Deep Pins?

Paul Olson

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Which pins in the < $2000 range have a deep ruleset? It seems that every game I remember playing gets the same reviews: Fun and fast, but shallow ruleset.

I honestly suck at at pinball, so I have really never noticed a shallow ruleset, but I would like to play a deep one for a while to see if that is something that will be of interest to me. I have tried all of the top 10 games, but didn't play enough to figure out the ruleset. I need to buy one so I can spend time figuring it out.

My preferred budget would be $1600 or less, but I can go to $2000 if need be.

Any suggestions?
 
I'm going to get criticized for this I'm sure as these pins aren't very well liked, but I'd recommend Street Fighter and Super Mario Bros. Both have a nice bit of rules and a good amount of things to do, and rather than games that "flow" well they're more based on trying to make the right shots at the right time under a time limit. Both machines also have a lot of shots which is nice. Makes the games very interesting and very difficult to get a good score!
 
When I started collecting, it logically made sense to get the games with deep rulesets for homeuse. So, i had the LOTR, TZs, TSPP, etc. But they didnt last in my lineup.

It turns out i get the most fun and enjoyment (and lasting power in my lineup) out of those games with shallower rulesets! I learned that simple or shallow in Pinball does not equal to worser (is that a word?).

BSD is a blast to play for less than 2k. T2 is another game you will hear has a shallow ruleset, but thats another that is loads of fun.

Keep in mind that those that are branding the game as shallow are also playing at a higher level -they keep a ball in play for alot of minutes vs. your or my one.


I agree with Baloo - Super Mario is a fun game.

Some others - i love this list - the Pinside top 100 bang for your buck.... Congo is one i hear alot about. My beloved BSD is #8 -

http://pinside.com/pinball/top-100/bangforbuck
 
He is asking about deep under 2k. Not just fun. I own WCS, and I wouldn't call it deep. AWESOME, but not deep. Same with Doctor Who. I like Doctor Who because it's NOT deep.

Shadow is my answer. If I was out of touch on prices, I would also say White Water, but nobody can find one in any kind of decent shape under 2k. Judge Dredd has quite a bit going on, too!
 
I'm going to get criticized for this I'm sure as these pins aren't very well liked, but I'd recommend Street Fighter and Super Mario Bros. Both have a nice bit of rules and a good amount of things to do, and rather than games that "flow" well they're more based on trying to make the right shots at the right time under a time limit. Both machines also have a lot of shots which is nice. Makes the games very interesting and very difficult to get a good score!



Having owned both of the aforementioned pins, I agree and really like Street Fighter 2. For the price, it is challenging!
 
He is asking about deep under 2k. Not just fun. I own WCS, and I wouldn't call it deep. AWESOME, but not deep. Same with Doctor Who. I like Doctor Who because it's NOT deep.

Shadow is my answer. If I was out of touch on prices, I would also say White Water, but nobody can find one in any kind of decent shape under 2k. Judge Dredd has quite a bit going on, too!


Although out of the range, Lord of the Rings, very deep and tough!
 
I guess we need to ask ourselves what we call deep. Clearly TSPP and LOTR are the two deepest games, bar none. But what games are deep after that? TZ? AFM? I guess we need to make a list of "deepest games" and then find out which ones are the cheapest. ;)
 
When I started collecting, it logically made sense to get the games with deep rulesets for homeuse. So, i had the LOTR, TZs, TSPP, etc. But they didnt last in my lineup.

It turns out i get the most fun and enjoyment (and lasting power in my lineup) out of those games with shallower rulesets! I learned that simple or shallow in Pinball does not equal to worser (is that a word?).

BSD is a blast to play for less than 2k. T2 is another game you will hear has a shallow ruleset, but thats another that is loads of fun.

Keep in mind that those that are branding the game as shallow are also playing at a higher level -they keep a ball in play for alot of minutes vs. your or my one.


I agree with Baloo - Super Mario is a fun game.

Some others - i love this list - the Pinside top 100 bang for your buck.... Congo is one i hear alot about. My beloved BSD is #8 -

http://pinside.com/pinball/top-100/bangforbuck

This is the reason I want to try to find an affordable one; just to see if I end up liking the deeper rule sets. A friend has all of the expensive ones that are top rated (he recently moved though :( ) and I never could see the draw to them. I want to see if I can ever get good enough to know the difference. lol

I still have a lot of games on High Speed that end under a million points, and there is probably something I have never accomplished on that game...but I don't know what it would be. Maybe I should actually read the manual one of these days. :)

I would by a Johnny Mnemonic in a heartbeat if I could find one for $700. I had fun playing that one years back.
 
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Good enough to know the difference, on appreciating a deep ruleset, is something i am not! Its a very valid point by the way. Those games are great in their own right, but for me what good were they if i didnt have fun?

If you can find a shadow for less than 2k - i hear great things about it. The only other game i can suggest is going back to my fav - BSD. Not a deep rule game but it has the kick ass quality that will be "deep" enough and last a long time.
 
I was totally spoiled on LOTR. If I could find a way to buy one on credit, my wife knows I want one so bad, I'd buy a used LOTR before a NIB Tron. :| That game has TAINTED PINBALL for me because of it's complexity. I think "deep" is the trend that will stick around, and even games like Tron I would qualify as "deep" but it's VERY accessible to all players.

Okay. Most players. ¬_¬
 
WHO DUNNIT gets my vote for a deep rule set and can be had for well under 2000

THE SOPRANOS is another one but i havent seen one under two grand ever
 
I was totally spoiled on LOTR. If I could find a way to buy one on credit, my wife knows I want one so bad, I'd buy a used LOTR before a NIB Tron. :| That game has TAINTED PINBALL for me because of it's complexity. I think "deep" is the trend that will stick around, and even games like Tron I would qualify as "deep" but it's VERY accessible to all players.

Okay. Most players. ¬_¬

I am with you on the LOTR, when I go to Nickelrama, that is pretty much why I go there is for that one, I dont like the new Stern pins, they feel cheap and bore me, Tron is a good example of that for me. If only I could charge a LOTR on the old credit card, one of these days I will get it. The funny thing is I used to hate LOTR because it was so tough, but the more I play and understand it, the more I see just how good of a game it really is, that is one of the rare Stern pins I actually enjoy playing and want to own someday.
 
Yeah mang..we seriously are getting to the point where we have enough Dallas people to have a small pinball shindig...
 
I would say, in order:

World Poker Tour
Stargate
Tommy
Shadow
Jurassic Park
Judge Dredd

I honestly think Stargate has the best ruleset of any 90's game regardless of price. Tommy is super hard + has 12 modes, Shadow has a good combo of modes/objectives, JP has some good modes + chaos multiball + system failure, JD I don't really care for from a theme/music standpoint but it does have a good ruleset.
 
Sometimes I really think that deep rulesets though are kind of overrated. You can listen to people rant and rave about pins like Medieval Madness, Attack from Mars, Cirqus Voltaire, and other classic Williams pins, but I've got to admit after a while it feels like the more shallow games have the longer lasting games. Medieval Madness I've played a good bit and now the games just don't have the charm that they used to. It's one of those games where you get to know all of the shots and by then they become boring.

Lord of the Rings, while not one of my favorite pins DEFINITELY has a deep rule set. There's a lot to do in that game, and it gets really hard to complete all the modes and hit a high score, Stern was the blind squirrel who found the nut on that one IMO.

Really the best part about pins is how long you can play them without getting bored with them, regardless of how "Deep" the rules are. I like playing pins that leave me wanting to play more, ones that really kick my ass and are hard to master more than anything.
 
yepster !
me thinks you have not played it

It has a 2 ball, 3 ball and 4 ball multi ball (last two are good). It has no modes, no wizard mode, and no random award (because there are no things to give in this game). You just play mysteries and bet. It was the first game I ever owned, and it's not deep. Again, a fun, great, awesome dots/sound/light show game. But Jesus Christ, people... not deep.

I give up on this thread. People are just naming good games, and are ignoring the title.
 
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