Here are some disparate observations I have on the subject:

The replay wheel is a fun tally of how badly you "beat" a game, but if it still has leftover credits on it and you max the wheel out on your current game, the knocker is silent when you hit a special. I rarely have to put credits on my Spin-A-Card because it's always hovering around 9-12 replays, so some games end with dead specials. Bummer.

Some AABs can be changed to novelty mode where specials earn points instead of balls. In this mode, the number of balls is fixed. This seems like a good option for truly skilled players who dislike AAB games for their interminable game length. I'm a mediocre player, so AAB mode suits me fine.

The backglass artwork for AAB games is sometimes inferior because the artist has to sacrifice detail on the front to reserve space for the previous hi-score box and the lights representing additional balls or extra-high scores. Compare the amount of activity on Pin-Up to King Pin. The latter is much more exciting. POW!

King Pin-Up.jpg

But I own and enjoy both AAB and replay games. It's all pinball, all fun.

I'll grant you King Pin's color scheme is heavy on blues and reds, whereas Pin-Up has a more pleasingly balanced palette. It's interesting to see the color variance between the two. The walls, ceilings, and background people are completely different, but I think both have great color choices. Gordon Morison was ace at combining colors.

Strict logic makes for a dull opinion. There's a big difference between something that makes sense and something that makes you fall in love. How we feel about a game is why we own them.

I'm an AAB guy myself, but I find winning replays valuable to me in unexpected ways. When a friend comes over and beats the hell out of one of my replay games, I get the pleasure of playing down their credits some other evening. That's not worthless.

You're right about that!

When Ron released his Lucky Hand backglass a few years ago, I inquired on RGP if it contained the "black blob" that was present on the original backglass. It's something I figure was the result of a minor defect in the black screen when the original backglass was printed in 1977. It's a negligible detail, but I was just curious. Ron heard about my question and he took to RGP to defend his work. Of course the reproduction backglass has the blob! His licensing agreement forbids him from taking any kind of creative liberties. I felt bad that my question was interpreted as criticism, but I had my answer.

Later, BGResto repaired a Lucky Hand backglass, and it appears they decided to remove the black blob from the artwork.

Lucky Hand Blob.jpg

So if you want to get an AAB glass with no hi-score box, BGResto is the way to go.