Too fast and you post pass. Any slower it hits the target or tries to go up the ramp.
anyone else have to raise the back of the machine? (my floors are level)

I don't think it's a pitch tissue.

The games I played were set at 6.0 degrees. I thought they could have been increased maybe to 6.2 or 6.25 but not really much higher than that.

Lower the pitch and lower the flipper power you'll have more control to a point.

When troubleshooting angles and adjustments on a game, I use a straight edge from The Flipper, moving The Flipper in a variety of angles, to see if it's even possible to make the shot.

If the shot seems too difficult with the flippers set at their default angles, sometimes it's necessary to loosen the flipper bats and change their angle 1/32 of an inch at a time until you get the desired result.

So in essence try changing the angle of The Flipper bats slightly.

Very slightly, a little is a lot.

Make them both the same at least when you're done.

What should I try first. The ball is consistantly going to the ramp. Do I lower or raise the flippers to start?

Try raising it at first.

Ok not sure what the topic was but that 3d photo made me laugh! Not sure how you managed to get Houdini to do a Kilroy was Here but that pic is priceless. lol Thanks.

Do the "magic" targets reward SEANCE letters? happened to me today where I got S and A while The ball was swirling around at the right magnet and hit magic twice doing so. I also had the upper catpult go off when I was actively playing the only ball and no ball was in the catapult.

I can't back hand it either. It's interesting that I can backhand a similar shot on my KISS that other KISS owners can't seem to backhand. Not sure what would be different from machine to machine. Regardless, it doesn't matter because I can hit the lock shot from the left flipper about 50% of my attempts. Maybe even more like 75% when I'm feeling it.

My advice? Keep trying to dial it in from the left flipper. It's not bad at all! The sweet spot is from a cradle...letting it roll 60-65% of the distance down the flipper.

Just a possible suggestion. I had issues with back handing the shot at first then for giggles I opened the goodie bag API provided and checked my flippers with the fancy gauge thingy they provided and sure enough they were just Slighly to low. A minor adjustment and the back hands were flowing better then Sarina Williams! Well maybe not that good but much improved. Just a suggestion. Also from my poor learning curve, if you changed your flipper rubbers to a different type for color etc things will bounce much differently. The Titans looked great but came with a learning adjustment curve...

This is good advice.. mine came pretty well perfect from the factory, but you absolutely should be able to do that backhand. I just tried it again and hit it 3 times out of 5, just fooling around. Check game is level, check flippers...

He’s watching to be sure I don’t screw up something else

The Magic targets award based on the color they are lit. Green = Escape Letter, Teal = Seance letter and Blue = Movie letter. Red = Shot awarded for the Illusion mode you are in. I believe they go Green, Teal, Blue in order but Red whenever in an illusion mode, at least for one shot award.

With flippers aligned with their tool I have no shot at the back hand, With the flipper slightly raised up I can get 30% of the time, With it noticeable raised I can hit it 80%, but flipper is noticeably high.

Does anybody know the dimensions of the Houdini Box? I am picking one up tomorrow and a Stern NIB exactly fits in my vehicle. A Stern is 31" X 31" X 56". Is Houdini bigger, smaller or the same? Please PM me or post here. I will owe you. I searched the thread and couldn't find this information. Thanks.

You can also raise the rubber on the flipper.
Raise it so that it is level, or near with the top of the flipper instead of the bottom ledge.
This was a fix to lower the airballs on some games.

another thing:

Different flipper rubbers affect the games a lot. The rebound off the rubber until the ball settles down, is a huge factor.

I have superbands on some games because they play better with less bounce. I have Titan silicone rubbers on a couple others and regular latex on some others. It depends on how the game plays as to what rubber works best for you.

Im thinking, but havent received my game yet, that the superbands since they're low bounce might work really good on Houdini.

31" x 31.75" x 58"

game with head folded
28.5" x 30" x 54"

Oh, and you owe me

I don't remember seeing this discussed before so I apologize if it was but I noticed that hitting the inside loop when lit for Bullet Catch does not award a Trunk Multiball lock, even if it lock was lit when you started Bullet Catch. Surely this isn't the intended behavior for balls one and two, right rosh ?

whatever it does is the intended behavior, at this time

Of course I reserve the right to change the intended behavior in the next release . . .

Just a quick post to thank Josh and Barry on troubleshooting my Houdini’s Problem.
Fast and easy.
That is how you make a loyal customer.
Thanks again
Lou

Forgive me if this has been answered and I thought I had asked about a solution to this earlier but was there a "fix" or solution to the ball getting stuck behind the planchette? This is happening a a lot to me as of late. I have tried moving the wires and turning the planchette a little to make a way for the ball to get thru but never seems to work long term.

Turn your flipper power down by one for each flipper in the coil settings. If you're getting it up there a lot, you're getting too many airballs, which is too much flipper power.

Last I heard (months ago) AP was working on a fix/kit.

Had this issue.... Pulled the wires towards the planchette and used a zip tie to hold them in place. If it happens now it rolls back into the shooter lane ...

No, flipper power is as low as I can go and still make ramp on right.
Sometimes I just brick the crap out of the shots repeatedly and hence the airballs sitting on the middle right plastic.

I do play this game very "strategically" as you are not going to gorilla flipper this game and expect high scores.
It takes much more of a "surgical" approach...which I have been doing.

The power supply system is super sensitive I found out tonight.
I tried activating both flippers when the catapult fired to see if that would affect the distance and the ball fell short of the trunk.
Catapult has been very reliable making that shot otherwise. Was just experimenting...

Weird. We don't have that issue with power sensitivity that you and others have experienced. What's your power at the wall (how many volts)?

Spoken like a true developer, but might I suggest "it's not a flaw, it's a feature" and "functions as designed"

You need to shift planchette a little more to the right. The bent metal can be angled so that there is no flat spot, ball will roll right off into shooter lane.

But I'm not, first time I've really written code for a living -- well if you can call what you earn in pinball as 'making a living'

Great perks

I've noticed that also.

I want to join the club. Are any distributors making deals on this pin? Discounts, add-ons, shipping, no CC fees?

I ordered mine from JJ at Gexchange .

Generally prices are locked per manufacturer agreement on NIB.

Ok. Just checking. I know some manufacturers allow discounting. Didn't know if AP was one of them.

Pinballstar claims to have sales and special pricing fairly often, but not sure which brands he's referring to as he carries several.

There's a dist in Concord with machines in stock that have the magic glass and shaker motor already installed. That's only 30 miles from you.

Hmmm. Not aware of anyone in Concord. Are you referring to Pinball Pirate in Benicia?

No idea. It's in the pinside marketplace. Says Concord.

This is pretty much the case with all manufacturers anymore. JJP used to do discounts - not as of a few months ago; they've gone to minimum retail price rules.

A distributor just told me the same. Set pricing for all manufacturers now. No need to shop around. Just order from your favorite.

Meet the designer of Houdini at the Northwest Pinball & Arcade Show! Joe Balcer will be hanging out in the Nitro Pinball booth where there will be 3 Houdinis on freeplay! Houdini will also be the grand raffle prize at this year's show! Stop by the merch booth to buy a raffle ticket or two, you just might take home a brand new Houdini pinball machine!

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I love my Houdini and have already played hundreds of games, but I do have a request. There are many times when I’m not sure if I successfully completed a task, especially then there are multiple challenges happenings simultaneously. I DEFINITELY know when I don’t (“Boo-You Stink” over and over). When you win there is a cheering sample, but it’s not very defined. I think that Houdini’s voice should announce victory; for example “I have escaped!” or “Thank you Ladies & Gentlemen!” etc. This wouldn’t cost much to bring the talent back in to record some victory samples, and I think it would greatly add to the game experience.

This has to be the best packaged up game I have ever seen.
The detail on this game is amazing too.

Minor adjustments out of the box, was all it took to play fantastic.

Great job on this game AP, two thumbs up

I agree that when you complete a mode it sounds like the crowd is booing not cheering. Very anti climatic! I would like to see that changed someday.

Are you sure you've ever completed a mode??

Heading to the airport soon!

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Jail Escapes have a voice call when completed and secret missions have a clear sound, and typically the ball is held, so you get a good indication of success. Movies and Stage modes don't run at same time so applause should be somewhat clear, regardless, I continue to look at things so possible I could make changes down the road.

Probably because you are so much more accustomed to hearing them boo!

Omg AP you're genius can't wait to see Houdini in Europe

Probably because you are so much more accustomed to hearing them boo!

Sick burn by rosh lol

Congratulations to American Pinball again!
First of all they are at game 325 by June 1st!
And games are heading overseas! I know the certs took awhile but getting it right was more important than rushing them out.

Should be a couple Aussie games there

Anyone add a bill acceptor to Houdini? Suggested make and model?

Also: Is there a PF protector for this game? The usual sites don’t seem to have one.

120 V with max 300 bill cassette.

Cliffy is on it.

The first Houdini heading overseas connected to the 220 Volt 50 Hz generator. We also were able to finish up the in-rush current testing.
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