Twilight Zone $ Check

KayRock

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Im about to look at a Twilight Zone for sale that seems to have been in a seasonal arcade (summer only). I asked the owner about the condition and he said everything works perfectly and the machine has been maintained accordingly. Assuming this machine works and is in average shape cosmetically, what price would you think is fair? Thanks.
 
Im about to look at a Twilight Zone for sale that seems to have been in a seasonal arcade (summer only). I asked the owner about the condition and he said everything works perfectly and the machine has been maintained accordingly. Assuming this machine works and is in average shape cosmetically, what price would you think is fair? Thanks.

What is the asking price? I bought an unshopped but nice TZ for $3250 last year and was ecstatic to get it for that price. It's a $3K-$5K game easily (IMO).
 
Lindsey, Ill tell you the asking price after I get a few responces. I dont want to sway any judgements just yet. PS- how's ur machine treating you?
 
2800$-4000$ is about the going rate for a routed one. 2800$ for a faded, unshopped pin.

4000$ for a non faded shopped...

4000$+ for nicer examples
 
Lindsey, Ill tell you the asking price after I get a few responces. I dont want to sway any judgements just yet. PS- how's ur machine treating you?

Fair enough. Price checks are always easier when you know how much they're asking. I find it easier to say "I would buy it" vs. "it's worth this much". That said, I can understand not wanting to post the price right away.

I'm loving my TZ so far. I have to say I'm not loving it as much as I thought I would but I don't regret the purchase and I think I'll probably really love it after I figure it out a little more. I hadn't played it a lot before buying and I think I'm going to need a year just to appreciate it.
 
Fair enough. Price checks are always easier when you know how much they're asking. I find it easier to say "I would buy it" vs. "it's worth this much". That said, I can understand not wanting to post the price right away.

I'm loving my TZ so far. I have to say I'm not loving it as much as I thought I would but I don't regret the purchase and I think I'll probably really love it after I figure it out a little more. I hadn't played it a lot before buying and I think I'm going to need a year just to appreciate it.

mine too....i hated the game, when i played it in the wild....Then i played a another pinheads house, and i HAD TO HAVE ONE. Now since ive had one in the basement for a few months, im in the same boat u are....
 
Lindsey, another reason I dont want to disclose the asking price is because I personally havent viewed the machine yet.

Donnie, what did u pay for yours? Obviously youre happy with it.
 
Lindsey, another reason I dont want to disclose the asking price is because I personally havent viewed the machine yet.

Donnie, what did u pay for yours? Obviously youre happy with it.

I do alot of work to my machines.....I trade alot with other collectors, cuz like like my machines for some reason....

My tz has slight fade on the one side of the cab, no fade anywere else, no lock down holes, no wear, very very nice playfield....

I have cash wise, about 2600-2800$ in mine....but i have 20-30 hrs of work in the one that was traded
 
I've played TZ quite a bit, mainly because a local collector friend has one. Honestly, I just don't get the attraction. Theme is good, artwork is decent, but I just don't enjoy playing it. It doesn't have good flow, and there aren't any satisfying shots. Deep rules, sure... but you need a lot more than that for a pin to be fun to play. The inflated price is all from pin-snob hype.... For less than a third of the price you can buy a pin that is a hell of a lot more fun to play. Buy what you enjoy playing.
 
I don't know how anybody can say that TZ doesn't have satisfying shots. I can understand if people don't like the stop and go play, but TZ is PACKED with great shots. The piano shot is great every time you hit it, the camera is deeply satisfying and challenging, the gumball in the right orbit is real nice, and the clock shot is about as long as a shot as you'll find for standup target with high consequence on a DMD-era pin.

The game encourages very deliberate shooting. If you're sloppy with any aiming, the game can feel clunky at times, but overall it has a very cool progression through its modes.
 
The game encourages very deliberate shooting. If you're sloppy with any aiming, the game can feel clunky at times, but overall it has a very cool progression through its modes.

If your style of playing is trapping and aiming every ball that comes to the flippers, then TZ is definitely your game.
 
Donnyjj - what do you mean by lock down holes? Holes drilled into the lockdown bar??? Sorry, I own 3 machines but I still a neub and not so technical yet.
 
If your style of playing is trapping and aiming every ball that comes to the flippers, then TZ is definitely your game.

As opposed to just slapping the button every time the ball gets near your flippers? Pretty much every game requires ball control.
 
Donnyjj - what do you mean by lock down holes? Holes drilled into the lockdown bar??? Sorry, I own 3 machines but I still a neub and not so technical yet.

Sry i ment lock bar. Its the medal bar that went across the coin door, to keep people from from robbing the machine.....In the late 90"s they started installing these from the factory.

To do this you had to drill 1-2 dime sized holes on either side for the coin door. Most collecters just put black bolt in them to cover it up. I would say about 85-90% of the machines from the early 90's the operators installed them.
 
As opposed to just slapping the button every time the ball gets near your flippers? Pretty much every game requires ball control.

Don't worry, I've owned pinball machines for over 28 years now, so I know how to play. I just prefer a game that's fast and flowing.
My advice to the OP remains the same. Buy a TZ if it's a game you've played and you enjoy, and not because it's on some pinball experts' top 10 lists.
 
can you provide an example ?

Sure... come on over and I'll school you. :D
I've seen some very good players (like Bowen Kerins) so I am familiar with good technique. Do I consider myself a world-class player? Absolutely not. Can I beat 90% of the collectors I know? Hell yeah.

I don't enjoy TZ, and I explained why. I know I'm not the only one. And the idea that someone can't appreciate TZ because they're not a "player" is complete bullshit. If you like TZ then good for you, but there are dozens of games I'd rather play (that are much cheaper).
 
After owning TZ for a year, I never could figure out why it's the #1 game either. It has nice enough shots and really cool features (magna flip, powerball, gumball, etc) but when you get down to the meat of the honestly the software for the doors is a little lacking. Almost every timed mode is kind of lame relative to other games if you think about it...

spiral--hit the loop, hit the loop, hit the loop, hit the loop...
super slot--hit the slot, hit the slot, hit the slot, hit the slot
clock millions--hit the clock, hit the clock, hit the clock, hit the clock...
clock chaos--hit the clock, hit the clock, hit the clock, hit the clock...
town square madness--hit anything

There's no sense of progression or anything in these modes (i.e. goal). Just shoot the same shot over and over, awesome, lol. Can't I hit one shot, then a different one, or at least have multiple options? Relative to a game like Indiana Jones, where you have things like hit the shot where the monkey is, 6 ball well of souls, save the stones, etc--every mode tells a story. It just seems like TZ has a lot of cool pieces that don't really integrate that well with each other.

For my money, TSPP is a lot better game from a software standpoint. And it's probably cheaper. I think too many people get caught up with modding the game that they lose sight of why they own it. :) For the same (or less) money I think IJ and St:tng are better games as well, if you prefer Williams games. I guess my overall summation is that if you prefer stacking games, TSPP is WAY better, and if you like mode based games, St:tng and IJ are WAY better.
 
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