I like the look of both of them. A fan of both bands pretty much equally but it certainly looks to me like Iron Maiden has the more attractive art package. I will be purchasing one of them and right now I'm leaning more towards Iron Maiden currently.

...if you like Alice Cooper or Iron Maiden. For those who hates these bands like me, it is lots of frustration.

I really love AC artwork and the molded castle is so nice. One word: awesome!

I think you can be proud of this beautiful pin with a great layout. For me, the best looking. Congrats.

Agree. They look like key chains.

True, as Stern really has nothing to compare to TNA, the game I chose to buy.

Agreed. I am SO SICK of pins where you sit there scrolling through options with the flippers at the start of a ball. Thus with ACNC I wanted players to select a monster by hitting the 3 bank, so it felt active and alive.

Also since it's called "Nightmare Castle" I wanted the castle to be an integral part of the game - thus the room exploration and item collection.

So depending on what monster you select, you should try to visit certain rooms, to collect the right items that have the best effects once the battle starts.

I'm a huge fan of both Alice and Maiden, friends of both organizations, I have the Stern AC/DC and KISS as well as GNR. I've ordered the Alice pinball but I can't see as much on the Iron Maiden playfield other than 3 ramps, an orbit?, and the hit the ball center. Alice seems more to remind me of WOZ with the upper deck castle and has alot more dimension to the playfield. I think Stern could have done alot better with dressing up the playfield and more bells/whistles with the years of Maiden visuals. The crossover theme of Alice/horror is interesting as well. I guess I'm trying to figure out what is interesting or unique about the Maiden playfield?

Alice Cooper fans are really fortunate, this pin is impressive.
I think I’m jealous.

Sorry to hear you hate this music, you're really missing out. My advice is to give it another go when you're in a good mood. Listen to songs like "Poison" and "I'm Eighteen" from Cooper and "Flight of Icarus" and "The Clansman" from Maiden, if you can't find something good in any of those songs then it's really not for you.

I know it's not on the song list of the game, but I've always had a real soft spot for Desperado.

I already can’t stand Metallica Songs except unforgiven and nothing else matters. I replaced all the others.
When I hear Alice cooper ( coz I must admit that when I saw the pin and I said to myself: « putain il déchire! », i run into YouTube to listen to some songs), first I don’t understand what he says ( when I listen some French songs, sometimes I would like to not understand what they sing, so it’s not always a bad thing to not understand) and then I really can’t stand his voice, the way how he sings (or shout), absolutely nothing gives me some emotion, I mean good one.

It is that why i’m jealous of AC’s fans coz this pin is artistically awesome imho, layout is great, just hope great ruleset.

What is the song list for ACNC? Thanks!

I'm in on Maiden.

Alice Cooper music doesn't do it for me. Nita Strauss is his lead guitarist, though.

nita (resized).jpg

They both look like winners for different reasons. I got to play Alice Cooper and walked away very impressed with it in all aspects. The art, the layout, and the overall theming was great. It didn't have its full rule set in place, so obviously that's the big question mark right now. But man, Spooky did very well with what they brought to TPF.

For Iron Maiden, I got to play Archer, and have been excited about the layout ever since. The art is also fantastic on this game. ZY is a talented dude. Theming looks great for what it is, but that music is a major turn off for me. I'm still excited to play it.

Bottom line: I think we have two winners here that are unique enough from one another that they don't necessarily need to be compared directly unless you're only looking to purchase one or the other.

Visit the spooky website. On the main page you have the ACNC trailer via YouTube. You have all the songs listed at the end of the video.

I’ll just respond on the topic of artwork. Both artists are very talented, but 2 things put AC over the top for me. The first is obvious: AC has sculptures, while IMDN has the flat stand-ups. That’s just a BOM reality, and no knock on the artist. But the second is theme integration. Spooky’s artist knocked it out of the park, especially with the cabinet. I love the way the art continues the plunger, for example. He also had a lot more artistic freedom, since ACNC is essentially unlicensed.

The Archer/IMDN layout kicks ass, and I can’t wait to play it. But ACNC is the one that’s going into my gameroom, and its art was a huge part of that decision. If Stern reuses the IMDN layout with another theme, then it’s another ballgame.

Adding a better pic of ACNC...

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Looks like killers...o-din

Needs some hips on that thang!

Now, I'm getting really confused. lol.

images (resized).jpeg

Because pinside. It’s the only consistent thing about the 4 years I’ve been here

Doh! Maybe we can get an Iron Maidens Nightmare Castle.... then everyone can get along!.... yeah right

I like the look of both games. A comparison to IMDM Premium would probably be more approiate since the Premium has 3D sculptures and a couple of fancy mechs. I love the colors on ACNC. But when you look close at the high res IMDN Pro photos, the DETAIL is amazing. Zombie Yeti is incredibly talented. Add a couple Spooky options + shipping to ACNC and you are basically at the price of IMDN Premium, so it will be interesting to see how those two do head to head. Great choices!

Can someone explain what makes the Maiden playfield play interesting? I'm not familiar with the Archer pinball and at first glance I just see a few ramps compared to the upper castle deck playfield on Alice. I'm planning on eventually getting Maiden after Alice as I primarily collect rock music pinballs but just curious on actual gameplay. Alice reminds me more of Wizard of Oz but Maiden seems a bit plain.

can someone explain ball behavior on the upper playfield? or are there another pics available?
thank

4 flippers and interesting shots, not a boring flow flow flow fan layout like most recent Sterns, where everything just returns to the bottom flippers and you rinse and repeat. It's a game for players, not toy collectors, but that makes sense given that Keith Elwin designed it.

If you haven't seen video of it playing yet I think it will make more sense when you pay attention to the actual shots people are making, and how the ball moves around.

Right, Alice has the castle mini playfield where you can shot at what seems like 4-5 more shoots.
In Maiden however, while there isn't a second level playfield, you have different shots that can be done only with the extra flippers, which there are 2 pointing in different directions, what in a way make different levels. Add that you can chain the shots between these levels and that is fun, and actual flow... which is different than flow in a single orbit or between ramps, which you can do too. Add to that rules that allow to stack modes and you have plenty to shot at non stop.

ACNC all the way, baby!

Nice little homage to Cyclopes here.

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Does someone know when a video in action would be available? I would like to hear it and see LCD animations

I think ACNC is gonna be tough to find on route, while Maiden is going to be routed at all the Stern Army locations and will be an easy find. So, support Spooky if you are looking to bring a game home.

They both look great, but dollar for dollar the BOM on ACNC seems much higher so a better value for money.

the more BOM you have doesn't necessary mean that is a great game...that would be very sought after later.
Pinball machine is first a game to play. Competition is rough and BOM is one factor to separating each manufacturer but not the only one (even the most important imho).
However, i agree to say that JJP and Spooky games are more loaded then Stern's games.

ACNC - cabinet artwork, playfield artwork, backglass artwork, lcd artwork, plastics artwork, buttery finish and playfield sculpts are beautiful and well integrated with theme. Cannot form opinion on game play at this time.

IMDN pro - cabinet artwork, playfield artwork and plastics artwork are beautiful and well integrated with theme. Translite and lcd artwork are ok and there are no scupts. Layout and game play are fantastic.

In summary, these two games have great artwork and I need to buy at least one. ACNC wins on art design alone, but you don't just look at games, you play them.

I may own my first Spooky pinball. Still need to play it first at Allentown but looks great.

Lets hope it makes it there

The poll needs a third option: "They both look killer".

ACNC is more like like a premium Stern so they should be compared on that level. We haven’t even seen the premium version of Maiden. If I had the money and room, ACNC would be first on the list because Maiden will be available for years and can always get one down the road. Both are excellent looking games tho.

I'd have to go with Maiden for sure, and I am a notorious Stern basher. The competition has forced Stern to deal with most of its quality issues, but I'd still argue that ACNC is going to be better build quality than even the IMDN LE. The biggest seller for me on this Stern is that the design, rules and code are influenced by Keith Elwin, which means the code may actually be close to complete when the game ships, and the playfield will be different than the last 20 stern titles. If the code is anything like the initial GOTG code, my order will be cancelled immediately.

As for ACNC, the game offers nostalgia of some of the 90s w/b pins, which is awesome. The design and layout looks interesting and intriguing. That being said, I cannot stand Alice Cooper, to the point that I'd have trouble playing this on location, let alone in my house. I understand how this guy maybe appeals to Christian teenagers, but how do adults take his act/music seriously? I always thought he was some sort of satirical rocker, like a failed attempt at Spinal Tap. Now that I think about it, Spinal Tap would be a KILLER pin!

Oh crap!
I'm in on the ACNC, but after reading all this, I am going to wind up with both machines. Especially if they are very different from each other. I like the variety. Both pins are amazing!

ACNC has a friggin guillotine!

What is ACNC?

Never mind.

They both look good but I can't help thinking the rules on Maiden will be far better than AC.

How do you know it? Regarding the 2 layouts, both can have great rules.

With Bowen Kerins tackling rules on ACNC, it's far too early to assume which will be better. No previous Spooky effort could be compared.

What do you mean with « tackling rules »?

Bowen Kerins was hired by Spooky and he is working on ACNC rules. Many would consider him an Ace up Spooky's sleeve. His tutorials alone would lend many to believe in his vast ruleset knowledge. I would expect at the very least a far more mathematically sound ruleset than Rob Zombie.