Pinball

[IlliniCub]

Are there any pinball fans at fofc? What are your favorite tables? I'm young enough I kind of missed out on the pinball boom period, but play tables when I can find them. I also have most of the simulations for XBOX 360, such as Pinball Arcade. I'm a pretty big Medieval Madness and Funhouse fan.

[TroyF]

love pinball. When I worked in an arcade, I used to take care of all the tables. I think my personal fave was Terminator 2, but I love Mideval Madness , Simpsons, and Twilight Zone.

Pinball arcade is terrific. need to work on a few things, but I play it often.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I own Pinbot, Circus Pinball, and a incomplete Theater of Magic machine that I'd like to restore. Nothing more fantastic than the real thing.

[panerd]

World cup soccer was a lot of fun

[IlliniCub]

Is there a lot of upkeep involved with owning real tables? It's tough to find a place with a real table around here, and when I do they are usually broken in some way

[Sweed]

Love pinball and would love to have a machine. Some of my favorites were Terminator 2, KISS, Playboy, and there was one that was IIRC simply called Meteor (generic, not a licensed type machine) that was a blast to play. Probably forgetting a hundred others. I would say I rarely found one that I didn't like.

[TroyF]

Originally Posted by IlliniCub

Is there a lot of upkeep involved with owning real tables? It's tough to find a place with a real table around here, and when I do they are usually broken in some way

it depends on how insane you get with it, but probably a few hours a month. You want to clean all the rubber, the balls, check for lights not working and of course the table itself.

The problem you'll face is the age of the table and getting replacement parts if anything breaks. I would LOVE to own a real table, but I just don't have the cash or room to have it right now. I have seen some tables people have created with multiple monitors and cases with flippers and all that can have emulator's installed on them.

I think this would be the route I'll go someday. I'd be able to change the table I played on anytime I wanted. As I have ZERO building skills, I'd have to buy one which will double my cost or more. Someday. . .

[PurdueBrad]

I love pinball. My favorite table is this one, which we have one of in our living room:

http://www.arcade-museum.com/game_de...?game_id=11555

[Grover]

Originally Posted by PurdueBrad

I love pinball. My favorite table is this one, which we have one of in our living room:

http://www.arcade-museum.com/game_de...?game_id=11555

Can I come over?

[IlliniCub]

I would love to play the Star Wars table, I remember playing it a few times when I was very young, and not able to properly appreciate it. Pinball arcade recently did kickstarters for Twilight Zone and Star Trek, but I doubt even kickstarter could make it financially feasible to get the Star Wars license.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by TroyF

it depends on how insane you get with it, but probably a few hours a month. You want to clean all the rubber, the balls, check for lights not working and of course the table itself.

The problem you'll face is the age of the table and getting replacement parts if anything breaks. I would LOVE to own a real table, but I just don't have the cash or room to have it right now. I have seen some tables people have created with multiple monitors and cases with flippers and all that can have emulator's installed on them.

I think this would be the route I'll go someday. I'd be able to change the table I played on anytime I wanted. As I have ZERO building skills, I'd have to buy one which will double my cost or more. Someday. . .

Owning and maintaining one isn't nearly as bad as one would think. There are plenty of parts manufacturers if you know where to look and they still produce boards for the old machines.

If you really want to get involved in pinball as a hobby, the Randy Fromm classes are a must. By taking the repair courses, you can go out and pick up non-working machines for very cheap and fix them up. I'd highly suggest them if you want to get into pinball.

Randy Fromm's Arcade School

[IlliniCub]

If anybody plays pinball arcade or pinball fx2 on 360, and would like some competition, I'm game. Most of my friends are not into pinball.

[PurdueBrad]

In terms of owning one, it's better to pay a bit more upfront for one that is in pristine shape. I'm lucky as I also have a pinball repair guy about 30 minutes from here. In the two years of owning it, I've had him out 3 times I believe for a total of $150 a visit.

And yeah, those of you that want to come over, come on over!!!

[RainMaker]

I'd love to grab one someday. Just seems a hassle to get and bring back to the house. Plus I'd want to be picky. Pretty rare one I imagine, but I remember one being called Dr. Dude when I was a kid that I played a ton.

[thesloppy]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

and a incomplete Theater of Magic machine that I'd like to restore.

TIGER SAW!

[Fonzie]

Used to love plaing Addams Family back when my favorite bar had it.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Another fun place to browse if you're looking to get into the pinball world is the following forum. Lots of good info.

http://forums.arcade-museum.com/index.php

Searching for local game auctions is another great way to get involved. Fun part about the local auctions is that they turn on all the games a couple hours before the auction starts. You can go in and play the games to test them out (since any purchases are as-is). If you're new, just hang out for awhile to play the games and then do nothing but observe for the first couple of auctions to see how things work and what prices are.

Make sure you go to auctions February-October. November-January is a bad time to go due to people looking for presents in November or December or flush with Christmas cash at January auction.

[Coffee Warlord]

The Dr. Who pinball machine was AWESOME.

My folks own 2 machines, one of which is actually mine (an xmas gift many years ago) - once we get our basement finished, it can actually live at my house for the first time ever.

[Ironhead]

Somehow, someway I never knew that this was available on Xbox 360. I couldn't even begin to count the number of quarters I have sunk into Theatre of Magic and Medieval Madness. This was an instant buy today.

If anyone wants to add me my GT is Ironhead34.

[IlliniCub]

I will add you...Demonicstinny45 is my tag....I've been playing a lot of Funhouse

[RainMaker]

Is Pinball Arcade the best iPad app? Gotten addicted to Tales of Arabian Nights on it.

[IlliniCub]

I've been super addicted to Gorgar on 360, as well as Funhouse

[CU Tiger]

I played around and bought and tried to flip pinball machines for a while..never really made out like I thought I could but had a ton of fun.

I have a fully restored perfect guns n roses table in my basement...it gets about 5 plays a month, maybe. But when it does they are usually 2-3 hour sessions

[RainMaker]

How do you go about acquiring them?

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

How do you go about acquiring them?

Auctions are the only way to go. February through October are the best times to buy. Just look up game auctions in your area. There's a game auction house in most every major city. You can pick up machines pretty cheap as long as you are patient.

[RainMaker]

Where do you find these auction ads? I just have no experience in it. I take it you need to bring your own truck and stuff along, correct?

[CU Tiger]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

How do you go about acquiring them?

there are some auctions, though they come in 2 varieties.
1) a legit auction of used equipment
2) a "pretend auction" there are 2-3 companies that run around the country hosting these auctions and having marks buy 75+% of the merch back and moving it to the next town only cashing in on the truly outrageous buys.

Real auctions are cool.
Ive had good luck on Craigslist and even better just walking in to local restaurants, etc and asking if their game was for sale.

Some of them are worth serious coin...but restoration will cost a ton.

Thats why the G'N'R one is at my house....I picked it up for $100...I then spent $4,200 on making it like new....its worth about $3,000 as is...so I am just enjoying it as a 1200 toy...the math works for me...let me be.

[RainMaker]

I just looked up the G 'n R pinball machine. That thing looks great.

Are there still companies pumping out new machines these days?

[IlliniCub]

Stern is the only company I believe that is making machines

[RainMaker]

Don't they make crappy ones? I remember reading about the Rolling Stones machine and a lot of people talking about how cheap it looked.

[Chubby]

sigh, would love to have Baby Pacman

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

Where do you find these auction ads? I just have no experience in it. I take it you need to bring your own truck and stuff along, correct?

One of the biggest shows in the world is right in your backyard. It's next month.

http://www.pinballexpo.net/

I'd go down there for a day or two. It's a fantastic experience if you've never been before. Machines everywhere to play. You can watch some of the best players in the world play in tournaments. There are vendors that can give you some feel about the different pieces of the industry. You can also network with some of the local people and the vendors to find out where the good auctions are in that area.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

dola

This is a great cheat sheet on what to watch for when you go to an auction.

Arcade Auction FAQ

[terpkristin]

I'm a fan of pinball but never would have thought of buying my own table. I do have pinball games on my various devices (iOS and 360). I so rarely have time to turn on my 360, but I do like the stuff on iOS from Zen Studios. I like it better on iPad though.

/tk

[IlliniCub]

Rainmaker, most of the Stern machines I've played, I haven't been fond of. A lot of people swear by Lord of the Rings, Sopranos and Family guy though. I recently played Stern's Simpsons pinball at a Bowling alley and thought it average at best, but in all fairness it was in poor condition.

[RainMaker]

My brother is a huge Sopranos pinball fan. That's the only one I've heard good reviews of. Didn't realize Simpsons was Stern but I have played it and it was OK.

[RainMaker]

Pinball Arcade updates on iOS with Scared Stiff and Big Shot (old school game). They sure like Elvira.

[IlliniCub]

Yeah sadly we have to wait a little longer for the xbox360 update. We are a few table packs behind. Twilight Zone is supposed to be out in November I believe, so hopefully the xbox updates start rolling soon!

[RainMaker]

Does anyone have advice on pinball machines where the cabinet art is a little beat up? I know they sell decals for the popular machines, but not for some of the rare ones. Is there a way to get them custom done or places I should be looking?

[RainMaker]

Anyone with thoughts on Diner?

[RainMaker]

Just bought a No Good Gofers this weekend. Pretty good condition, just needs a good cleaning inside.

[IlliniCub]

I love NGG, but sadly have only played the virtual version. Beautiful table with a lot going on. I can't wait until I live in a bigger apartment and can start a table collection.

[RainMaker]

Just bought an AC/DC Premium from the latest run of them at Stern. Should be here in the next week or two. Hoping that it comes Thursday or Friday so that I can play while watching the tournament (taking off work those two days).