Hey guys - long time pinball fan, but have just recently started my own collection. I'm a big magic fan, and was thinking about pulling the trigger on ToM before I ran across a flyer for Houdini at the White Rose Gameroom Show. This thread has been great, and I'm really excited for this pin. Rosh's updates and inside look into the process of creating a new game are awesome. This will definitely be my first NIB game. Before I put down a deposit can someone help answer a few newbie questions? I apologize in advance for my lack of knowledge!

1) After reading a few of the forums for newer games (WOZ, DI, Alien, Batman, Magic Girl, etc.) there are a lot of horror stories regarding putting money down before a product ships, so I will wait to order until after the game has been shipped to those who pre-ordered. Similarly though, how long would you guys say is a safe "grace period" to wait before purchasing a new pin so that the potential kinks have been ironed out (mechanical issues, coding problems, etc.)?

2) Updates to coding seem to be relatively common for games. How easy is it to download (?) and install new code updates? I have seen some updated ROM chips for sale on ebay - are these for older machines only, or do current machines update the same way?

3) My first two pins were bought through a local amusement company. They brought the machines to my house and set them up for me, provided a warranty, and will come and service the pins (at a cost, of course) if needed. If I were to buy a new pin through a distributor like CoinTaker, etc. would they provide the same services, or would they ship the box to my doorstep?

Thanks in advance for any help!

Thanks for your insight Rdoyle1978 and Yelobird! It sounds like I'll wait a few months after shipping starts and then pull the trigger. I'll definitely give Pinball Star a call as well. I agree that Rosh and American Pinball in general seem honest and transparent about where they are in the process, and that the product they release will be nicely polished from day one. Thanks again.

Or a play off of this idea - three or more keys show up on the screen, in addition to the lock. One of them is chosen at random (or they shuffle around and then one rises) and goes to the lock. If the lock opens = match, if the key isn't correct, there isn't a match. Does away with the numbers, but it could be a cool variant.

Looking good man!

I'm lucky enough to live within an hour of the Pinball Gallery in Malvern, and they just added both a TNA and Houdini to their collection. I've been ready to pull the trigger on a Houdini for a while, but wanted to play it first. So I drove out today and put in a lot of games, and damn this game is good. Not being a fantastic pinball player, my biggest concerns were that there would be short ball times and shots that were overly hard to hit. None of that is true - I was able to hit every shot relatively easily (the milk can shot was tricky) and started multi-ball and a few modes on each game.

In summary - the machine is beautiful, the shots are fun, the sound and call-outs are great (the giggling girls were not annoying, and the instructions for each shot were more helpful than obtrusive). I will definitely be picking this up once the shaker motor and art blades are available.

I also ran into Steven Bowden and got to watch him rack up all of the high scores on both TNA and Houdini. What a nice guy, and he made hitting a million on Houdini look easy (it's not).

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