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New to Pinball any suggestions on what I should be looking for?

Pindependent

Pindependent

Site Supporter
Joined
Feb 2, 2022
Messages
9
Location
Hampshire
Hi all,

Im new to pinball but do have a few 80's arcade machines in my possession.

Im looking to buy my first pin and wondered if you guys could give me some pointers?

I want something that will give me the best bang for my buck for between £2k-£2.5k.

I would like it to be relatively reliable, and be as modern as possible (which I imagine at my proce point will be mid 90's). It doesnt need to be anything iconic or particularly sort after (I couldn't afford that in any case) I just was a decent good looking and playable game that I wont get board of in 10 mins.

Does anyone have any suggestions of pins to look out for?

If it helps my favorite pin is AC/DC but not because Im a fan of the band I just like ld the game (shame I dont have 6k!)

Many thanks,

Paul
 
Wheel Of Fortune is a Bang for Buck pin

Sold - Stern Wheel of Fortune - £2200

EDIT: Now up for sale at £2200 - previous sale ad is here .... https://www.pinballinfo.com/community/threads/stern-wheel-of-fortune.50751/ (Would still be interested in a trade for something like a good condition World Poker Tour). Good bits: Fully working. Playfield near perfect. Ramps and...
www.pinballinfo.com
 
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Thanks, Ive missed out on a couple on here already. Its difficult to know what game is good and reasonably priced without any historical knowledge. Then the ones that are worth buying get sold in 5 mins - before I've got any chance to work it all out.

Same with video games too but guess the knowledge will come in the end 😂🤞🏻
 
Save up a bit more money, try and get an Ironman or something with a bit more street cred that you will enjoy longer.
Just my opinion.
 
If at all possible play before you buy. Hampshire isn’t that far away from Flip Out in Croydon.

One man’s favourite machine is another man’s Gottleib.

There’s some good 90s game at the lower end of the price spectrum such as WCS, fish tales, Roadshow etc.

Don’t discount Data East and Sega games but play them first as they do feel different to WMS ones.

Early 2000s Stern games are cheaper but there is a reason for that WOF, 24, IJ are all pretty stripped down compared to the games that came out in the mid 90s.
 
johnwhitfield said:
If at all possible play before you buy. Hampshire isn’t that far away from Flip Out in Croydon.
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That's Pinball Republic now, as I've just learned from the Chinwag.

As another newb without their own machine yet though I completely echo the point, have a game before you drop thousands on anything if at all possible.
The amount I think I'll like a game seems to have zero correlation with how much I enjoy when I actually play it.
 
Pindependent said:
Hi all,

Im new to pinball but do have a few 80's arcade machines in my possession.

Im looking to buy my first pin and wondered if you guys could give me some pointers?

I want something that will give me the best bang for my buck for between £2k-£2.5k.

I would like it to be relatively reliable, and be as modern as possible (which I imagine at my proce point will be mid 90's). It doesnt need to be anything iconic or particularly sort after (I couldn't afford that in any case) I just was a decent good looking and playable game that I wont get board of in 10 mins.

Does anyone have any suggestions of pins to look out for?

If it helps my favorite pin is AC/DC but not because Im a fan of the band I just like ld the game (shame I dont have 6k!)

Many thanks,

Paul
Click to expand...

I'd download the Pinball Arcade and Williams Pinball apps, if you have the ability. Play lots of games and see what you like.

I had never played a full-sized pin before I spent a couple of thousand on Fish Tales, but I had played the Williams App hundreds of times.

By preference, you probably want to go to somewhere like Flip Out as well, but it's actually probably easier to get a good feel for 90s pins on the loo (!) than in an arcade.
 
Prior to yesterday the only pin I'd played was a Stern 2007 Family guy, that is an absolute tank of a unit in comparison to the modern sterns it would seem. I was really shocked at how light and almost toy like Deadpool and The Beatles felt in comparison.

I'm now really intrigued to see what the Williams(Cirsa)Pin-Bot I've purchased off Alan will feel like in comparison to these 2 eras of Stern I've now experienced.
 
We can't really advise you on what pins to buy as they're all a matter of personal taste. As long as you buy a game at a reasonable price (ie buy from here and not from HLD and the likes) you'll be able to sell it on at the price you paid very easily should you get a game you end up not liking.

Get a budget in mind that you can afford and open up a wanted thread for pins in that budget, see what people have available, research them and keep an open mind. It's pinball so you can't really go wrong, unless you buy a total basket case.

James
 
MajesticPinball said:
We can't really advise you on what pins to buy as they're all a matter of personal taste. As long as you buy a game at a reasonable price (ie buy from here and not from HLD and the likes) you'll be able to sell it on at the price you paid very easily should you get a game you end up not liking.

Get a budget in mind that you can afford and open up a wanted thread for pins in that budget, see what people have available, research them and keep an open mind. It's pinball so you can't really go wrong, unless you buy a total basket case.

James
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Actually sound advice!

Go and play as many real pins as you can as nothing compares. Virtual pins can give an idea but I wouldn't trust them entirely. I hated Black Rose on Pinball FX3 but ended up buying it for real and loved it, it was nothing like the emulation.
😊
Just know your budget and grab one that is sensibly priced. You'll always be able to sell it on for the same price.
 
Digital pinball is great for getting a feeling of the games, rules, code and objectives.
But very little indication of how a real machine plays.
I’ve been to the pinball office today, played the afm remake ( which is stunning btw), and its a million miles away from the digital versions of it, I play at home.
 
Doggard said:
Digital pinball is great for getting a feeling of the games, rules, code and objectives.
But very little indication of how a real machine plays.
I’ve been to the pinball office today, played the afm remake ( which is stunning btw), and its a million miles away from the digital versions of it, I play at home.
Click to expand...

I love vpx for trying games out and getting a feel for the rules and general flow but often the shots feel so off.
Some are accurate but nothing compares to the tactile feel of the silver ball!

The FX3 version of AFM is so brutal (same with fish tales).
I played a vpx AFM and got to rule the universe then a different vpx AFM and couldn't get past a couple of saucers 🤣

I heard the remakes don't play like the originals. I played afm at pinball office also and got a high score. It felt amazing, but can't get anywhere near that on the one at flip out/pinball Republic. Got my own one coming soon so I'll see how that feels! You'll have to try it too😁

I love Diner on Vpx, it accurately gets across what a beautiful game it is. Feels like it plays close to the real thing too.
 
David_Vi said:
I love vpx for trying games out and getting a feel for the rules and general flow but often the shots feel so off.
Some are accurate but nothing compares to the tactile feel of the silver ball!

The FX3 version of AFM is so brutal (same with fish tales).
I played a vpx AFM and got to rule the universe then a different vpx AFM and couldn't get past a couple of saucers 🤣

I heard the remakes don't play like the originals. I played afm at pinball office also and got a high score. It felt amazing, but can't get anywhere near that on the one at flip out/pinball Republic. Got my own one coming soon so I'll see how that feels! You'll have to try it too😁

I love Diner on Vpx, it accurately gets across what a beautiful game it is. Feels like it plays close to the real thing too.
Click to expand...
Totally agree about the remake playing differently, definitely a lot slower than the one at pinball republic, centre saucer shot on the re make, also seemed a bit more forgiving, didn’t get one sdtm !

But yeah some digital versions are very close to the real thing, I’ve played tom 100s of times on zen fx3. And when I played it for the first time last week at yours, I was very surprised, that I gelled with it instantly, it was just like I was playing it at home on my virtual cabinet
 
Thanks for all the good advice. I'll keep my eye out for anything that comes up in my price range and in the meantime try and play some tables 👍🏻
 
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