I think Dr. Dude is a pretty fun game. Maybe on the high end of your budget, but It's pretty simple to play. Kids would like it.

Hmm, so we can take your tired ignorance on this topic, based on nothing, or we can take my direct experience with large groups of 10 years olds who are regularly here and constantly ask me if they can play my EMs.

I'm going with my experience I think!

My eldest daughter is 10, and her Girl Scout troop meets at our house, and she has friends over, and they all love my pins, including the EMs.

Change that and open up dozens of great options...

Depends on the kids. Not all kids are that into pinball. One of my nephews who I thought would love pinball didn't even want to play when offered.

Condition is also critical. At that price level, you are looking at older pins that are not in the best condition. My advice would be to prioritize condition over title.

I would suggest a few EMs also but the OP said can't be EMs so I won't . I do suggest whatever it is get something with short ball times kids lose interest quickly .

You could get a solid 100% working EM for $500-700 easy...they hold their value so you could turn it over and get different titles every once in a while.

Why not something plentiful and relatively inexpensive, like a Williams Flash?

Yep and a $500-700 EM would be more reliable than a $500-700 Solid State .

What about Gladiators? I've only played it on virtual pinball but I heard good things about it and that it goes for $1000

OT though I find EM's a little boring my son does love playing them at the Silverball pinball museum.

Kids will eventually get bored with ANY toy...and there's nothing saying they have to love pinball in general. That's why a cheap working EM--like a Gottlieb--would be perfect. You can resell anytime for the same price and change titles. Wedgeheads are great since they are smaller and super easy to transport....I would not want an old SS pin as a first pin if I knew nothing of repair. I think you need to spend a bit more than $1000 for a solid low maintenance SS as a beginner...

That's just what I was going to say. One of these, even in pretty good shape, could be had for under 1k. Not to mention these are still pretty straightforward to work on when trying to troubleshoot problems. Anyway just my 2 cents.

Isn't break shot kind of suggestive??

ACDC is very subjective yet my kid has no idea what the suggestions are.

Classic Bally-
Skateball
Eight ball
Power Play
Etc..
Lots of games in range, if you keep it simple.
Simple is good, a first time buyer doesn't need the headache of resets, Ball trough, lock mechs, display issues, etc.. that comes with more modern, muiltiball-type games.

I am going to have to agree with this post. You will have to leave budget space for repairs. Most of these old games will not be in complete working order when you buy them. Especially at the lower end of the scale.

Tell her to stick with an Xbox