Just got a Houdini and an Oktoberfest in a trade with my BKLE. This game is absolutely freaking amazing! The only niggling complaint I have is the sound. Oktoberfest sounds very rich - with some good bass etc... Houdini just sounds a little too tinny for my liking - i did notice there's no subwoofer in the cabinet so is that the simple solution (adding a sub)?

Just to report back - I hooked up an external subwoofer and the sound now matches the rest of the game ie, amazing!

I'd recommend anyone and everyone to do the same if you haven't - because not only is it pretty easy to do, but the music on this really is excellent and suits the game so perfectly.

I dont know if it's simply the way my game is set up - it's certainly not due to me being a great player but I don't find this game too hard or frustrating at all, and I'm struggling to understand what the big fuss is with this games difficulty. All the shots are perfectly makeable just spending a short time dialling the shots in. It's weird because when you eyeball the game, the shots do look incredibly tight visually, but I still manage to hit things pretty consistently and I can get trunk multiball going pretty often (probably every other game), plus I'm finding the orbits very repeatable.

Perhaps it's because I have this game sitting next to ACNC which requires professional sniper levels of precision?

Definitely second this!

I got it as a package together with OF (which was the game I was really after), but what a fantastic surprise this game's turned out to be for me. Awesome work AP!

The art blades that came on my my machine are pretty wasted and could do with replacing. I actually saw these on pingraffix and thought they could look amazing on Houdini (it would mesh well with the LCD and the stage). What are peoples thoughts - try these or just get standard ones?

https://www.pingraffix.com/product-page/theatre-of-magic-plain-pinball-inner-art-pinblades-bally-williams-pinball

edit: I also quite like the look of these tilt graphics ones:

https://www.tiltgraphicsinc.com/product-page/houdini-steam-punk-gameblades-1

Yeah I've never taken the playfied out to install art blades I've done it 5 or 6 times and never even used the wet method.

Yeah actually I can see that lots of stuff would get in the way, and the playfield is pretty tight in there (others I've done have a bit of leeway you can use). The wet method should still work though. Also if these things are paper thin, are they gonna be a pain in the *ss to remove?

I think it happens after the front catapult has fired the ball into the trunk, and you also have a movie mode qualified. So the trunk will hold the ball while the movie intro is played, then the rear catapult will fire the ball into the right wireform.

I've owned a few games that genuinely surprised me at how great they are (usually a surprise because it's a non-Stern that isn't hyped up to ridiculous levels). Houdini is definitely one of them. It's a great game to have in a line up - it's refreshingly different, has some lovely shots and the catapult never gets old. The toys and sculpts put most pins to shame, and the code gives you tonnes of stuff to do, there's magic trick modes, film modes, Jail hurry ups, 3 or 4 multiballs and a number of wizard modes. One thing I would also say for sure - please don't pay attention to people saying the game's shots are too tight, because pretty much everything on this game is perfectly makeable. Except the milk can mini loop - holy hell that shot is IMPOSSIBLE!

The only thing it desperately needs is a subwoofer - I thought the sound quality was pretty bad without one (and there isn't one installed from factory). The music/sounds themselves are great and a sub really brings it out.

I do really enjoy my Houdini, but if I'm honest, I think Oktoberfest is a superior game and I tend to play it a lot more. I know the theme isn't for everyone, but I actually think OF is one of the most fun pins I've ever played and the rules/code are superb. Plus it really has some super satisfying shots/combos. Definitely worth a play if you can find one on location, but it has to be one that's been set up nicely - because the beer barrel shot can certainly benefit from some TLC and dialling in.

You just have to get yourself over to my place mate.

Will definitely be a hard time to sell now - rate hikes certainly aren't helping with peoples cash situation, and in any case not much is moving as I guess everyone is now waiting for their FF, GF, PF, Scooby or GTF.

I'm actually looking at a trade for Legends of Valhalla - I do really like Houdini, but I've been after an LoV for a while...

I actually really like the large display on LoV, because that artwork is so great, but its a real shame there's no animation at all. If a bit of time was spent adding some, LoV would be an absolutely phenomenal package - because the game itself, the code, the music/callouts and the art package are all truly outstanding. It really is the only thing this game is missing...

This is a very good point - you miss most of what's happening on the screen anyway... Although sometimes it's good to have a nice animation play as some sort of reward when you end a mode or something and the ball is stopped ever so briefly. It can be done right though - I always go back to Deadpool as it's my high bar - but that has some really superb animations that seem to play at exactly the right times ie, when you get a tiny break in the play, so you just have enough time to glance up and see them.

Hey man I'm with you! I like the images, but as my comment in the LoV thread says that game would be exponentially better with some decent animations, and actually because of the high quality everywhere else on the game the static imagery really stands out.

Ahhhh ok that's why the banshee/kraken are animated but nothing else is. I did wonder why.

Yeah I can see there may be new artwork required to get some animation in - it's just a real shame because it's really the only thing that lets the game down somewhat.

With regard to Houdini's display/animations, I really don't get the criticism either - I thought they fit the theme really well, and there was a lot of content happening on the screen.