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Potential purchase poll Williams system 11
- Thread starter Mozie
- Start date
Whichever one is available... They don't come up for sale so often.
Which aspects are most important to you - layout, art, sounds, ... ?
Which aspects are most important to you - layout, art, sounds, ... ?
Whirly. Taxi is boring and SOF sounds great but is one dimensional.
Itch
Registered
I have only played on of these from memory so my vote is a little pointless, they have whirlwind at pinball republic at the moment if you wanted to play it.
I have owned Whirly and Swords in the past.
Whirlwind is generally considered one of the top Sys 11 titles - deservedly so, however I personally always found Earthshaker just more fun to play and I prefer the playfield layout . I have owned both and for some reason just never quite found Whirly as much fun. Very similar rulesets , with Whirly getting the nod on that front as it has a proto Wizard mode. Could be worth considering an ES - probably easier to find one and may well be a bit cheaper. I have a soft spot for 'Shaker too as it was my 2nd pin, £300 ebay and I lost my pinball restoring cherry to it as had to go balls deep on with a complete stripdown etc to tidy it up and sort issues.... happy days....... 'It's sunny drivetime!'
Swords has some of the best music in Sys 11 land. If you dig the theme then its a great machine to have , for a while ..... the rules get old fast , basically 1 easy repeatable shot to lock balls for mutiball. Rinse Repeat. But the music
Taxi gets a lot of love I have never spent huge amount of time on. I personally don't find it an attractive machine to look at or listen to.
If you after late 80s goodness you can't go wrong with the any of the top 10 Sys 11s imo
Whirlwind is generally considered one of the top Sys 11 titles - deservedly so, however I personally always found Earthshaker just more fun to play and I prefer the playfield layout . I have owned both and for some reason just never quite found Whirly as much fun. Very similar rulesets , with Whirly getting the nod on that front as it has a proto Wizard mode. Could be worth considering an ES - probably easier to find one and may well be a bit cheaper. I have a soft spot for 'Shaker too as it was my 2nd pin, £300 ebay and I lost my pinball restoring cherry to it as had to go balls deep on with a complete stripdown etc to tidy it up and sort issues.... happy days....... 'It's sunny drivetime!'
Swords has some of the best music in Sys 11 land. If you dig the theme then its a great machine to have , for a while ..... the rules get old fast , basically 1 easy repeatable shot to lock balls for mutiball. Rinse Repeat. But the music
Taxi gets a lot of love I have never spent huge amount of time on. I personally don't find it an attractive machine to look at or listen to.
If you after late 80s goodness you can't go wrong with the any of the top 10 Sys 11s imo
Diner
Whirlwind for me, but then I would say that having just bought one recently 
Only game I've ever missed and bought back so it must be good. Used to have a SOF but as others have said, it gets old pretty fast. Taxi is a great game but not as good as Whirlwind IMO but I'm sure @Spandangler would disagree 
Only game I've ever missed and bought back so it must be good. Used to have a SOF but as others have said, it gets old pretty fast. Taxi is a great game but not as good as Whirlwind IMO but I'm sure @Spandangler would disagree 
But there aren't any!
Lionman!
... has best music but whirly is the best system 11
... has best music but whirly is the best system 11
Whirlwind is spoiled by the rotating wheels which are just annoying. Taxi is an excellent game with lots to do, and the loud bell is unlike any other game I have come across.
ooooo so many and owned many difficult choice!!!
Owned all but transporter. The worst is bugs bunny . Best to play is whirly most collectable are banzai and elvira
System 11 are my fave games. Any of them.
I prefer ES gameplay and layout and art etc.. to WW but the fact you can’t relight the jackpot kills it. A real oversight. Multiball is pointless after that.
Taxi as we all know is my fave ever. Unlike Grizz the artwork and appearance is what appeals to me more than anything. Beauty is on the eye of the beholder though.
Taxi is so frickin brutal it never gets old. Never. Like… never.
I’ve converted my Whirly to dmd now so can’t count mine a system11 anymore
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Grab whatever you can when it comes up is what I’d say!
I prefer ES gameplay and layout and art etc.. to WW but the fact you can’t relight the jackpot kills it. A real oversight. Multiball is pointless after that.
Taxi as we all know is my fave ever. Unlike Grizz the artwork and appearance is what appeals to me more than anything. Beauty is on the eye of the beholder though.
Taxi is so frickin brutal it never gets old. Never. Like… never.
I’ve converted my Whirly to dmd now so can’t count mine a system11 anymore
. Grab whatever you can when it comes up is what I’d say!
EATPM and BK2000 for me but there's a lot of great titles there. Taxi's topper rules, Pin-Bot is a must have, Cyclone I didn't like as much as I thought I would. There's some fantastic art packages on that list.
Radical and Grand Lizard both look fantastic IMO.
Radical and Grand Lizard both look fantastic IMO.
You’ve converted a system 11!!!!System 11 are my fave games. Any of them.
I prefer ES gameplay and layout and art etc.. to WW but the fact you can’t relight the jackpot kills it. A real oversight. Multiball is pointless after that.
Taxi as we all know is my fave ever. Unlike Grizz the artwork and appearance is what appeals to me more than anything. Beauty is on the eye of the beholder though.
Taxi is so frickin brutal it never gets old. Never. Like… never.
I’ve converted my Whirly to dmd now so can’t count mine a system11 anymore
Grab whatever you can when it comes up is what I’d say!
…anon believer!!!! BURN HIM!!!!!
Thanks for all the words of wisdom, funny to see swords of fury currently in the 3rd spot and whirlwind with a massive lead out in front.. I didn't make it clear in the initial post these are the 3 machines that are available to me so it's one of these I'll potentially be adding 
D
Deleted member 2463
pinbot
D
Deleted member 2463
@Matt Vince has a nice whirlwind at the moment,
don’t say that i’ve just packed mine up as it’s going. and i’m missing it already.
Condition might play a part in your decision if you like cosmetically sound games. The achilles heel of System 11s is the playfield. You could almost say that the worst wpc playfield you will likely see at an event will be in better condition than the best System 11.
They are not diamond plate games. The mylar overlays tends to bubble over inserts. Non mylar areas typically have nasty playfield wear. Pulling mylar is extremely risky on pre diamond plate games.
A few years back it was hard to get game specific parts for System 11s, but over time this stuff just seems to get made. With the rise in prices I think the spares guys can see a market in System 11s now as well as wpc.
Completely unobtainable stuff like the injection moulded Transporter ramp on the very low production volume eponymous game, and the blue plastic mini playfield on Space Station have been reproduced.
Whirly is the best system 11 I have played and is usually top of the pops on Pinside too. An early (the first ?) mode based game. Brilliant layout. Only bad point for me is the translite (backglasses much better quality). Music is very average by System 11 standards.
Swords of Fury has awesome music but the repeated "Lionman" call outs could drive you insane. Good mini pf too.
Taxi is pretty, but a very basic game imho.
System 11s can be one dimensional as modes only really came in with the wpc era. I think they have the best music of any era of pinball machine.
They are not diamond plate games. The mylar overlays tends to bubble over inserts. Non mylar areas typically have nasty playfield wear. Pulling mylar is extremely risky on pre diamond plate games.
A few years back it was hard to get game specific parts for System 11s, but over time this stuff just seems to get made. With the rise in prices I think the spares guys can see a market in System 11s now as well as wpc.
Completely unobtainable stuff like the injection moulded Transporter ramp on the very low production volume eponymous game, and the blue plastic mini playfield on Space Station have been reproduced.
Whirly is the best system 11 I have played and is usually top of the pops on Pinside too. An early (the first ?) mode based game. Brilliant layout. Only bad point for me is the translite (backglasses much better quality). Music is very average by System 11 standards.
Swords of Fury has awesome music but the repeated "Lionman" call outs could drive you insane. Good mini pf too.
Taxi is pretty, but a very basic game imho.
System 11s can be one dimensional as modes only really came in with the wpc era. I think they have the best music of any era of pinball machine.
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Ant-H
Site Supporter
99% agree with this. I think if you only can have one pin, then a system 11 game might get boring after a while. But I think there perfect in a collection when you want a quick game or for non pin head friends and family to play, as the rules are pretty easy to pick up.
The only thing I don’t agree with is the Lionman call outs. I don’t think I’d ever get board of hearing that. And the dying/screaming sound effects at the end, makes me chuckle m every time I hear it
Lionman!
Genotime
Site Supporter
You gotta get Sword of Fury back in commission @steve brum ! That soundtrack is a banger!