UPDATED POLL: What's your favourite classic? Please choose 2

[Gonzo]

So here's the scenario . . . . .

I have today received a very tempting offer for my JP Home Edition Pin which involved a trade for a classic game.

I had no intention of doing a deal because the game is excellent. However it's not escaped my attention that the one game I play every day is Dolly Parton.

It's due to go and visit Steve at Electric Circus next and I'll miss it. So it got me thinking . . . . . . what would be a good replacement?

My knowledge of these older games is poor but I love the simplicity of Dolly. I love lighting up the name, ripping the spinner and getting some multipliers with the drop targets.

There's enough of a luck element that anyone who comes over can have a fun and competitive game.

So . . . . I 'd be interested to know what I should be looking at next?

Please pick two choices.

I'm aware not every game is there but it's a reasonable list I think?

 

[Deleted member 2463]

not reasonable!

too many ropey bally's not enough Stern, Williams, Zac or even Gott! Some good bally's missing (HGT and Frontier for example).

But you got Flash Gordon which has to be up there as one of the best.

 

[steve brum]

Try to borrow a classic stern next.

Something both frustrating and genius about them !

 

[Gonzo]

not reasonable!

too many ropey bally's not enough Stern, Williams, Zac or even Gott! Some good bally's missing (HGT and Frontier for example).

But you got Flash Gordon which has to be up there as one of the best.

I tried Neil, I don't claim to be an expert which is entirely why I asked for advice.

Hopefully there are enough decent ones on that list and if there is a glaring omission it will hopefully get mentioned a number of times in the comments.

 

[steve brum]

The old Pinball owners association had annual polls and before system 11 the favorite solid state was always a close run between Centaur Haunted House and Black Knight. Meteor was the only classic stern that would creep on the list. Most stern were just too rare. Luckily we had Ray Foster who was mad about them and brought odd balls to shows . Bally were king especially the class of 81. They survived better on site and simply had a better "hit" rate than Williams and in the solid state era gottlieb seem to have lost their mojo (haunted house and black hole the exceptions)

 

[Doggard]

Fathom and centaur in the lead, no surprise there, couple of belters

 

[Gonzo]

Fathom and centaur in the lead, no surprise there, couple of belters

I can't say that I know either of them really.

 

[Deleted member 2463]

seawitch>fathom

 

[Deleted member 2463]

Games to add:

Alien Poker,
Firepower
Sorcerer
Nine ball
Quicksilver
Meteor
Seawitch
Big Game
Cheetah
Joker Poker
Trident
Pinball Champ 82
Farfalla
comet
space shuttle
black out
firepower II
laser cue
warlock
star trek
bmx
sinbad
sprirt
devils dare lol


such a great set of choices!

 

[Gonzo]

Games to add:

Alien Poker,
Firepower
Sorcerer
Nine ball
Quicksilver
Meteor
Seawitch
Big Game
Cheetah
Joker Poker
Trident
Pinball Champ 82
Farfalla
comet
space shuttle
black out
firepower II
laser cue
warlock
star trek
bmx
sinbad
sprirt
devils dare lol


such a great set of choices!

What's your favourite Neil?

 

[Wayne J]

What are you classing as 'Classic'?

T2 is over 30 years old!

If you're looking at Pre DMD, I'd add F14.
If you're looking at Pre Alpha-numeric, my favourite is BlackJack, but Eight Ball Deluxe is one of the highest selling/manufactured games for a reason.

 

[Gonzo]

The old Pinball owners association had annual polls and before system 11 the favorite solid state was always a close run between Centaur Haunted House and Black Knight. Meteor was the only classic stern that would creep on the list. Most stern were just too rare. Luckily we had Ray Foster who was mad about them and brought odd balls to shows . Bally were king especially the class of 81. They survived better on site and simply had a better "hit" rate than Williams and in the solid state era gottlieb seem to have lost their mojo (haunted house and black hole the exceptions)

Same question to you Steve..... what's your favourite?.

 

[Gonzo]

What are you classing as 'Classic'?

T2 is over 30 years old!

If you're looking at Pre DMD, I'd add F14.
If you're looking at Pre Alpha-numeric, my favourite is BlackJack, but Eight Ball Deluxe is one of the highest selling/manufactured games for a reason.

Definitely pre-dmd I think.

Basically the games that I'd had no interest in before Keith kindly loaned me Dolly.

That session we had when you popped over was excellent.

I love the simplicity of the game and being able to explain the rules in 30 seconds to non pinhead really helps.

Jmac popped over today and predictably we ended up playing Dolly..... 'Just one more game'......and on it went.

 

[Wayne J]

Once you accept that they're not going to have the rules, depth, sounds, graphics or branding of modern games - there's not too many real dogs out there.

 

[Deleted member 2463]

I have a list of faves but probably Flash Gordon and Nine ball are the two I like the most.

 

[Deleted member 2463]

Stargazer is epic.

 

[Epotech]

There can be only one and that is Fathom. Amazing game and the best artwork of any game ever.

 

[Gonzo]

There can be only one and that is Fathom. Amazing game and the best artwork of any game ever.

I bet they're pricey Phil?

 

[Epotech]

Yes. With good reason.

 

[steve brum]

Centaur is my favourite pinball full stop

AFM a close second

Classic is pre alpha numeric but we stretch to pre dot matrix in our classic league to include more games

Coincidentally Sorceror and Andromeda we have here are 2 of the last games made to count as "classic" solid state. High Speed is only a few months newer than Andromeda and was the game changer

 

[Pop Bumper Pete]

Flash Gordon, a game you HAVE to nudge to play that upper playfield
EBD, for the win, best, single level, non-multi-ball, machine
Embryon, wide body, but not floaty, fun, but you will probably not find one
Medusa, good (not great), but not in a small collection
Centaur, good fun game
Pharaoh, I liked this back in the day
Black Knight, Another winner, fun and fast
Cyclone? Did you mean Comet? Comet is fun, being sys9 it is a step up from the other games listed
Barracorra, fun
Catacomb, fun, and with the bagettle in the backbox
Paragon, widebody, fun. but will cost $$
Silverball Mania, just no

Missing;
Space Shuttle, awesome machine

 

[Gonzo]

Flash Gordon, a game you HAVE to nudge to play that upper playfield
EBD, for the win, best, single level, non-multi-ball, machine
Embryon, wide body, but not floaty, fun, but you will probably not find one
Medusa, good (not great), but not in a small collection
Centaur, good fun game
Pharaoh, I liked this back in the day
Black Knight, Another winner, fun and fast
Cyclone? Did you mean Comet? Comet is fun, being sys9 it is a step up from the other games listed
Barracorra, fun
Catacomb, fun, and with the bagettle in the backbox
Paragon, widebody, fun. but will cost $$
Silverball Mania, just no

Missing;
Space Shuttle, awesome machine

Thanks Pete.

I have played Eight Ball Deluxe and really enjoyed it.

That being said I can't remember one coming up.

Appreciate your opinions mate. I've already learnt from this thread.

 

[Gonzo]

I've updated the list and votes can be changed

 

[Pop Bumper Pete]

too many ropey bally's not enough Stern, Williams, Zac or even Gott! Some good bally's missing (HGT and Frontier for example).

Have to agree, get a Zacarina machine in your collection, they are very different
Time Machine, Devil Rider, the double layer backglass really stands out

 

[Pop Bumper Pete]

Now you have added more games. then it will depend on what you enjoy in a game
Sinbad has double flippers on both sides, if you like to cradle a ball and time your shot, on this game it is not possible

 

[Gonzo]

Now you have added more games. then it will depend on what you enjoy in a game
Sinbad has double flippers on both sides, if you like to cradle a ball and time your shot, on this game it is not possible

Funnily enough it's just just me Pete. It's the engagement it gets when non pinball players come over.

I think the appeal of Dolly is the simplicity of how your progress is displayed on the playfield, the ease of understanding the rules (light her name), the very satisfying spinner shot, and the jeopardy/reward of the stand up targets.

I suspect if the game had double flippers it might seem overly complicated to newbies.

 

[M4carp]

Funnily enough it's just just me Pete. It's the engagement it gets when non pinball players come over.

I think the appeal of Dolly is the simplicity of how your progress is displayed on the playfield, the ease of understanding the rules (light her name), the very satisfying spinner shot, and the jeopardy/reward of the stand up targets.

I suspect if the game had double flippers it might seem overly complicated to newbies.

Ive moved on all my newer Sterns now and got a few old ones, I like a quick blast now and again plus family who play can understand straight away what’s going on and what to do and if not it’s easy to explain. Only modern one I have is Halloween now and that’s too hard and complicated for most them, hoping they put in a co-op mode in the near future otherwise it’s me Billy No Mates playing it

Would love a Stern classic as never had one.

I also think the best comp games to watch online are classics, bare bones skills and easy to follow.

 

[Pop Bumper Pete]

That is the beauty of all these old games, no long rules-sets to learn
Just hit the flashing light, hit the drop target.
Sure, the ball times are shorter, that is why they are set to 5 ball, rather than DMD era 3 balls
Half of my collection is games pre-1984, and no new games built after 2010 (but a Godzilla is on the way)(gotta keep the grandkids happy)

 

[Gonzo]

Ive moved on all my newer Sterns now and got a few old ones, I like a quick blast now and again plus family who play can understand straight away what’s going on and what to do and if not it’s easy to explain. Only modern one I have is Halloween now and that’s too hard and complicated for most them, hoping they put in a co-op mode in the near future otherwise it’s me Billy No Mates playing it

Would love a Stern classic as never had one.

I also think the best comp games to watch online are classics, bare bones skills and easy to follow.

I thought the same thing when I went to Electric Circus mate.

I was filming the competitions and by far the most engaging footage was from the older games because it was easier to follow and the brutality made the drains a bit more dramatic.

 

[Gonzo]

That is the beauty of all these old games, no long rules-sets to learn
Just hit the flashing light, hit the drop target.
Sure, the ball times are shorter, that is why they are set to 5 ball, rather than DMD era 3 balls
Half of my collection is games pre-1984, and no new games built after 2010 (but a Godzilla is on the way)(gotta keep the grandkids happy)

Godzilla is excellent so you'll be fine there mate.

Funnily enough I was thinking about drop targets last night. They've become a bit of a low scoring bridesmaid on a lot of modern games but I quite like them being a big feature of the older games.