What is it?

This FAQ aims to answer all the questions you might have about the Pinside Top 100 and about rating in general.

The questions

1. How does rating machines work and how can I do it?
2. How many ratings do I need to submit before they count in the Pinside Top 100?
3. How many ratings should a machine receive before it's accepted in the Pinside Top 100?
4. How do you guys make sure the list is fair?
5. Pinball machine X is not on the list, why not?
6. Pinball machine X is not on the list, so your list is worthless!
7. I can buy machine X and it's high on your list! A sure buy, right?
8. Why are there mostly more recent machines on (top of) the list?
9. When is the list being updated?
10. I just finished rating my first machine, but I was not awarded any Karma points. Why not?
11. I just finished rating a machine, but the average score of the machine hasn't changed. Why not?

The answers

You can learn all about rating pinball machines by reading the guide: How to rate a machine.

You need to rate 6 machines before your ratings will count in the Pinside Top 100. When you have rated 6 machines, your ratings will be held against our 'Rules of rating' and if they are approved they will be processed next time the list is being compiled. This procedure exists to make it more difficult for cheaters to cast troll votes. To learn more about this, please see our guide: How to rate a machine.

A machine needs to be rated 6 times. Until then its average rating will be visible, but the machine will be left out of the Pinside Top 100. The reason for this is that we want the list to be a reflection of the average opinion and that by accepting machines that have only received one or few votes, the list could be easily compromised by taking the opinion of only one or few users into account.

We try to keep the list clean by constantly monitoring the votes that have been cast. Over the years we have developed certain measures that enables us to spot troll votes rather easily and to remove them instantly from the list. Of course we don't presume we managed to get rid of 100% of the troll votes, but all in all we think we did a pretty good job in keeping the list honest.

We have been asked this question a lot over the past years. First of all  please try to keep in mind that we're talking about a popularity list here. Now this is important enough to repeat! This list only represents the avarage taste of the users of this site. This means that for a machine to be on this list, it must be known enough amongst our visitors to have been rated a certain amount of times (6 times).

You must understand that we don't assume that our list is 'the ultimate list of pinball machines' in any respect. Nor do we pretend the machines on this list to be the greatest ones ever designed. The list is merely a reflection of the opinions of the visitors of the Pinside and it should be used this way. This means that you should never buy a machine just because it's on this list. Play it first! Reach your own conclusion! And if you like a machine after playing it, you may come to realise that you seem to agree with a lot of other people.

You may have a point here, but before you judge this list please take some time to read the points mentioned in the question 'Pinball machine X is not on the list, why not?'. And do realise that it is in your own power to give your favorite machine the spot it deserves. Well, if enough other people agree with you, that is.

No, no, no! This list should only be used as an indication, never as a fact. Your taste may be totally different from the common view, so please make up you own mind before investing in such an expensive toy as a pinball machine. Go play the machine first and decide for yourself if you like the machine well enough to spend an huge amount of cash on.

Well, in our view this can be explained by the fact that the emphasis of this site lies with more recent machines. So it only makes sense that these machines are more known and thus more popular amongst our visitors.

The list is being updated every sunday evening 00:00 o'clock Central Europe Time (CET) / Central Europe Summer Time (CEST).

Before you can receive Karma points for voting, your votes should first be approved by an administrator. For this to happen you first need to have voted 6 machines. The good news is that once you have rated 6 machines and your ratings have been approved, you will immediately receive 150 points (25 points for each rating x 6). To learn more about this, please see our guide: How to rate a machine.

First of all it's important to realise that machine ratings are updated only once a week, at the same time the Pinside Top 100 list is being updated (every Sunday at midnight). Secondly you should know that your ratings don't count as long as they have not been approved by an Pinside administrater. Your rates will be validated as soon as you've rated 6 machines.