Haunted House vs Black Hole

Angry_Radish

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I have fond memories of playing Haunted House when I was younger and it is a pin I really want in my collection some day. There is a Black hole locally and I've never played it before but it got me thinking... How is the gameplay on Black Hole vs Haunted House? There isn't an attic on Black Hole, so does that mean it isn't as fun? Never played it but I've always liked the cellar idea..
 
There are some high res and lengthy Black Hole pinball vids on Youtube. Black Hole is absolutely desirable it seems, though it seems HH sells for more. Doesn't mean it's a better game necessarily, but maybe more complex or supply vs demand?
 
The haunted house art work and the background music are cool, but black hole has multiball, speech and animated backglass. Black hole is easier to find than haunted house and can be bought cheaper.
 
I have fond memories of playing Haunted House when I was younger and it is a pin I really want in my collection some day. There is a Black hole locally and I've never played it before but it got me thinking... How is the gameplay on Black Hole vs Haunted House? There isn't an attic on Black Hole, so does that mean it isn't as fun? Never played it but I've always liked the cellar idea..

I will answer your question with the real answer..... FOCUS..... you will not like either of them nearly as much as Dr. Who....LOL

I was looking at that Black Hole in Slinger not too long ago, seems like a nice machine and the seller is a very nice guy. I was looking for a Haunted House (as I love the theme, artwork,etc.) and this Black Hole was offered up in trade. I ultimately passed because some old grandpa sold me a Space Shuttle I couldn't pass up, and that filled the only space I had left.

Black Hole has fun gameplay, but not fun enough IMHO to replace the memories I have of Haunted House. Neither of them have any long standing value/interest in a small collection, but are definitely great to have in a larger collection for change of pace....
 
Good point, I need to remember my initial goal :)

Plus with some additional projects coming in I should be able to keep myself occupied while I search for my Dr. Who :D

I'll still hold out for a Haunted House though since that's the one I have so many memories of :D

Thanks for all the replies guys, and thanks Tim, I needed to have some water thrown in my face :)
 
I have a Black Hole and love it. I went to a guys house a couple years back who had a restored HH for sale.. And I mean every square inch clearcoated inside and out.. I almost felt bad playing a game. But I was bored to hell playing it after a couple minutes and actually let my last ball drain because the game was going on for soo long. I was very let down because up until then, I 'really' wanted a HH.. and I probably would still take one, but not for the $$ this one was.. and not to replace my BH. But I would say if I had to chose between the two it would be BH for gameplay, HH for artwork and cool factor.
 
I've owned one BH and this is my second HH http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anOZFeI1c3o

I really like BH and would love to have the pair of mega Gottliebs next to eachother. Haunted House is a great pin but not for the right reasons that makes a great pin. A lot of the ''great'' comes from nostalgia, the artwork which is awesome or the fact that it successfully pulled of 3 playfields that are tied together. The main playfield is pretty much about nabbing the extra ball or 1-5 targets, which is not so fun. The real fun is trying to get your score piled up via the attic and binus cellar values via the drop targets that are not all that easy. HH (as well as BH) are reallyyyy cool looking games with led or color bulbs placed throughout. Enjoy!

Thanks, James
 
I've got both of them in my gameroom sitting next to each other. Both are cool looking pinball machines, and I do enjoy both of them.
Haunted House-
I remember seeing this machine several times when I was a kid, the first time I saw it, I believe it was out of order. I remember looking at the 3 playfields and how amazing it looked. I also remember the double flipper buttons, and confused on how they worked. Anyways when I started collecting, Haunted House was on the top of my list for nostlagia reasons. It is a fun pin, but the ruleset, and layout is only average.

Black Hole
I didn't play this much as a kid, but once I had bought a Haunted House, I was interested in buying this machine. I scored one, and it is fun machine. I think it has a better layout, ruleset, and the BEST mult-ball on pinball machine, in my opinion. It also has a animated backglass, and speech.

Between the two, I would have to give the nod to Black Hole. It has a better replay value, and is fun to attempt mult-ball. Whatever one you choose though, be prepared to tinker with these machines, as they problematic, unless the mods are done.
-Mark
 
My personal opinion.... Spirit trumps both! Too bad it's hard to find! I always wondered how Krull was like-gameplay wise?

HH is definitely an *eye candy* pin! And the backbox lightning effect is incredible! Like others have said; you gotta go with Black Hole- Multiball, speech and animated backglass....
 
I had both but sold the HH. I love my BH. Too bad HH did not have multi-ball. I also had a Spirit at one time. I wish I would have kept the Spirit but BH was a better playing game. Spirit is a hard game to find now. A few years ago I had a chance to buy a Krull pinball. At $3k I thought it was a bad deal. I wish I bought it. BH is still one of the best multi-level games.
 
I had both but sold the HH. I love my BH. Too bad HH did not have multi-ball. I also had a Spirit at one time. I wish I would have kept the Spirit but BH was a better playing game. Spirit is a hard game to find now. A few years ago I had a chance to buy a Krull pinball. At $3k I thought it was a bad deal. I wish I bought it. BH is still one of the best multi-level games.

I was fortunate as well to play a Spirit! I actually liked it better than Black Hole, but that's my opinion. I had chance to buy one as well in the late 80's but dragged my feet to long and it was traded in to a dealer.

Never played a Krull; In fact never knew of it's existance till the late 90's! 3k seems like a steal now, but as they say hindsight is a blurry 20/20.:D
 
you were a fool for not buying a KRULL for 3k, I hope you didn't get to see it in person?
Krull is worth probably ten grand now, they made less than 12 of them. A lot of Gottlieb nuts want that to complete their collections and will pay anything for one but nobody parts with them. The last one I've heard of was in fair condition being restored by Chris Hutchinson.

James
 
I have fond memories of playing Haunted House when I was younger and it is a pin I really want in my collection some day. There is a Black hole locally and I've never played it before but it got me thinking... How is the gameplay on Black Hole vs Haunted House? There isn't an attic on Black Hole, so does that mean it isn't as fun? Never played it but I've always liked the cellar idea..

I have a Haunted House for sale . Look up my past posting...
 
The Krull for 3k was like 10 years ago and I did see it in person. I also had a chance to buy some rare proto type games but that's a different story. Oh well. I have a pretty nice collection of pinball games now anyways.
 
I have both in my collection now and cannot see parting with either anytime soon.
I love the gameplay of BH and love the art, sounds/music of HH.

I used to play HH at usa skating rink as a kid and was intimidated by it.

Once you do some mods to each one they are very reliable machines.

Dr who is a fairly common pin and you can get one anytime.

Finding a HH that has survived and is in good cosmetic condition can be a challenge.
 
I agree. It's a lot easier to find BH (I have 5. Don't ask.). I would love to own a Haunted House but they never seem to come up for sale around here.

I have a HH for sale in St. Louis. I can ship. Of course im retail and the cost would be $2.9k and shipping...:)
 
I will probably have a HH for sale in Chicago in a couple weeks as well. Probably less than Alky's, but no shipping for me!
 
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