Game opinions wanted.

LongJohns

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Hi,

Ok, I came across the opportunity to pickup a few pinballs but I am not very familar with them other than what I have seen so far on the net and was just wondering what people opinons are here on for:

Xenon
Solar Ride
Lost world

How bad are these games to repair, is there anything I should be looking for? I could ask for a price check as well, but not sure how revelant it would be for my area. ;)
 
Xenon would be the best of the bunch. If the Solar Ride is an em it`s pretty rare.
 
Solar ride is easy since they make all new boards. I love mine. It's simple pinball and gets a lot of play at my house. I did all the mods to mine to help it out and I'm a beginner when it comes to pinball.

I've never seen a solar ride where the horse wasn't flaking. Mine is horrid in the center and everything else is mint. Most people think its supposed to be speckled lol and it still looks cool
 
I have a Xenon at home. They are fairly easy to repair, if the batteries haven't gone bad and destroyed the MPU (upper left board in the backbox).

All I have had break in 14 years of ownership is one flipper bat, and the tube and light bar for the tube, which I replaced.

Occasionally (1 time in 5 years), I get a random actuation of one of the kickers, pop bumpers or another part - the problem is a loose cap.

It is kind of a classic - it came out at about the same time as the original Williams Black Knight, and they were both the first of the talkies. While the Williams game used a voice synthasizer, the Bally game used recorded voices, and it has always sounded better to me.

I don't recall playing the other two, so I don't really have an opinion, other that I consider all things pinball as worth owning, if I have the money for them.

For the Xenon, turn it on and make sure it goes through the self-check and starts. If it does, you'll get a "whoop" from the machine. Coin it up, and make sure it plays.

If it doesn't, open the backbox (key on the right side), and then lift the two latches that hold the score displays closed, and look inside the back box. Look at the board on the upper left side of the backbox area, and at the bottom of the board. There is an almost pyramid-shaped set of solder traces - if there is a battery tied to the bottom of the board that is corroding, and the solder traces look bubbly, it's either time for repairs (may or may not be repairable, depending on the damage), or to order a new Ultimate MPU.
 
I have a Lost World - It is a reasonably fun game with outstanding art. It doesn't have very in-depth rules at all, but because of its simplicity it is easy for new players to learn the ropes on without being too intimidated by all the toys and myriad of shots. I think the audio in this game can get a bit old after a while - there's not a lot of depth to the melodies played, but it was also a very early game with electronic sounds so at the time it was a huge upgrade to the typical EM bells and dings.

Xenon is a great game and is the same overall "architecture" as Lost World - so learning to work on one will give you skills that translates to the other. Xenon just has some extra stuff for the speech. Xenon has outstanding audio in my opinion - lots of good video

I don't know much about Solar Ride. But if you're getting all three for a great price, then I'd say go for it. My Lost World is probably worth around $400, and I have typically seen Xenon's go for ~$900 in my area.

Also, there's aftermarket options for the MPUs for the two Bally games. I don't know what's out there for Gottlieb...
 
I bought my empty solar ride cabinet for $60 delivered from about 160 miles away. Then I put about a grand into it getting it up to snuff. Now I hardly play solar ride at all.... but the cabinet gets play every day.

During Construction:
IMAG0222.jpg


After completion:
IMAG0253.jpg


A lot of guys don't like pinball simulators, but having over a hundred tables in one cabinet is priceless. I just finished playing abra ca dabra for 281k and 14 credits. I don't like the sounds or play of solar ride much at all. I'd recommend the xenon. I play that a lot more than solar ride.
 
I have played a xenon, I own a nice Solar Ride and have only heard things about lost world so:
Xenon is an awesome game and visually pleasing. I would get this first.

Solar Ride is a nice slow paced game that can get a little quick at times, mine has a Pascal Board and this makes it better than xenon but with the original boards this should be the 2nd choice.

Lostr World I have never heard great things about, I guess it is boring and slow. Cool artwork though so 3rd here.
 
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