Gottlieb Hot Shots for me! It's not exactly a thing of beauty, and I honestly haven't even played it enough to learn the scoring well, but the silly music together with memories of fun pinhead parties where we enjoyed that silliness, has made it a surprising keeper

Love Hot Shots! I played it for the first time this year at a show because most all the other games were busy. Turns out I liked it...A Lot

Speaking of late "good era" Gottliebs, I had an unexpected amount of fun playing Spring Break at the NWPAS.

Hate to add to it but I simply must go with IM. I didn't like it at first. Barren playfield and just brutal ball times. But if you play it enough it gets under your skin and you just want to kick it's ass...you can't, but you really want too!

Ding Dong, came in with Volley but I really like it.

Creature from the Black Lagoon. Traded it for TAF and thought I made a huge mistake... clunk clunk drain drain. After maybe 100 games something clicked. I concentrate when I make my shots now, if I miss I deserve it. It's improved my skills so much and it's a joy to play now that I can achieve multiple multiballs on an average game. Total keeper now!

Maverick.

Always saw these hovering around the mid $1500 range and always thought it was so eh all around. Played one and discovered it was an absolutely fantastic game.
A nicely shopped, strong flipper'ed Maverick is a real gem. Can't get enough of this pin and I have found a true "bolt to the floor" pin.

I'll second Maverick. I got mine as part of a trade. Hated it for the first few plays, then it started to click and it's become a favorite. Yes, the artwork is cheesy, but the gameplay is much better than you would think.

The other for me was Shadow. I had only played a few games in the arcade and didn't think much of it. Bought one from a local pinsider at a price where I wouldn't get hurt if I decided to move it to a new home. Took a while to really understand it, but it's become a cornerstone of my collection... one of the all time greats that isn't rated as highly as it should be.

Seconded! I don't own it yet, but I'm obsessed. It's the spinners - that whirring when you make the shots is so satisfying.

Same, IM. Hated that f'er at first. Even sold it.
I just purchased another one and a new sling for my nuts.

The word is "barren".

It does if you disable the orbit post.

Popeye !

I had read all the bad press over the years but figured I'd give it a go myself ............Sooooooo much better than the detractors would have you believe. Actually a really solid ruleset with a lot of stuff to like. I sold it when space forced the issue, then bought it back cos I missed it !

I got so into it I even spent hours writing a guide to the gameplay

http://papa.org/wp-content/uploads/Popeye.pdf

For me as well its..dr who..... got it to play with our son as he loves the doctor and now it will never leave. Sweet sounds and music . It has that one more game factor. If you have never played one.... try it .... you will love it. Great game!

Yes! Plus the bonus stepper vibrations while they spin. You can feel the mechanics working. So cool!

BK2000... grew up with and loved the original BK. Thought the sequel was just riding the coat tails of an all-time classic. Had a chance to buy a nice one at a good price, and figured I'd try it and then likely pawn it off on a friend who was a fan. But once I got it home I got to experience the music / audio properly, hit jackpot, hit RANSOM mode, got the adrenaline rushes and had to keep it.

X-Men. I played an LE when if first came out, thought it was a mess. Bought a pro on a whim a few years later, one of my favorite games now that they've fixed the software and I don't have to deal with the LE features.

BSD. i didn't think i'd find one ever.

Sopranos. Thought it was the stupidest theme ever but the game was actually quite fun.

It does if you disable the up-post.

EBD

Seemed like a slow and boring game to me at first. Thankfully, its great reputation gave me the confidence to buy one and allowed the machine to change my opinion.

This could be me. I played it a couple times at the PHOF in Vegas expecting to like it but thought it was a boring one-trick pony. I'm glad I decided to buy a MMr because I was way wrong. I similarly expected to hate TZ and played it the same day at PHOF and loved it. I still like both but honestly probably like MM more now.

The other one is Dialed In! I hated the theme and artwork and swore that I would never buy it despite being a Lawlor and JJP fan. I am really happy that I didn't stick to my word on this one.

MM and DI are by far the most played pins at my house now, followed by WOZ, LOTR and The Hobbit

My latest acquisition- Night Moves!

For years I thought it was a gimmicky, cheesy chunk of ugly 1980's kitsch and that real pinball machines had legs and back boxes. Then I saw a few videos on YouTube and got interested. When I finally got one home, I fell in love with the game play. It's a fun challenge, it's packed with features and the music is spectacular!

Well said fellow Night Moves brother

CLASS OF 1812

"Indianapolis 500" Not a game you see around too much so only played it a few times. The theme was just ok for me so never looked too hard for one. Then I bought one and it quickly became one of my favorite games. The turbo lock is awesome. The game is fast, funny and the rules of passing cars and going for 200 laps to light victory laps is great. Awesome game!

Mr. + Ms. Pac-man

Each year I visited a friends house we played it for HOURS each time. And I mean like 5+ hours.

I saw one within driving distance of me and bought it. I spent a lot of time on making it pretty.

It's a great game and no one even understands how to play it competitively. I don't think it's the best Bally ever but it has a unique set of rules, all the original pac man sounds, and a legit video mode from 1982.

One reason I don't see it getting a lot of love is because whenever I see one at a show, it NEVER works properly and is trashed.

I do not see myself ever selling it and have even considered hacking the rom to add some rules to the game.

Congo was my first DMD. When I bought it, around 2002, it was widely mocked on RGP for the theme. I didn't plan to keep it, but it's still here. You can't keep a good layout down with a bad theme.

PinBot is a great game. One of my favorites as a teenager. I can't think of a reason not to like it. Turns out you have better taste than you thought.

It is a definitely a game that is enhanced big time by the audio. It's in the same league as BK2K. These are some of the first games I remember really getting into years ago, so I do get a little nostalgic for them.

I just bought a Gilligan's Island HUO documented , never really thought I would buy one. was looking for a monster themed pin

Space odyssey. Hit the spinner when the 1k light is lit, make it spin to next week and catch the extra ball rollover.

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I have a feeling I might be posting about TNA in this thread in the future.

WOZ here

Shrek for me, one popped up cheap (2900) and I grabbed it. Kept it a lot longer than I thought. Now its final home is in the Museum of Pinball in Banning,Ca.

My first thought was...you gotta be kidding me!! Aerosmith....give me a fn break! No how no way, nobody gonna buy this. It's good to be wrong sometimes...

Rollergames. I know it doesn't get a lot of love in the ratings and isn't very deep, and when I first saw it I was like what's with all the company logos, but it's fast and fun to play after a hard days work. The music and sound effects really bring you into the game. I love when it starts chanting "Rollergames Rollergames" before the multiball and then love it when I make the jackpot and get to hear the "Kickbutt" song. Icing on the cake is it's relatively an inexpensive game to buy (one of the less expensive system 11's out there).

Easy, Hobbit. Didnt like it first time I played it then learned some of the rules and WOW!

Starship troopers

Cv. I thought the music boring. Now it's my number one.

My answer is still the same. Mr/Ms Pac.

Congo is a game completely off my radar until I played one. Similar with MET. I didn't like it at first but got hooked after learning some of the rules. Shadow is a game I played and thought I would like. I found a nice one but quickly got frustrated with gameplay. Thought about selling it but then something clicked and I love it now. Interesting how that works.

NBA Fastbreak. A very underrated game. Owned it twice. Sold it twice. Missed it twice. I´ll keep the third one for sure!!!

I got a CV for my wife. She wanted it because it's incredible looking.

At first I though it sucked and now it's pretty much my favorite game.

She never plays it at all. I'm not kidding.

I got TAF, which she did NOT want, because she didn't like the looks of it.

The day I got it, she camped out on it, it's her game now.

Goes to show you that you cannot choose a book by its cover, and also that a game can grow on you, it's hard to evaluate a game on just a few plays.

Future Spa. No joke. Go find a decent one and play it.

Hmm i should say pinball overall since i was sure i'd never find one cheap enough around here, so i was mostly into arcades before suddenly getting Grand Lizard int rade for one of my arcades, and boy is this game super, fun multi-ball, fun upper level, fun targets hitting and magnets and more, its gonna be a sure keeper for me!

LIONMAN! Its gotta be SoF for me... its a non dmd game that sums up awesome artwork, best music in pinball and 80s cheese. SoF ftw!