Totally depends on the game and the challenge for me. I've had RBION for practically 5 years and I haven't lost any interest in it. LOTR I've had for a few years, no interest lost. X-men a couple of years and I'm more interested then ever recently. Wrestlemania, almost a year and I still love playing it. I've had my JD for over 5 years and still like it, but it will be the next to go when I get a new game. Even games like Maverick and Popeye kept me interested for years because they were different and challenging.

That said, there have been others that were totally opposite. Transformers I was bored with within 2 weeks and moved it out quickly. DM eventhough I like the game, it just didn't hold up in a home environment for me because I had seen it all, so that was gone in a month. For me, it's all about challenge. I really prefer to have a deeper challenging game for home use.

This can vary wildly depending on someone's interests, how long they've been in the hobby, and how much space they have for a collection.

Some people can hang onto a game for 20 years. For others, it could be as little as 30 seconds.

Between 5 minutes and 5+ years.

Black Knight was closer to 5 games before I just wasn't interested, I much preferred my Jungle Lord (which lasted a couple years).

Although most people love it, WCS only lasted a couple weeks for me.

No Fear was tough to let go of after a couple years, but I wanted to try something new and had to pick one to make space.

Doctor Who gave me buyer's remorse for a couple months, then something clicked and it suddenly became my favorite game. Still going strong after 3 years.

Getaway is a love of a lifetime, I think Taxi too.

I probably still love TAF, though I haven't had opportunity to play one in 15 years

I’ve only owned a Shadow, I’ve had it for 2 years and shows no sign of waning.

I gave up on one the first time I played it. The angles for the shots felt awkward, and I quickly moved on to playing other machines.

Then I had a chance to play another one a couple years later and enjoyed it a bit more. It's still not my favorite layout, but I still had fun with it.

Seems like 8 months and up takes awhile to really get to know the game

Depends upon how many machines you have.

Let's see if waspinat0r chimes in on this thread.

The answer for him would be 15 minutes before it’s setup and he plays the first game lol

I've had my FH for 14 years, still not tired of it.

Absolutely agree with eggbert52 on his statement above. A one pin collection will grow old quickly. Our growing home collection is at 7, and I feel like they're neglected. The simple solution is to buy more

Consider Pat Lawlor's comment, (paraphrasing) a game should be easy to learn and hard to master. I am barely past the easy to learn stage on my pins. I don't deserve my collection if I get bored with them.

Any game in my collection if it lasts more than a month its a keeper until someone wants to buy it for the right price.

Somewhere between 2 minutes and never for me

The Shadow. While the Artwork was over the top on playfield and all. The gameplay just got old. Especially after seeing the movie. The callouts got so annoying I had to part ways.

Next was Black Rose.

I have a decent size collection and won't keep a game long if it doesn't captivate me with the " just one more game " feeling.

I have 2 games that are relatively unpopular, Baby Pac-Man and just a week ago I picked up Night Moves. Baby Pac-Man is feeling a little stale unless I play with friends. Night Moves is a lot tougher than I thought, yet still very enjoyable. I am finding that pinball is just so much more fun when shared!
Playing alone getting old fast..

Too slow/stop and wait:
POTC = 2 weeks
TSPP = 2 months

Stinkers:
Nightmare on elm street = 3 days
Teenage mutant ninja turtles = 1 week
Hook = 2 weeks (the sound!!)
Phantom of the opera = 1 week
Transformers = 2 weeks
Simpson’s DE = 1 week

Others:
CFTBL = 1 month (hate 50’s music)
JM = 1 year (miss it)
CV = 3 months (video modes, nauseating circus music)

Sometimes you don’t know a good thing till it’s gone. (Sometimes they’re just priced right too)

3 JD, 2 TZ, 2 TSPP, 2 RBION, 2 SS (Sharkeys Shoootout, lol)

I usually know pretty quick if a game is a long term keeper, but not always. I sometimes trade or sell a game I like just to mix it up a bit.

6 months is a good average for me.

This is where I'm at.

John

I gave Judge Dredd 2 weeks. But that was generous, because I knew the first day I hated it.

A year is a more common number for me. That usually means it was a decent game, but I'm just done with it.

And of course, there are the keepers. Those will go until I get sick of them. Of course, I've sold keepers too. My advantage is that I have a decent sized collection, so it won't get that much play. But every time it comes up to the top of the list, a game needs to thrill me and be fun. If it bores me, I'll give it one more cycle. Still boring, the magic is gone, and it's time to go. We all know that feeling as we play a game we are done with. And when it happens it's best to move it along quickly before it festers.

Years. Haha

I'm very fortunate.
The size of my collection prevents me from getting tired of any of em. Matter of fact it feels refreshing every time I play one that's not been played for awhile. Unfortunately this makes it difficult to bring new titles in as I love all my current ones.

Isn't it really like anything in life that we are really into? There are certain things that make it right for you, if you do not find it you move on, although the product in question comes from the niche/genre you are interested in.

Music: back in Germany, where you can listen to LPs before buying at a store, it takes me around 30 seconds per LP to figure whether I like it or not.
Same for pinball for me personally, Star Trek had me hooked in 30 seconds, I now have it in my collection in it's 4th year - no regrets. I played Star Wars last Saturday for 30 seconds and was already annoyed that I had dropped $2 for 3 games into the slot.

I think some people already said the important factors of losing interest in a game. It very much depends on how many games you have and what kind of player you are. It's also very true that some games take longer to get into then others who are alot of fun starting from the first ball, and that it matters how much hours you play them a week.

Some games we own(ed) in our 4 game (at the time of the Flintstones it was 2) collection=

#The Flintstones - Sold it after 4 years. The game was set up very fast and was a blast to play. Unfortunately the ruleset is not so deep so we sold it and bought a Twilight Zone as replacement. Hoping to buy one someday as I've got a bigger collection.

#Twilight Zone - In our collection for about 8 years and not getting tired of it. But I must admit it took me some time before I started liking the game. Frequently beating Lost in the Zone but that doesn't matter, the challenge to get there still interests me.

#The Shadow - Own it since 2012 and not planning on selling it ever. This machine is for me in the same leaque as games like #TZ, #MM or #MB, A class games. With the sides wide open, upgraded speakers and set up as steep as possible: it's a killer and very challenging.

#No Fear - Bought it in February 2016 (so almost 2 years ago) and I'm starting to think I'll sell/trade it. It's a very fast game but I think it's too easy for me and it got kind of repetitive I guess. Very underrated though.

IMO, Maverick is one of the most underrated games out there. The paddle wheel does slow things down a bit, and the callouts are a little cheesy, but it's a good layout and can be quite challenging. It doesn't deserve the abuse that gets thrown at it.

To answer OPs question... as others have said, it depends. For me, TAF, FT, and TS are permanent keepers. I probably wouldn't ever sell my CBW either, but that's for sentimental reasons (and for the record, it's another game that doesn't deserve the disrespect it gets). The rest? There's a few I'd sell now, and a few that I'm not tired of yet, but know that I will eventually get tired of.

Looking back at my records, once a machine gets in the door, it's here for _at least_ 5 years. NGG lasted 10, FGY has been here 10+ now, and my TZ has been here for 17.

Funny thing our love/hate relationship with games.
I had to have another Strange Science like I had 20 years ago, gone fast.
I wanted a Baywatch and found a nice one, couldn't figure out why, was ready to sell and just played it yesterday and now I liked it.
And now for the biggest surprise of them all; Ladies and gentlemen, The Rolling Stones. Bought it as speculation for trade due to price. And now playing it more (almost exclusively) than MB, TAF, AFM, TOM, AC/DC, GB, GOT, MET, and 20 others.

Played that one for the first time this weekend in a tournament. Mick Jagger might be scarier looking, but he's a poor substitute for Dracula

I still have my first machine and it's the first one I play and usually the last before shutting down.

I only really ever sell to make room. Out of the hundreds I've owned I only hate-sold a couple - Rollercoaster Tycoon springs to mind.