What's new
Pinball info

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

1987 - 2004 Sega/Stern.. Skill Posts.... To Have......or Have Not.

pintableuser

pintableuser

Registered
Joined
Apr 4, 2013
Messages
310
Location
Glasgow
The History....... as I understand it

The British skill post came about in 1997 where British Pinball Machines were considered a "Game of Chance" which would require a taxable gaming operators license similar to Gambling machines. All this because they awarded free games(Monetary reward).
The 1997 the knock-on effect was a memorable year where operators scrapped or sold on their pinball machines at bargain prices to avoid unfair taxation.

Sega got round this legislation by fitting Skill Posts to British exported X-Files machines and marketed it as a "Game of Skill" which would be free of Gaming tax.
Only Sega/Stern continued this practice for all their UK export machines til 2004 (The Sopranos).
So there should be a lot of "Brit" machines out there compared to the "Grey" imports.

My question is....

When given a choice between a British Skill Post and a similar condition Non- Skill Post machine? What would be your reasoning?

IMHO I have no preference and would always judge wear n tear above this consideration.

aa. The Skill posts are easily isolated on the portals adjustments menu.
bb. The four cabinet flipper buttons are cosmetically the same as those on my Shadow.
cc. The play-field up-posts do not interfere with ball flow or weaken the play-field.
 
I couldn't give a toss if a game has them or not, I refuse to actively use them.

Have removed the post buttons off my LOTR to add lollipop side rails and glad to be rid of them. Have also never seen the lowered posts interfere with gameplay once on any machine I've tried with them fitted
 
windoesnot said:
I couldn't give a toss if a game has them or not, I refuse to actively use them.

Have removed the post buttons off my LOTR to add lollipop side rails and glad to be rid of them. Have also never seen the lowered posts interfere with gameplay once on any machine I've tried with them fitted
Click to expand...

I have seen a few T3's and LOTR's fitted with side armour, but always put it down to wear n tear on the cabinet decals. never thought the extra skill buttons would give a negative response. It intrigues me how a non-skill post game is thought of as more valuable
 
The new rails are there to also cover up wear of the artwork too :)

Again I don't mind them being on machines but it's not a feature I would ever actively use myself whilst playing
 
Can they use the Brit Skill post machines in compitition???? as long as the up posts are isolated.
 
I would prefer not to have them of course but if you do have a game with them, just do what @windoesnot said. I did the exact same thing with my TSPP. It looked a lot better afterwards.
I would not walk away from a good deal just because the game had them though. It's no biggie to me.

The whole reasoning behind the need for skill posts was ridiculous. :cuckoo:
 
Im personally not bothered but remove second buttons and use half moons to cover the hole and inevitable cab wear. The 3 unwanted coils are useful spares lol. Some buyers wont touch them which makes it tricky for them to get games like lotr or tssp. When I was selling an Elvis actually had someone tell me the skill posts made it worthless. I told him good luck finding one in UK without as it shouldn't really be here.
Worse aspect was operators who fitted skill posts to wpc machines. Addams familys with a big post in the middle of festers head. The nearest I came to owing a mm was a tip off I got of a local op selling one for £1500 but when I turned up it had skill posts added badly which looked awful. I passed to a fellow collector who put in a new play field and did the cab work and decalling to sort the cabinet disaster. Oldest game I saw fitted with skill post was an eight ball deluxe. Very weird indeed!
 
The skill posts when first introduced received some heavy duty flack. Not only from the operators who incurred the greatest inconvenience, but from the pinball purists who strongly voiced what they saw as a feature which ruined a perfectly good game. They critisesed everything about the gameplay. The first I played I couldn't see anything different......... Perhaps because My fingers automatically positioned themselves over the top buttons...... :rofl:
 
I always wondered what these were - I seem to recall one of the machines at SWL having double flipper buttons
 
Doesn't bother me at all, just need to be aware that it does matter a lot to some people, so the pin may be lower value than it's equivalent non-skill-post sisters.
 
JT. said:
Doesn't bother me at all, just need to be aware that it does matter a lot to some people, so the pin may be lower value than it's equivalent non-skill-post sisters.
Click to expand...

+1 things like skill posts have never been an issue for the many but will always be a negotiation lever for a few.
 
  • Like
Reactions: JT.
Really isn't a big deal for me. Just turn them off. Did at one time wonder if it would make the games more kiddie friendly but suspect it doesn't.
 
I had a T3 with skill posts, all the mechs were left in place for them but somebody had already added the side armour and only 1 button on each side so I couldn't use them anyway. Honestly though like many here I don't care, just don't use them!
 
astyy said:
I always wondered what these were - I seem to recall one of the machines at SWL having double flipper buttons
Click to expand...

Yep, that's correct, TSPP has them fitted.

I used to think they were great when playing a machine on site as it gave me more chance to keep the ball in play! :thumbs:

And no they are not normally allowed in competition.

It is possible to have a ball stuck on top of a skill post and you have to wait for a ball search, which pops up the post as a matter of routine.
 
Carl Spiby said:
Had the option of a uk-skill Sopranos but chose the non-uk-skill one, hate the things.
Click to expand...

Hi Carl,
What aspects do you hate......cosmetics?.... The Shadow has four cabinet buttons.
Their use......... You can disable them thru the diagnostics.
Using them in game-play?
 
The ugly center post on Sopranos, doesn't tie-in to the playfield design at all and those that do have artwork on them, end up rotating and looking crap.

Silly invention.
 
Your right it was a ridiculous time in pinball but some government official caught on to the fact that pinball machines were coin grabbers and the government wanted their share.
The game plays the same with or without the skill posts. The strong feelings still exist today....... My eyes are on the silver all, but now you mention it .... I will be watching the the revolving up post between the flippers........ I think that may be considered..... A special feature..... ;)
 
If anyone reading this has a LOTR they want to get rid of because of the UK skill posts, please get in touch. I will buy it if it is in otherwise good condition.
 
Utter pieces of crap! It doesn't bother me value wise as proper UK versions will all have them and people just need to accept it - it's kinda like saying our right hand drive cars should be worth less because most of the world drives on the other side of the road. Nonsense!

Remove or disable them (preferably permanently), as they aren't the way the designers intended the game to be. They are just official factory hacks for getting a minority of games around a stupid law. That's all.
 
I have a privately purchased U.S. Import stern series 3 HD pin which has the up-post between the flippers, no skill posts, but extra flipper button on the right side of the cabinet. Anyone know of other countries which used the skill posts in any variation?
Would appear that the majority want to hide the fact in one way or another
 
Those 2 examples are part of the game design though, not a ridiculous addon for some UK legislation. Atlantis has one too.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom