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Games that are good for non-pinball people and pinball people alike

huggers

huggers

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Had a couple of gatherings at my house and Kong has kind of battered them 🤣. My non-pinball friends had the same response to Kong as Jurassic Park. I.E they couldn't hit a barn door. Okay a little harsh but most did struggle.

Thinking ahead, I need something that I can explore as a marginally better player that will also have a little more for them. Maybe easier multiballs? Any and all suggestions from any manufacturers. I'm thinking maybe Jaws? Stranger Things?

Bit of added context. Deadpool and Sopranos were well loved. J-Park not so much. The trouble is the aforementioned two I found too basic rules wise. Although Sopranos cracked me up so much it stayed quite a while.
 
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Monster bash or Deadpool have been the most popular at my house, when the rules are simply they tend to enjoy them.
 
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Hobbit, it has a deep rule set for the advanced player and is deceptively simple for the non pinball person. Bash the pop up beasts, get the dragon. The theme, music and packaging is also appealing to non pinball players.

Has loads of different multi balls that even my 9 year old non pinball player and wife can get so they think they done something.

35 modes, 5 wizard modes and a rule set that 38 pages to keep the advanced player entertained.

Can be long ball times so not good for tournaments but great in the home especially non pinheadz

I had an avenger infinity quest I loved it everyone who was a non pinball player hated it!
 
I think Stranger Things isn’t that great for a beginner but they will at least ‘see things happen’ as they play (ie: the upside down uv reveal and the Demogorgon ramp coming down).
Star Trek (Stern) was a good one for it being obvious what to hit but hard to complete too.
Rush is hard to beat but exhilarating without knowing what’s going on too.
Elvira is a great one as it’s a strong all rounder with great humour.
Lastly can’t go wrong with Metallica, nice fast two flipper game with a bash toy to start multiball (and numerous other things to do too)
 
Huge recency biased here but METr. For you, Unforgiven wizard mode to aim for, for complete casuals sparky mb, for in between blackened and crank it ups to EotL.

EHoH was always popular with guests and the addition of the super wizard mode not too long ago gives it more depth/ purpose to modes.

Jaws isnt a difficult shooter but I think it’s harder to explain quickly as there’s so much going on. Also the 3rd flipper rarely gets used by non pinball people.

Stranger things can be hit or miss with casuals imo. Some find it too hard, some just love seeing the UV and bashing the demogorgon
 
Andydn said:
I think Stranger Things isn’t that great for a beginner but they will at least ‘see things happen’ as they play (ie: the upside down uv reveal and the Demogorgon ramp coming down).
Star Trek (Stern) was a good one for it being obvious what to hit but hard to complete too.
Rush is hard to beat but exhilarating without knowing what’s going on too.
Elvira is a great one as it’s a strong all rounder with great humour.
Lastly can’t go wrong with Metallica, nice fast two flipper game with a bash toy to start multiball (and numerous other things to do too)
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😂 posted almost the same thoughts seconds apart
 
My upstairs neighbour always comes and plays whenever I have a different game in. He enjoyed LOTR because of the theme, but his favourite so far was Creech with its simple ruleset, bright colours, fun soundtrack and funny dots.
 
Cheers for all the suggestions and thoughts so far. Should be clear though, stuff like Creech (great game) and Monster Bash have nowhere near enough code for me. Although admittedly they'd suit my cronies
 
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I’ve thought about this a lot and I think the answer is to go down the classics route - anything with a screen is going to have too much going on, all the feedback I’ve had from non-pinball people playing the Kong, Rush, Dialed In or Jaws I’ve had in my house is along the lines of “it’s overwhelming”

Some 90s games might be fine, Monster Bash etc

But everybody talks about classics and the “one more game” factor. The objectives are simple to understand but difficult to master, you can explain the game to a new player in 30 seconds, a better player can still get the satisfaction of having a really good game and rolling it, hitting max bonus or whatever your own objective might be. The games are (usually) quick and won’t tie you up for half an hour. If I get more space I will definitely be picking up one or two classics for this reason.
 
huggers said:
Cheers for all the suggestions and thoughts so far. Should be clear though, stuff like Creech (great game) and Monster Bash have nowhere near enough code for me. Although admittedly they'd suit my cronies
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Hobbit has so much rules your be challenged for a while, it's deceptive looks simple, it's not, stacking modes, multipliers and multi ball timings for some modes all key to high scores.

For the non pinball player super simple and there get the high score for the day 😉😀

It's the heaviest machine I've ever worked on, heavier than sttng, it has so many mechs it takes two hands to lift the playfield
 
My wife does an annual Halloween party, so the majority of people attending are non-pinball people.

The non-pinball people pretty much always prefer the older (early 80's) games (Disco Fever, Trizone, Pharaoh, Meteor, Firepower) then after that it is the "fun" themes like Data East Star Wars and Hook (oh and Rollergames was popular with some non-pinball people recently)

They'll have maybe one game on a newer pin, realise they have no idea what they are doing and go back to the older pins.

My mother says Firepower is my best game 🤣
 
If I'm not mistaken @huggers is looking for a modern pin, with deep rule set that non pinball people like.

Guns and roses is deep and complex as well as simple, in fact most jersey jack games are, that I've played.

Mando is surprisingly deep, the theme a bit Marmite, that was my work colleague favourite game I owned and he was a non pinball person.
 
What about Bond or Foo?

Simple enough to start modes and a multi ball but deep enough rules for you.
Just whether they can cope with the upper flipper?
And you like both of them!
 
robotgreg said:
What about Bond or Foo?

Simple enough to start modes and a multi ball but deep enough rules for you.
Just whether they can cope with the upper flipper?
And you like both of them!
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Yeah these might be the two I think mate

Marvello said:
My take is, sod your friends, buy what you want😄.
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This is probably the correct approach tbf 🤣
 
Yeah I did have Mando. That was pretty well received by everyone, kinda underrated game as well. Love trying to stack the multipliers
 
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