting point 4 and then point 2 gives the achievement "Meaning of Life".
• The Angry Video Game Nerd II: ASSimilation: Each level after the first contains Nintendo Entertainment System cartridges labeled N-E-R-D. Collecting all of them in a world or in the game gives you achievements.
• Bubble Bobble: If a player pops enough bubbles to spell E-X-T-E-N-D (there are two E's in different colors), they win an extra life and the game automatically advances to the next stage.
  • Other Taito games did this as well, most notably The NewZealand Story (except in the Nintendo Entertainment System version, which had 1-Up items instead). That one also gave you an extra life for ten of the same letter.
  • The NES version of Rainbow Islands had a variation. The original arcade version displayed the actual rainbow gems that are collected in the game. The NES version turns it into this kind of bonus, with the word being "RAINBOW" (although the items themselves are still gems).
• Captain Silver gave an extra life for collecting all the letters in CAPTAIN SILVER. Other letters of the alphabet were available, but they did nothing except give a few hundred points. This feature was removed from the Famicom version.
• Crystal Caves has eggs which can be collected for 1000 points each. When shot, an egg turns into a letter which gives only 100 points, but getting all five letters (B-O-N-U-S) gives several thousands of points.
• Donkey Kong Country:
  • K-O-N-G appears in every level. Collect all four letters to win an extra life. In Donkey Kong Land, collecting K-O-N-G instead saves the game.
  • Donkey Kong Country: The level Misty Mine has an interesting take on this; All four K-O-N-G letters are in a single bonus area. Also, the secret bonus-area-within-a-bonus-area requires you to hit the spinning letters in "DONKEY" in the correct order for a 1-Up, then do the same with "KONG" for a 2-Up, and finally with "COUNTRY" for a 3-up.
  • Donkey Kong Country Returns: The K-O-N-G letters instead grant a token, and getting all the tokens from a single world opens up a Brutal Bonus Level.
  • In some bonus rooms, letters appear in a circle. You have to touch the letters as they blink in order to get the animal token, life balloon or other bonus.
• Duke Nukem: You can collect D-U-K-E for a lot of points (if you do it in order), or a few points if you don't. Duke Nukem II did exactly the same for N-U-K-E-M.
• Head Panic: When you spell B-O-N-U-S, the stage immediately clears and you proceed to a Bonus Stage. The letters dropped by enemies rapidly and randomly cycle through the alphabet, and they're worth 500 points individually whether or not they contribute to the word.
• Disney's Hercules Action Game: Collecting H-E-R-C-U-L-E-S gives an extra continue.
• James Pond has B-O-N-U-S letters, which give you a bonus, as well as B-O-G-U-S letters, which don't.
• Jerry Boy: Spelling J-E-R-R-Y grants an extra life, or two extra lives if done in the correct order. The U.S. version uses the same letters, despite changing the name of the game and doing away with the plot.
• Jersey Devil: Collecting tokens that spell K-N-A-R-F unlocks a Golden K door.
• Lunistice: Each act of each stage has the four letters of Hana's name scattered around it for her to collect. Collecting all four unlocks a secret bonus area near the goal, where the player can collect a key in the first act and a file in the second. This, of course, does not apply to guest characters and their bonus stages.
• Mega Man (Classic)
  • Collecting the letters M-E-G-A-M-A-N-V from each stage in Mega Man 5 unlocked Beat as a weapon power.
  • Beat came back in Mega Man 6, where you needed to collect B-E-A-T from four stages, which you got by finding a hidden boss room and beating the level that way.
  • Mega Man 7: Collecting R-U-S-H in the first four Robot Masters' stages unlocks the Super Adapter, which allows a Double Jump and Rocket Punch, but disables sliding.
• Monuments of Mars: Collecting M-A-R-S in order yields a point bonus.
• Plok: Beating a level without dying earns you one of four P-L-O-K letters. Getting all four earns you a continue. You can also collect a red checkmark token in a level to instantly get a letter.
• Prehistorik Man: Spelling B-O-N-U-S teleported you to a bonus stage.
• In the Jaleco Arcade Game Psychic 5, collecting E-X-T-R-A awards an extra life.
• Rod Land: If you collect all the flowers on a stage, enemies will start turning into letters when killed. Collecting E-X-T-R-A will instantly end the stage, winning an extra life and 10,000 points.
• Secret Agent has the letters S-P-Y on every level, which give a bonus when collected in order.
• The Simpsons: Bart vs. the Space Mutants: Successfully collecting the letters to spell the name of a Simpsons character will get you their assistance in the level's boss fight.
• Snow Bros gave players an extra life for collecting S-N-O-W. These letters could be obtained only from the special blue monsters.
• SpongeBob SquarePants: Revenge of the Flying Dutchman has obtaining letter tiles to spell SpongeBob's name as the player's main goal in each level. Once all nine tiles in a stage have been collected, they are arranged into a sliding puzzle that, when solved, reveals the location of the Flying Dutchman's treasure in that stage.
• SubTerra has G-E-M-S letters, since the point of the game is to collect gems.
• Switchblade: Spelling E-X-T-R-A grants an extra life, and B-O-N-U-S a 10,000-point bonus.
• Super Lucky's Tale: Each level has five letters that spell out "Lucky". Collecting all of them gives you an additional page.
• Tarzan: Collecting letters T-A-R-Z-A-N rewards the player with items.
• Transformers: Convoy no Nazo: The alternate ending is unlocked by collecting the letters R-O-D-I-M-U-S, which are hidden in seven different stages.
• TumblePop has alphabet letters scattered in some levels, and you need to complete the word TUMBLEPOP with them to gain access to the bonus stage.
• Wolfchild: Spelling E-X-T-R-A grants an extra life, and B-O-N-U-S a 20,000-point bonus.
• Word Rescue: Predictably enough for an Edutainment Game centered around teaching words and their meanings, gives a 500 point bonus for collecting the letters for one of that level's vocabulary words, which is randomly chosen at the start of the level, but only if collected in the correct order. Individual letters in the wrong order don't yield any more points than the generic book collectibles. It also has the added bonus of completely filling the slime meter, giving the player more ammunition against enemy Gruzzles who force players to restart the level from the beginning upon contact.

Puzzle Game

• Helter Skelter: Spelling E-X-T-R-A grants an extra ball, though duplicate letters cancel each other out.
• Jungo: Spelling J-U-N-G-O gives you an extra life.
• In Pop'n Bounce (a Breaking Out game for the Neo Geo), hitting all the A-T-T-A-C-K letters with the ball puts three balls in play and temporarily expands the paddle to nearly the width of the playfield.

Racing Game

• The CTR mode from Crash Team Racing requires you to collect the titular letters in order to earn a CTR token, used to unlock Gem Cups and earn 100% completion.
• Completing specific words awards a new vehicle in each RC Pro-Am game.
  • RC Pro-Am and Super RC Pro-Am require spelling N-I-N-T-E-N-D-O.^note or C-H-A-M-P-I-O-N in the Rare Replay Compilation Re-release.
  • Championship Pro-Am requires spelling C-H-A-M-P-I-O-N.
  • RC Pro-Am II rewards a new car to any player who spells out PRO AM II. Unlike the other games in the series, Pro-Am II awards a new car on a player-by-player basis.

Shoot 'Em Up

• Blazing Star has panels in each stage spelling L-U-C-K-Y. Collecting them all will result in a big bonus being awarded at the end of the stage.
• Carnival: Hitting the letter targets that spell BONUS in order gives you whatever bonus points are left in the counter.
• In the vector game based on The Empire Strikes Back, each of the four stages had a bonus goal (in addition to surviving the stage) which awarded a letter in J-E-D-I when completed. Completing the word awarded temporary invincibility at the start of the next stage. As each letter was specific to a stage, it could be worth it to deliberately avoid the bonus in the third stage the first time through so that, rather than waste the invincibility on the relatively easy first stage, it could instead be used on the punishingly difficult fourth stage of each level.
• Phelios: The titular Sword of Plot Advancement is unlocked when all seven letters are obtained.
• Data East's Wonder Planet has four five-letter bonuses:
  • E-X-T-R-A (blue letter tiles) gives an extra life.
  • M-O-N-E-Y (red letter tiles) gives a 10,000-point money bonus.
  • B-L-A-S-T (yellow letter tiles) powers up the ground bombs.
  • S-E-C-R-O (green letter tiles; spells "cyclone" in Engrish) gives a temporary corkscrew beam weapon.

Sports Game

• Ballistix gives a 10,000 point bonus for spelling R-I-C-O-C-H-E-T.
• Tony Hawk's Pro Skater has dozens of these, scattered across the games (mostly the early ones).
  • The first few games had you collect the letters S-K-A-T-E. Later games would include collecting the letters C-O-M-B-O, but you had to get them all in one trick combination, meaning that if you stopped doing tricks while getting the letters, you would have to try again.

Third-Person Shooter

• One of the missions in Fortnite Battle Royale's fourth season was collecting floating letters that appeared on short-to-moderately tall surfaces to spell out "F-O-R-T-N-I-T-E".

Miscellaneous

• Attack of the Mutant Penguins: Collecting letters from treasure chests to spell B-A-T or ''P-A-N will get Bernard or Rodney his main weapon.
• In Falling Fred and one of the sequels Super Falling Fred collecting F-R-E-D will restore your character's health. (Though not the body parts they may have lost.)
• In the very early Namco Arcade Game Gee Bee and its sequel Bomb Bee, lighting all five N-A-M-C-O targets increases the bonus multiplier.
• Hungry Shark World: The letters H-U-N-G-R-Y are placed in random locations on the level in each game. Collecting them temporarily super-sizes your shark, letting it eat anything as if a Mega Gold Rush was active. A new set of letters will appear in the level once the effect expires.
• Impact gives an extra ball for hitting B-O-N-U-S bricks in that order.
• Collecting S-A-M in Jetpack Joyride activates a Humongous Mecha.
• Mr. Do! and its sequels also had E-X-T-R-A to win an extra life. Usually, the player had to obtain each letter by picking up a special item and then defeating an "alpha-monster" bearing that letter.
• Sergeant Seymour Robotcop: Collecting R-O-B-O-T-C-O-P transports you to a Bonus Stage.
• The Universal Arcade Game Snap Jack gives an extra life and 1000 points for spelling E-X-T-R-A.
• SuperMash: This is a common aspect of the Platformer genre- collecting S-U-P-E-R or M-A-S-H will give an extra life. Given the premise, you'll occasionally find the letters in areas of different genres.

N-O-N-G-A-M-E M-E-D-I-A

• In Black Diaries spelling S-H-O-R-T by touching the appropriate letters on a Hogwarts crest in the dungeons opens a secret passageway.
• In The Burkiss Way, the skit on Dracula has the innocent London lawyer Jonathan Harker receiving a mysterious series of letters from a possible client in Transylvania. The problem is that as he keeps meaning to install a bigger letter box but never quite gets round to it, he's literally receiving only one letter at a time. He and his wife try to decode them and decide they spell "Urgent documents to sing, Fats". They are initially put out that after all the effort, they've received mail meant for Fats Waller.

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