Hi,

I'm thinking of buying our first (probably only, as we don't have room for more) machine as a Christmas gift for the family. We are all novices. About 2 years ago, we stayed at a home for a week that had an old pinball machine and enjoyed playing it. I got sucked in and have been browsing CL and FB marketplace on and off since. I've also gone to The Sanctum in CT a few times to play a variety of machines and meet people in the hobby. But with other priorities and COVID, I haven't been there in about a year.

So, I decided to look for a machine more seriously. Almost bought a Fish Tales, but it was already sold when I called about it. I have a dealer nearby, so I've been thinking about just diving in with a NIB machine, thinking it would be more modern and hopefully more reliable, at least initially. I think I have it narrowed down to a Jurassic Park Pro or a Monster Bash classic. Any thoughts on which would be better for a family of inexperienced players? I was originally leaning towards the MB based on the theme and cabinet art, but didn't really enjoy playing it. The issue I had with it was the sound, the callouts were fine, but the music volume seemed low, even if I turned up the volume in the front door. Is there a separate setting somewhere for music volume vs callout volume to adjust that somewhere? Or should I look at the SE for the upgraded sound? The JP sounded better and played well. I thought I had decided on the JP, but they don't have any NIB in stock and might not get any in before Christmas, so reconsidering the MB as an alternative if I can figure out the sound issue and try playing it again. I know the JP has a deep rule set that should help keep our interest as we get better, does anyone think we would get tired of the MB over time?

I'd also be open to other Stern Pro models, if something else would be better for newer/casual players, as long as I like the theme. (Not interested in a Stranger Things for example.)

Then there's the other option, buy something like a Lethal Weapon or a Last Action Hero used to save money and see if the family really likes this. But I'm concerned it wouldn't play as well, or would require a lot more maintenance.

So I'm hoping to get some advice from the more experienced hobbyists here on Pinside, please let me know what you think.

Thanks,

John

"The Pinball Store" is the dealer I was referring to. I spent a couple hours there last Saturday, probably going back this Friday or Saturday.

Any thoughts on the MB sound issue I mentioned, I just watched a youtube video and the sound seemed great, but I think that was an SE. I'll have to ask about this when I go back.

Keep the recommendations coming, I really appreciate the input.

Thanks for all of the feedback, especially on JP. I played it for quite a while on Saturday and enjoyed it, but did wonder if it might be a little to difficult/complex to start with. Definitely food for thought. I'm not sure if anyone close carries Hot Wheels. I wouldn't mind looking at it.

Coz - I would love to find a used JP for $4800 close by, that might really make the decision easier.

Oh, and BTW, my "kids" are college age (19 and 21), so adult themed games would be fine.

Elvira would be interesting, but none available locally right now. Also no Hot Wheels locally, and that does look interesting.

I've played Deadpool briefly. I will give it another look when I go back to the showroom.

Daditude - Thanks for the detailed comments. If I decide on MB, I was leaning towards the SE. That's a budget stretch, LE is above my budget. Seems like the SE has most of the features though, any thoughts on the SE? Also going to take a look at Attack From Mars.

Any thoughts on Oktoberfest? I played that briefly and liked it, but they were closing soot and I didn't have time to play many games. Will probably take another look at this one as well. Trying to play as many as I can and make sure I'm making an informed decision.

And I'm open to buying used, so have been scanning Pinside Market, CL and Facebook Marketplace. That's why I mentioned Lethal Weapon 3 and Last Action Hero in my original post, they are cheaper games that are available on CL and I was wondering if those might be good alternatives.

Any recommendations on who to buy from then? Best price I've found on a JP Pro is $5700. PM me if you don't want to post that type of information in the thread.

Update... I just got back from the showroom. I spent almost 3 hours playing machines. I played Deadpool Pro, Star Wars Pro, Dialed In, Jurassic Park Pro, TMNT Pro, Avengers IQ Pro, JJP Guns and Roses LE and a few older machines as well. While I still like JP Pro, I was really surprised at how much I liked Avengers IQ Pro. I kept coming back to this one.

The Avengers theme really doesn't attract me to the machine, but I really liked how it plays. I don't really understand the rule set yet, but I like that I could shoot most of the ramps, and it is the first machine that I've had much success with the 3rd flipper on. I also liked how the playfield is somewhat open, it seemd to make multi-balls more fun. I also prefer how the plunge goes to the top of the playfield and either drops into the pop bumpers, or on a harder plunge goes all the way around to the left flipper.

So I'm leaning towards the Avengers IQ now, I just want to read up more on it and it's rule set.

But there is another option I'm considering. A used Alice Cooper's Nightmare Castle. I really like the theme of this pin better, and I like the upper playfield. But I only played this a few times about a year ago. I know it has tight shots, so wondering if this would be good for the whole family or not.

So, any thoughts on Avengers IQ vs ACNC now? I'm going to see if I can go an play the ACNC again before I decide.

Thanks,

John

Thanks for all of the advice everyone. I decided to go with the Avengers IQ Pro. I played the Alice Cooper again last night, and while I really love the theme and the look of the cabinet and playfield, it was just too hard. The Avengers is just fun to jump in and play, and I've barely even started to figure out the rules, so I know there will be enough depth to keep me interested as I learn the game. I'm really surprised I ended up with this one, as I wasn't really excited by the theme and almost didn't even try it, but once I played it, it was the one I kept coming back to and had the most fun with.

I'm really happy that I live close to the Pinballs.com showroom and was able to play these all enough to determine what I wanted to buy. Mike is great, he want's you to play as long as you need to in order to make a decision. He told me to come back as often as I wanted in order to make up my mind. He was also kind enough to offer that if I wanted to go with the JP Pro, that he could lend me the floor model so that I could have it for Christmas and then swap it out for the NIB once it was delivered. I'd say that's excellent customer service. So if you're anywhere nearby, I'd definitely recommend them.