I had a post similar to this one that led me to Sorcerer nearly six years ago. Having a game professionally restored is a great way to help ensure the 80’s game is reliable.

Both the Sorcerer and Quicksilver you play were restored by a gentlemen in Dallas by the name of Keith Holbrook and his work (as you can see) is superb and he is priced very reasonably.

Some of the games I would consider from the 80’s:

Gorgar, Flash Gordon (warning that game is harder than fossilized dinasour droppings), Dragonfist, eight ball delux (I know of a nice restored one in Louisiana that may one day be for sale), Centaur, Viking, and even a Genie (with the new roms).

Getting a NIB game is also an incredible expierence. While many games require some switch adjustments and other tweaking initially out the box to get them dialed in, a new Stern game will generally be reliable for a long time. Also, the code on modern games is super deep compared to the 80’s and in a single game collection that may be more desirable for you.

I personally like short ball time games (like Iron Man) as opposed to marathon games where the ball times are really long (like Lord of the Rings). Most early 80’s games have short ball times because there are no ramps safely returning the ball to your flipper...so the ball stays in jeopardy. That said, many people prefer the “flow” of modern games where one shot seemlessly rolls into the next (assuming you make your shots) like on Star Trek.

The best advice I can give is for someone to play a bunch of games and rate them and identify what they like about each game. This will help you nail down what you really want. I did this and was surprised to learn that a game’s theme didn’t matter as much to me as I thought it did.

I've seen several posts about Flash Gordon referred to as a "humbler."

The Houston Arcade Expo is probably the closest big show. You'll see many games new to you. Take a look at The Pinball Arcade app too, it will give you an idea if you'll like playing a specific table.

Yep, the Houston Arcade Expo is an amazing party. Book your hotel room quick before the event hotel fills up: http://www.arcadecenter.com

Looking for a good bang for your buck? Consider the 90’s Sega games like Godzilla, Goldeneye, or X-Files. Gotlieb also made some DMD games that are neat like Gladiators.

Keep in mind though that if you get an older game that is more shallow than the Sterns of today you’ll want to set it up to be challenging with open outlanes, harder to start multiballs, and short ball saves or you’ll get tired of the game in a single game collection. The Sega machines are heavy on the multiballs and are generally easy to commence unless the settings are changed.

Flash Gordon
Big Game
Meteor
Flash
Firepower
Flight 2000
Eight ball deluxe LE
Blackout
Genie
Solar ride
Alien star

Take in a show. Play as many different games as you can. Then start thinking what game(s) you want for your own collection.

LTG : )