What pinball to get?

delayed

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Hello all,

I got myself a pacman machine and my wife said that she would like a pinball machine. She played a Simpsons game that she liked. I would like to know which machines are "better" than others and why? I have not played one in a very long time and don't know much about them. What are the main differences between the machines, brands, and changes in the age of the machine? Newer model vs. older model? I would more than likely be looking for a fixer machine and don't want to get stuck with something that does not have "good" play and ability to find parts.

Thanks for any help here.
 
check with local route venders who have pins. craigslist and mr.pinball. here on klov in the for sale section. go out to local pizza places,bars,bowling alleys.any place that has pins and play them. if you find a game you like post it here. there are many members with more experience than me that will gladly help you out with any questions you have.
 
Yes, try to play as many as you can on location. Keep in mind that most of them will be in pretty crappy condition, though you may get lucky with some. There are a few websites that will list where there are pins on location in your area. Just google "pinball locations" or something like that. Not sure where you live but you can also post here and over on rpg asking about locations. From my personal experience, if you live in the Northeast US or northern California you're in luck.

rgp is WAY more active than rgvac is nowadays, it's a good site to get your feet wet in learning some of the terminology and titles. Check out ipdb.org for a "top 300" pin list, cool photos, and many reviews.

Pick up a copy of the Williams Collection for Xbox, PS3 or, Wii. Certainly, not the same as a real pin, but for $20 you play and learn about 12+ classic Williams pin titles.

Which Simpsons did your wife play? There are two. One made by Data East that usually goes for about $1200, and the newer Simpsons Pinball Party by Stern which is a $3000+ title.

People are just as prejudiced about their pin preferences as vid guys. Maybe more so. Some love the old EM stuff, others are complete Williams snobs and hate other manufacturers, some love to hate on the popular titles, etc. Designers names tend to be a lot more of a factor with pins than vids. The big names (more modern) are Pat Lawlor, Steve Ritchie, Dennis Nordman, George Gomez, Mark Ritchie. Each designer tends to have their own style and layout tendencies.

Just play the hell out of the pins you do find and you'll see which companies/designers you enjoy.
 
Try and find machines in your area to play and it will give you a better idea of what machine would be for you.
 
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I hear you loud and clear Lindsey.

Question - What machine should I buy?
Answer - one with round balls preferably

Question - what wax should I use?
Answer - learn how to use the search engine

Question - best machine ~$2000
Answer - the one that makes you happy

Question - should I buy this machine?
Answer - do you have the money?

Seriously ....... :p
 

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Just don't buy a White Water. I'm trying to suppress the market, and thus drive the values down, in anticipation of a summer purchase.

-Hans
 
I understand it is kinda of a silly question, but thanks to the people that replied without poking fun. I don't know anything about the machines and have been reading some of the posts and see people saying things like this is a fast machine, etc. As far as I know they all are a box with a ball you knock around and I can't see how they can be that different. I was trying to educate myself a bit and learn which machines I would be able to buy parts for and which ones are easier to fix. For example I would suggest someone to buy a ms pacman game because there are a lot of them out there, cheap, easy to fix, and plenty of parts and online help for them. I was expecting to get some sort of that type of response for a pin ball machine. My wife is not that picky so I would believe that any machine would make her happy for 1st machine. I don't know which Simpsons machine she played one, it had a nuclear power plant on it and she said that after a certain score it dropped 2 balls to play with.

Sorry for the long reply. I am just looking for a bit of direction and not a stock image posted I have seen 1K times over.
 
No idea about your location but Pinball Show Season is only a few months away.....

pagg_2010.png


... oops. last year's date.

but anyway it's neat to wander around and play a hundred different pins. or more.
 
If you really need help picking one, I'd just surf IPDB.org and pick a game that looks good to your eye and has a theme you like. Theme is 90% of whether someone likes a particular pinball machine anyway, I think.

Wade
 
Find local collectors in your area and play some of their games.

Not everyone likes the same type of games. Games that others tend to like I personally hate. I have friends that only like EM (pre 1976) pins and people like me try to stay in the Bally/Williams WPC (1992-1998) type of games. I even have one friend that only has the newer Stern games, buys each one brand in the the box.

There is a huge price difference in some games. The older EM games tend to be the cheaper games.
 
Go to www.pinballrebel.com and click on their pinball locator. Hopefully, you will be able to find a bunch of pins on location near you to try.

There are some similarities between certain titles but each one is different. And while some will argue that there are no bad pins, some are more fun than others. You have to figure out which ones they are. For instance, I like fast, flowing games more than stop and go shooter types.

As far as parts are concerned, Sterns are new so you can get replacement parts very easily. But replica Bally/Williams parts are being made for most of their pins and the standard parts are easy to come by.
 
I understand it is kinda of a silly question, but thanks to the people that replied without poking fun. I don't know anything about the machines and have been reading some of the posts and see people saying things like this is a fast machine, etc. As far as I know they all are a box with a ball you knock around and I can't see how they can be that different. I was trying to educate myself a bit and learn which machines I would be able to buy parts for and which ones are easier to fix. For example I would suggest someone to buy a ms pacman game because there are a lot of them out there, cheap, easy to fix, and plenty of parts and online help for them. I was expecting to get some sort of that type of response for a pin ball machine. My wife is not that picky so I would believe that any machine would make her happy for 1st machine. I don't know which Simpsons machine she played one, it had a nuclear power plant on it and she said that after a certain score it dropped 2 balls to play with.

Sorry for the long reply. I am just looking for a bit of direction and not a stock image posted I have seen 1K times over.

I've seen this same question asked more than 1K times over. If you're going to get upset over someone poking fun at you asking the same question that's asked at least once per week you should try the search function first next time.
 
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I understand it is kinda of a silly question, but thanks to the people that replied without poking fun. I don't know anything about the machines and have been reading some of the posts and see people saying things like this is a fast machine, etc. As far as I know they all are a box with a ball you knock around and I can't see how they can be that different. I was trying to educate myself a bit and learn which machines I would be able to buy parts for and which ones are easier to fix. For example I would suggest someone to buy a ms pacman game because there are a lot of them out there, cheap, easy to fix, and plenty of parts and online help for them. I was expecting to get some sort of that type of response for a pin ball machine. My wife is not that picky so I would believe that any machine would make her happy for 1st machine. I don't know which Simpsons machine she played one, it had a nuclear power plant on it and she said that after a certain score it dropped 2 balls to play with.

Sorry for the long reply. I am just looking for a bit of direction and not a stock image posted I have seen 1K times over.

First of all, the search engine would've provided you more than enough information about your question. You're new to this forum .... my post was to be taken jokingly sorry it wasn't. But I will argue your "facts". Ms Pacmans are generally not cheap due to it's popularity. Secondly, they are not any easier (or harder) to fix than most any other NON VECTOR machines. Parts availability in great abundance I will give you.

For people that don;t understand that pins are like vids ( they both have objections and goals to be completed) then yes, smacking a ball around a box is what it equates to. Buying a machine because either myself or anyone else recommends it (without you actually having hands on experience) is just plain asking for a let down. Pinball hype is the devil. If you can't find the pins locally then download virtual pinball on your pc, or use your WII or XBOX360 and play Williams Pinball Hall of Fame. If you like them there you'll love them in real life.

For me personally, most machines that are considered A list games do nothing for me. I tend to gravitate towards B list games (most C list games tend to be mind numbingly easy and won't last.)
The chances that you'll keep your first pin isn't in your favor so buy something both you and your wife enjoy and just be ready to sell it and add more money to buy the next title. That's all any of us do. Eventually most people work up to the point they can pretty much trade A or B list games darn near if not straight across for another A or B list title.

Use these sites:
http://IPDB.ORG
http://MRPINBALL.COM http://www.xmission.com/~daina/classified/index.html
http://PYNBALL.COM
http://PINPEDIA.COM
http://BOSTONPINBALL.BIZ
http://PINSIDE.COM

Anyways - good luck on your first pin hunt.
 
For example I would suggest someone to buy a ms pacman game because there are a lot of them out there, cheap, easy to fix, and plenty of parts and online help for them.

What if that person thinks Pac-Man sucks?

A better suggestion would be to do some research, decide what THEY like and buy that.

If you want something that fits the "cheap and easy" criteria then buy a classic Bally/Stern machine.

Bally:
http://www.ipdb.org/search.pl?searchtype=advanced&mpu=13
http://www.ipdb.org/search.pl?mpu=18&sortby=date&searchtype=advanced

Stern:
http://www.ipdb.org/search.pl?mfgid=302&sortby=date&searchtype=advanced
 
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