Just wondering, for those that have a large lineup of machines, how did you decide on the order?

Date
Manufacturer
Designer
Theme
Play Style
Random

My goal is to one day be able to answer this question.

wherever a empty hole is !

Jim

In my room, the lighting is very uneven. Because of this, I tend to place pins with dark playfields in areas with more light and vice versa.

Hmm...I typically play with most or all of the lights off. I guess in my limited experience, I like the lighting provided by the GI.

I know if I had a lot of machines though thought would go into the placement. I'm anal like that though, but since I only have two machines I guess the answer could be all of the above.

I only have one pin, so randomly it is.

Wherever there's a spot on the wall.

If I bring in a machine that has a different profile, like an early SS with all others being WPC era for example, I will keep that one separate so they are all even along the wall. Games with toppers are at the one end where there is no bulkhead.

My Keeper's Stay Further back in the Game Room Garage , away from the Door !!

I don't really think about it, but I do keep BSD & MSF together.

I only have 4 machines up and running. On my latest addition, an Williams EM Space Odyssey, I did move my Lethal Weapon 3 to a different spot.. This way I could put the Space Odyssey right next to my Dad's favorite Cue Ball Wizard.. I figured this would save him from having to walk clear across the Game Room to play the EM also..

Bill in Indiana

SM,IM and BDK need to be together Nascar has it's own spot.
With WOZ on the way i needed to move thing around to make more room and toppers always seem to be a problem with a lower ceiling area in the room. I sure hope the topper on WOZ is not to tall. So it's kind of take the space that works for me.
Jim Z

wbradley said:

Wherever there's a spot on the wall.
If I bring in a machine that has a different profile, like an early SS with all others being WPC era for example, I will keep that one separate so they are all even along the wall. Games with toppers are at the one end where there is no bulkhead.

I'm with you on the profile part. Just brought Congo in to out next to Hulk. Being a system 1 it has a low profile so it had to go first I. My mind with Congo in the back. Stinks too because there is a desk blocking me from getting the glass off on the Congo. If I switched them the bulk glass would slide right off over the top of the desk because there is very little angle to the glass. Would make life easier but would bug the heck out of me "hiding" Hulk behind Congo

The EM goes on one end, since it would look odd in the middle of a line of DMDs. Fish Tales goes on the other end so that I don't impale myself on the fishing rod while walking around in the dark. There's a projector in my gameroom, and while watching movies, I have to walk around the sofa next to the pins to get to the fridge.

JIM_Z said:

I sure hope the topper on WOZ is not to tall.

Me too. My Tommy topper just barely makes it.

Manufacturers, i can't see early ss next to my LOTR or early williams next to bally.

Whridlsoncestood said:

wbradley said:Wherever there's a spot on the wall.
If I bring in a machine that has a different profile, like an early SS with all others being WPC era for example, I will keep that one separate so they are all even along the wall. Games with toppers are at the one end where there is no bulkhead.
I'm with you on the profile part. Just brought Congo in to out next to Hulk. Being a system 1 it has a low profile so it had to go first I. My mind with Congo in the back. Stinks too because there is a desk blocking me from getting the glass off on the Congo. If I switched them the bulk glass would slide right off over the top of the desk because there is very little angle to the glass. Would make life easier but would bug the heck out of me "hiding" Hulk behind Congo

???

I would say random but looking at my pin lineup now is 2 Ritchies Taxi and Fish Tales together then Bsd and Tom.

I had/have mine in Date order for the most part, but it's becoming more random. Problem is, as the collection grows I have had to split off into a second grouping. So now, all the SS Bally's are together. Head room with toppers plays a factor in some areas, as does making sure an ugly cab doesn't wind up on the end.

I have EM, SS & DMD games and have them arranged by height. I like symmetry in the line-up and think they would look odd otherwise.

Yeah, a bit Feng shui but that's how I roll.

BLACK_ROSE said:

My Keeper's Stay Further back in the Game Room Garage , away from the Door !!

Too funny, if it gets to the slot closest to the door then that is usually the next one to leave

Have only 2, had a third.. About to be 3 again. Pins that need more work come towards entrance to basement (more room to work on them), ones working good get tucked back since it won't likely be moving.

None of the above, I line them up based on the order I acquired them.

What about type?

Have all my sys 11's on one wall, etc.

I move mine around from time to time. TZ and STTNG were not getting along so I had to move TOM in between them to settle those widebodies down a little. Machines with toppers are all the same row. I have my final version all planned out-just waiting on the last few pins.

Silverballer said:

TZ and STTNG were not getting along so I had to move TOM in between them to settle those widebodies down a little.

I literally let out a chuckle when I read that. On a related and equally stupid note, I run a Build a Bear type workshop at work. I will sometimes try to arrange the animals so that none of their real world counterparts would eat each other. More of a quick brain teaser then anything.

(I work as a Recreation Manager at a resort)

lpeters82 said:

(I work as a Recreation Manager at a resort)

Important addition to the post

Completely random, no thought whatsoever. Pretty much the story of my life.

McCune said:

wherever a empty hole is !
Jim

That is how I do it with the exception being Whitewater and Fish Tales, they are a set like Dr. Dude and Party Zone and should reside next to each other.
I tried chronological order but a major PIA to move the games when a new title shows up so I gave up on that.
Games with gun handles go at the end next to a wall.

by the date i bought them..

way2wyrd said:

by the date i bought them..

Man I should put them together like that.

Mine are currently Music pins in one area on a wall. AC/DC LE, TRS, GNR, HMM, AL' GARAGE BAND GOES ON TOUR. Then the rest are random in a wall. I will end up putting my NBAFB and SlugFest together once I get rid of the air hockey table.

At first I didn't want to clutter the basement with pins so I left room for an air hockey table and such. After seeing another pinsiders place of over 60+ machines I'm going back on what I thought. I want more machines.

Jeff_PHX_AZ said:

Whridlsoncestood said:wbradley said:Wherever there's a spot on the wall.
If I bring in a machine that has a different profile, like an early SS with all others being WPC era for example, I will keep that one separate so they are all even along the wall. Games with toppers are at the one end where there is no bulkhead.
I'm with you on the profile part. Just brought Congo in to out next to Hulk. Being a system 1 it has a low profile so it had to go first I. My mind with Congo in the back. Stinks too because there is a desk blocking me from getting the glass off on the Congo. If I switched them the bulk glass would slide right off over the top of the desk because there is very little angle to the glass. Would make life easier but would bug the heck out of me "hiding" Hulk behind Congo
???

That desk stops me from taking the glass off of Congo. I have to angle it like that to work on it. If Hulk was there the glass is more level and would slide off over the desk, but look weird behind Congo.

wherever the wife wont bitch about me putting another pin is where the newest one goes

McCune said:

wherever a empty hole is !

That's what she said.

By manu. I have 2 gottlieb's together, and nearby the 2 bally's are lined up. Have an e-m in another room for now.

Whridlsoncestood said:

That desk stops me from taking the glass off of Congo.

Have you thought of having a piece of wood sitting under the Congo, and when you want to work on it you lift the front of the game off the floor and slide the wood under the feet...? I heard about people using this method when they have two rows of pins facing each other where the isle is too narrow to get the glass out...

If I had mine lined up I'd do them in date order... firstly so you can see how the games developed over time, and secondly, I find it kind of 'ugly', maybe even offensive to the senses to have a woodrail sat next to a DMD game... I've seen it at shows, and there's just something 'wrong' about it... it kind of makes the DMD game look ugly and, since the woodrail is much smaller in all proportions, it's almost like the DMD game is intimidating the woodrail. I'd much prefer to have the woodrails a safe distance from the DMDs, protected by the reel scoring EMs and early solid state machines in between... I'd be worried that when I leave the room the DMD game would start bullying the woodrail and kicking it's wooden legs if I leave them next to each other... and I want my woodrails to have a happy home!!

Only by what is aesthetically attractive. A mixture of older pins with newer in between appeals to me.

dvandentop said:

wherever the wife wont bitch about me putting another pin is where the newest one goes [:lol:]

I have to adopt the same policy, which is why all my new acquisitions end up in the powerless dark store on their end... I thought she was going to let me have another one in the flat recently, but it turned out it was just a joke after I'd got all excited about which one I was going to haul in (Freefall)... I really want to play that game

The order they arrived, lazy I guess.

I line up all the DMDS on one wall....SSs on another....EM's on another.So I guess I line 'em up by era.Scott

Right now, Manufacturer. They look better that way.

I use date. That is not a hard rule, just the way I liked it.

I do a combination of manufacturer/era and theme.

I don't have a big lineup, but I would, hands down no question do it by designer (barring other considerations, ex, a limited amount of space in an area without windows to fade the cabinet -> all the high $ machines need to be in the windowless room).

Lawlor Lane, the Ritchie Speedway, the Borg Collective, etc...

What?! No alphabetical option???

Typically all my empty pin slots are maxed out. I have sell one to buy something new. When I sell one alll the rest get shoved towards the wall to make a spot on the end for whatever comes next.

In the order that they were acquired right now....Almost organized actually.... two Bally's next to two Williams, if I switched DM with HS2 they would almost be chronological... Hmmmm

At first I had them by year of manufacture...but then I started getting multiple years and that started getting harder to place them...:-) I was down to using month of manufacture...Plus most of the system 11s have toppers, and they didn't work well in a drop ceiling basement (I had to put 27 in. legs on them and they still just barely fit...some I had to lift the ceiling tiles up to fit them in) Plus I can only fit 20 in my basement if I get rid of the TV and video games...So I decided that the dining room was wasted space with furniture in it...and it has a higher ceiling, so the furniture moved out, and the dining room became the system 11 room, then the living room furniture moved out with the dining room to the storage building and became the overflow, and the system 9s went in there as well as the DMDs...so now it is system 6, 7 and EMs and classic Sterns are in the basement...system 11 in the dining room, system 9, DMDs and Farfalla with topper, Varkon, Robotron and my newly acquired jukebox are in the living room (gotta get that big screen moved and I can get 3 more pins in there).
So my system at this point is kind of random depending on where they fit!! and how easy they are to get up and down the stairs...(system 6, 7 and EMs the heads come off relatively easy so they are good to go down the steps without removing the door!)
When I win the lottery and can build my new shop and gameroom...my system might change! But for now it is what it is!!

Phoebe

I pretty much just put them where I have room. Once I get my basement finished I'll put a little more thought into it.

Keepers stay further back and possible trades move up

I organize mine so that TFTC is easiest to work on. (there is always something going wrong with it)