Hitting standups will cause the zap button to flash. Hit the zap button until it stops flashing. Hit enough flashing zap buttons to light zap jackpots on the playfield. Shoot them to collect the jackpot.

A few bashing our Munsters machine in another thread as usual. I defended saying, “Munsters is a AAA licensed theme from Universal Studios, using the classic Universal Monsters in a comedy family setting. It is well recognized around the world and is still enjoyed in rerun syndicated TV by millions. Just because a few on Pinside have berated it, doesn’t take away from Munsters licensing power.

The game is an underrated gem, just needs additional material added to the software, which Stern is rumored to be doing in the future. The mono targets on the game was an issue at first with me, but after playing it a lot, I’ve completely forgotten about them and it is a non issue now. Can’t say all games should be that way although. I prefer drop targets for sure.

Munsters may be an old TV show, but it’s theme is timeless and still loved by millions around the world. And because of the theme, it still holds up today.“

Munsters owners unite!

A nice mod, it looks much clearer on the topside

i put mine racing down the wire frame.

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are both of those matchbox sizes like the original one? (1:64) I like where you put the Koach. we've been trying to figure out a nice way to include it.

i am not 100% sure about the koach, this one was on the machine when i got it.

The Drag-u-la is johnny lightning. (1:64) i guess the Koach is the same.
You have to place them that the balls still fits underneath it i was scared a bit, that it's not working, but you will see were it can fit.

in fact, the 2 banks targets are just to "easy" to hit as it, and most of the time you didnt have to aim for them, its done while in the gameplay
than again a good opportunity missed here in term of having something more to offer to the player : aiming for targets ! which let's admit is nice in pinball !!!

but i agree your overall com, another prove that i'm not bashing Munsters for just bashing Munsters

I certainly do hope it gets revisited. I have thoroughly enjoyed watching my Stranger Things pin evolve. It still has the same main modes it came with from the first software it's just everything has been tweaked and cared for. I would love to experience the same thing with my munsters.

You guys that bitch about the banner target, or lack of drop targets remind of the heat Apple Computer got when it brought the iMac to market in 1998.

It doesn't have a floppy drive! What a piece of shit! No floppy drive! What kind of computer doesn't have a floppy drive?
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So, are you or anybody else using a floppy drive this day and age? If not, do you miss having floppy drive?

Munsters was built for the average player and the new player. A lure to get some new players into the swing. If you are a pinball wizard go buy a Jurassic Park. Stern has something for everybody.

Great response!

This is the only Munsters thread that matters.

very bad luck to you, as the answer is YES !

anyway, your comparaison seems stupid
in technology, having changes to evolve & get something better is nice of course, but going the other way seems just lazy to me (or let's admit : in this case it was just to reduce costs, not for making a pinball in destination to average/newbee players !!! who could believe this ? as its just a nonsense)

now, its time for another thumb down in 3... 2... 1...

Man, there is always a drummer in every crowd I can't use the floppy disk analogy any more, for sure

Thanks for the ZAP replies. I think it adds some to game so if you're just using Zap to cancel the jackpot you're missing out a little. I'll also add that other things not identified yet seem to increase zap value so if in doubt just hit the zap every 30 seconds or so - if there's no zap you get a nice bell tone and you can pretend you're playing AC/DC. I got Herman boosted and every time I hit him from then on got a zap point during the same ball (monitor this by the small aqua blue guage) .
Zap energy resets after every ball. Zap jackpots light up aqua blue under the ramps or orbits - shoot for the whatever lights up. If you do well enough you be awarded Zap champion at game end.

but as we can speak a little bit more, i can explain : its of course because of retro-gaming / retro-computing...

and now i've seen the pics of the TMTN, can you still believe that solos banks targets are done that way to make the pin easier for newbee & average players ? or its just to reduce costs ? tell me, honestly...

I'm not sure where you are going here. I see the pics of TMNT on Stern's website. Both Munsters and TMNT have the banner targets. So where does your "just to reduce costs" apply here? I don't understand. Are the banner targets going to get a free pass on TMNT while Munsters takes a hit?

Obviously, the banner targets are easier to produce and make for reduced costs. And a banner target is going to make for a faster playing pin just because the banner targets get hit almost as an afterthought, while targeting individual drops is going to take a little more thought, or skill, or just blind luck to hit.

Sure, I can understand where Stern is making a gambit to see if it can slip in the banners to reduce costs.. Someone said that Stern is going produce more Color Premiums. And the 2nd generation toppers are now being sold. Since nobody knows Sterns sales numbers with Munsters, maybe Stern is happy with how Munsters has turned out and wants more of it ?

So, where are you on TMNT with its banner targets? Is this a pin you would consider buying?

well, let's take LILY as example :

1 big banner instead of 4 targets & 1 (2 i think) switches/cables instead of 4... that's for the costs

now, about gameplay, what is more fun for a pinball player ?

shooting the big banner 4 times to get L, than I, than L, than Y...
or really aiming (remember, pinball is a game of skill) for these 4 differents targets ?

if you can't understand that, than OK, we all have our own view of the situation

and once again (because i did get warned by a modo for the upper post), all this said friendly, we're just talking about pinball !!!

than

Sorry you got warned. I took no offense. I like the riposte . Hell, Apple iPhone even gives you a "middle finger salute" emoji to add in along with that smiley face It is like ooIoo (employ your imagination) followed by a smiley face You call me stupid and I'm thinking ooIoo
Do not pass Go. Do not get your $200.00 until you take trip to jail and get a " get a sense of humor" card.

Yes. Pinball is a game of skill. But some pins sure do require a lot more skill than others. Stern needs something for the newbies. Unfortunately, for the wizards amount us, Stern just happened to pick one of the coolest themes to make a little more playable pin for the newbies. You wizards are just going to have to take one for the team

Two of my pins have 9 drops each. One has 11. And one has 12. I get where you are coming from with the drops. But I have never missed them not being there with Munsters.

That being said, I recall one distro saying he missed the great sales he got with Ghostbusters. GB is/was a great theme, but it is not for newbies---no matter about the code.

The new TMNT has the 1 big target too so maybe this will be thier new way of doing it.

OK, boys an girls, I'm getting tired of looking at my finger prints on the gold on the sides of my LE.

I would your opinions, please.

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Should I go with the sparkly gold that changes colors in the light? Or should I go with the emerald green? Whichever one I use, I will apply a small piece of mylar over the wear areas and it will not happen again.

Or should I just go back to factory stock gold color? I can do that, too.

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Double post

And about 1000 times the effort by DS on the TMNT code. Had he put HALF the effort into MUN code I would own one. Great shame.

So,

Going back to what I heard beginning of the year. Dwight gets TMNT out the door and then revisits Munsters. Also , if another release of Munster color premiums issued this August. Could be a great boost to sales. Fingers crossed.

TMNT Easy pass for me
last Dwight game for me.

My new purchase, this one will not fit the wire frame, the top of the machine is full of figures too, i will need to place it somewhere near the machine.

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I'm fine w/ it being a simple game because it's fun to play. there isn't 1 thing I'd change about it. my whole family loves it. they don't all need to be a million rules, modes, & near impossible shots. I even love that munsters uses the attract mode videos to teach you the parts of the game. I get that some people don't like the 1 big target, but I've got several machines w/ individual targets / dropdowns. this is just something different. it's a way to starting a mode & getting to play that mode w/o having to kill yourself to get to it. I honestly think it'll help make my wife & son better players. I'm not asking you to like it but it seems odd that there's so much hate about it & people feeling like they have to swing in here to let us know we're wrong for enjoying the game.

I just grabbed acdc and I'm only a couple days in but I haven't found anything overly complicated about it. no list of rules to remember or impossible to finish modes. it's just a hell of a lot of fun to play. sure it's got drop targets but 100% honesty, it's no harder to knock down all the targets than it would have been if they had been one of those big ass targets. they aren't exactly difficult to hit. anything you want to hit, any ramp or bell, jukebox, etc are all as easy to hit as munsters & I don't notice anyone bitching about that pin.

meanwhile I've had aerosmith for years and still haven't mastered it. make fun of me, fine. don't get me wrong, I can play it / keep the ball alive for a really long time & it's lots of fun but I'm shit for completing the modes.

my fav pin is F-14 Tomcat & it's easy as hell to play. I can't imagine anyone saying it should have had more code, more modes, etc. you learn how to light something up / hit it & repeat.

I believe that's the 1/18 scale & it's really nice looking. just have no place to put it. my coco clock topper comes today along w/ some other mods. my blades come today too. the set I had before were the wrong ones & I had to send them back.

just looked it's a 1/15" scale model, from diamond collection. It has lights and sounds. only thing missing a interface for the pinball to integrate it as topper.
I hope you have luck with your topper. some had trouble with it, for others it just worked. The topper looks so nice.

"I'm fine w/ it being a simple game because it's fun to play. there isn't 1 thing I'd change about it. my whole family loves it. they don't all need to be a million rules, modes, & near impossible shots. I even love that munsters uses the attract mode videos to teach you the parts of the game. I get that some people don't like the 1 big target, but I've got several machines w/ individual targets / dropdowns. this is just something different. it's a way to starting a mode & getting to play that mode w/o having to kill yourself to get to it. I honestly think it'll help make my wife & son better players. I'm not asking you to like it but it seems odd that there's so much hate about it & people feeling like they have to swing in here to let us know we're wrong for enjoying the game......

I agree! Not all games need to be all games for all people. I have a tendency to take people at their word till they prove me wrong. Dwight and Stern's initial public releases on software stated Munsters was to be more of a simple /approachable game for the average player. The people I know that are familiar with goings on inside Stern confirm that position. So , let's say that is correct and not some BS lie. They issue The Game , get the software to its original intended place, and there is blow back from say half the pin world. One half thinks the game is beautiful, loves the 3 levels of play (topper , main and mini play field) and thinks the game is fun with out all the depth. They certainly want more depth/ integration ( who doesn't want more on every game they personally own ?), but , recognize the game for its positives.

The other half, say, may concede the first points of the half that likes the game ,but, feels in todays market/pricing more depth/theme integration is required. A lot of blow back is aimed at Dwight himself, which I personally disagree with. Dwight is an employee that works at Stern Managements direction. He is a long standing member of the Pin design community and from what I have seen of him, he, has great passion for his craft. Two of my favorite games , Dwight designed, Star Wars and GOT. They are plenty deep and are chess player type games. If Stern Management wanted to dedicate his time to Munsters it would have happened. The Stern Management has a business strategy it is following and Dwights' time is part of that strategy. From what I can see , the strategy, was something like get out Munsters with a straight forward/approachable code and then lets get a deep (SW/GOT style), player select Turtle code strategy out for TMNT. I bet they even thought , if Munsters code was not accepted, they can always go back to it to help sales. Code is the one thing Stern can change/modify post release.

When Munsters was announced, I never thought I would buy it. I am old enough to remember the show, but, the theme thought never grabbed me. latter, after release, played a B/W prem on location and was impressed with the build and geometry. An extremely well priced one came on the market and I bought it. The game was getting trashed by some on the code. Some said it was fun and I agreed. I bought it as is, with a possible upside if the code gets re visited. History ( Ghost Busters, Kiss, heck even Avengers/ Transformers got updates) predicts that could happen. I really like the game, but, I am betting it can get even better. We will see.

The problem with Munsters (all related to the pro as I have not played a premium) is it lacks polish and diversity and I don't think it's noob friendly at all. It's nice you can get a quick multiball on herman as a noob but that's about it. Spot is not fun for anyone, no one knows what lily does (ooh yay switches score more but not enough to do much), I've only a few times seen a noob start Raven and that was via the grandpa scoop, and grandpa is flushed out and the best non multiball mode. Marilyn and Eddie are wasted characters. Dragula awards meaningless bonuses. Once you make it to munster madness you have seen everything there is to see. Not one noob I've seen has hit the zap button or even figure out what that means. It really does quickly become a grind to get to the multi balls as that is where the fun is. I have zero motivation to go through the 5 modes to get back to munster madness after getting there the first time and I never had.

Plus it has quite a few bugs that have never been fixed with multi player modes and the fact that you can stack grandpa on spot if you do it in the right order. Actually part of my strategy to get to the multiballs with 6x playfield. Pretty sure that is not intended though. The light shows are pretty blah and the callouts get old quick. There is very little build up to the multi balls and no fan fair once you complete munster madness. Game just quietly goes back to going through the modes. It has serious score balance issues favoring the kitty shot over all else which is not NOOB friendly at all. Funny that secret mania and midnight madness have been touted as the best modes in the game lately.

Anyway, I think there is a ton that could be done to this game to make it a real winner if the care is put into it. It's not clear at all if that is going to happen and I do feel ripped off that they just stopped working on this machine after a few months. Dwight might have said the rules were done but that doesn't mean the coding is done, the care is done, the polish is done, or the machine is finished but apparently in this case that is what it means. When I bought I was not aware it was "done". Not everyone has stern insiders and gets secret info. I watched the reveals but didn't hear the one little sound bite and all the talk on the forums was just wait as the code matures. Stern never published that the game was done in their marketing material.

Over the years it's become the expectation that Stern ships machines with bare code and then improves on them over a year or more and you at least feel like you get your 6k+ money worth. 3 months is about what was given to this. V0.96 - March 11, 2019 was the last big code change release. Since then it's just been topper support and minor tweaks to lighting and scoring. Had I bought Black Knight instead I'd at least feel like I got my money out of it even if it's not the best game out there. At least it's still getting major updates.

To me TMNT looks like Munsters with a third flipper, a more interesting magnet, and deeper code so IF that machine does turn out good in another 6-12 months maybe I'll replace my Munsters with it but not holding my breath at this point and certainly going to wait. My 2 cents anyway

I really do hope they take the time to do a proper polish update to this game. I really love the layout and the look of the machine.

Tell me about a pinball machine where the callouts do not get old in short order. I'm all ears.

That is your opinion. I like Spot. Especially as I get better at the Spot shots; like hitting him 4 times in a row.

So what? A newbie is not going to know the difference. But the newbie, who knows jack about pinball machines, can drop his coins and get a halfway fair shake for his money. And maybe even feed the pin for 2 or 3 rounds instead of flipping then off and walking on down the line.

Another so what? The newbie can get enough good licks in that he might like the game to give it another try. And then another....... Eventually, he will get better. Shooting Kitty is not a slam dunk but it is not an impossible shot, either.

Wow. Sorry that you cannot find enjoyment with a pin when just one ball on the play field.

Another so what? The newbie will figure it out, eventually.

To me, both of these are a waste of time.

Herman can be made a little more difficult to get. But Herman is kind of like Spiderman. Super quick and easy to get multi-balls which sucks the newbies in.

Sorry you don't like your Munsters. Sell it. People are buying.

OK, boys an girls, I'm getting tired of looking at my finger prints on the gold on the sides of my LE.

I like the sparkly gold.

This game is certainly not a beginners pin as stated by Stern but it is a phenomenal game for tournament players with the simplicity of rules but complexity of strategy.hitting herman first is NOT WHAT YOU WANT TO DO and keeping from an accidental hit is the hardest part of the game.if you want to increase your scores increase the amount if hits to start herman mb. I have to agree the zap button is pretty stupid.overall I find it fun and exciting and it gets a ton of play from me and guests of all skill levels and I have plenty of games to choose from.its not a game for everyone just like GB is my least favorite Stern ever and the favorite of my wife(she doesn't like munsters).

The Munster Green has an appeal i like very much, but for a LE i would go for sparkly gold.

I said it was all my opinion but a lot of so whats while I'm saying this machine is not noob friendly which is the intent of Stern. Anyway. No I'm not enjoying the machine anymore and likely will be selling it.

Another vote here for Sparkly Gold!

Thank you.

I decided that the sparkly gold is the way to go. I put a small piece of mylar in the wear area to keep fingertips from rubbing through.

You’ve made some very good points here that Dwight should be made aware of. Please email him directly: [email protected] and [email protected] and [email protected] and [email protected] and [email protected]

Please don’t give up the battle to help reverse the travesty on Stern’s lack of lazy coding on our fab Munsters machines. It takes us all emailing them to light a fire under what Otto correctly identified as “lazy coding” on Sterns part.

It is marketing nonsense talk to say this game was intended for Noob’s. If they are going to discount their coding effort with that lame excuse, then give us all a couple grand rebate and we’ll accept that as being fine.

As Otto stated, if Stern had put half the code in that Dwight has put into turtles, we wouldn’t still be discussing this and Stern would have many more sales of Munsters; a game that has everything else going for it. Tired of hearing a near $14k game here in Oz was intended to be simple, with a price equal to TMNT that is intended to be deep and have more code and depth than Munsters by leaps and bounds.

This doesn’t mean I don’t love and enjoy Munsters. For the price we all paid, it deserves the similar treatment TMNT, BKSOR, JP, ST, DP, IMDN etc. have all received. Shallow unfinished coding is Munsters current state, with no modes for Eddie, Marlyn, Lilly, nor much for Grandpa or Herman for that matter. There are small holes and errors all over the place on Munsters code, with few call outs or included show material modes. These coding omissions by Stern is the only thing that our Munsters machines lack. It’s a joke that we are all regarding secret mania and midnight madness, which can only be seen at midnight, as some of the best modes in Munsters.

Yes, Dwight takes his marching orders from Stern. I hold them accountable as we all should. Email them today with your thoughts and ideas. Squeaky wheel gets the grease. Don’t give up please and accept the tired old worn out nonsense this USD $9,000.00 game was just meant to be simple. That is hogwash to the nth degree and an easy way for Stern to get away with jilting us, after seeing what they put into TMNT. Night and day difference in code. Each at the opposite ends of the code effort scale.

I’m buying a TMNT LE and wasn’t going to because Dwight coded it. But have decided, it’s not Dwight’s fault, rather it’s Sterns fault not allocating enough resources to make our Munsters machine great! Please email all parties about this travesty of Munsters coding omissions. That’s the only reason why Munsters resale values are lowest of all the modern day Stern’s and that is pure greed and laziness on the part of Stern. Munsters deserves the same treatment as all their other recent offerings. TMNT is a shining example of what our Munsters code should look like period. After all it has the same lead coder, just not given the same amount of time by Stern to make Munsters great, as he’s done for TMNT!

just installed my topper & the door is stuck half open. guess i'm going to browse thru this thread to see what the topper fixes are that I saw mentioned before taking it apart.

Make sure it's not getting caught on the wires from the light above the bird.

Got my color premium in today. Loved it on location, love it at home so far. Such a great theme and just a straight up fun game to play. A lot like Batman '66 -- lots of humor and fun songs and '60s TV clips, it puts a smile on your face every time. And those lively go-go songs get my wife's butt wiggling while she plays, so that's an added bonus.

I find it weird some are so hard on this game while Metallica is considered one of the better pins of the last 15 years. No hate for Metallica here, it's sitting 4 feet away from my Munsters, but Munsters is kind of a slightly souped-up Metallica. Both have bar targets on the side instead of drops. Orbit, left ramp, bash toy at about 11 o'clock, right ramp, orbit. Munsters premium has the under playfield, Metallica premium the hammer into coffin lock, both awesome. Metallica has those great graveyard drop targets, Munsters has Spot under the stairs. Double left inlanes, one right inlane. Two kickass themes. I dunno.

Welcome to the club!

thanks, will take a look now

This little bar that's connected to the raven & the door was bent & rubbing the door frame. I straightened it & the door closes almost all the way now. still only opening about 75% but at least it opens & shuts w/o getting stuck. I'm sure once I take then thing apart I'll be able to straighten it more & get it working all the way correctly

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Take it apart and reverse the push rod. There are two small bushings that will fall out when you remove the push rod screws. Don't lose those. You will see what I mean.

Thank goodness this game doesn't have a selfie camera built in. I find myself using my chin to hit the zap button during Munster Madness while trying to look up to watch what my topper is doing. It has to be a ridiculous sight.

Welcome to the club!!! Game is a blast, and uni-targets have been on many games prior ( as you reference w MET).

Munsters is a great machine. Just tune out the noise around here and enjoy...congrats!!!

Falls on deaf ears! all about the quick Cash grab.

I would be in for that! Let's face it, Munsters took a 2K hit in Australia that hasn't even taken a year! Fastest drop on any new Le's from Stern..

Yep, Not getting fooled again by DS codes.
Took way tooooo long for Ghostbusters to be corrected!

Not sure about this, Llyman seems to be able to put much more code into his games and they always comes out polished in the end.

Well you have more faith than me, they are both accountable to me.
Just hope you end up happy with the game in the end.
I'm out.

sweet, thanks

This topper is a disaster right from the start..good idea backed up with inferior build. Sry to all those who spent the $400 plus..of course you have to defend your purchase...and will basically ignore all the additional work you yourself may have had to do to make this tolerable. For this price it should come right..especially since this is now round 2..and people Still have issues. What part of it ain't right yet are we trying to hide?? haters go hate if this offends you...but there are some facts here that I think you can't ignore if you are honest..did some get lucky? maybe..as well as some not. I'll wait till the show is over, and all seems "fixed" from stern.Why is it so hard for them to get this right?? Honest question. Go ahead and kill me for saying what many are thinking...someone has to say it..I'll take the heat..haha

LOL...and here I thought I was the only one “chinning” the zap button in Munster madness!

Cheers and chins to you sir!!

Steve

I don't disagree with you. My first two toppers went back to Stern. I was hesitant to buy another but my distributer fixed my current topper with the assistance of or following the guidelines posted in this forum by johnnypinball and tested it until he felt it was going to work as intended. This is why I will keep buying from him. Should he have to fix these? No, but he wants happy repeat customers. I hope Stern compensates him in some way but that's between him and Stern.
A working topper is really fun and compliments this machine very nicely. The lack of quality control is hard to understand.