Top Lanes

A row of Lanes — typically two or three — crossing the upper playfield just below the top arch, separated by standup posts and each carrying its own rollover switch. Common rulesets light letters that spell a bonus word, or advance a value, as the ball crosses each lane; the center lane of a three-lane row is often the hardest to hit square-on and carries the richest award. Unlike the Orbits that curve fully around the same area of the playfield, top lanes are straight, gated channels the ball crosses rather than loops through.