No doubt. I severely doubt that Metallica LE will be going cheap just because it is one of the last ten pins to be auctioned. I won't be buying anything, but I will still be watching the pins being sold and it's not like I can't afford a couple of them if people stop paying top dollar. I'm sure there will be hundreds more people than just me with money left in their pockets when it is all said and done. I also don't doubt that there might be a handful of big bidders who combined account for 50% or more of the sales.

Rat Race is a fun maze game but plays more like the traditional Labyrinth. Like all balance/tilt games, it has that "one more time!" appeal in that it looks deceptively simple so you want to keep playing until you beat it... but I'd say replayability is low once you do. I almost beat it (one more target to reach!) the very first time I played, but did worse several times thereafter until I finally got it.

It's a very interesting technological piece. I've seen under the hood and it was a truly a prototype complete with a rat's nest (ha) of breadboard and jump wires replacing what might have been ICs and driver boards that didn't yet exist. Allegedly this one that I've seen, is different from others documented, and those are yet different from each other. The servos to tilt and track the playfield were uncommon parts and new implementations for the Sys7 boardset. The block section of the maze uses optos extensively, of a type apparently almost NLA and the most troublesome aspect of the sample I've seen. They have to be precisely aimed and shielded or you'll either suffer phantom hits that make you completely change direction... or no hits at all. Either scenario is a game-breaker that makes it impossible to win.

The sounds are typical WMS of the era and nothing you haven't heard, though the mock laughter when you lose is cute.

The game is not something for the faint of heart to troubleshoot. But it is a neat concept that eggs you on until you beat it. I'm very grateful the owners of the one "local" to me are so gracious.

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Space is for sure an issue with me.
If I were just starting out I would probably go nuts at the auction and try to buy a bunch of stuff. I just don’t want to do that at this stage in my collecting and I hate storing games. I’m also very happy with my current collection and don’t really want to sell a bunch of stuff to make room. Might sell a few things after the auction if I’m successful on more than I think I’ll probably wind up with.
I think my goal is to specifically target and go after a small handful of games that I think are really special. That means they are either rare, total oddball or something I have emotional attachment or nostalgia for.
I like taking really oddball rare games to shows, especially things people have never played or rarely get to play. I have a shortlist of a handful of games like that I would really like to own and I think I’ll be happy going home with 2-3 machines like that.
Just don’t have the room or desire to go there and fill a truck anymore.

There were two 8BDs, located side-by-side at MoP. Details on the *other* one, and are they clearly differentiated as to the particulars, in the auction lot #s and descriptions ?

Just as a footnote, there has been an 8BD LE in Florida (described as having a new pf) offered on eBay for months now with no takers, no doubt due to the stratospheric price tag.

Yes, I played them both a lot, but I didn't have the knowledge to know what the differences were. Its a great machine, I'd like to have one some day.

There also were 2 Capt Fantastic EMs side by side. One with the uncensored backglass, the other with the censored version.

Its funny, I was planning on going in with some more serious intentions to get some photographs of a bunch of different stuff on the pinballs and arcade games. Then CV hit, then this hit, and I lost my chance.

Having owned a few rare games, and still chasing a few others, here are my predictions, not accounting for condition of the actual machines in Banning, as most buyers aren't going to know much (enough) about functionality and finer details of condition. Also, these predications take into account my own criteria that rare and collectible pinball machines that are fun to play should be more valuable, while noting that this doesn't actually *always* have an effect on value. These prices don't take into account buyer's premiums and sales tax. So yeah, these rarer games are going to be very expensive:

2 Jousts: $10K each. I traded my near mint Joust for $10K in games several years ago, thinking I was making an awesome deal, but the game seems to be inexplicably holding that value despite the fact that it sits in most collections unplayed. Or gets used as a table most of the time.

Rat Race: $8K. For rarity alone. I've never played this, and understand it is very hard to get working. Was the one in Banning fully functional?

Cyclopes: $8K. Harder to find than the better playing, more fun Andromeda. Still a really interesting game which people tend not to part with once they get one.

Andromeda: $7K. In my opinion this title is going to continue to increase in value as more people realize that it is one of the best playing games of its era.

Attila The Hun: $3K. A good solid, though vanilla, game. Price is based on rarity alone. As Cyclopes and Andromeda increase in value I think all the Game Plan games are going to go up. The wider availability of a new repro MPU is especially going to aid these games in increasing in value.

Captain Hook: $2K. Though much less desirable in my opinion, see Attila The Hun.

Tiger Rag: $3K. The conversion games from Bell appeal to a very small collector base that likes obscure and oddball games. Never played this one, but it looks pretty cool. How does it play for those that were at Banning?

Space Hawks: $3K. Looks cool, and my comment and question for Tiger Rag apply.

Bike Race: $??. Not sure about this one. Having owned Sleic's PINBALL previously, I'm not too interested. Anyone ever played this one in Banning?

Fire Mountain: $2.5K. I'm a big Zaccaria fan, but know nothing about this title. It doesn't look as much fun as other Zac Gen-1 games. Any Zac fans played this game?

Hercules: $5K. This game always seems to sell for more than its giant novelty factor would have you believe.

Varkon: $12K. Rare and desirable. There are always collectors looking for this cool, though very limited, game.

BMX: $3K. Not sure about this game. I've only played it once and it didn't leave a huge impression on me, but it seems to have a following. Mainly for Bally completists?

Spirit: $10K. This game has an understandable cult following and could easily go higher. The photos I see show it to be in excellent condition.

I have been up there many times and have never seen Rat Race.

If someone here buys this, can I get an invite to play it? I'll bring snacks.

Same here, also, of that list by doghouse, I don't remember seeing many of those there. Maybe those are some of the ones that were stored away. Hercules yes that was obviously there, and I think Spirit. I don't remember Cyclopes. I would have loved to see it and play it, after watching HEP do one recently in his thread. It looked cool as heck.

Does anybody know if they have any wrestling pinballs? Preferably Royal Rumble or Wrestlemania Legends Edition?

CV hit, then this hit, and I lost my chance.
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I thought it was here to stay now and we would have it a few times a year forever, at the very least.

I was Wrong, showing me painfully nothing does last forever.

Great memories. I was always wanting to take more pics. I’m pretty sure I played damn near ever game there, though. Except for the e ms. But I know for a fact I cleaned the glass on every pinball game there as a volunteer. I’m got an issue with dirty glass on pinball. It was my mission before it opened at least one day.

I agree, Pinball Circus is the same...

Attila was on my maybe list, but at the final tech day, it still had an OOO sign on it, suggesting it needed more than a short-term tech fix at that time. I'll definitely be checking out its condition before bidding. I don't recall Andromeda or Cyclopes having any issues last time I played them, but I don't want either badly enough to pay what it will probably take. How much extra would Cyclopes go for if you got both of Josh and Zach's parents to sign it? (Not that their mom ever would!)

I like Varkon quite a bit for what it is. The game may be pretty simple but its short, tilted field has some different ball physics than typical pinball. The joystick-flipper controls are both weirder and better than you'd expect. Both factors lead to interaction that keeps you on your toes. As far as "video cab crammed pins" it's way better than Baby PacMan, et al.

It doesn't have the depth or challenge for repeat solo home play like other titles, but for tournaments and parties it's an awesome palette cleanser / equalizer.

Royal Rumble lot 385

Wrestlemania lot 1384

I mean, I own a Caribbean Cruise which should tell you all you need to know about my taste in machines!

I loved playing it in Banning, but would never own one myself in a small collection.

Agree. Rarity, schmarity. If it don’t get played, it don’t stay.

After my many-years-in-the-making acquisition of a beautiful *working* Andromeda here on Pinside, arriving DOA with missing and blown fuses, I noticed it came with an original manual and schematics. Both had a weird, distinctive sharpie squiggle on the front cover. On lifting the playfield for probably the 20th time while trying to figure out why the machine wouldn't work I noticed the same strange black sharpie squiggle on the backside of the PF near the flippers. Only a few days later I realized that the black squiggles were a signature-- Roger Sharpe had signed both the bottom of the PF as well as the manual covers! The guy who sold it to me either forgot to mention this (?) or just didn't realize he had a game signed by Roger. Pretty cool detail in an otherwise torturous journey to get my grail machine working reliably.

And that's why I sold Joust. Cool game but nearly everyone who saw it played it just once.

Honestly I feel the same way for most of the uber rare games. I tried many of them at the museum and while they were interesting, it's rare that I'd ever want to actually own one. Like I played Cyclopes, Spirit, Varkon, etc and was like ok, cool but I don't need to own them. There's always exceptions of course like the Defender pin was great, and one other one I won't mention since I intend to bid on it

Ok, I have a question for everyone. There was a machine in the EM area that was space themed (sky lab or space mission?) that had an MP3 player inside of it that would play a continuous loop of CAPCOM/spacecraft radio exchanges. Does anyone know which machine that was? I always thought it was cool.

Another question: is a plastic pf a good or a bad thing, in a case like this ? Or would that just be equivalent to a clearcoat ?

I'm thinking it would not be Sky Lab, but there's someone who restored one I could ask.

It was in the same area that had Hercules. A lot of the oddball games, games from smaller manufacturers and all the Euro games were in that corner.
Rat Race was next to the 2 Joust games in 2017, I cant recall if it was there in 2019 as I wasn't looking for it.

Williams Space Odyssey or Space Mission. Don't remember which.

I operated those games back in the day... The patrons would play for about a week and that was it.
The games never made any money.

Rarely desirable is the expression that comes to mind with rare but otherwise lame games. Don't have space for everything out there, so boring games are moved out when better playing games arrive.

Space Flight: https://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=5564
Here's the one at Banning:
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Considering the condition compared to most playfields, pretty good. No signs of planking, or cupped inserts. no wear marks. Pretty good for a 40 year old playfield.

My brother in-law Will (wife’s sisters husband) got that thing up and running at one of the repair events 3 or 4 years ago. It kept burning up a resistor and he tracked it down using the schematic and had it up and working mid-late afternoon one weekend when a bunch of us Arizona guys were out there. It was pretty awesome because everybody stopped what they were doing to check it out and get in on a game. We cracked open a couple of beers and played it for a while and then took a break to eat.

Originally I guess that game worked using an 8 track player that syncs with the gameplay where you have to land the shuttle in sync with a specific timing when the recording of the command center in Houston directs you to do so. The 8 track player on this specific machine has been replaced with a MP3 player replacement that has digital files of the original 8 track recording and works in the same manner as the 8 track.
It worked for a while (maybe a year or so after Will worked on it) and then started having issues again. They took it off the floor shortly after that.
Not sure if it was the same issue or not.

Bally Space Flight i didn't think you could get working without the 8track. There are metal spices on the 8track that signal to the game when a sound is finished playing. and the metal spices triggers a relay that tells the game to do something else. You can't just copy the 8track either. And without making a custom mp3 player with a relay, that won't work either. Or should i say the game won't work correctly. Also two tracks are used on the tape. You need both tracks. so a simple mp3 player is not going to do the trick.

http://www.pinrepair.com/arcade/bspace.htm

It’s been in the tech room, has cooling issues when left on for too long.

Yes, I believe they have both.

This is all basically correct, however there is a guy that developed a replacement board for these sort of games.
I can find the website right now and haven’t looked at it in many years, so I don’t know if they even make or sell them anymore.
He had a database of EM games where he had digitized the 8 track and would sell a PCB that integrates with the original hardware. If memory serves me correctly the replacement board has a coil or switch that activated at a certain point in the audio when the control center prompts you to land. That in tern activates the coil in the original machine that allows you to lower the shuttle.

When my brother in-law started working on the machine it partially worked.
Meaning the game started and played audio. You could move the landing shuttle left and right, forward and backwards, but could not lower it when it prompted you to. There’s a big bank of coils on the inside of the machine for various functions of the game. One specifically engages (or is supposed to engage) when the audio prompts you to land.
This was the coil that had a burnt up resistor, hence the game would not allow you to lower the shuttle. I don’t know if the issue with the resistor burning up is related to the board at all etc. But I can tell you for certain that the game functioned correctly after that resistor was replaced and continued to do so for some time.
I do not believe the machine is currently working now.
Not sure it that issue resurfaced or if the machine now has other issues.

Varkon is the most boring "pinball" I've ever played in my life. I didn't even bother finishing my one game I've ever put on it. What a dog.

If you want to own it because it's a rare conversation piece okay, your money. If you think it's engaging, in the slightest, I boo your bad taste in games!

Varkon was made to for the footprint of an arcade/video game. Yes the smaller playfield had a lot less to offer.
The few survived ended up with museums of serious collectors.

I have play Varkon at the Ann Arbor Pinball Museum several times.

I agree with this statement. Maybe not what they will fetch, but on the playability. Andromeda is one of the best SS I have ever played; it should be right in the mix with Quicksilver, Dragonfist, and Stargazer.

Cyclopes when dialed in is great as well, but not as good as the Andromeda. Still much better than most early SS. Depending on the condition, these two could fetch more.

Had one; made very little money...Aurich is correct... people played the game a few times and that is it.

Judging by the number of posts here, this auction will be keenly watched by hundreds (perhaps more?) of people.

How many days before the auction date(s) will opening bids be made on-line?

You can bid online right now. What happens is when the item comes up for live sale, all the online pre-bids are placed. The highest of the pre-bids becomes the starting point for the live auction. Then the live bidders, and live internet bidders can place their bids. Ive won a few captains auctions by pre-bidding, and then no one bid against me in the live auction. I wasn't even awake for the actual auction as sometimes these can run very late into the night.

You can also change your pre-bid. I don't know how close to live-bid time that functionality stops. I have some pre-bids in now. You might also get an interesting message if your pre-bid seems at odds with the current ask.

Anyone know if there’s a Gottlieb Hoops at the MoP? I watched the video walkthrough but didn’t see one…

The auction page has a search function once you enter the catalog. They have stopped adding items, so if it there, you should be able to search and find it.

i didn't see Hoops in the original list of Banning games a few months ago, and the auction search for it came up empty.

How about the other 8BD ? I seem to recall that one being in pretty good condition also, but would welcome some confirmation on that.

Thanks, I'm not seeing Hoops either... Strange because its listed on the Pin-map along with Robo-War at the MoP but neither are listed in the auction.

I guess these were some of the "on-loan" games...

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Yes a handful of games were loaners, several of my friends have gone and retrieved their games.

There's never been a Hoops at the Museum that wasn't brought in for a tournament and then taken back out.