twominds's ratings

It's just plain fun. I am not a fan of the dog or the theme in general but the game is easy to learn and fun for beginners or seasoned players. The moving goalie is a great feature. There are a lot of easy shots but a moving target does add to the fun. I like the sound, with the shout of "GOAL," that gets a bit more explative at times. Guests, and my wife, gravitate toward this game. It can have immediate rewards for beginners and that makes it fun for everyone.

This is a machine that needs to be maintained regularly. There are a lot of moving parts to break and a few of these things take a beating during game play. the goalie and the spinning ball are prone to problems...so be aware. There are also a lot of playfield areas that need protecting. The goalie box and out holes get marred up quickly so Cliffy protectors are strongly advised...pretty much right away.

A hugely fun, fast playing game. Videos are awesome and the sound is beyond great. There are a couple hard shots but not annoying. I love all the complaints about the left ramp being "annoying." Yes it's a rough shot but that is by design and adds to the challenge. Playfield art is great and will really impress any R&M fan. Cabinet is a true piece of art. Replay-ability is large because new missions are added regularly with updates. One complaint is the build quality of the ramps and the plastic bracket holding the ship. But all in all a really fun, fast playing machine.

TOM is fairly simple machine with a lot of straight forward shots. You can get the speed rocking on it with a fast center loop and a straight forward multiball that is a bit difficult to keep alive.

There is a lot going on and most of it is awesome. I love the theme. The magic trunk is one of the easiest shots in pinball but it leads to a lot of clever themed very fun shots. The animation is great and funny. There is something about a guy rolling down the steps as a result of a "back door," shot that makes me laugh.

This is the machine in my collection that people gravitate to. I think the reason is that TOM is just plain fun. I have owned hundreds of machines over the years but TOM will sit in my collection forever. And...my wife would kill me if I ever got rid of it.

As you will see in some comments above, I will preface this by saying I love Iron Maiden and have been following them since the early 1980's. So when the game was announced I could not get to the phone quickly enough to pre-order. But I had a chance to play it for an extended period of time at the Midwest Gaming Classic (several hours) and then again at a couple different pin halls. I was disappointed.

The theme is great. The screen is wonderful. The music is good. But the game play is honestly lacking. It is a loop machine and I love loops but the shots are very basic. It is a machine that if you simply keep the ball alive, you will score well. The center "jump," ramp is an automatic for players of any skill level and because of this (on a separate note) I really question its durability. It takes a serious beating and I have already seen one pushed crooked. Stern also went cheap on many aspects. Yes, I know...they want people to invest the extra bucks and get the LE edition. But the cheap plastics of Eddie around the playfield are an automatic turn-off. One of my friends at an arcade with me (also a Maiden fan but not a pinhead) walked up and immediately said. "What's with the cheap Eddie plastics? They should be figures." The first time my wife played it she also commented on the plastics and also said the machine was "very easy."

So while I wanted so much to like this machine, it is not worth the investment. I cancelled my preorder because in my modest collection; (7 machines) I could not pick one that I would trade for the Maiden. Very sad...

I am blessed to have a very nice pinball collection. I just came home after a very long hard day and passed up my BSD, TZ, Bride, RBION, and a few others and simply wanted to have some fun...without gimmick.I love my collection and I plan to buried with my BSD. Winner is one of my only EM machines I have and I love it. It is so cool with the horses racing beneath the playfield. I was lucky enough to score a HOU of this beauty...and honestly I love it. The original owner wrote the date he bought it, the place he bought it, his name, and even his phone number. That was 44 years ago. What a piece of beautiful history.

Is it fast, no. Is it complicated no. Does it have lasting game play...no. But what it has is a pure fun factor. A way for you and your wife or you friends to combine two very cool ideas, pinball and horse racing. I have a really nice collection...all collector grade but when people come over, Winner is...well...the winner. It is simple and fun. Sometimes when I look at some of the new Sterns they seem more like work than fun. But that is either here nor there. BUT, I bet you that if you had a bar and you put a Walking Dead Machine next to this old Winner, the winner would outsale it by a good margin...because most people want to simply have fun...not read a play sheet, And again, that is not a knock on TWD...it is just an observation.

Sometimes with the complicated newer pins we forget where we came from...and believe me, I love the new Sterns A LOT. But this is a "gambling machine" hidden as pinball and it is SOOOO fun to play with friends. I will not sell it...and because I have owned over 100 pins, that is saying a lot.

I am lucky to have it.

BSD is the machine I probably play the most. It sits between TOM and TZ in my collection but I gravitate to this one.

It is a fairly straight forward game but it is fairly challenging. The important targets mid playfiled are drain monsters but they are shots you have to make. You have to really know your flippers and what shot will kill you from what flipper. The machine has some odd angles. One of the main objectives looks so easy but the lane is at a very bizarre angle. I play with great players on occasion and they have a hard time with that shot.

This is a pin that demands mods. The bad Ron Jeremy looking vampire should be replaced immediately with a coffin mod. There are other aspects that look like after thoughts. But even with that, I thionk it is a cool looking pin.

The pinball is far better than the movie or book. They did a nice job of getting the most out of theme. It has a kinds of spooky, hippie vibe with off tune sounds and good voice acting. Great pin.

A nice pin from the "hippy," pin era. I restored one of these and it was a decent machine to play with a few nice shots. But the cabinet with that putrid pink color...could not stay in the collection.

One of my favorite pins of all time. It is a great theme with good flow and playability. This one will never leave my collection.

An early Ritchie masterpiece. A great figure 8 playfield makes the opening plunger shot a skill shot. The game is fun to play. It is one of those machines that, even with newer more elaborate machines in the room, people flock to it.