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Your favourite of the new machines at Pinfest 2024

kevlar

kevlar

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I don't think anyone else has created a post asking this question so here goes. There was a great line-up of previously unplayed ( by most people ) new and newish machines at pinfest this year, the best yet I think. From memory we had:

Elton John
Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Looney Tunes
Galactic Tank Force
BBQ Challenge
Legends of Valhalla
Godfather
Jaws
Pulp Fiction
Labyrinth

plus a few slightly older releases like Venom, Bond and Bond 60th

It's close for me between Pulp Fiction and TCM but TCM is the winner for me. What a fantastic layout, rules and theme ( for me ). Yes it was a little unreliable over the weekend, often losing track of balls and having to be rebooted, but I did manage to have quite a few good trouble free games on it. Looney Tunes F'd up as soon as I started a game on it and I never managed to fit in another game, TCM is the better theme of the 2 for me though. Pulp fiction was fanatic too, I'll have to see about getting one of those in the future. 2 games I really enjoyed but didn't expect to were Galactic tank force and bizarrely BBQ challenge. Godfather was pretty good. Elton John very good. Labyrinth did nothing for me. I've played jaws before and never got around to playing this one but it's a great game. So which were your favourite machines?
 
Didnt actually get chance to play it over the pinfest weekend but having played it at NERG for me it would be Labyrinth.

Big fan of the film, its been done justice in the pin itself and seems to be a pretty solid machine.

Managed to get on GTF and enjoyed the quick couple of goes I had, loved the cheesyness of it, a bit like RFM.
 
kevlar said:
Elton John
Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Looney Tunes
Galactic Tank Force
BBQ Challenge
Legends of Valhalla
Godfather
Jaws
Pulp Fiction
Labyrinth
Click to expand...
EJ was great, flows lovely
TCM played ok, sligtly better than LT for some reason
LT, love the theme, would never buy spooky (see reliability above)
GTF. amazing, shame its 10K
BBQ, err, no.
LOV, meh.
GF, waste of parts (but I could also be talking about spinal tap)
Jaws. SHAAAARK!!!! every 5 seconds. the modern equvalent of Twisters "everybody underground now)
PF, was ok, wouldn't buy one though.
Labryinth, probably need to be a fan of the film. Sculpts were love;y but you largely don't play them.
 
I really enjoyed Elton John, I didnt think I would, I am not really a fan but saying that he has done so many memorable tunes and it had so many lights its dazzled me. I also enjoyed Galactic Tank Force (very amusing) and Barry O's (although my partner is a vegetarian so its never getting into our house)
Biggest disappointment was Jaws I thought I was going to love it but I just didnt maybe better if I played it somewhere quieter.
As a one off Cyber Punk was brilliant totally blew my mind.
 
Agree with epotech on them all.
I really like GTF . Just too pricey

Shameless plug
You can play ELTON at TILT
It's a special game and l have no regrets buying it.
 
Sadly only got to try Godfather and Pulp Fiction of the ones listed in a brief window on Friday night.

On Godfather I never felt in any real danger, it felt like I was never more than two shots away from another multiball (especially with the short plunge skill shots awarding multiball progress), there were so many ball saves popping up, and the right inlane is extremely generous with its “funnel”. It was fun but definitely felt much like other long-playing JJPs.

Pulp is just great, brutally drainy but in a way that makes you want to go again. I do wonder if I’d get bored of it in a home environment but on location I definitely don’t and I haven’t yet cracked a good score on it.

I didn’t play the Jaws at PinFest but it’s probably in my top 2 favourite machines at the minute!
 
I’ve previously played the new games and they seemed really busy so gave them miss.

However I did play GTF again first thing on the Saturday. When I first played that at TPF, I didn’t like it at all. It was my least favourite of the new games along with BBQ, however this time around I really enjoyed it.

Probably because when I played it, it was not that busy so I could hear the music and call outs which for me really makes a difference when playing a game.

Overall though I’d say my favourites are EJ, TCM and PF.
 
Thought I would place them in order for which I enjoyed the most, based on the brief times I played them though.

Pulp Fiction
(fast playing, killer theme, great audio, classic old school design)

Elton John
(fast playing, great flow, killer light show, good audio, not a fan of the theme really but a top game to own)

Jaws
(great theme, nice light show, audio will be good on this)

Labyrinth
(packed game, nice light show, good audio, great build quality, felt like you were in the story)

Texas Chainsaw Massacre
(played it once, tons of shots, packed more than some stern premiums, spooky continue to get better)

Galactic Tank Force
(great light show, pretty game, enjoyed this one more than I expected, a fun game)

Godfather
(got a couple multi balls, nothing to get excited about, felt bored and just wanted to drain)

BBQ Challenge
(not a fan on the theme, didn't like the audio, old school design is highlight)

Legends of Valhalla
(coudn't get excited about this one, just wanted to drain)

Looney Tunes
(didn't play it)
 
I'd already played quite a few of the new titles at London AEG in January.

I'd already chosen my favourite, Elton John, and have been either renting/owning an EJ since February.

Good new to me were:

1. Capersville - new to me, but not to the world as it was released in 1966 (!) Absolutely superb pin that's years ahead of its time with a three-ball multi ball, a controllable two-ball multi ball and a multi ball advance. The graphics are as funky has heck, and it has the sadly long-forgotten zipper flippers for extra tactical depth. Great pin and I can't believe the dated bagatelle luckfest that is Central Park was not only released in the same year, but also is more desirable among pinheads 🤯
2. Galactic Tank Force - got a great game in on this, and it's grown on me. I love the combination of tough but fun shots, and fun, cheesy theme.
3. Pedretti's Funhouse is Funhouse, but bling-ier. If you like Funhouse and bling, and have money, you should get one.
4. The Godfather - we were really enjoying GF, as it's obvious JJP have picked up their game on shot excitement and flipper quality. It looked to have oodles of depth and we were having a great time until my husband accidentally stacked three multi balls, blew up the machine, and it was obvious that any rules depth is outweighed by a focus on MULTTIIIBALLL. Plus MULTIBALL. Easy to fix, but I suspect JJP won't do it.

I'd already played Pulp Fiction and Jaws a bunch of times in two/three different locations, so didn't bother playing them at Pinfest. PF was super-amazeballs when I played it at AEG, but the novelty had worn off by the time I finished playing it at @Happypin's house (although it's still a great pin). Jaws is the best Stern can now put out given how cheapass they are.

I'd also hoped to play more of Labyrinth, but managed one really poor game between @MadMonzer and I. The queues were crazy, even during the VIP sessions. Would like to have the chance to play it again, but won't go out of my way.

I also played a bunch of other stuff new to me:

4. Mousin' Around was a smooth, solid title. Enjoyed my play.
5. Legends of Valhalla felt like a solid, serviceable pin that didn't make any obvious mistakes, and which you should definitely consider if you can get one heavily discounted.
6. Looney Tunes had the remarkable quality of having a super layout, gorgeous artwork and was utterly soulless to play. I have no idea why, but it had a *feel*, which was exactly the same as Scooby Doo, but with less theme integration.
7. Hot Wheels was Houdini with less bling. I don't like Houdini and didn't like Hot Wheels either. The shot are just too narrow to flow the ball at speed under intermediate play, which is a killer for a racing-themed game.
8. Mata Hari was red, pretty and existed. I played it, considered a tournament strategy if I ever see one in competition, and then promptly forgot I'd played it.
9. Central Park was not the worst EM I've ever played, but it was a dull luck-fest. But, @VeeMonroe, collectors like the monkey hitting the bell? F**k the bell. It's just c**p.
10. BBQ Challenge. OMG. Where to start with this?! 🤯 I have the greatest of sympathy for Barry Oursler's family and friends, and I respect his contribution to pinball 💔 But... OMG. The flipper fade on the ramps was terrible. The 'black rubber gloved hands feeling up a pile of shredded, unidentifiable meat' was the creepiest thing I've seen outside of a horror comedy. The shots were uniformly boring. There was a humongous pop cluster in the middle of the playfield and, due to flipper fade, about half my game was spectating the bumpers. The pops were having MUCH more fun playing than I was. The theme was... inexplicable. The literally only nice thing about this game was the sizzling grill lighting on the pop bumpers. Honestly, I had more fun playing This is Spinal Tap last year and most of that was laughing at the game.
 
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Jaws, Pulp Fiction, Elton John impressed. Also really enjoyed playing Bond 60th in the comp, shame I'll never own one.
 
With the caveat that it was impossible to hear anything much and some are undoubtedly better when you know the rules a bit and can hear them:

Elton John - beautiful looking, smooth playing, maybe too easy though (2 x multiballs in first ever game, another GNR?) - 8/10
Texas Chainsaw Massacre - I didn't play this but saw the ball jam on the middle scoop which the ball find failed to resolve. However same layout as LT so see below:
Looney Tunes - the colour scheme is such a disappointment, it should be so colourful but just seems brown/orange and quite dull. so is the cramped playfield. Just seemed endless ramps, loops, ramps, shoot pink arrows, shoot yellow arrows. Why? Not fun 5/10.
Galactic Tank Force - looks great without the tank side panels, looked like it would sound interesting, playfield a bit cramped and left flipper weak and flimsy. UFO cow a thing of beauty. Would like to hear it properly 7+/10
BBQ Challenge - I quite liked this, decent shots, nice triple scoop locks, big old ramps and nice visual effects. The theme is *weird* (how much ketchup awarded?) but maybe that's good, after all it's not another Marvel theme eh. Cult sleeper? - 7/10
Legends of Valhalla - looked dull, played dull, and it's a theme I would have liked in theory. Deliberately drained the last ball. 4/10
Godfather - missed this.
Labyrinth - missed this as always a queue.
Jaws - have played this a few times and the shots are fun but the theme is just nothing. I mean apart from the iconic poster (which they managed to mess up on the translite) it's an outdated "thriller" from 50 years ago (do millenials even know the film?) with no iconic music, no iconic clips and no iconic sound quotes apart from "we're going to need a bigger boat". There can only be 1 aim in the game, catch Jaws, zzzzz. The shots are nice so 5.5/10 but I think *this* should have been the simpler retro 50 years ago alphanumeric display short-playing game and not PF:
Pulp Fiction - surely this licence should have been all about the music, clips and quotes (like TBL)? I want Jules screaming bible quotes at me from the screen, an opening briefcase of gold, mini gimp playfield (is that a mini gimp or a mini playfield?) and a Kahuna Burger bash toy. Trying to explain you have the same shot to the same saucer for characters on a scrolling alphanumeric display is just meh, there are so many iconic moments in that film and you don't see any of them, what a waste. 5/10

Bond 60th - was really looking forward to playing this, was a bit underwhelmed but then I didn't see much of it as it tilted every time I touched it and my games on it were terrible :) I don't get why they couldn't afford a 5th score reel at that price? 6/10
 
Pulp Fiction was my favourite for sure, really great sound and felt challenging in a good way

BBQ - I actually found myself enjoying quite a bit, thought the ball locks was cool and the mini screen in the playfield is something I'd love to see more of

Jaws, Labyrinth and Looney Tunes/Texas were fun but would need to get more time on

Godfather was meh, only thing I could understand to do was the central shot at the gangster.
 
Jaws was fun and intuitive- pinball moment with the shark fin roving target. Cosmetically EJ amazing and surprised me how fast it played- I drained super fast but you can see it’s an exciting game and lots to do. Didn’t waste time on Spinal Tap- played it at NERG and have had my fill after one go. It’s a shame John Wick wasn’t there as I’m certain alot of people would be pleasantly surprised by it- especially better players than me
 
MarkS said:
With the caveat that it was impossible to hear anything much and some are undoubtedly better when you know the rules a bit and can hear them:

Elton John - beautiful looking, smooth playing, maybe too easy though (2 x multiballs in first ever game, another GNR?) - 8/10
Click to expand...
As an owner, it's like the GNRs configured for tournament play. You are working towards multiballs, and they can be stacked, but you've got to work at qualifying them. You're not going to be handed multiballs just for pulling the plunge.

It's a bit like playing a modern version of CFTBL, but with loads of wizard and mini-wizard modes, instead of just the one. That said, Crocodile Rock is dead easy to get - my four year old has managed to start one - but it's not where the big points are.
 
SteadyP said:
Jaws was fun and intuitive- pinball moment with the shark fin roving target. Cosmetically EJ amazing and surprised me how fast it played- I drained super fast but you can see it’s an exciting game and lots to do. Didn’t waste time on Spinal Tap- played it at NERG and have had my fill after one go. It’s a shame John Wick wasn’t there as I’m certain alot of people would be pleasantly surprised by it- especially better players than me
Click to expand...
I used Retroids as a stop on my way home from the weekend specifically to try John Wick. I actually really liked the way it shot despite the code obviously missing a lot right now. I can see it being a popular tournament game in a year or two’s time because it wouldn’t take many adjustments to make it play really really short for a modern Stern, kinda like BKSOR
 
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The LE is a good looking game in person and it does have some makeable elements for your average player- it’s just that when you try to get the ball lock shot up the skinny middle ramp, miss it and you’re in slingshot hell
 
And speaking of BKSOR- I was busy getting my **** handed to me on Tron when Kevin Donovan destroyed it in the main competition- he told me a good strategy afterwards to tryout. I had a go trapping and locking as suggested and got the worst score out of everyone in the entire qualifying 😂
 
My top 3 were….

1. Elton
2. Pulp Fiction
3. Labyrinth

I turn the radio station when Elton John is on though…..so as much as I loved the game and i’m also a big JJP fan (owned 5 so far) sadly i don’t see me ever buying an EJ.
Pulp Fiction, didn’t expect to like it, but really enjoyed it. After the wait people had for Cactus Canyon though, I wouldn’t order one. Hopefully pick one up second hand at some point.
Labyrinth is in pole position for a purchase now but i’d want the topper too so that pushes the gambling stakes higher. The way second hand prices are dropping just now and the thought of a heavy loss is putting me off ordering any NIB pin without a good deal off rrp. Definitely would buy one second hand at some point though if theres no deals to be had on a NIB one.
 
SteadyP said:
And speaking of BKSOR- I was busy getting my **** handed to me on Tron when Kevin Donovan destroyed it in the main competition- he told me a good strategy afterwards to tryout. I had a go trapping and locking as suggested and got the worst score out of everyone in the entire qualifying 😂
Click to expand...
So my strategy worked!😅
 
SteadyP said:
And speaking of BKSOR- I was busy getting my **** handed to me on Tron when Kevin Donovan destroyed it in the main competition- he told me a good strategy afterwards to tryout. I had a go trapping and locking as suggested and got the worst score out of everyone in the entire qualifying 😂
Click to expand...
It’s the only way, trying to forehand the lock shot is an extremely efficient way of ending your ball 😂 even backhanding it, I had my left hand hovering over the magna save button instead of on the left flipper in case I missed it

That Tron was brutally fast!
 
1. TCM - shots, theme, toys.
2. Labyrinth - never played a machine that felt so smooth and well put together. Good looking cabinet, good shots and a lot of nice playfield touches. Theme not for me but so well put together it’s my no.2.
3. Houdini - love the theme, cabinet good, and playfield really interesting. But some shots so tight, it was a bit demoralising!
 
Was only there on the Friday, mainly trying out the machines in the main comp. Had a little bit of time on TCM which I quite enjoyed. I've played Jaws a lot and the game is now starting to feel a bit meh. Elton John is a lot of fun, I really like this game. I enjoy PF but again that is now getting a bit meh. Bond 60th really surprised me, the game is just so smooth but let's face it, it is out of most people's reach. Elton pips Bond for me as the winner. Worst theme goes without saying is that BBQ 💩
 
GTF - great.

Loony Toons - wacky fun. Needs to be a bit more complicated though.

Jaws - Stern should just release The Meg version with Jason Statham voice lines.

BBQ - sucked.

Valhalla - enjoyed my first go. Didnt enjoy any others after that.
 
edsri said:
3. Houdini - love the theme, cabinet good, and playfield really interesting. But some shots so tight, it was a bit demoralising!
Click to expand...
Forgot how much I enjoyed Houdini. Really thought it would be rubbish but actually had a great game on it. I'll put that 4th on my list for pinfest top games. I wish when Phil listed new ones for 5k'ish years ago i'd took the gamble. Much better than expected.
 
EJ was the best for me.

Labyrinth a close second.

Really wanted to like LT but it didn't shoot so smooth for some reason. Didn't get to try TCM.

GTF was good fun, not that brutal a game really.
 
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