We are looking at getting our first pinball, want to enjoy it ourselves & appeal to our kids of varying ages/interests. Considering Jurassic Park, Addams family, Judge Dredd, Doctor Who, Star Wars, Tommy ... I have read so many reviews and watched so many youtube videos and maybe narrowed to JP, Addams, & Judge Dredd. Any advice on ease of play, fun factor, irritation level of music ... anything else would be wonderful please
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Help - How to choose??
- Thread starter rewt
- Start date
There are two Jurassic Park pinball machines, which one? If it's the new one then that's your answer. Otherwise you're buying a 30yr old machine. From the rest of that list I'd definitely go for Addams...even though I've owned one and wasn't keen on it. Your choices will be hugely dictated by availability. Not much for sale at the moment.
Thank you. I have found a couple of Addams family ... I kind of thought I would be buying a 30 year old machine anyway. Am I wrong in thinking the Addams ones are from 1992? I was looking at the black classic dinosaur film logo jurassic ones ... not the more colourful cased pro
You could end up waiting for a while for the right machine to become available, why not put up a wanted ad to see what people have for sale at the moment.
I thought there were now three different Jurassic Park pinballs; J/Park (1993), J/Park The Lost World (1997) and whatever the recent one's called. And similarly there are even more Star Wars pinballs, one of which is regarded as best not mentioned.
got my adams here in leeds if you want to come try it out as youre not toooooo far away, to see if you like the game (mines not for sale at present). unfortunately i don’t have any jp games or the others you mention but i do have other games you might like to try such as whitewater, medieval madness and twilight zone. all good first pins imho.
thank you - that's lovely. If I can find time to take you up on that I will
are you saying my choices are a bit rubbish - what else would you recommend for a first one? I haven't played one in years so it really is guesswork for us
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Deleted member 2463
Go play some games somewhere and pick what you like!
Nothing wrong with any of your choices but availability might be a key factor.
You’ve got quite a wide price range. JD and Dr Who are probably the cheapest. You should be able to pick one up for around 2k (maybe a bit more). I sold my JP earlier this year for a bit more than that. TAF will be at the top of the price range. I’d guess around 5k.
Star Wars has four different machines. None of them are that great but tend to be more expensive due to the theme.
After you buy a game one of two things tend to happen.
1) you get addicted and buy another shortly afterwards. They will then breed and you’ll start to convince yourself that having 12 is perfectly reasonable
2) you sell or trade to a different game.
All games get stale after a while. Personally I’d say don’t get too caught up in your choice of theme. Buy one that seems reasonably priced. Play it, enjoy it and then trade it on for another game. Every game is enjoyable in its own way. Take up Alan’s offer as hearing a machine in a home environment makes a huge difference. Games like whitewater may well not yet be on your radar but are great.
You’ve got quite a wide price range. JD and Dr Who are probably the cheapest. You should be able to pick one up for around 2k (maybe a bit more). I sold my JP earlier this year for a bit more than that. TAF will be at the top of the price range. I’d guess around 5k.
Star Wars has four different machines. None of them are that great but tend to be more expensive due to the theme.
After you buy a game one of two things tend to happen.
1) you get addicted and buy another shortly afterwards. They will then breed and you’ll start to convince yourself that having 12 is perfectly reasonable
2) you sell or trade to a different game.
All games get stale after a while. Personally I’d say don’t get too caught up in your choice of theme. Buy one that seems reasonably priced. Play it, enjoy it and then trade it on for another game. Every game is enjoyable in its own way. Take up Alan’s offer as hearing a machine in a home environment makes a huge difference. Games like whitewater may well not yet be on your radar but are great.
As neil said go play some more games and you may find something else you like also remember you will need a level of skill to keep these old games up and running as pinball machine s will always break you would probably be paying around the same price for a nice Addams family as you will be paying for a brand new stern pro game
Definitely worth a look at pinball heaven website for new pinballs they are some used pinballs on there too but are pricey due to been top spec fully restored games
I would also try and avoid a few other companies like home leisure direct and liberty games as there fancy website and fake promises
Overall good luck with your search and have fun you could always come to pinfest a great day out with tons of machines and maybe some for sale
Definitely worth a look at pinball heaven website for new pinballs they are some used pinballs on there too but are pricey due to been top spec fully restored games
I would also try and avoid a few other companies like home leisure direct and liberty games as there fancy website and fake promises
Overall good luck with your search and have fun you could always come to pinfest a great day out with tons of machines and maybe some for sale
Data east star wars was our first, still here, everybody loves playing it. Jurassic Park looks great fun but haven’t finished rebuilding it in nearly 2 yrs now. Doctor who came and went with only me playing it. Hook is a great family game, plenty going on and doesn’t drain too easy. TAF I find boring. For your family first pin go for a theme that appeals, you’ll then progress onto other machines, there’s plenty more titles out there. To be honest buy the first one that appeals on here , and quickly as they go fast, they’re priced right so you won’t lose a couple of g when they sell, and they’re normally honestly described, ie actually working properly, no hidden expensive issues that a newbie won’t notice till they’ve played one that works properly!!!! A lot of the nineties tables are reaching similar prices to much younger games, so consider some of the newer themes as well.
Nowhere did I say your choices are rubbish. Although Tommy is a bit rubbish and prone to mechanical problems. What I'm saying is that there is a massive variation in price on these games. If you can afford a 30yr old TAF then you can afford a brand new Jurassic Park. You need to set yourself a realistic budget first of all. Then you need to look out for what comes up for sale, chances are the game you buy will be none of the games on your list. You may think you've found TAFs for sale but it sounds like these are probably listed by sellers like HLD and Liberty Games who don't actually have the games they list for sale.
Most of us started where you are now so all advice is based on our own experiences.
I rushed to buy an Addams and got one from an operator that has needed a fair amount of work but that doesn’t mean it was expensive as I learnt to do it myself. There are many who say it is hyped as a game but in a home environment, with family, it is still great fun. And buy sensibly from this site and you can sell it on when the time comes.
But the time will come when your fancy a new challenge and the 90’s games do not have the deep rule set as newer ones, hence a lot of people feel that newer games give more of a challenge.
I have a Tommy too. It’s lay out isn’t dissimilar to Addams but sort of reversed. But it is a very different game and someone created a newer program for it which transforms it. As it is a Data East game, it can be harder to find some parts but if the electronic boards are working, I wouldn’t say it is less reliable than an equivalent Williams game. A great fun game for less money than a Williams.
But the best advice is to play the theme before you buy. But playing an Addams again only fuelled my desire to buy one.
Good luck but you are in the right place.
I rushed to buy an Addams and got one from an operator that has needed a fair amount of work but that doesn’t mean it was expensive as I learnt to do it myself. There are many who say it is hyped as a game but in a home environment, with family, it is still great fun. And buy sensibly from this site and you can sell it on when the time comes.
But the time will come when your fancy a new challenge and the 90’s games do not have the deep rule set as newer ones, hence a lot of people feel that newer games give more of a challenge.
I have a Tommy too. It’s lay out isn’t dissimilar to Addams but sort of reversed. But it is a very different game and someone created a newer program for it which transforms it. As it is a Data East game, it can be harder to find some parts but if the electronic boards are working, I wouldn’t say it is less reliable than an equivalent Williams game. A great fun game for less money than a Williams.
But the best advice is to play the theme before you buy. But playing an Addams again only fuelled my desire to buy one.
Good luck but you are in the right place.
When my boys were 5 or 6 years old I had 16 1990s machines set up in one room and we would have all the machines turned on at any party we had. We would have BBQ parties with our friends and their kids the parents and typically there would be 20 kids (boys and girls) and 20 adults. The kids would range in age from similar age to ours up to about 10-12 years old. Favorite machines for the kids were JP (1993), RFM, Flintstones, Popeye and Hurricane. They were less interested in the machines with deeper rulesets (STTNG, Totan) and few would play Getaway (too fast for them). The girls would all gather around the JP and watch each other play hoping to see the dino eat the ball, rather than going off and playing another unoccupied machine on their own. None of the kids would go anywhere near the TFTC - even the backglass scared them. Some of the dads would play, none of the mums and generally the kids would play some, then go off and play inthe garden, back to the pinballs for a while etc.
As my boys aged, and got better at playing they came to prefer the deeper ruleset games - at 14 years old my youngest got addicted to TZ and would thrash me every time we played together. Fortunately his PC gaming addiction took over so I no longer have this embarrasment.
You should really pick what you want as you will be the one playing the most, but take account of what the kids may also like. I'd guarantee that if you turned up with a TFTC it will not be popular with either the kids or the wife, so you do need to be careful with the theme.
As my boys aged, and got better at playing they came to prefer the deeper ruleset games - at 14 years old my youngest got addicted to TZ and would thrash me every time we played together. Fortunately his PC gaming addiction took over so I no longer have this embarrasment.
You should really pick what you want as you will be the one playing the most, but take account of what the kids may also like. I'd guarantee that if you turned up with a TFTC it will not be popular with either the kids or the wife, so you do need to be careful with the theme.
D
Deleted member 2463
also do you want to spend more time playing or fixing? Older games tend to have niggling issues - one of the reasons at home most of my games are relatively new.
And if you are reasonably handy i wouldn't get too worried about maintaining older machines; there is plenty of online manuals etc and help on here.
I've never really got on with TAF and have never understood the hype. As others have already said, if your budget allows you to cover the cost of a TAF then I would personally look at a Stern Pro. We rented DP for 3 months and my 9 year old son loved it. Worth giving that title some consideration.
I've bought a few family friendly games e.g. RFM and Simpsons but the kids immediately lose interest. Literally after 10mins of owning the machine. Pinball just can't compete with Minecraft. Metal Slug on the Neo Geo cabinet gets a look in, but apart from that they just aren't interested.
my two teenage girls only play rick n morty now cos it swears like hell at em. 
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Deleted member 2463
Maintaining them is easy but it’s just time consuming.
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my two teenage girls only play rick n morty now cos it swears like hell at em.
Are we talking about the teenage Girls here??? Or children in general?
Oh man! I loved Metal Slug back in the day. My cousin and I would drop so many pesetas into that cabinet; that and Cadillacs and Dinosaurs. I wish I could go back to the summer of 94.
Lol, it just sounded a bit like that might be what you were getting at
. Yes, I see what you mean about the ending up with something different. I hadn't really considered a new one, just because I grew up playing them (plus pacman, wonderboy, galaga, etc - but already have that sort of machine) ... so I was going for that style. We haven't played any in years and will only be banging the balls about without skill I expect, but wanted the kids to enjoy it before they get sucked into ps4's or whatever once that happens through school ... I have now seen a judge dredd on ebay .... hmmm.ha, yes, I don't want to add too much maintenance to the existing loadAre we talking about the teenage Girls here??? Or children in general?
Good point. I can see this being an issue. Although I thought we would just be able to sell it on again if it didn't meet expectations.
What's your budget? That helps to narrow it down
The Dredd on eBay is strong money. You will struggle to get that back for it if you sell it again soon. It mentions playfield wear so you need to ask for detailed photos of the wear as that will affect value considerably. Not really advisable to buy off eBay especially for your first, although I did that myself with no issues. Wait for one on here if you can.Lol, it just sounded a bit like that might be what you were getting at
@Asiapinball thank you - lots of pointers there - I am 'the wife' by the way ... although he is the comic book / dinosaur / space fan
... although he is the comic book / dinosaur / space fanDon't really have one tbh. saying that I don't want to pay 8k for something worth 5 ... and it is just something we have fancied for years and finally have somewhere to put one
