Spooky actually says that the holes on the pf were placed in error. This is directly from Spooky.

Seems most people here use the ball guide to line things up. Get a straight edge rules, or even a piece of Jenga, and then just make sure your flipper rest on it lightly.

Thanks!!!!!

Note that I don't think the ball guide or any other marker on the playfield is a sure science with this game. What works on one game, won't necessarily work on another like it would with some other pins out there.

I literally rebuilt my flipper 3 times, lined it up about 50 times, and still, I wouldn't say it shoots "great". But I can make the shots. enough that I've settled with it, and hopefully when I lower the bushings with the spacers, it will shoot better.

Every time I go for that left ramp, I can't help but think about the ramp in TWD. It's the closest thing I can compare it to, and what a night and day difference. The TWD was butter if you lined up the shot, and probably my top 3 favorite ramps in all of pinball. But in R&M, the release from the flipper is so awkward that it just doesn't give me that same satisfaction. Maybe it's just me, but if I could potato head a pinball machine, it would be the TWD layout with the R&M code.

I just took 1/8” off my flipper bushings. Tripled my score. Very fun to play. Next I will install the new beta code.

I love how TWD shoots. My plan some day when I buy another one (sold a premium for RM) is to get a premium/LE and replace the left ramp with the pro ramp, I think that would make it one of the best overall games stern has made so far.

I totally agree. TWD for me was brutal like R&M is, but the shots just feel better.

I actually got to Last Man Standing the week that I was selling the game, so that made it even better.

For me, top 10 (maybe even top 5) he's of all time.

Really hoping the lowered bushings help R&M, because right now, it's just not jiving for me.

Easily solved ... move it on. Lots of buyers out there.

Not every pin is for everyone.

TWD — the pro is one of my favourite pins. Masterpiece code work from Lyman to turn a dog into diamonds.

(You might not have been around long enough to remember that TWD was deemed The Walking Dud when it came out)

The Premium/LE - well, let’s just say that they remind me why 90% of the time “pro is the way to go”.

rd

I waited a long time for this one, and theme-wise, it's perfect. So it's not going anywhere anytime soon, but still can't help fantasizing about how incredible this game could have been with a different layout.

I've been hearing good things about the lowered flippers, so I'm excited to try mine out.

This first, and makes all the difference I'm gonna say.

When you say lineup to the ball guide, do you mean the to the top or bottom?

Just want to make sure before I tighten them.

Thanks!!

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Top one !

Another way is to put toothpick in the small hole and let the flipper (with rubber) rest on it before tightening. Worked great for me.

Yeah but a few posts above say the holes aren’t the way to do this one.

I’m going to stick with this flipper talk. How are your top right ones lined up? Post a photo of you have it dialed in.

Can anyone post an overhead photo of their upper flipper.

Thank you

I modified mine to lower the upper ball guide. It now sits inline with the flipper making shots much smoother and more predictable.

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I've always used a flipper gauge when tightening the flipper pawls, keeps the correct gap at all times with no fuss.

What the hell is a flipper gauge!?? I need this in my life!

https://www.pinballlife.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=PBL-300-0162-00

Just cut a notch in an old credit card, lasts longer.

Used to set the correct spacing between flipper and bushing. My CGC Monster Bash had one in the goodie bag. You can buy them at Pinball Life or Marco. Once you get used it it you can just eyeball it and dont need a gauge.

https://www.pinballlife.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=PBL-300-0162-00

https://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/03-8194

Blue Tak will hold your flippers where you want them while you snug them up that last little bit.

Did you just have to take out the wood rail and shave the corner down, or did you also have to take all the screws out of the ball guide and move it over?

Mmk, lowered the bushings, reset the high scores and put the punch card at 0 stamps. Let's F'n do this!!

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Yes to taking the wood rail out. It’s a bit of a process and involves removing a few things including 2 PCBs underneath. It has improved my hit percentage for the upper flipper shots.

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Thanks for the tip. I may have to see what I can do with just aligning the metal rail and flipper before resorting to taking out the wood rail. I actually can hit the garage skill shot with regularity but now struggle with the inner loop.

Oh, and the 1-3/8" bushings from PBL work great.

Also...completely unnecessary. The only thing you need to do is loosen the rail and a few screws at the end of the lane to adjust it down closer to the flipper. One of the tabs will sit under the railing. Do not overthink it and risk making it worse.

I’m with Flynn on this one.

I damn near had to rebuild my playfield to get mine to play well. To include removing and modifying both side rails, recurving ball guides (and new screw holes in the PF), cutting flipper bushings, shimming the scoop, mag switches across the top end, modifying the right flipper switch, replacing the shooter lane habitrail, making a custom diverter…. anyway. It’s finally playing well.

To make a smooth ball guide transition to the flipper, I needed to do what I did, it was necessary. The wooden rail protruded too far, giving the ball guide more of a hump than a straight line. Maybe mine wooden rail is longer than yours

Just FYI I have swearing set to “Always” because sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.

This idea that some words are “bad” is farcical and puritanical.

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Nice Robotron! Such a great game!

I’m more focused on that wallpaper in the background…is that an acid trip or what?

I think its fabric, a curtain perhaps?

Feature wall.

Arcade

So, I’ve had a week with game #740 now and here’s a list of all the things I’ve had to do to the game to get it to play properly:

Update code (code it came with wouldn’t play background music)
Adjust EOS
Adjust flipper strength up
Cut down flipper bushings
Move left ramp
Adjust left ball guide
Adjust right ball guide
Replace right flipper leaf switch (kept flipping the upper flipper on ball launch -$10)
Reattach antigravity cable
Pull and reseat upper display cables
Add right ramp cover (due to huge air balls -$10)
Shim glass guides to reduce rattling
Adjust monitor settings due to washout

This is all from out of the box, and every single one of them could have been done at the factory. And this is on nearly the last machine to be built - imagine the horror show on the first ones off the line!

While looking around at the guts I also notice some other future issues - the wiring is undersized and also has almost zero slack, to the point where it’s under strain. For example, the launch button wiring is being physically pulled off the button. Would an extra 6” really have broken the bank?

The ramp cover and leaf switch ones particularly piss me off because I’m out of pocket on those. Maybe I’m also a bit extra salty because no one at Spooky will answer my emails asking about the replacement bushings or my tech questions.

That all said, the game itself is a triumph. The design is original and fresh, the mechs are cool and the code is both easy to understand while providing good strategy opportunities. Also it’s hilarious which is not something we see a lot of anymore. It’s an excellent game that Stern or JJP would never have done justice. I don’t regret my purchase at all.

But please, spend a little more time and money on the details.

Good stuff! ... this is pretty much what I do as well.

I rekon this would be a good place though to add what is a crucial tip for EOS adjustment.

To check the gap alot of people might push the actual flipper bat to full stroke by hand from the top side. Unless the pawl link has zero play this position will be slightly different than when the flipper is held up by coil power. Activating the Crank from below will have the same kind of result.

The better way to observe gap would be to press on the end of the plunger, pushing it all the way in to rest on the end stop using index finger. This way instead now the spring is drawing the crank and slack back the other way.

I wonder about this sometimes, people with fluttery flipper syndrome, if setting gaps and checking blade deflection (pressure) right at the end of stroke using that first method, can lead to less deflection and barely contacting during operation. When the flipper is activated there is the bounce on and off of the EOS switch.

Switch Closes near to the end of the stroke, but not Too late.

The more difference between these two, the sloppier the pawl link. Alot of visible slack is a good visual for time to service the link and mech.

This is spot on for what I ran into. At first I adjusted it so that the EOS just touched at the end of the stroke but was having some fluttering and knockdowns still. I readjusted it so it connects just a little before the end and it's completely solid now.

This list and constructive criticism matches my experience as well, I'm #380. I only removed a couple of the screws in the garage ball guide, didn't touch any others and it's good, but everything else on your list matches mine. Except my ball launch wireform was junk and couldn't stay working for more than a few games. Replaced with the awesome PBL one.

I have to say that I truly think with all the separate wiring for each LED in R&M and everything else going on it was a stretch for their ability to manufacturer it. After seeing the amazingly clean build on my AfMR I am hoping that part of the move to a new boardset for spooky includes custom lightboards for the insert lighting. That would go a long way to cleaning up the underside of the PF.

But most of these issues should have been caught in QA, and processes improved to avoid them on future builds. I guess Spooky was balls out trying to get these games built on time with C19 delays, etc. but small town charm and goodwill will only last so far if customers face these types of issues on their NiB Spooky games.

Thing is, most of this stuff was already called out a year ago. It does seem interesting that it is STILL an issue on the later games. It is more surprising they didn't start cutting the bushing shorter after it was confirmed an issue.

For instance, it is KNOWN that the EoS needs adjusted a ton from default. Why is this not being done at the factory? Why are the ball guides not being properly installed?

Here's a picture of my upper flipper alignment for WizardsCastle .

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Well we know from many designer interviews that Stern designers regularly visit the line when their games are being produced to check on the assembly and instruct the assemblers where necessary on how things need to be. That step seems to be missing from the Spooky setup. There is no experienced pinball person shooting the games before they leave, or providing instruction / refinements on an ongoing basis. My game even came with the right inlane insert LED missing completely, and that wasn't caught.

Fortunately I like tweaking my games, but as I said, total disaster for someone who just wants to unbox and play, like many NiB buyers. Even Bruce from the Slam Tilt! podcast can't stop whining about it. He isn't wrong about the out of box issues, but for a knowledgeable pinball guy he can't seem to get the game dialed in. My game plays great, shots feel good, etc.

From an overall product perspective (not counting manufacturing issues) I also see plenty of simple things that could be improved with limited cost to add that extra polish layer. I'd love to have Spooky send me their next game for a week and I'll get back to them with my notes on this matter, free of charge!

My experience is almost exactly like the poster above, as are many others so we know it's not just a few isolated incidents. There are probably quite a few customers who don't frequent forums or podcasts etc with these same issues and just assume the game plays like crap. Also, at some point you can 'learn' to make the shots by default, and just live with it. Overall, sometimes it is hard to tell if what you see is because the game is hard, or because something needs adjusted. I really disagree with people making all these adjustments right out of the box. If the game theme/integration wasn't such a knockout this game may have been panned by the majority.

Just like any job, timelines make people take shortcuts, CV19 certainly didn't help anyone in that regard, but I do hope QA improves in the future. Still an outstanding game.

If this wasn't a Rick & Morty theme it would have been out of my collection months ago. I just spent another $45 fixing this game on some 3D printed flipper spacers from a community member.

It's actually a fantastic/addictive design for a game (with exception to the top-right orbit entrance...), and since I've dialed this thing in, I've been having a blast with it. It's just a shame the manufacturer issues have marred an otherwise fantastic release.

Now, speaking of the theme. I'm wondering if anyone knows why the "Goodbye Moonmen" mode/song is only 30 seconds long? Was this a licensing issue? The full song is a glorious 2:18 long:

. We got the full schwifty song, why not this one?

Also, I see that the Jerry dimension was added in the last update, but one of the best quotes from the show "My Man!" was removed! Licensing issues again?

Oh, I forgot that I had to buy the quiet fan because this thing sounds like a jet waiting to take off. I also bought the coil fans but that’s because I plan to run tournaments and it’s not unique to Spooky, so that’s not really their problem.

Charge $200 more and take care of this stuff at the factory please! Also, reply to my emails…

Hmm…. Then there’s two #380’s because I have a #380 also.

I really hope this is true.

That brings up a thought I had. Are there any identifying marks on the standards that show what number it is? (for example, you have the badge on the blood suckers)

I've gotten my 3d flipper assembly spacers, although haven't had a chance to install yet. Since the code update, the upper flipper is about 99% reliable (the other 1% is probably me not pushing the button in all the way).

Honestly though, we've been able to hit every shot without any adjustments shy of bumping the upper flipper power up 2 points from default (it just makes it a bit easier).

Haven't had a single airball off the right ramp, and our launch wireform seems fine. Although I have had the ball hangup on a switch from the launch once...may end up getting those magnetic switches eventually.

Haven't found any missing parts or dislodged connectors, no scoop reject issues, no diverter issues, no flipper flutter or knockdown either.

I fully intend to put my 3d spacers in (hopefully this weekend or next) but I don't feel compelled to really do anything else

Number 745 flipping strong, we put over 200 games on it in the first week!

I find the game addictive too. I am not exactly sure why. I don't think it is simply 'new game syndrome'. I think it is more than that.