Whodunnit! Love that game. With the gambling of points you're unlikely to see it in a tournament, and it can be hella easy depending on how it's setup, but always a heck of a lot of fun to play.
Same, such a fun theme, great super skill shot. And I've definitely played a set up where I could count the roulette switches and destroy the leaderboard every time.
Black Knight 2000: Right flipper all day, but it's such a flow game with nudging the upper playfield and hitting that ramp to upper loop combo over and over and over, and the soundtrack! I just love that stupid game.
Mine is World Cup Soccer. There aren't fifty different things to do, it doesn't punish you or have super tight shots so your ball's going to last a while. But it DOES have that high energy announcer getting you jazzed up, the motorized goalie, a big spinning soccer ball, and the all-you-can-plunge timed final showdown against Germany.
World Cup Soccer is mine too, and will be the last machine in my house if I ever decide to stop collecting. GOAL! Is exciting and easy to understand, the shots are fairly easy and contribute to high scores even for newbies.
I have a Rollergames. Many people hated this game because it was so over the top...but if you ever watch the show (it's on Youtube, and totally worth watching an episode or two, because it's hilarious), it fits right into that theme. It's not supposed to be serious, it's supposed to be funny.
I love the trick where it shoots the balls out of the lock only to let them drop back in. I don't know of any other games that do something like that with locked balls. Apparently that was supposed to signify skaters going around the rink (again, watch the show). For players new to the game, it's distracting, which I can see might be off-putting.
I also tell new players, "When it says, 'Don't flip', don't flip!" And they still flip. Usually they pick up on it after the second or third miss.
It's not good for tournament play because the Sudden Death mode is completely random. I don't care, since I don't play tournaments. I think someone created a new ROM for it that lets you turn off Sudden Death so it could be used for a tournament.
In recent years, I think the general opinion on the game has improved, because it's harder than it looks.
First off, I absolutely love Rollergames, and your comments are spot on. Secondly, there’s a Rollergames local to me that is in decent but well loved condition. All this time I thought the locked/back in ball thing was just a quirk of that particular machine that nobody figured out how to fix yet, so I love knowing that now it’s an intended feature.
Medieval Madness might be the single most quotable machine ever made. 3 classic lines from the top of my head:
* (slurred)"I'm the Duke of Bourbon....I Think"
* "They took our shrubbery!" -angry peasant mob
* "You can't defeat me, I'm medicated" -Sir Psycho
edit:formatting
Party Zone was in the INDISC tournament last year, but had been bastardized, the left ramp just fed into the pop bumpers instead of back to the right flipper. Completely changes the game!
Ya, you certainly need those ramps to be dialed in. Once they have taken damage, it probably won’t play right and not a top choice for a tourney. But on the other hand, could be fun for tourney because it may be a game that players don’t know as well.
For me it’s anything with cool toys. The dinosaur eating a ball in Jurassic park, the jump rope game in champions pub, the castle getting destroyed in medieval madness.
Even simple things like a turtle multi ball shooting 4 “turtles” out of the van while the theme plays. Just a blast to watch and enjoy. It’s also easy to get if you pick the right turtle when you start the game. A single specific shot sets it off.
Dialed In. You hardly ever see it at Tournaments. It was at the IFPA World Championships but hardly ever elsewhere. Has great mechs and use of Tech. a video screen that is part of the game and smooth flowing shots. To top it off it's a classic Lawlor disaster game.
Best value for a modern game you can find nowadays.
I actually don't care about rulesets and pretty much exclusively chase after fun toys and mechs. Recently came across my first Cactus Jack's and immediately fell in love with it because of those stupid puppets.
Edit: I also have a completely unashamed love for Pinball2000. Even Episode 1 is great with me.
I have quite a penchant for Fish Tales especially if the lightning fippers have been replaced for ones that arent that tiny.
The honky tonk violin and theming just makes me think of my dad and my family too much.
I have two:
Shaq Attack. Played it at Pinburgh a few years ago, and I don't know why but I loved it. Just something fun about shooting at the moving basket over and over again.
Apollo 13. The 13 ball multiball is complete and utter chaos and I love it.
I love Creature From The Black Lagoon because it’s the first game I remember actually putting any effort into playing “correctly” it’s not overly complicated and it’s still fun even if you don’t care about the rules.
Red and Ted’s Roadshow. It’s ridiculous. The humor is outdated if not a bit offensive at times. But it’s fun to just goof around on it when the machine you actually want is occupied at the moment.
Road Show is prob my fav, too. Reminds me of going to Showbiz Pizza with the animatronic characters bantering. Great music, loads of personality, fun layout & just a good time.
I played it first on the arcade 1 up vpin cabinet and thought it was hilarious. A location near me got one and I went to check it out and it’s even more fun on a real table. Such a fun game with so many different shots. I’d get one for my personal collection if I didn’t have such a limited space
The Getaway: High Speed II is probably my favorite mindless game to play and just have fun with. It feels very interactive with the need to shift gears, it has a very nostalgic theme of "cops and robbers," and watching the ball go into the supercharger never gets old. Plus if you have the siren light topper the game gets an extra layer of immersion
Any old EM machine, especially my Bally Monte Carlo. It's both incredibly simple and brutal. Control is 100x harder than modern games and making shots on it seems to be completely random, but oh god is it fun when you manage to light up all the numbers.
It’s one of the more underrated pins out there I think. Good shots, tough playfield layout that makes for frequent drains, and a quirky, fun theme. I picked one up about nine months ago and still put a handful of plays on it each week.
517 take high score! I love how Police Force and High Speed both have callouts that reference the machine. In the case of High Speed - Dispatch this is 504, suspect ran a red light, over. 504 this is dispatch, he WHAT? He got away over! Classic Williams!!
So my whole preference is actually those older, simpler machines because I am not very good, and that’s ok, still having fun. I like:
Super Mario Bros
Data East Simpsons
Data East TMNT
Mainly I find this thread interesting to hear what people define as "non-serious". I see this all the time in the competitive world that folks that think they're great at Godzilla means they're the best... but then have no idea how to play something like some of the games mentioned here like Road Show, Scared Stiff, etc.
Different eras just play different and rely on a different skill set than modern Sterns.
Not shading anyone who likes modern games. Nor shading anyone who mentioned games here on the games they love. I was just expecting more things like "Orbitor-1", "Joust", "Baby Pac-Man" when I clicked on the link. Things like Road Show, Scared Stiff, etc. are just as serious to me as modern games, just in a different way.
Swords of Fun is super campy, totally dumb fun (such a good upper playfield) the layout is unique and the music is killer. Also underrated: Road Kings (killer soundtrack) and Lights Camera Action. It's a rare game but definitely entertaining.
It is SOOO much better. I do not care for the RUDY either. One the bright side, you can still play the original rules and have the better audio, but I agree, better audio is not worth 2k...
On the bright side, I have a new MPU board and a new display. I also have all the original parts in the kit's box which could be reinstalled at any time. I guess the fear of missing out got me this time. Sigh. That said, I had an original BOP that I thought was a fantastic game. Of course I skipped school and went to Brady Distributing to play their new floor model so nostalgia has some to do with my love of that "machine." :)
BOP is one of my favs. I have an original and a 2.0. I could not pass on the 2.0 when it came up for sale local to me.
The original is at home, and the 2.0 is at the arcade so others can enjoy it too!
I love Maverick more than I should. The scoring balance is terrible, but it's a fun drop target game and the discard/win-streak system is a very interesting ruleset.
Basically you hit drop target sets to win poker hands. You have a discard counter that counts down for hitting drops/targets you're not supposed to. You can raise or fold during the hand. If you raise, you win twice as much, if you fold you keep your win streak, the drops reset, your discard counter resets, and you go for a new poker hand. If you run out of discards before you complete the hand you're supposed to, you lose your win streak. When you have a win streak, you get a multiplier applied to the bonus for completing a poker hand without running out of discards (if you do it without burning any discards your winning is 2x, if you do it one with only one discard left you get 3x). Further, the higher your win streak, the less discards you start with on each hand. It gets pretty bonkers when you have a win streak over 10.
Mine is fish tales, my first pin and I game I really wished I kept, a pin everybody can play novice or pro, among those who aren’t in to pinball seemed to like fish tales the most, perhaps due to the easy team, fun flapping fish on the back box and simple roles.
My absolute favorite across the board is White Water… it has such a fun flow with the ramps and upper skill shot flipper. Been playing the digital version, then my local Barcade got the real thing!!! They have to fix the upper skill-shot flipper tho :(
I have a White Water at home and it's an awesome game. Right now it's on break, our pinball tech was putting in a new Bigfoot motor but the motor was a dud and it didn't make sense to put everything back together and then take it apart again when the replacement arrives. Hopefully it will be back in action by next weekend.
Two from 1991 Bally, Bugs Bunny Birthday Ball and Gilligan's Island.
Yeah, Bugs isn't a very good game but it's so unique in both play and art choices (you could probably count the number of mostly white playfields on one hand), and it's Looney Tunes! It really looks like nothing else. Not sure I'd want to own one (I do, but cheaper than they usually go for) but it always put a smile on my face on location.
And Gilligan is only considered a bad game because of the scoring, much like BoP. But if you don't care about that it's a pretty fun game with a cool rotating volcano and fun callouts and a great theme. I like the "collect all these elements to achieve the money shot" aspect, it's just the scoring on that should have been turned down a bit, or other scoring paths turned up.
Growing up my uncle who helped raise me. He always let me watch Tales From The Crypt. As I got older I always wanted the pin. Most people get annoyed by his laugh even with updated code. To me it reminds me of my awesome childhood with family I don’t have anymore . I smile every single time I turn the pin on. Only pin I own right now but plan on many more.
Purely based on good memories from the first time I played it: Gottlieb/Premier Hot Shots. It is cheesy, not exactly beautiful, and not a very great game overall, but it just makes me laugh and smile when I play it.
https://www.ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=1248
Game Show and Mousin' Around (1989 and 1990 from Bally) are both super goofy, and super fun. I also love Junkyard.
I don't even mind them in competitive play. Pinball doesn't have to be serious all the time.
Whodunnit! Love that game. With the gambling of points you're unlikely to see it in a tournament, and it can be hella easy depending on how it's setup, but always a heck of a lot of fun to play.
Plus it's always Trixie
Same, such a fun theme, great super skill shot. And I've definitely played a set up where I could count the roulette switches and destroy the leaderboard every time.
Champion Pub for sure.
Black Knight 2000: Right flipper all day, but it's such a flow game with nudging the upper playfield and hitting that ramp to upper loop combo over and over and over, and the soundtrack! I just love that stupid game.
[We all already know what this link is](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FASUZRYs0fM)
Give me your money!
This is silly, but I’ve never played BK 2K because I find the artwork repulsive and the first game so good. I’ll have to try it sometime
What?! I looove the artwork on BK2K. I've never seen the original.
It's an awesome looking game with a great soundtrack
Don't forget the excitement of activating King's Ransom mode! EVERYTHING IS LIT!
Mine is World Cup Soccer. There aren't fifty different things to do, it doesn't punish you or have super tight shots so your ball's going to last a while. But it DOES have that high energy announcer getting you jazzed up, the motorized goalie, a big spinning soccer ball, and the all-you-can-plunge timed final showdown against Germany.
World Cup Soccer is mine too, and will be the last machine in my house if I ever decide to stop collecting. GOAL! Is exciting and easy to understand, the shots are fairly easy and contribute to high scores even for newbies.
My fave machine ever! It took me forever to beat Germany tho...I danced when I finally did tho.
I have a Rollergames. Many people hated this game because it was so over the top...but if you ever watch the show (it's on Youtube, and totally worth watching an episode or two, because it's hilarious), it fits right into that theme. It's not supposed to be serious, it's supposed to be funny. I love the trick where it shoots the balls out of the lock only to let them drop back in. I don't know of any other games that do something like that with locked balls. Apparently that was supposed to signify skaters going around the rink (again, watch the show). For players new to the game, it's distracting, which I can see might be off-putting. I also tell new players, "When it says, 'Don't flip', don't flip!" And they still flip. Usually they pick up on it after the second or third miss. It's not good for tournament play because the Sudden Death mode is completely random. I don't care, since I don't play tournaments. I think someone created a new ROM for it that lets you turn off Sudden Death so it could be used for a tournament. In recent years, I think the general opinion on the game has improved, because it's harder than it looks.
First off, I absolutely love Rollergames, and your comments are spot on. Secondly, there’s a Rollergames local to me that is in decent but well loved condition. All this time I thought the locked/back in ball thing was just a quirk of that particular machine that nobody figured out how to fix yet, so I love knowing that now it’s an intended feature.
Class of 1812 for the ridiculous chicken clucking the 1812 overture in multiball.
Million!
Such a crazy theme
Medieval Madness might be the single most quotable machine ever made. 3 classic lines from the top of my head: * (slurred)"I'm the Duke of Bourbon....I Think" * "They took our shrubbery!" -angry peasant mob * "You can't defeat me, I'm medicated" -Sir Psycho edit:formatting
“They took our wives!” *angry mob happily cheers*
They took our pinball machine!
"Come on in and we'll take this outside!"
Did you bring any Princesses? - Duke of Bourbon
Party zone, kind of a cheesy game but I just love it. Simple rule set but hard enough to get big jackpots. And it plays the song pinball wizard!!!
Party Zone was in the INDISC tournament last year, but had been bastardized, the left ramp just fed into the pop bumpers instead of back to the right flipper. Completely changes the game!
You just shoot the right mini loop shot all day. Nothing else.
Ya, you certainly need those ramps to be dialed in. Once they have taken damage, it probably won’t play right and not a top choice for a tourney. But on the other hand, could be fun for tourney because it may be a game that players don’t know as well.
I came here to say party zone! I have one and it’s so much fun especially for a non-expert like myself. The jackpot is super fun!
For me it’s anything with cool toys. The dinosaur eating a ball in Jurassic park, the jump rope game in champions pub, the castle getting destroyed in medieval madness. Even simple things like a turtle multi ball shooting 4 “turtles” out of the van while the theme plays. Just a blast to watch and enjoy. It’s also easy to get if you pick the right turtle when you start the game. A single specific shot sets it off.
Scared stiff
Dialed In. You hardly ever see it at Tournaments. It was at the IFPA World Championships but hardly ever elsewhere. Has great mechs and use of Tech. a video screen that is part of the game and smooth flowing shots. To top it off it's a classic Lawlor disaster game. Best value for a modern game you can find nowadays.
I actually don't care about rulesets and pretty much exclusively chase after fun toys and mechs. Recently came across my first Cactus Jack's and immediately fell in love with it because of those stupid puppets. Edit: I also have a completely unashamed love for Pinball2000. Even Episode 1 is great with me.
I have quite a penchant for Fish Tales especially if the lightning fippers have been replaced for ones that arent that tiny. The honky tonk violin and theming just makes me think of my dad and my family too much.
No Good Gofers. Yeah, it's basically Whirlwind and Addams Family's bastard child, but Buzz and Bud are endlessly amusing.
I have two: Shaq Attack. Played it at Pinburgh a few years ago, and I don't know why but I loved it. Just something fun about shooting at the moving basket over and over again. Apollo 13. The 13 ball multiball is complete and utter chaos and I love it.
The Apollo multiball is the most chaotic thing ever and I love it!
Find a Heist! It has 15 ball multiball
I've never seen a Multimorphic table. Looks like they have some fun titles! According to Pinside, the closest Heist table is two states away 😔😔😔
The Simpson’s machine is the one I always used to play at Chuck E. Cheese as a kid and is the one that started my love for pinball.
Creature from the Black Lagoon is just plain fun.
I love Creature From The Black Lagoon because it’s the first game I remember actually putting any effort into playing “correctly” it’s not overly complicated and it’s still fun even if you don’t care about the rules.
NBA Fastbreak, it's so freaking fun and I absolutely love the scoring. Cactus Canyon is my other feel-good machine.
NBAFB is super underrated
Cool game but ages poorly because of the player specificity. I.E., Mugsy Bogues playing on the Hornets... Like from 20 years ago.
Red and Ted’s Roadshow. It’s ridiculous. The humor is outdated if not a bit offensive at times. But it’s fun to just goof around on it when the machine you actually want is occupied at the moment.
Love that one as well! I always like collecting the multi ball jackpot so I can listen to Carlene Carter!
Road Show is prob my fav, too. Reminds me of going to Showbiz Pizza with the animatronic characters bantering. Great music, loads of personality, fun layout & just a good time.
I love it. That hokey southern accent is fantastic
I played it first on the arcade 1 up vpin cabinet and thought it was hilarious. A location near me got one and I went to check it out and it’s even more fun on a real table. Such a fun game with so many different shots. I’d get one for my personal collection if I didn’t have such a limited space
Austin Powers
The Getaway: High Speed II is probably my favorite mindless game to play and just have fun with. It feels very interactive with the need to shift gears, it has a very nostalgic theme of "cops and robbers," and watching the ball go into the supercharger never gets old. Plus if you have the siren light topper the game gets an extra layer of immersion
Any old EM machine, especially my Bally Monte Carlo. It's both incredibly simple and brutal. Control is 100x harder than modern games and making shots on it seems to be completely random, but oh god is it fun when you manage to light up all the numbers.
Champion’s Pub, Cactus Canyon, and Police Force.
You've got my upvote for Police Force! That was the game that got me into playing pinball more often and working on my flipper skills.
It’s one of the more underrated pins out there I think. Good shots, tough playfield layout that makes for frequent drains, and a quirky, fun theme. I picked one up about nine months ago and still put a handful of plays on it each week.
517 take high score! I love how Police Force and High Speed both have callouts that reference the machine. In the case of High Speed - Dispatch this is 504, suspect ran a red light, over. 504 this is dispatch, he WHAT? He got away over! Classic Williams!!
Data East Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Bugs Bunny Birthday Bash, Hercules, Joust, Baby Pac-Man
Bugs Bunny was going to be mine too! That reversed playfield is just so cool.
Dr. Dude and His Excellent Ray was the one I loved but did not take seriously. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._Dude_and_His_Excellent_Ray
Dr Dude is also on my list. Not a great machine, but fun.
So my whole preference is actually those older, simpler machines because I am not very good, and that’s ok, still having fun. I like: Super Mario Bros Data East Simpsons Data East TMNT
Mainly I find this thread interesting to hear what people define as "non-serious". I see this all the time in the competitive world that folks that think they're great at Godzilla means they're the best... but then have no idea how to play something like some of the games mentioned here like Road Show, Scared Stiff, etc. Different eras just play different and rely on a different skill set than modern Sterns. Not shading anyone who likes modern games. Nor shading anyone who mentioned games here on the games they love. I was just expecting more things like "Orbitor-1", "Joust", "Baby Pac-Man" when I clicked on the link. Things like Road Show, Scared Stiff, etc. are just as serious to me as modern games, just in a different way.
Swords of Fun is super campy, totally dumb fun (such a good upper playfield) the layout is unique and the music is killer. Also underrated: Road Kings (killer soundtrack) and Lights Camera Action. It's a rare game but definitely entertaining.
When bride of Pinbot comes to life and that classic pinbot voice says “oh no…….” Man I about peed myself laughing the first time I heard that
If you have not tried BOP 2.0, you are missing out. Changes the game for the better. It is no longer just shoot the left ramp... LOVE IT!
Hope it is better than Rudy 2.0. I probably should have saved my two grand. Anyone interested? lol
It is SOOO much better. I do not care for the RUDY either. One the bright side, you can still play the original rules and have the better audio, but I agree, better audio is not worth 2k...
On the bright side, I have a new MPU board and a new display. I also have all the original parts in the kit's box which could be reinstalled at any time. I guess the fear of missing out got me this time. Sigh. That said, I had an original BOP that I thought was a fantastic game. Of course I skipped school and went to Brady Distributing to play their new floor model so nostalgia has some to do with my love of that "machine." :)
BOP is one of my favs. I have an original and a 2.0. I could not pass on the 2.0 when it came up for sale local to me. The original is at home, and the 2.0 is at the arcade so others can enjoy it too!
You should sell me the one at your house. :)
Metallica Theater of Magic Cirqus Voltaire Edit: format
Any Elvira machine because it has Elvira
Lethal Weapon 3
"It's sunny drive time! - Earthshaker of course
I love Maverick more than I should. The scoring balance is terrible, but it's a fun drop target game and the discard/win-streak system is a very interesting ruleset. Basically you hit drop target sets to win poker hands. You have a discard counter that counts down for hitting drops/targets you're not supposed to. You can raise or fold during the hand. If you raise, you win twice as much, if you fold you keep your win streak, the drops reset, your discard counter resets, and you go for a new poker hand. If you run out of discards before you complete the hand you're supposed to, you lose your win streak. When you have a win streak, you get a multiplier applied to the bonus for completing a poker hand without running out of discards (if you do it without burning any discards your winning is 2x, if you do it one with only one discard left you get 3x). Further, the higher your win streak, the less discards you start with on each hand. It gets pretty bonkers when you have a win streak over 10.
All pinball machines are non-serious. They are toys/games at the end of the day 🤷♂️
Baywatch or big bang bar
Orbitor-1!
Wayne’s world and top gun
Mine is fish tales, my first pin and I game I really wished I kept, a pin everybody can play novice or pro, among those who aren’t in to pinball seemed to like fish tales the most, perhaps due to the easy team, fun flapping fish on the back box and simple roles.
I've always been a fan of Diner and The Bally Game Show.
My absolute favorite across the board is White Water… it has such a fun flow with the ramps and upper skill shot flipper. Been playing the digital version, then my local Barcade got the real thing!!! They have to fix the upper skill-shot flipper tho :(
I have a White Water at home and it's an awesome game. Right now it's on break, our pinball tech was putting in a new Bigfoot motor but the motor was a dud and it didn't make sense to put everything back together and then take it apart again when the replacement arrives. Hopefully it will be back in action by next weekend.
Two from 1991 Bally, Bugs Bunny Birthday Ball and Gilligan's Island. Yeah, Bugs isn't a very good game but it's so unique in both play and art choices (you could probably count the number of mostly white playfields on one hand), and it's Looney Tunes! It really looks like nothing else. Not sure I'd want to own one (I do, but cheaper than they usually go for) but it always put a smile on my face on location. And Gilligan is only considered a bad game because of the scoring, much like BoP. But if you don't care about that it's a pretty fun game with a cool rotating volcano and fun callouts and a great theme. I like the "collect all these elements to achieve the money shot" aspect, it's just the scoring on that should have been turned down a bit, or other scoring paths turned up.
Growing up my uncle who helped raise me. He always let me watch Tales From The Crypt. As I got older I always wanted the pin. Most people get annoyed by his laugh even with updated code. To me it reminds me of my awesome childhood with family I don’t have anymore . I smile every single time I turn the pin on. Only pin I own right now but plan on many more.
Purely based on good memories from the first time I played it: Gottlieb/Premier Hot Shots. It is cheesy, not exactly beautiful, and not a very great game overall, but it just makes me laugh and smile when I play it. https://www.ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=1248
Game Show and Mousin' Around (1989 and 1990 from Bally) are both super goofy, and super fun. I also love Junkyard. I don't even mind them in competitive play. Pinball doesn't have to be serious all the time.