So I've been back into pinball for a while now after playing in arcades a lot through the 90's. Thought I'd post my experience of what collecting, playing, owning and mingling with other pinball people has been like and also my thoughts on the games I've owned. Might be a good insight for other newbies.
Technically I'm still fairly useless although I've come a very long way from not knowing how to remove the balls or whatever. I can do basic things, I've dismantled flippers, LEDed games, changed rubbers etc. Still a looooong way to go though but the initial intimidation of seeing a spaghetti junction of wires has long gone.
Buying and selling has been interesting. I've dealt with some really good people, some not so good but overall my experience has been largely positive. I've only ever bought games through here but knowing what I know now wouldn't be worried to buy from ebay or wherever if the price was right and I could inspect the game. I definitely wouldn't advise buying your first game through there though.
I'm not a good player. I never was. When I got back into it I thought I'd just enjoy knocking the balls around and watching things light up but more and more I'm feeling the need to improve. And I have, dramatically. I'm still not about to start playing in a league but there are sure signs of getting better at shooting. Especially for the games I've owned which I'll move onto now.
So My first game was The Flintstones. A really sound forum member inspected the game for me as it was too far away. It was in very good nick and Martin dropped it to me. It was a brilliant first pin. A bit too much orange and my gf thought it was a bit of an eyesore but I loved having it despite it's game play limitations. To me a Williams DMD game for 1400 quid is a no brainer for a first game.
Next I had a CFTBL. Creature is a stunning game to look at. One of the best looking games of all time. Bought again from a forum member I enjoyed having it. It's a basic game and imo not really suitable if you're only going to have one machine. There's only so many times you can shoot the snack bar and the move your car shot! Amazing multiball though especially considering it's only 2 ball. I was keen to move it on fairly quickly after having bought it. I'd started to be drawn towards newer Sterns having had very little opportunities to play them and the themes appealed to me. One in particular...
Ghostbusters... So I went for something new and shiney. A huo GB. Drove for 5 hours to pick this up from another forum member as I recall. My honest experience with this was mixed. Theme was superb. Game was beautiful, bit pink maybe? The game shot well although it could be savagely unfair at times. The term straight down the middle applies heavily here! I found the linear mode based game play mostly fun although the linearity would mean you'd be hearing ' okay who brough the dog' A LOT. The game itself didn't feel like the Williams machines I was used to. Way lighter and the mechanism for lifting the play field was kinda poor. Build quality is definitely not up there with the old games.
Addams Family was next. Hmmm. I've always obsessed over this game. My grail pin. So much character. The call outs, the play field, the feel, just superb. It's hard to really fault it and it's rated so highly for a reason. Obviously it's a lot simpler than say Ghostbusters but I'm not sure this is always a bad thing. Having owned one now I feel like I've got it out of my system a little.
Finally Tron. Bought from a really nice chap on here. I LOVE this game so much. I love the way it shoots. I love the Quorra shot. I love the gem shot. I love the disc spinner thing. It's a fair game. If you mess up, you might well drain. There isn't a lot of blaming the machine when things go wrong unlike GB. The film didn't do a lot for me and despite the photoshop playfield the theme works. The tunes and callouts are superb. As close to a keeper as I have found. One thing I have realised for me personally though, none of them are definite keepers.... Yet
That pretty much wraps it up. I've loved getting involved with the hobby. Met some cool people. Some dick heads but you get this in all walk of life! Other things worth mentioning. Honey moon period; I've been so over excited by each game I've bought that I have always loved them initially. A games longevity will only reveal itself over time. I personally don't think you ever really know a game until you've owned it or at least played it to death. Reviews of games by others aren't totally redundant but everyone is an individual. Also, I've bought some of my games having never played them. Not as big a deal as some make out as long as you don't over pay. It can always be flipped and you can grab something else.
Cheers for reading my ramblings and cheers to everyone that's helped me out with getting back into pinball.
Technically I'm still fairly useless although I've come a very long way from not knowing how to remove the balls or whatever. I can do basic things, I've dismantled flippers, LEDed games, changed rubbers etc. Still a looooong way to go though but the initial intimidation of seeing a spaghetti junction of wires has long gone.
Buying and selling has been interesting. I've dealt with some really good people, some not so good but overall my experience has been largely positive. I've only ever bought games through here but knowing what I know now wouldn't be worried to buy from ebay or wherever if the price was right and I could inspect the game. I definitely wouldn't advise buying your first game through there though.
I'm not a good player. I never was. When I got back into it I thought I'd just enjoy knocking the balls around and watching things light up but more and more I'm feeling the need to improve. And I have, dramatically. I'm still not about to start playing in a league but there are sure signs of getting better at shooting. Especially for the games I've owned which I'll move onto now.
So My first game was The Flintstones. A really sound forum member inspected the game for me as it was too far away. It was in very good nick and Martin dropped it to me. It was a brilliant first pin. A bit too much orange and my gf thought it was a bit of an eyesore but I loved having it despite it's game play limitations. To me a Williams DMD game for 1400 quid is a no brainer for a first game.
Next I had a CFTBL. Creature is a stunning game to look at. One of the best looking games of all time. Bought again from a forum member I enjoyed having it. It's a basic game and imo not really suitable if you're only going to have one machine. There's only so many times you can shoot the snack bar and the move your car shot! Amazing multiball though especially considering it's only 2 ball. I was keen to move it on fairly quickly after having bought it. I'd started to be drawn towards newer Sterns having had very little opportunities to play them and the themes appealed to me. One in particular...
Ghostbusters... So I went for something new and shiney. A huo GB. Drove for 5 hours to pick this up from another forum member as I recall. My honest experience with this was mixed. Theme was superb. Game was beautiful, bit pink maybe? The game shot well although it could be savagely unfair at times. The term straight down the middle applies heavily here! I found the linear mode based game play mostly fun although the linearity would mean you'd be hearing ' okay who brough the dog' A LOT. The game itself didn't feel like the Williams machines I was used to. Way lighter and the mechanism for lifting the play field was kinda poor. Build quality is definitely not up there with the old games.
Addams Family was next. Hmmm. I've always obsessed over this game. My grail pin. So much character. The call outs, the play field, the feel, just superb. It's hard to really fault it and it's rated so highly for a reason. Obviously it's a lot simpler than say Ghostbusters but I'm not sure this is always a bad thing. Having owned one now I feel like I've got it out of my system a little.
Finally Tron. Bought from a really nice chap on here. I LOVE this game so much. I love the way it shoots. I love the Quorra shot. I love the gem shot. I love the disc spinner thing. It's a fair game. If you mess up, you might well drain. There isn't a lot of blaming the machine when things go wrong unlike GB. The film didn't do a lot for me and despite the photoshop playfield the theme works. The tunes and callouts are superb. As close to a keeper as I have found. One thing I have realised for me personally though, none of them are definite keepers.... Yet
That pretty much wraps it up. I've loved getting involved with the hobby. Met some cool people. Some dick heads but you get this in all walk of life! Other things worth mentioning. Honey moon period; I've been so over excited by each game I've bought that I have always loved them initially. A games longevity will only reveal itself over time. I personally don't think you ever really know a game until you've owned it or at least played it to death. Reviews of games by others aren't totally redundant but everyone is an individual. Also, I've bought some of my games having never played them. Not as big a deal as some make out as long as you don't over pay. It can always be flipped and you can grab something else.
Cheers for reading my ramblings and cheers to everyone that's helped me out with getting back into pinball.
