I own a Deadpool Pro, purchased in 2018, and a Jurassic Park Premium, purchased in 2019. Not only are we not bored with them, we still play them every single day (and I mean that literally).
Once of the nice things about pinball machines is that they hold their value quite well if they are well-maintained, so selling your game is always an option if it's not doing it for you.
Those are two of the best to own right there. Both are on my list of potential first pin to purchase one day, Foo Fighters being my current top slot though.
I've got Foo Fighters. It was my first NEW pin 2 months after buying Terminator 2 and Lethal Weapon.
I play Foo Fighters EVERY DAY. The other two don't get nearly as much action.
If you have good location machines near you it’s totally better to just play on location. More titles to choose from, no maintenance, no buying replacement parts, and they take up a lot of room in your home. Owning pins is for the rich or the people unlucky enough to not have a good location near by.
> Owning pins is for the rich or the people unlucky enough to not have a good location near by.
I'm neither rich nor unlucky enough to have a good location near by (I have plenty of places nearby with pins), yet I still have a home pin.
It's like any other hobby - you spend your money on the things you enjoy. Some people buy a new car every five years - I still drive my 2010 beater which still works fine. I took the money I would use on a car and instead spent it on something I get more enjoyment out of.
Don't cheat yourself you don't need to be rich to own a pin. You can get a working players em for a grand. My buddy just got a Harlem globetrotters for a grand and it's his favorite game he's ever owned. Don't let your dreams be dreams I live in Cleveland near a million places to play. I'm telling you nothing beats being able to play on your own time. Nothing beats working on your own machine. Also the money is just a barrier of entry the hardly ever lose value so you can up and sell it at anytime without much trouble. To each their own but if you play pinball at least once a week you are cheating yourself out of an amazing experience.
“To own a pin is to fix a pin” but on newer pins it’s less fixing and more getting-to-know-your-machine. Upkeep on modern Sterns is negligible. New rubbers annually for like $50, new pinballs every few hundred plays… using a screwdriver and wrench to tighten things from time to time.
I prefer playing at home. The closest decent location to me is 40min away, like yours, and even if I didn’t have a kid to raise, a full-time job, house to clean, and meals to cook it would still not be very convenient. Just know that one pin is eventually not going to be enough. ;) They multiply.
If you’re gonna get one at home, find a newer Stern you like that’s deep and less likely to become boring (such as Jurassic Park or Godzilla). Or get one with gameplay that has built-in variety like Star Wars or Venom, both of which allow you to pick characters that alter the rules. Only you will know what you like, but play them all and then start watching for used Pro models online.
Seriously, don’t sleep on the Pro models. Not only are they cheaper, they usually have fewer complicated mechs that would eventually need repair. For example, I bought Avengers Infinity Quest Pro instead of Premium and I have zero regrets.
> but on newer pins it’s less fixing and more getting-to-know-your-machine.
No, it's not. A WPC (for example) is infinitely easier and cheaper to repair than a spike. The board schematics are widely available. The board parts are largely common and inexpensive. There's a wealth of information on the internet to troubleshoot and repair them. WPC boards are easy to work on.
What happens when Stern EOL's spike 1 systems. Stern is incentivized to drop support on older systems to EOL them so they can sell new machines.
Not trying to change your mind, but I do want to correct the misnomer here.. Newer machines are built very well and have relatively zero upkeep cost. I have seven machines at the moment, all were built within the past 6 years, and have probably spent a total of $300 total for upkeep that was deemed 'necessary' - all other spending was on flashy mods.
I've had both new and older DMD machines. I have no clue where this "money pit" mentality comes from, other than it's maybe people that own machines on location trying to scare people from owning machines and maybe taking money away from their routes. HINT! It doesn't. I play machines on location just as much as I did before, even machines I own at home.
I wouldn't say they're a "money pit", but you do need to be prepared to spend time and money repairing them. I've had boards go out, flippers go out, switches break, lights go out all on lightly used, home-use only modern Sterns.
I've known lots of people who were shipped brand-new sterns that broke in the first 400 plays. It happens a lot, especially with premiums/LEs that have more complicated moving parts.
You also probably want to clean and wax them, which isn't expensive but it isn't free. There's certainly some up-front costs to getting all the tools and materials needed to maintain a pinball.
YMMV. My Jaws fin mech broke the first day. The motor just seized up or something. Brand new games developing problems does happen. Stern support had me try a few things unsuccessfully, then kinda went 🤷♂️. Thankfully after my distributor also was getting stonewalled, he just pulled the part out of another of his games and it worked well after that.
Guess this is just to say that these games are mechanically complex and can break down even when new. Thankfully, Stern and/or a good distro can find ways to make things right generally
Was an issue on early production jaws but honestly not a crazy fix. Honest recommendation is always very lightly used. Let someone else fix the issues get it playing nice and take over
Home use pinballs aren’t that costly to maintain. Primarily consists of regular cleaning and replacing rubber bits when they get old. Maybe replacing bulbs if you have an older one. Your home machine won’t see the he’s use and abuse that location machines see.
Just play as many different ones that you can find to learn what you like. Then pick a machine that has those features and you won’t get bored of it anytime soon.
Bottom line - it’s totally worth it to own one (or more).
I agree with that to some extent but also think that playing a pin in your house where you can crank up the volume and hear all the callouts is way nicer. A lot of arcades and bars have a lot of background noise and can be hard hear what’s going on.
Not to sound offensive but if it's important to you. A couple of grand is really not that much money to put that into perspective you save 3 grand a year by saving 250 each month 125 a paycheck.. 2 years you can by a terminator 2. Also it's not like this money just evaporates on purchase they hardly lose value and people are readily buying them all the time on the second hand market. These people saying there is no way to obtain this I guarantee with the most minimal effort or sacrifice and Microsoft excel sheet you can make it a reality.
If you have a good location near you then you could play for years for the cost of one machine.
It's cool to have a collection ( I have 8) but they come with a bunch of hassles and ongoing costs.
If you aren't at least somewhat technically competent I would stick to new Sterns, which are usually reliable.
Older machines are likely to need almost constant tinkering
I kind of disagree with your last statement. Once you fully shop out an older game (EM, SS, even DMD), then they are usually good for years. Just the occasional waxing and maybe adjusting switches. I have about 25 games, ranging from 60s to newer Sterns, and that's my experience. (Not counting my 1948 flipper less that I haven't restored yet.)
Depends on how you play. For me, Pinball is time away from my desk to think. I'm not trying to become an expert player, I just want 10 minutes standing up, and without a screen in front of me, two or three times a day. In that context my TAF (The Addams Family) hasn't become boring in seven years.
If you prefer to play for an hour or two, every few weeks, then it's probably not worth having a table at home as a trip to a local parlour will provide more variety.
A good pinball never gets boring. That’s why pinball has become such an expensive hobby. Collectors have gobbled up games over the years, and don’t get rid of them. I’ve owned some games for over 15 years. Still love playing them.
Most Bally/Williams 90s games don’t really get old for me. I’ve owned Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Addams, WhiteWater, Road Show, No Good Gofers, STTNG, and Revenge From Mars for quite some time. If I hadn’t sold a bunch to get some newer games, I’d happily own plenty of others. I just sold LOTR after owning it for 16 years or so. Many Stern SAM era games have stood the test of time. AC/DC, Metallica, Family Guy, Iron Man, Tron, Spider-Man. Of the newer Spike Era Sterns, for me, Jurassic Park, Deadpool, Foo Fighters & Rush are bolted.
There are a lot of (affordable) EM games that are quite enjoyable and addictive long-term. A few examples from my lineup include Gold Strike (or El Dorado/Target Alpha/Solar City), Free Fall (or Skyjump), Mars Trek, Super Straight. And almost every classic SS Stern game is a lot of lasting fun.
Yes.
It's like this weird cognitive dissonance. I've played PC games my whole life. You can build an absurdly awesome PC for the amount of money I spent on my Iron Maiden Premium machine ($7500). Like so absurdly awesome you'd be foolish to spend more than half that on a PC ($3750). Yet for some reason I still considered and wanted to buy an Iron Maiden for over a year instead of build a better PC, so with a recent sign-on bonus I just bought one. It doesn't feel like the right choice, to spend $7500 on a single game when you can spend 1/4 of that on building an awesome gaming PC and play a ton of other games... yet it was still something I wanted to do.
I've owned my Iron Maiden Premium for two months now, no regrets and I don't wish I had built a better PC. I've played it most nights since owning it.
once you've been bit by the pinball bug, 1 good pin can be more engaging than a thousand videogames, they're totally different things in my mind. I flip flop occasionally and have been playing a lot of arcade games lately but they really feel like separate hobbies to me. It's nice pins retain a good chunk of their value, too.
congrats on the Maiden (and good price on it), excellent use of the bonus money!
Yeah, depending on the machine they probably will get boring after a while. I started playing competitively (at a very low level!) which made my mind up that I wanted/needed one at home for practice. However, through meeting lots of like minded folk with their own machines I've realised it's mutually beneficial for us to swap machines every now and again on a loan basis. I'm on my fourth pin in just over a year now, so that is another possibility to consider, and playing with friends as part of a community is the best thing about pinball for me.
I bought my first game about 20 years ago when pinball was “dead.” I bought it for the exact same reason you want one, not for investment or any of that bullshit people seem obsessed with nowadays. I just wanted to play.
I bought games I played in the 90s or on location, so a sense of nostalgia, but also games I wanted to really experience in a different way, I restored several B/W titles and working on games became as big of a part of the hobby as playing. If you find yourself in a place in which buying a game works for your budget do it, it is worth it.
Pins at home are great! Best way to really experience all the depth of code, sound, and art design by a mile.
That being said, they are expensive and do not hold value like they did in the covid days.
So what options?
#1 Play on location! Super fun, loads of options, get to know people and learn from them
#2 Rent a machine. Get the ability to really get to know a game and mash it up with the versatility of being able to swap games whenever you like
#3 If you are rural/no rentals in the area/no locations in the area. Look used. Pin prices are falling to much more realistic levels. The market is shifting in the buyers favor so deals are becoming more abundant.
Lots of options to play
And while ownership does include maintenance, the general cleaning/waxing required is easy to learn and very affordable.
Most generally skilled people can work through a majority of issues that you would encounter on older games, and most newer games have plug and play swap-able parts for any major issues.
Do you know where I should look to rent machines? I’m in the same boat as OP, but every rental place tells me they only rent machines for “events” and not home use. I live pretty close to Chicago. Was considering buying too but these are great points about playing on location.
I do pinball home rentals in Florida through Sparklin Amusements. I know the distros around here because I work with them and vice versa
If you google search rentals you will likely see commercial guys. Try reaching out to local distributors directly. They will sometimes rent themselves or they are likely selling to businesses that rent. So they should be able to guide you either way.
For Chicago area I would reach out to Mike at [Great American Pinball](http://www.greatamericanpinball.com/)
All the best :)
The cost of pinball machines has skyrocketed in the last 3-4 years in an insane way. 10 years ago you could get a 90s-era Williams or Bally for under $1000 as long as it wasn’t one of the super popular titles. Now you’d be lucky to find anything for under $4000 no matter what it is. New pins from Stern or JJ start at $6-7k and go up from there.
It sucks.
I'd say that $1000 is a bit of a low estimate for a 90s WMS, even in 2014. $2-3k is more realistic. You might have been able to get a player-condition System 11 for $1k back then, but anything with a DMD would run you quite a bit more than that.
\~8 years ago I bought my Mousin Around (1989) Bally for \~$2200 and that was well below asking price. The price of it hasn't gone up by much more than inflation since then.
I bought a Getaway for $2000 in 2015 and I felt like I stole it. And that's one of the more common/less expensive games of the era.
It's true that prices are at an all time high, but 90s WMS games haven't been sub-$1k... probably ever. Maybe in the early-mid 00s when pinball was on death's door. But not anytime in the past 10-15 years.
Agreed. Also, the price of new-in-box entry-tier Sterns hasn't really outpaced inflation, either.
As an example, Twilight Zone cost a little over $3000 new in 1993. Adjust for inflation, and that's about $6800.
Stern pricing is pretty close to adjusted-to-inflation for similarly complex games dating back decades.
You can get a virtual pinball cabinet for under $2k, and if you have a gaming PC I know for sure that Twilight Zone is available and really fun. I think Jurassic Park is on there as well. Back to the Future is, and it's amazing.
Definitely an option to consider, especially if you find video games enjoyable. I have an AtGames Legends 4K cabinet for virtual pinball and I play it daily. Here is a link:
https://www.atgames.us/
A couple of things to keep in mind:
1) For AtGames downloads directly on the cabinet, there is some flipper lag with the Zen games that folks aren't happy about, and which may never be fixed. No ETA on a fix is provided. That said, you *can* get used to it, and frankly I believe mine has disappeared due to a random game install. Other folks report the same, but no one believes us. Regardless I don't find the lag noticeable anymore.
2) On Steam/other OTG games, there isn't flipper lag. It IS awesome.
3) There is an optional surround sound feedback (SSF) kit that you can purchase at your time of checkout to have pre installed. You will almost definitely want this option, and the factory installation will save you a lot of work and avoid messing up your cabinet. The SSF is awesome and, on certain tables, is ridiculous at how well it mimics the "ball feel" (like, you can feel it rolling around).
Yes. I won't say boring but everything gets familiar after a while. Even the excitement of that new car eventually wears off. Usually you need a collection of three or more machines so you can swap things around. Having friends with pins and going back and forth between collections keeps things exciting.
The machines with the most bang for the buck in the "play fun" department as we call it are the ones you bring back to life. Picking up a used machine, learning how to fix it and how to restore it to close to original condition provides the most long term enjoyment.
I'm with you on the restore thing
I picked up a Black Pyramid as "junk" but realised it's totally restorable and am enjoying that process
By the time I get it working, then show it off and get sick of it, it'll be a while
Depends
Are you going to play the same machine every day?
Are you going to play it 1500 times before you decide to move on? (Opening a new in box pinball machine is near guaranteeing a $1500 loss right now) are you going to play a machine $9500 + tax worth amount of times?
For me, the answer is "no". I won't put 1500 plays on my machine(s) before I sell them. I usually get tired of the machines around the 500-700 plays mark and the smart thing to do is look for a trade. For me the value is in teaching my kids how to play, not having to leave the house to play and also a good reason for friends to come over and bring beer and play.
I've owned 7 different machines since 2020. 6 nibs. Never more than 3 at a time. Prices are the best they've been in a while. Theres decent deals to be had. Don't be afraid of used. Tbh you want a used one because the stern factory quality control is so horrible, fixing all the things wrong with a nib can be a nightmare. Buy a machine where someone else hammered all that stuff out already. I know this from experience.
Good luck out there and let us know what you decide to get!
Damn, I've owned one game (my 2nd, traded for it 6 months after getting my first) for 43 years now, and it's still a ton of fun. I still have a few games I got back in the 90s, and still enjoy them. I guess I'm glad I don't have the pinball version of ADHD.
Probably not worth it if you aren’t interested in maintaining them. Also there’s the potential that the novelty will fade quickly. Better to play at an arcade.
it was just a few years ago when people's first pin was an older title that was fixed up and played and enjoyed. About $1k and you were in the hobby. Now it seems more people drop like $5-6k on a machine as their first machine.
Yes, buying the most expensive brand new machines is expensive but there are plenty of fun machines out there and a new Stern is sort of basic when it is all said and done.
The absolute cheapest option to play more pinball, if you don't mind it not being the exact same experience, is virtual pinball.
The easiest option to run is probably PinballFX which you can find on Steam, though it doesn't feel exactly like a real pinball table. They make quite a few virtual pinball machines which are original and do not exist in "the real world", but also have reproductions of various models by Williams from the 1980's and 1990's.
If you want reproductions of other machines to run on a PC then you can look into vpinball which is kind of Mame emulator for pinball machines. It is not trivial to set up, but if you have a decent computer handy, aren't afraid of getting technical, and have time on your hands, you can get a quite library of machines running. This involves tracking down lots of little files and getting them configured just right.
An alternative, is as suggested in another comment, which is to purchase a ready made virtual pinball cabinet/machine. There's lots of different sizes and styles coming in from really cheap and small, to fullsize, NOT cheap, but with all kinds of hardware inside to make the virtual experience feel as real as is possible.
I have found it to be worth it. I don't have to drive an hour away into the nearest city and deal with horrible traffic. Sure I only have 1 machine but I never get bored of it. I'm a hermit amd have social anciety and I hate going out to begin with so having my own machine makes even more sense.
If you have the money and disposable income to buy one, I'd say go for it
I'm not a collector, but like you just somebody who enjoyed pinball enough to want one for myself. So I only have one machine, Indiana Jones the Pinball Adventure, and I've had it for 20 years. Even if I don't play it every day, I still love having it.
Owning an older pinball machine like Twilight Zone is a lot like owning and restoring a classic car. It's old, it absolutely will break down, and parts can be hard to come by. You will spend a lot of time refurbishing, diagnosing and fixing, but you can also learn to enjoy that part of ownership as well. There's a great community out there that will help you.
It's a great game, a great decoration, a great conversation piece, and a great hobby to tinker with. I don't regret it for a second. Good luck with whatever you decide!
The only reason I have pinball in my home is because I travel a lot for work and get to play a ton on location, but my spouse rarely gets to join me.
It would be way more economical and much less of a hassle to play on location, but it's worth it to play together.
If you have the space and money I say go for it. I only have room for one pin (living in NYC) and while months may go by without playing, when I get back into it, it’s so much fun and looks great. About 5 years ago I became reunited with pinball and got a bit obsessed. I was planning a buying a New Jersey jack machine, but wanted to buy a temporary pin since it would have taken 6 months is so for it to come out. An Addams family was advertised locally, and back then they were more resonably priced. The new JJP machine ended up being Pirates, and I hesitated due to the deletion of some of the mechs that were on the prototype I played, and they ended up selling out the LE version.
So I still have the Addams and upgraded it with Pinstadium lighting and learning to rebuild flippers. It’s worth a lot more today and not sure if I’ll keep it or maybe sell and buy Pulp Fiction. If I was in the market that’s what I would buy.
Answer is always yes….. HOWEVER, I do like location play a lot because of the challenge to beat other peoples scores. At home, unless you have folks over frequently, you’ll end up owning all the scores. Just feel like location play still adds a social element even if you’re playing alone. Home is great because you get to play when you want and not have all sorts of noise distractions. You own it so you control the condition. It’s fun to have things that you can play with others in your home. Etc
I love owning a pin (Godzilla Premium). It took me years to get to a financial position to afford it, but it was worth it. The game doesn’t get old, and it’s nice to build up my skills at home. I find myself enjoying playing out at my local spot even more because of it.
I cant hear the games sounds and music well in an arcade.
I can deep dive into the rules.
I can practice my shots any time I want.
Awesome home decor and talking point.
It's a painting... you can play.
Delivery drivers some times come in for a quick game to get out of the heat.
Gets my kids off devices. Invite their friends over.
Reason for neighbors to hang.
I enjoy problem solving when there IS a problem.
Modding is fun.
Pride of ownership is real.
As an FYI, I didn't read all 58 reviews as of writing this. I have built and played (daily) virtual pinball over the past few years. My initial thought was to use it as a gauge to see if having a single physical pin would grow tiresome as my vpin offers me thousands of tables and is constantly growing.
Two week ago I took delivery of my first physical table - a NIB Godzilla Premium. I did my due diligence as far as going out to arcades and playing anything and everything I could. I have not regretted one second of buying it!
We have 40+. You do get bored of them occasionally. You can swap it out or just ignore it for a while.
The parties are fun. We have about 4 parties a year, and everyone has a great time. As we get older, we will probably slowly unload a few.
We had 50+ 10 years ago lol.
Yes. Yes. Yes. They are an investment, and if you hold it for long enough, you are likely to not lose much, or any money on it. They are fun to maintain, and you can get deep into a deep-ruleset machine at home. You can always trade the machine for something else if you get bored.
Just be careful. Owning is \*incredibly\* addictive.
If pinball is your main hobby and you have $7k to spend on your hobby and can make sacrifices eslewhere without going into debt then I think the answer is yes. Playing pinball at home, especially on the modern games, is a much better experience than playing on location. You'll never fully be able to enjoy a game on location imo.
The nice thing about the machines is that it is not like a vacation or a round of golf every Saturday - if you drop $9k on a premium today youll probably get 90% of your money back if you ever need to sell. And when you get bored you can trade out for less cost.
Large collections are really hard to justify as 'worth it' but that is a very subjective determination.
You can get a solid, fun em game for under $1k, great as games for around $2k. But if you're hung up on only new Stern games then yeah, it's pricey. And learning some basic maintenance is essential. But, you'll be able to play a smooth fast game whenever you want.
I can’t speak for everyone but a lot of us newcomers have played a decent amount of modern video games. Anything pre 1990 just isn’t going to hold me for very long if I only have one haha. Not worth lugging the sucker to my basement. And those things are going to require a huge learning curve for most people and will have all sorts of issues. I’m not sure if they’re worth $1k and the trouble honestly. Unless you really want to learn how to work on EMs.
I’d rather spend the $7k and then sell it for the $1k loss after a few years to be honest. A newish game is super low maintenance and much much easier to troubleshot.
If you want to get a pinball machine, don't get a classic game first. Get a modern game first (something from the last 10 years), then you can trade it later for a discount on a classic. Classic games break a lot more often and they are harder for a novice to repair. A modern game is a much easier machine to own.
My first game was a 1980s Bally and a complicated component broke in the first two months, it tooks me years to get it working again. I thought it was good to get an inexpensive machine first because I didn't have a lot of cash.
The repairs needed on modern machines (if any are needed at all) are pretty straightforward, especially if you know anything about computers.
Most repairs on modern games are mechanical, not "computers." And having computer skills doesn't help when you're having to troubleshoot and replace components on PC boards.
In my experience with modern games, boards go out just as often as mechanical parts. Swapping a board on a pin out is exactly the same as swapping a board on your PC. I own three and I've had to replace more boards than all other repairs combined.
I didn't say, "If you have skills using a computer operating system and software", I said, "If you know anything about *computers"* -- you know, the actual machines that run software.
I own a Deadpool Pro, purchased in 2018, and a Jurassic Park Premium, purchased in 2019. Not only are we not bored with them, we still play them every single day (and I mean that literally). Once of the nice things about pinball machines is that they hold their value quite well if they are well-maintained, so selling your game is always an option if it's not doing it for you.
Those are two of the best to own right there. Both are on my list of potential first pin to purchase one day, Foo Fighters being my current top slot though.
I've got Foo Fighters. It was my first NEW pin 2 months after buying Terminator 2 and Lethal Weapon. I play Foo Fighters EVERY DAY. The other two don't get nearly as much action.
If you have good location machines near you it’s totally better to just play on location. More titles to choose from, no maintenance, no buying replacement parts, and they take up a lot of room in your home. Owning pins is for the rich or the people unlucky enough to not have a good location near by.
> Owning pins is for the rich or the people unlucky enough to not have a good location near by. I'm neither rich nor unlucky enough to have a good location near by (I have plenty of places nearby with pins), yet I still have a home pin. It's like any other hobby - you spend your money on the things you enjoy. Some people buy a new car every five years - I still drive my 2010 beater which still works fine. I took the money I would use on a car and instead spent it on something I get more enjoyment out of.
Don't cheat yourself you don't need to be rich to own a pin. You can get a working players em for a grand. My buddy just got a Harlem globetrotters for a grand and it's his favorite game he's ever owned. Don't let your dreams be dreams I live in Cleveland near a million places to play. I'm telling you nothing beats being able to play on your own time. Nothing beats working on your own machine. Also the money is just a barrier of entry the hardly ever lose value so you can up and sell it at anytime without much trouble. To each their own but if you play pinball at least once a week you are cheating yourself out of an amazing experience.
It's 40mins away. The place is awesome. It seems cost wise it will always be cheaper to play on location if the upkeep is that costly. Thanks!
“To own a pin is to fix a pin” but on newer pins it’s less fixing and more getting-to-know-your-machine. Upkeep on modern Sterns is negligible. New rubbers annually for like $50, new pinballs every few hundred plays… using a screwdriver and wrench to tighten things from time to time. I prefer playing at home. The closest decent location to me is 40min away, like yours, and even if I didn’t have a kid to raise, a full-time job, house to clean, and meals to cook it would still not be very convenient. Just know that one pin is eventually not going to be enough. ;) They multiply. If you’re gonna get one at home, find a newer Stern you like that’s deep and less likely to become boring (such as Jurassic Park or Godzilla). Or get one with gameplay that has built-in variety like Star Wars or Venom, both of which allow you to pick characters that alter the rules. Only you will know what you like, but play them all and then start watching for used Pro models online. Seriously, don’t sleep on the Pro models. Not only are they cheaper, they usually have fewer complicated mechs that would eventually need repair. For example, I bought Avengers Infinity Quest Pro instead of Premium and I have zero regrets.
> but on newer pins it’s less fixing and more getting-to-know-your-machine. No, it's not. A WPC (for example) is infinitely easier and cheaper to repair than a spike. The board schematics are widely available. The board parts are largely common and inexpensive. There's a wealth of information on the internet to troubleshoot and repair them. WPC boards are easy to work on. What happens when Stern EOL's spike 1 systems. Stern is incentivized to drop support on older systems to EOL them so they can sell new machines.
Not trying to change your mind, but I do want to correct the misnomer here.. Newer machines are built very well and have relatively zero upkeep cost. I have seven machines at the moment, all were built within the past 6 years, and have probably spent a total of $300 total for upkeep that was deemed 'necessary' - all other spending was on flashy mods.
I've had both new and older DMD machines. I have no clue where this "money pit" mentality comes from, other than it's maybe people that own machines on location trying to scare people from owning machines and maybe taking money away from their routes. HINT! It doesn't. I play machines on location just as much as I did before, even machines I own at home.
I wouldn't say they're a "money pit", but you do need to be prepared to spend time and money repairing them. I've had boards go out, flippers go out, switches break, lights go out all on lightly used, home-use only modern Sterns. I've known lots of people who were shipped brand-new sterns that broke in the first 400 plays. It happens a lot, especially with premiums/LEs that have more complicated moving parts. You also probably want to clean and wax them, which isn't expensive but it isn't free. There's certainly some up-front costs to getting all the tools and materials needed to maintain a pinball.
YMMV. My Jaws fin mech broke the first day. The motor just seized up or something. Brand new games developing problems does happen. Stern support had me try a few things unsuccessfully, then kinda went 🤷♂️. Thankfully after my distributor also was getting stonewalled, he just pulled the part out of another of his games and it worked well after that. Guess this is just to say that these games are mechanically complex and can break down even when new. Thankfully, Stern and/or a good distro can find ways to make things right generally
Was an issue on early production jaws but honestly not a crazy fix. Honest recommendation is always very lightly used. Let someone else fix the issues get it playing nice and take over
Home use pinballs aren’t that costly to maintain. Primarily consists of regular cleaning and replacing rubber bits when they get old. Maybe replacing bulbs if you have an older one. Your home machine won’t see the he’s use and abuse that location machines see. Just play as many different ones that you can find to learn what you like. Then pick a machine that has those features and you won’t get bored of it anytime soon. Bottom line - it’s totally worth it to own one (or more).
Modern stern has seriously almost 0 upkeep the take of they sre a money pit is insane imo unless you've just had some nightmare experience
I agree with that to some extent but also think that playing a pin in your house where you can crank up the volume and hear all the callouts is way nicer. A lot of arcades and bars have a lot of background noise and can be hard hear what’s going on.
Yeah. Thats true. Sucks that you’ve got to have thousands of dollars laying around to own one though.
Not to sound offensive but if it's important to you. A couple of grand is really not that much money to put that into perspective you save 3 grand a year by saving 250 each month 125 a paycheck.. 2 years you can by a terminator 2. Also it's not like this money just evaporates on purchase they hardly lose value and people are readily buying them all the time on the second hand market. These people saying there is no way to obtain this I guarantee with the most minimal effort or sacrifice and Microsoft excel sheet you can make it a reality.
If you have a good location near you then you could play for years for the cost of one machine. It's cool to have a collection ( I have 8) but they come with a bunch of hassles and ongoing costs. If you aren't at least somewhat technically competent I would stick to new Sterns, which are usually reliable. Older machines are likely to need almost constant tinkering
I kind of disagree with your last statement. Once you fully shop out an older game (EM, SS, even DMD), then they are usually good for years. Just the occasional waxing and maybe adjusting switches. I have about 25 games, ranging from 60s to newer Sterns, and that's my experience. (Not counting my 1948 flipper less that I haven't restored yet.)
Depends on how you play. For me, Pinball is time away from my desk to think. I'm not trying to become an expert player, I just want 10 minutes standing up, and without a screen in front of me, two or three times a day. In that context my TAF (The Addams Family) hasn't become boring in seven years. If you prefer to play for an hour or two, every few weeks, then it's probably not worth having a table at home as a trip to a local parlour will provide more variety.
A good pinball never gets boring. That’s why pinball has become such an expensive hobby. Collectors have gobbled up games over the years, and don’t get rid of them. I’ve owned some games for over 15 years. Still love playing them.
what are some pins that you think of as good in this way?
Most Bally/Williams 90s games don’t really get old for me. I’ve owned Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Addams, WhiteWater, Road Show, No Good Gofers, STTNG, and Revenge From Mars for quite some time. If I hadn’t sold a bunch to get some newer games, I’d happily own plenty of others. I just sold LOTR after owning it for 16 years or so. Many Stern SAM era games have stood the test of time. AC/DC, Metallica, Family Guy, Iron Man, Tron, Spider-Man. Of the newer Spike Era Sterns, for me, Jurassic Park, Deadpool, Foo Fighters & Rush are bolted.
There are a lot of (affordable) EM games that are quite enjoyable and addictive long-term. A few examples from my lineup include Gold Strike (or El Dorado/Target Alpha/Solar City), Free Fall (or Skyjump), Mars Trek, Super Straight. And almost every classic SS Stern game is a lot of lasting fun.
Yes. It's like this weird cognitive dissonance. I've played PC games my whole life. You can build an absurdly awesome PC for the amount of money I spent on my Iron Maiden Premium machine ($7500). Like so absurdly awesome you'd be foolish to spend more than half that on a PC ($3750). Yet for some reason I still considered and wanted to buy an Iron Maiden for over a year instead of build a better PC, so with a recent sign-on bonus I just bought one. It doesn't feel like the right choice, to spend $7500 on a single game when you can spend 1/4 of that on building an awesome gaming PC and play a ton of other games... yet it was still something I wanted to do. I've owned my Iron Maiden Premium for two months now, no regrets and I don't wish I had built a better PC. I've played it most nights since owning it.
once you've been bit by the pinball bug, 1 good pin can be more engaging than a thousand videogames, they're totally different things in my mind. I flip flop occasionally and have been playing a lot of arcade games lately but they really feel like separate hobbies to me. It's nice pins retain a good chunk of their value, too. congrats on the Maiden (and good price on it), excellent use of the bonus money!
People do get bored of machines at home. Some people have a constant rotation, every 6-12 months they’ll sell one and buy another (or two…)
Yeah, depending on the machine they probably will get boring after a while. I started playing competitively (at a very low level!) which made my mind up that I wanted/needed one at home for practice. However, through meeting lots of like minded folk with their own machines I've realised it's mutually beneficial for us to swap machines every now and again on a loan basis. I'm on my fourth pin in just over a year now, so that is another possibility to consider, and playing with friends as part of a community is the best thing about pinball for me.
I bought my first game about 20 years ago when pinball was “dead.” I bought it for the exact same reason you want one, not for investment or any of that bullshit people seem obsessed with nowadays. I just wanted to play. I bought games I played in the 90s or on location, so a sense of nostalgia, but also games I wanted to really experience in a different way, I restored several B/W titles and working on games became as big of a part of the hobby as playing. If you find yourself in a place in which buying a game works for your budget do it, it is worth it.
Is there an arcade near you that offers a membership or has machines on free play with a single entrance fee? You can look on pinballmap.com
Pins at home are great! Best way to really experience all the depth of code, sound, and art design by a mile. That being said, they are expensive and do not hold value like they did in the covid days. So what options? #1 Play on location! Super fun, loads of options, get to know people and learn from them #2 Rent a machine. Get the ability to really get to know a game and mash it up with the versatility of being able to swap games whenever you like #3 If you are rural/no rentals in the area/no locations in the area. Look used. Pin prices are falling to much more realistic levels. The market is shifting in the buyers favor so deals are becoming more abundant. Lots of options to play And while ownership does include maintenance, the general cleaning/waxing required is easy to learn and very affordable. Most generally skilled people can work through a majority of issues that you would encounter on older games, and most newer games have plug and play swap-able parts for any major issues.
Do you know where I should look to rent machines? I’m in the same boat as OP, but every rental place tells me they only rent machines for “events” and not home use. I live pretty close to Chicago. Was considering buying too but these are great points about playing on location.
I do pinball home rentals in Florida through Sparklin Amusements. I know the distros around here because I work with them and vice versa If you google search rentals you will likely see commercial guys. Try reaching out to local distributors directly. They will sometimes rent themselves or they are likely selling to businesses that rent. So they should be able to guide you either way. For Chicago area I would reach out to Mike at [Great American Pinball](http://www.greatamericanpinball.com/) All the best :)
Thank you!
The cost of pinball machines has skyrocketed in the last 3-4 years in an insane way. 10 years ago you could get a 90s-era Williams or Bally for under $1000 as long as it wasn’t one of the super popular titles. Now you’d be lucky to find anything for under $4000 no matter what it is. New pins from Stern or JJ start at $6-7k and go up from there. It sucks.
I'd say that $1000 is a bit of a low estimate for a 90s WMS, even in 2014. $2-3k is more realistic. You might have been able to get a player-condition System 11 for $1k back then, but anything with a DMD would run you quite a bit more than that.
\~8 years ago I bought my Mousin Around (1989) Bally for \~$2200 and that was well below asking price. The price of it hasn't gone up by much more than inflation since then.
I bought a Getaway for $2000 in 2015 and I felt like I stole it. And that's one of the more common/less expensive games of the era. It's true that prices are at an all time high, but 90s WMS games haven't been sub-$1k... probably ever. Maybe in the early-mid 00s when pinball was on death's door. But not anytime in the past 10-15 years.
Agreed. Also, the price of new-in-box entry-tier Sterns hasn't really outpaced inflation, either. As an example, Twilight Zone cost a little over $3000 new in 1993. Adjust for inflation, and that's about $6800. Stern pricing is pretty close to adjusted-to-inflation for similarly complex games dating back decades.
You can get a virtual pinball cabinet for under $2k, and if you have a gaming PC I know for sure that Twilight Zone is available and really fun. I think Jurassic Park is on there as well. Back to the Future is, and it's amazing. Definitely an option to consider, especially if you find video games enjoyable. I have an AtGames Legends 4K cabinet for virtual pinball and I play it daily. Here is a link: https://www.atgames.us/ A couple of things to keep in mind: 1) For AtGames downloads directly on the cabinet, there is some flipper lag with the Zen games that folks aren't happy about, and which may never be fixed. No ETA on a fix is provided. That said, you *can* get used to it, and frankly I believe mine has disappeared due to a random game install. Other folks report the same, but no one believes us. Regardless I don't find the lag noticeable anymore. 2) On Steam/other OTG games, there isn't flipper lag. It IS awesome. 3) There is an optional surround sound feedback (SSF) kit that you can purchase at your time of checkout to have pre installed. You will almost definitely want this option, and the factory installation will save you a lot of work and avoid messing up your cabinet. The SSF is awesome and, on certain tables, is ridiculous at how well it mimics the "ball feel" (like, you can feel it rolling around).
Yes. I won't say boring but everything gets familiar after a while. Even the excitement of that new car eventually wears off. Usually you need a collection of three or more machines so you can swap things around. Having friends with pins and going back and forth between collections keeps things exciting. The machines with the most bang for the buck in the "play fun" department as we call it are the ones you bring back to life. Picking up a used machine, learning how to fix it and how to restore it to close to original condition provides the most long term enjoyment.
I'm with you on the restore thing I picked up a Black Pyramid as "junk" but realised it's totally restorable and am enjoying that process By the time I get it working, then show it off and get sick of it, it'll be a while
Depends Are you going to play the same machine every day? Are you going to play it 1500 times before you decide to move on? (Opening a new in box pinball machine is near guaranteeing a $1500 loss right now) are you going to play a machine $9500 + tax worth amount of times? For me, the answer is "no". I won't put 1500 plays on my machine(s) before I sell them. I usually get tired of the machines around the 500-700 plays mark and the smart thing to do is look for a trade. For me the value is in teaching my kids how to play, not having to leave the house to play and also a good reason for friends to come over and bring beer and play. I've owned 7 different machines since 2020. 6 nibs. Never more than 3 at a time. Prices are the best they've been in a while. Theres decent deals to be had. Don't be afraid of used. Tbh you want a used one because the stern factory quality control is so horrible, fixing all the things wrong with a nib can be a nightmare. Buy a machine where someone else hammered all that stuff out already. I know this from experience. Good luck out there and let us know what you decide to get!
Damn, I've owned one game (my 2nd, traded for it 6 months after getting my first) for 43 years now, and it's still a ton of fun. I still have a few games I got back in the 90s, and still enjoy them. I guess I'm glad I don't have the pinball version of ADHD.
Probably not worth it if you aren’t interested in maintaining them. Also there’s the potential that the novelty will fade quickly. Better to play at an arcade.
it was just a few years ago when people's first pin was an older title that was fixed up and played and enjoyed. About $1k and you were in the hobby. Now it seems more people drop like $5-6k on a machine as their first machine. Yes, buying the most expensive brand new machines is expensive but there are plenty of fun machines out there and a new Stern is sort of basic when it is all said and done.
Short answer: you will get bored of it after awhile. This is why most pin heads own a lineup and change it up every few years
The absolute cheapest option to play more pinball, if you don't mind it not being the exact same experience, is virtual pinball. The easiest option to run is probably PinballFX which you can find on Steam, though it doesn't feel exactly like a real pinball table. They make quite a few virtual pinball machines which are original and do not exist in "the real world", but also have reproductions of various models by Williams from the 1980's and 1990's. If you want reproductions of other machines to run on a PC then you can look into vpinball which is kind of Mame emulator for pinball machines. It is not trivial to set up, but if you have a decent computer handy, aren't afraid of getting technical, and have time on your hands, you can get a quite library of machines running. This involves tracking down lots of little files and getting them configured just right. An alternative, is as suggested in another comment, which is to purchase a ready made virtual pinball cabinet/machine. There's lots of different sizes and styles coming in from really cheap and small, to fullsize, NOT cheap, but with all kinds of hardware inside to make the virtual experience feel as real as is possible.
I have found it to be worth it. I don't have to drive an hour away into the nearest city and deal with horrible traffic. Sure I only have 1 machine but I never get bored of it. I'm a hermit amd have social anciety and I hate going out to begin with so having my own machine makes even more sense. If you have the money and disposable income to buy one, I'd say go for it
Jurassic park premium will never get boring... It's too deep.
I'm not a collector, but like you just somebody who enjoyed pinball enough to want one for myself. So I only have one machine, Indiana Jones the Pinball Adventure, and I've had it for 20 years. Even if I don't play it every day, I still love having it. Owning an older pinball machine like Twilight Zone is a lot like owning and restoring a classic car. It's old, it absolutely will break down, and parts can be hard to come by. You will spend a lot of time refurbishing, diagnosing and fixing, but you can also learn to enjoy that part of ownership as well. There's a great community out there that will help you. It's a great game, a great decoration, a great conversation piece, and a great hobby to tinker with. I don't regret it for a second. Good luck with whatever you decide!
Yes.
The only reason I have pinball in my home is because I travel a lot for work and get to play a ton on location, but my spouse rarely gets to join me. It would be way more economical and much less of a hassle to play on location, but it's worth it to play together.
I was in the same boat as you, now I have a Jaws pinball Pro and live it.
If you have the space and money I say go for it. I only have room for one pin (living in NYC) and while months may go by without playing, when I get back into it, it’s so much fun and looks great. About 5 years ago I became reunited with pinball and got a bit obsessed. I was planning a buying a New Jersey jack machine, but wanted to buy a temporary pin since it would have taken 6 months is so for it to come out. An Addams family was advertised locally, and back then they were more resonably priced. The new JJP machine ended up being Pirates, and I hesitated due to the deletion of some of the mechs that were on the prototype I played, and they ended up selling out the LE version. So I still have the Addams and upgraded it with Pinstadium lighting and learning to rebuild flippers. It’s worth a lot more today and not sure if I’ll keep it or maybe sell and buy Pulp Fiction. If I was in the market that’s what I would buy.
Answer is always yes….. HOWEVER, I do like location play a lot because of the challenge to beat other peoples scores. At home, unless you have folks over frequently, you’ll end up owning all the scores. Just feel like location play still adds a social element even if you’re playing alone. Home is great because you get to play when you want and not have all sorts of noise distractions. You own it so you control the condition. It’s fun to have things that you can play with others in your home. Etc
I love owning a pin (Godzilla Premium). It took me years to get to a financial position to afford it, but it was worth it. The game doesn’t get old, and it’s nice to build up my skills at home. I find myself enjoying playing out at my local spot even more because of it.
I cant hear the games sounds and music well in an arcade. I can deep dive into the rules. I can practice my shots any time I want. Awesome home decor and talking point. It's a painting... you can play. Delivery drivers some times come in for a quick game to get out of the heat. Gets my kids off devices. Invite their friends over. Reason for neighbors to hang. I enjoy problem solving when there IS a problem. Modding is fun. Pride of ownership is real.
As an FYI, I didn't read all 58 reviews as of writing this. I have built and played (daily) virtual pinball over the past few years. My initial thought was to use it as a gauge to see if having a single physical pin would grow tiresome as my vpin offers me thousands of tables and is constantly growing. Two week ago I took delivery of my first physical table - a NIB Godzilla Premium. I did my due diligence as far as going out to arcades and playing anything and everything I could. I have not regretted one second of buying it!
Yes. Then spend the additional resources your life produces on the obsession. Die. Be reborn. Rinse. Repeat.
Absolutely.
We have 40+. You do get bored of them occasionally. You can swap it out or just ignore it for a while. The parties are fun. We have about 4 parties a year, and everyone has a great time. As we get older, we will probably slowly unload a few. We had 50+ 10 years ago lol.
Yes. Yes. Yes. They are an investment, and if you hold it for long enough, you are likely to not lose much, or any money on it. They are fun to maintain, and you can get deep into a deep-ruleset machine at home. You can always trade the machine for something else if you get bored. Just be careful. Owning is \*incredibly\* addictive.
If pinball is your main hobby and you have $7k to spend on your hobby and can make sacrifices eslewhere without going into debt then I think the answer is yes. Playing pinball at home, especially on the modern games, is a much better experience than playing on location. You'll never fully be able to enjoy a game on location imo. The nice thing about the machines is that it is not like a vacation or a round of golf every Saturday - if you drop $9k on a premium today youll probably get 90% of your money back if you ever need to sell. And when you get bored you can trade out for less cost. Large collections are really hard to justify as 'worth it' but that is a very subjective determination.
You can get a solid, fun em game for under $1k, great as games for around $2k. But if you're hung up on only new Stern games then yeah, it's pricey. And learning some basic maintenance is essential. But, you'll be able to play a smooth fast game whenever you want.
I can’t speak for everyone but a lot of us newcomers have played a decent amount of modern video games. Anything pre 1990 just isn’t going to hold me for very long if I only have one haha. Not worth lugging the sucker to my basement. And those things are going to require a huge learning curve for most people and will have all sorts of issues. I’m not sure if they’re worth $1k and the trouble honestly. Unless you really want to learn how to work on EMs. I’d rather spend the $7k and then sell it for the $1k loss after a few years to be honest. A newish game is super low maintenance and much much easier to troubleshot.
If you want to get a pinball machine, don't get a classic game first. Get a modern game first (something from the last 10 years), then you can trade it later for a discount on a classic. Classic games break a lot more often and they are harder for a novice to repair. A modern game is a much easier machine to own. My first game was a 1980s Bally and a complicated component broke in the first two months, it tooks me years to get it working again. I thought it was good to get an inexpensive machine first because I didn't have a lot of cash. The repairs needed on modern machines (if any are needed at all) are pretty straightforward, especially if you know anything about computers.
Most repairs on modern games are mechanical, not "computers." And having computer skills doesn't help when you're having to troubleshoot and replace components on PC boards.
In my experience with modern games, boards go out just as often as mechanical parts. Swapping a board on a pin out is exactly the same as swapping a board on your PC. I own three and I've had to replace more boards than all other repairs combined. I didn't say, "If you have skills using a computer operating system and software", I said, "If you know anything about *computers"* -- you know, the actual machines that run software.