552 on mine, so I'm right with you....mostly just me that plays these, and I rotate through all 20 of my games....still loving it!!!

Actually more than that....forgot w the 1 code drop it didn't retain prior audits, high scores, etc. (part of the new code now, I believe, to keep all the settings, etc.)

So definitely have to add at least several hundred more during honeymoon phase. Machine (and playfield, btw), still look great. It's been very solid so far...

I'm at close to 1500 plays on my pro.

Lifetime is all the games played on the machine since the code that has included lifetime count was put in. If lifetime was in the code from new, this will count every game put on the machine.

Every time you do a code update it resets the total game count to zero. So total games are the games you have put on the machine since the last code update.

Hope this helps.

I've got 43 plays on mine...

Did you just buy it yesterday or something?

^^ Yep. BTW I think all Spike 2 games (2016 - present) came with lifetime count from the start. BM66, Mun, Elvira, DP, GOTG, AS etc.....

I really do wish that we would get just one final code update and change a few things up. I know that im probably in the minority herre but i do not like olaying both playfields at the same time at all, its actually dreadful to me instead of fun. The game is on the edge of greatness though so why not finish it up?

The life time count feature started in late 2018. It went into nearly every new machine after that and every code update on Spike machines.

I think it is a good thing, stops people resetting their game count. I am not sure what happens if the battery goes flat.

I like it also. Keeps people from getting lied to when they go buy a used game.

If Dwight leaves Musters as is, his reputation will take a hit no doubt. When/if he is going to be the lead programmer again I would not expect much in terms of sales for Stern either. I gave him a chance with Munsters but he fell short obviously. Lots of programming talent in the Stern lineup that would be embarrassed calling this a finished machine. Imagine what this could have been if Lyman did the programming?

I feel bad for all the Distros sitting on product that cant be sold.

I feel bad for the people that put in the effort with the art and layout package.

I feel bad for Stern and saddened they don't fix it and/or allow Dwight more time on this.

I feel bad for all the owners that had high hopes for this and have been let down.

I feel bad for Dwight and Sterns reputation taking such a blow unnecessarily.

I like the game but play it the least out of what I have. I would not have bought this had i known it would get zero polish.

Fingers crossed this gets revisited and not just flushed down the toilet.

As much as you love yours I would have thought you would have quite a few plays on it...

I probably would but I have pretty shitty work schedule that gets in the way of life alot.

Nope, I did a White Water playfield swap and then a Creature playfield swap, went in for surgery, and now trying to catch up with long hours of work. Just can't find the time to play my machines right now. My Alice Cooper has 6 plays on it.

Oh ok gotcha. Well I hope you are doing well and will find some time to play soon. Sounds like you got some nice games waiting on you.

I think your empathy is broken.

I don’t think so and think he has hit the nail on the head on this one. Munsters is a good game, but should be epic. Lyman, even Tim Sexton, would make this game epic. There would be no extra inventory and even the factory would be busy making a boatload more Munsters, if the code had many more modes, with the Munsters beloved show content included and much needed polish.

I am currently on a NIB strike because of play field issues but if I do buy another NIB it will never be a pin coded by Dwight. He seems like a likable guy and I am not saying he has never done a good job on code but I am not going to risk the $$ again on the "hope" that he finishes the code.

You hit the nail on the head!
I said in a round about way the same to George G, but no reply.
No more Dwight games for me until the code is complete. - too much of a risk for today's prices Stern are asking.

Greetings Munsters owners, I just posted in the general forum but am desperately looking for some help.
I was reattaching the plastic shield on my Munsters when a screw literally snapped in half.
I’ve attached a couple of pics.
Does any one have suggestions how to remove a broken screw which is embedded in the wood of the pf?
Thanks for any advice.
08FE9BA2-DBC2-48BB-A5F3-E974FE5C69D0 (resized).jpeg39702028-BF96-45DF-850A-AFEBEED2E855 (resized).jpeg

not sure of the size but maybe something like this you could try

https://www.amazon.com/Extractor-Stripped-HassleFree-Hardness-63-65hrc/dp/B07GZ17QD9

otherwise it's probably drill it out with a smaller drill bit

Thanks for the suggestion.
I was able to get the shield price off (it was stuck on the broken screw) and unfasten the tip of the broken screw with a vice grip/pliers.
All good now; just need a new screw.

When you get the new screw, lubricate it before you twist in back in. The best lubricant for these kinds of things in beeswax.

Beeswax is used to lubricate saw blades. You can buy a small cake of beeswax at Home Depot or Lowes. Or maybe even an Ace hardware store.

Why beeswax? Because it does not drip. It is not petroleum. And has a high melting point.

Thanks cottonm4, appreciate the suggestion.
Just so glad it was a straight forward fix.

Secret Mania? has anybody got some information on this?

i am desperatly searching any information on this. In the Code Update information is mentioned that the first clue is finadable.

– Added Secret Mania – You need a code. The first clue of the code is findable

my guess it's something like an easter egg:
- Added Team Credits ESaster egg: 1 2 3. To see it you Hold in Both flippers,
then you enter numbers with the left flipper and enter on with the right.
Finally, when you are done you have to enter one last time with the right
flipper. So 1 2 3 would be B LR LLR LLLR R
there seem to be more of this codes, but i don't want to put too much spoiler here.

with a little cheating some information about the secret code is findable with Pinball browser, it will not mention the code itself, but some information about it.

but it seems the secret code is only the beginning.

i hope someone can help.

Great idea and one that I will use from now on. Way better than petroleum products. Thanks cotton!

There's definitely more in there than is readily accessible in current code rev.

Having much fun w it now, but to think they are never going to revisit, or upgrade the code at some point is just ridiculous ( chances are high they have been working on it already). So many under used assets in it ....

I can't figure out how to delete the photos I added, so disregard this post.

Woohoo. I finally got MMII! Best High Score and lots others too. I got halfway through MMII on the first ball and actually got 3 modes through MMIII! I've had it for 6 months now, and just got in the zone on the one and only game I played today.

Munster Madness 2 didn't have any balls in Grandpas basement. Is that normal? When I got to the third level, I got Grandpa multiball, so I know it wasn't stuck balls or anything.

What a great game. Multiball in any pinball has always been my favorite and The Munsters is flush with MB modes.

Patiently waiting for toppers to be back in stock.

Chris

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Yes. MMII rules are completely different than MMI

Nice score Homebru. You crushed it!

One other thing. It sounds stupid, I know, but run that screw down slowly with the glass not yet installed. What would suck wind is if you started your installation and the screw broke with the glass on.

No shit ! I bet that was wild game. Lights flashing all over. Paul Lynde talking his trash. And the Raven doing his thing.

Interesting.

Best I have done is to get to Level II on Herman and Lily during one game. One time.

Different rules. For different levels. All on a machine that needs more code. I scratch my head.

Stop scratching Cotton, because it is rinse repeat, level 1, 2 and 3. Near the same, with slight rule changes. It’s show material aligned with modes that we want. It is very slim in that regard. Didn’t buy Munsters to have one save ball sequence, basically showing material from 5 minutes of show content at best, except for the end of ball sequences (which don’t count). This is scanty programming on Dwight’s part. Will never buy one of his games again unless he makes this right. The Midnight Madness mode is one of the best and unless up until 12am, never even play that one.

I understand that John Borg spent many hours going through all the Munsters show material, cataloging and such to include lots of show content in the game. What happened to all that work???

Quite frankly it is pathetic the lack of Munsters show material and characters modes in the game (Lilly is almost no where to be found, nor Eddie, nor Marilyn). Not sure why you can’t see that. Take the minuscule Spot 20 second intro, Herman getting into the car for 5 seconds, Grandpa holding a shrinking ray for 5 seconds and what do you have??? Not much else. I’m getting quite irritated after spending this much money for the lack of show modes material.

Take away the little bit I’ve mentioned and you could rename the game to Zaps and Jackpots. Would have the same meaning and game play. I purchased Munsters not Zap/Jackpot as a theme. Get the lead out Stern and Dwight and actually give us what we all paid for. I’ve purchased 6 NIB Stern’s this past year and will stop the spending unless they deliver. I’ve not asked for any more code on any of the other 5, as they have been coded by people whom actually are given the time or get the job done, with the exception of SW, which Dwight did do a great job with.

Can you imagine what SW would be like if it was mainly focused on just changing the multiplier arrows around the PF, with almost no show content or modes? Instead, it has similar zap/jackpots coded in for longevity, but tons of modes with show material all over the place. With lots of Han, Luke, Leia and R2D2 content. Munsters should be similar and it would sell like hotcakes, not just the flurry that happened right at the beginning. Stern would have a hit on their hands then, for years to come.

Got tired of waiting and sold my Munsters.

Great post.

If I remember correctly Cotton has said he wasn’t a big fan of the show. This may explain why the lack of show assets and integration don’t bother him and some others. I’m still amazed and confused at how many owners defend Munsters as a great game rather than demanding Stern make it so. Stern and Dwight should be ashamed of what they did to Borg’s vision for the game.

We are already over a year into the 3 year production window for Munsters. Stern is running out of time to generate sales interest by making a difference with code. I hope they at least do a code update for all the owners down the road but believe Stern doesn’t see enough benefit to rewriting the code.

Hard to "demand" Stern, or any manufacturer do anything. I don't care who codes the game, it took a year before BM66 was playable, Kiss took 3 years to get all the inserts working, on and on....

Game doesn't need defending, and while I'll be ready to dump the new code in when it comes, I enjoy it in current state.

Feels like a broken record sometimes...Will new code eventually come? Yes, as I was told by design team. When? who knows. Future sales? Not my problem. Is it worth keeping? Imho, definite yes...maybe they will recode IM someday...could use it, but I love the game as is...(along with alot of others)

I agree with everything he said. There are a lot of parts of the game that you can tell just arent finished. Like what does the spinner do? nothing. Eddie is nothing more than a jackpot. There is just a lot missing from the game. Im just waiting to see what they do with the update. How long im willing to wait....Im not sure.

You can go into the settings though and select a different version that will play more of the show. I think its called theatrical version or something like that. I remember seeing it when I was scrolling through the settings one day

First I've ever heard of this??

Ill have to double check to make sure. I think I saw it where all the difficulty presets are for the game. There were of course easy med and hard and then there was a home play and then I thought i remembered seeing something about theatrical version

Also I grew up in Cincinnati even though Im living in Mesa now. I grew up in Norwood Who Dey

Well I was able to use all of the negative reviews to acquire a B&W Mun Premium at a driven down price! Now I am just awaiting arrival!! Excited to get it in to the it's place!

Oh cool. Theres another friend of mine on here that lives in Norwood named RWH. Im about 40 mins north of Norwood.

You wont regret it. Its a very fun game once you understand that rules.

I turned 12 one month before Munsters, Gilligan's Island, and Bewitched starting airing on TV in Sept. 1964. Munsters ran for 2 seasons. Bewitched ran for 8. Gilligan's ran for 3. I don't remember watching these shows. I don't remember watching more than 2-3-4 episodes of these shows. Munsters, not at all. I don't know why other then I lived in a placid laid back neighborhood with a lot of kids living on the block. We were out on the streets with our bicycles running wild. TV was almost an afterthought.

What I like about Munsters is its fast flow. The only time the ball is not moving is when I have it trapped at a flipper. Well, it does get hung up in one spot. When the ball lands in the Grandpa scoop to collect the extra ball, instead of just having Grandpa yell out EXTRA BALL ! and having the ball bounce back immediately and hammer me I have to sit and wait, and wait, and wait for the small scale production of Grandpa dancing around inside some lighting bolts before the ball comes back to me. The delay breaks my concentration. Just kick the ball back to me already. The same thing with starting Herman multi-ball; I am also of the opinion that the 3 second video of Herman climbing into the back of the hearse is 3 seconds too long.

And I would not have known that I bought a pin that did not cut the mustard if I had not read about it on Pinside. I have no idea what Borg's vision is, or was, for the pin. I would like to find a link that would lay that out for me. Then perhaps I could understand better.

As far as Stern's sales, only Stern knows the numbers and only Stern can decide if sales objectives are being met. Everybody else is guessing.

Guesses have been all over the place. For a while there were "reliable" distributors talking pie-in-the-sky sales talk. Any distributor worth their weight, in any industry, is going to tell you business is good and sales are robust, even if they are not. I mean, if you walk into my shop and I tell you that sales are abysmal you are going to do a U-turn and walk out; Why would you want to be the guinea pig and buy if no one else is buying? If you walk into my shop I am going to tell you I sold 2 units yesterday, 7 last week, and 5 the week before that; Whether it is true or not. " I sell a lot of these, man. You are making a great buy. Just sign right here".

It is kind of like trying to get a date. If you are unattached, sometimes you can not buy a date for a million dollars. But if you get a girlfriend it is like you are suddenly alright and all these girls start flocking around wanting your attention. Nobody wants a loser and a good distributor is not going to tell you sales stink.

Whatever the scenario, the only shop that has the sales numbers is Stern. Whenever anyone buys a new pin, the wise ones fill out the information Stern needs to honor warranties. Stern knows me as someone who owns 1 pin. Stern also knows who has more than one of its pins.

Only Stern is going to know all that is needed to know to determine if sales are a success, or not. So when people come here and say they are worried about Stern's sales I have to smile a little because only Stern knows all. When I read, " I am worried about Stern's sales and they would sell a lot more if they would just adopt my suggestion.", I'm thinking you are not worried about Stern's sales. You just want something done to your machine.
=======================

I was watching one of Jack Danger's videos where he is explaining how is making a living with his Twitch videos. He said when he started out that he had somewhere in the neighborhood of 300 viewers and now he has 55,000 people watching and supporting him with donations, etc. Now, that's a growth rate with a line chart that looks like a hockey stick. 55,000 people !

Pinball is hot right now. It is smokin'. I am of the opinion that quite a few of those 55,000 viewers are new to pinball. People who are new to pinball and who do not have the wizard skills are not going to put up much money for a pin that is of the shoot-drain variety. They want something that they can play. As has been mentioned before, perhaps Stern is trying to open up a new markets for its products with "easier and simpler" machines.

The trick to this entire exercise of trying to pin the tail on the donkey of new code and whether Stern should be ashamed, or not, all hinges on the mix of amateurs compared to wizards have bought this pin. The Wizards among us think Stern is trying to pull a fast one. And the amateurs are enjoying a pin they can just step up to and play.

Bring Stern's projected sales numbers and actual sales numbers and then we can talk.

Even newbies that like our Munsters game are disappointed in the lack of show/modes material. They can “just step up” and play JP too, that is sitting right next to it and loaded with modes/movie type content.

While I think you believe your “show me the numbers” challenge is insurmountable because you know we will never know actual sale figures, I am taking your challenge with a quantifiable number that we do know, right here on Pinside. You will see that these actual sales numbers support Dwight’s recent interview assertion that Munsters has proven sales numbers to be for a “small audience” and Jurassic Park is proven sales numbers for a “large audience”. BTW, Dwight knows the actual sales figures, so he can certifiably make a statement like that.

So my Pinside sales figures will be between Munsters and Jurassic Park. JP a game that the LEs only landed here in Australia a little over a month ago, while Munsters has been almost a year landed.

Actual Pinside Munsters sales number for Pro and Premium (remember this machine has been out for a year, with no real sales growth):
9F9AE6FC-1EDD-4FAD-A5DB-54C0606899C5 (resized).jpegC7EE0FFB-E61D-4D30-93D9-1D55DD8F3F6B (resized).jpeg

Actual Pinside Stern Jurassic Park sales numbers for Pro and Premium (JP has been out only a few months in most places and sales numbers are only growing daily):
57EEB46E-2CBA-4459-9D9E-327F3E83D415 (resized).jpegEB257F89-AB1A-4829-9511-A584F97D08F0 (resized).jpeg

Take a screen shot of Pinside JP a year from now and watch how the sales will be even greater, because the coding of this game will continue to get better and better. Keith Elwin and team will make sure of it, unlike the Munsters team. Code is what continues to excite people and sells games more than any other factor. Many examples of this.

Batman 66 comes to mind. Look at how sales of Batman have exploded recently, because of code only. Tons of beloved Batman TV series modes and content in the game, turned it around from being a much despised “box of lights” to most or many feeling it is one of the best games ever made! Lyman’s code has made Batman 66 epic! Munsters 1964, a contemporary of Batman 1966, should be epic too!!!

We do in fact know the sales figures for LE’s on both Munsters and Jurassic Park. 600 for Munsters (they added 100 more because of the huge demand out of the gate, before people really knew about the lack of Munsters show material modes and code). Jurassic Park 500 LE’s sold. Just by the LE’s initial demand between the 2 games, Munsters should reflect many times the sales numbers of Jurassic Park. The demand for Munsters is there definitely. Only the immense lack of code has kept Munsters a “small audience” as Dwight infamously stated.

Your point is well taken.

But it leaves questions.

For instance, of the 600 Munsters LEs that were produced, only 150 show up as Pinside owners. Where are the other 450? And as much as I like to use pinside numbers to make a point, always in the back of my mind I wonder how much of the pin population does not hang out or live on pinside.

I see the numbers on Batman and JP. There is no disputing the numbers are higher than Munsters. But that does not imply Munsters is a failure. Perhaps Stern does think it is a failure, but we will never know.

I do have one question for you on JP LE. The pinside info page says the JP LE is still in production. Can anybody confirm if that is true or is pinside a little light on its information regarding JP LE?

How long have you had your Munsters game for?

We have had our LE since new and love it. I find most of the people complaining about the code do not own a game.