Is there a "must have" pin?

jow

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You always hear people say "every game room must have a Pac Man" when it comes to arcade collecting, so I was wondering if there was a pin that is held in that same regard? If not a certain title like Pac Man, anyone have any input for a "must have"?
 
Medieval Madness comes to mind... but it's way overpriced.

I actually played MM on XBOX360, and liked it. Tried playing it at CAX, but someone was on it all the time.
 
Attack from Mars. My alltime favorite. There used to be one in a bar near my work years ago. I played it 2-3 times a week for about 2 years. I want one bad.

Twilight Zone is a close second.
 
I got my first pinball, now look at meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!

Somebody call the Meeeeeeeebulance.

LOL!!!!

There isn't one particular pinball that pops up in people's heads when you ask about pinball, everyone's POV is different.

With vids its different. They made many more Pacman's than any pinball machine, it was everywhere and that's why if you ask someone what arcade game do they remember the most from the 80s they will tell you Ms Pacman or Pacman.

That being said as far as must haves go.. the most universal IMHO is The Addams Family. It holds the record for the most # produced and is well known.

Personally I love Twilight Zone, The Addams Family and Medieval Madness... but MM is more of a pinhead's favorite, not something a casual player would think of.
 
Personally I love Twilight Zone, The Addams Family and Medieval Madness... but MM is more of a pinhead's favorite, not something a casual player would think of.

Yeah, I'd say Addams is the "Pac Man of pinball"...in the sense that even people who know nothing about pinball are familiar with it. Pinball has been through so many eras, I guess the "must have" depends on which era of pins you like....and then on top of that, what type of features and gameplay do you like? Toys, software depth, humor, flow...there are lots of variables!

I think pinball collecting is way more personal than arcade collecting ...most of us into arcades are relatively unanimous about loving most of the early 80's games. ...but pinball's just so different....different games will speak to different people.
 
I'd also have to say Medieval Madness is "the" game to have at the moment. It's not worth the price tag, but it is a great game for sure. I'd LOVE to have one.

Twilight Zone and Addam's family are right up there as well as far as newer DMD pins go.
 
I'd also have to say Medieval Madness is "the" game to have at the moment. It's not worth the price tag, but it is a great game for sure. I'd LOVE to have one.

MM is a status symbol....get it if you want people to know you're willing to spend $6000+ on a pinball machine. You can get 4 or 5 super sweet pins for that amount of money.
 
There isn't a single pinball machine that personifies the whole pinball genre. With video arcade games, pacman is universal.

I tend to disagree with Addams and Twilight Zone being the poster children. Only people in the hobby point to those and medieval Madness as required pinball games. Most lay people have never even played them!

When you say to someone you have video games, they will probably say one of 2 things:
"Do you have a Pacman?"
"Do you have a Golden Tee?" (I finally got this one from a Uhaul employee one day)

If you tell a non hobbyist you are into pinballs, odds are they will draw a blank as to a specific title. If there was a pinball that would jump to mind, I would venure a guess of Pinbot. It had additional exposure via the NES port. Of course, many people that had the NES game probably didn't realize it was based on a REAL pinball machine.

My guess as to why this is, is because most people who have played pinball don't pay attention to rules or graphics. They see 2 flippers, a shiny ball, a bunch of flashy lights, and a bunch of crap to slam said ball into. Every pinball is basically the same. I've realized this in my gameroom. Most people don't give a crap what the theme of the pinball is - they just think its cool that there is a pinball they can play without spending money.
 
MM is a status symbol....get it if you want people to know you're willing to spend $6000+ on a pinball machine.

Does it mean you are a big shot cause you can spend $6K, or that you are an idiot for spending $6K? :D
 
I am gonna go with Black Knight or Kiss. Seems I have known of and heard about those 2 pins since I was in the 3rd or 4th grade.
 
Gottlieb Genesis, fantastic game super easy to understand and some very fast ball action in the pop bumpers and between the sling shots and the bat things above them.
 
cirqus voltaire would do it for me,ive recently found theater of magic is also a great game.
 
I agree with RareHero. MM is fun, but for what they go for, you can get 4 solid pins.

I would say TZ or Addams is the PacMan of Pins. I prefer Twilight Zone though.
 
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