I vote Star Trek because both main ramps can be back handed and the warp ramp is a whole lot of fast HOLY COW super speedy action!!!!

Spidey is the most interesting game of the 3, with a variety of modes to stack with the villain modes, etc., and variety of shots. Tron would be my #2. ST is fast but has the least variety and fewest things to shoot.

Voted Spidey as the third flipper shot actually returns to a flipper, not to pops like Tron or to a side drain like ST.

I own all 3 plus Xmle, I'm a Stern 3 flipper addict.

I give the nod to Tron
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SM>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Tron>>>>>ST

Oh yea ...
ST>>>>>>> Tron>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> SM

Fast and flow...probably ST.

between the two...mmm you'd have to play and pick which theme you like. They are much different games.... I have a tron and it just destroys you. Really pisses off guests and newbies. ST I feel is a fun game but also has some depth for good players.

Of the three you listed I like Tron the best, but for flow and speed I think Star Trek has the edge. Spiderman is a great game but I feel the sound package holds this one back from being as good as the other two.

Traded my ST for X-MEN, which should also be on the list!

Tron with white rubbers, freshly waxed, and the level just on the edge of too much incline equals wow! Very fast.....

I own Star Trek and Tron. I voted Tron.

I have all 3 , can't vote as I like them equally!

You want Tron. Star Trek and Spider-man are games with *long* ball times.

Tron feels like a challenge keeping the ball in play. The other two feel like you can do no wrong, but then once in a while bad luck strikes and you are surprised that you drained.

I was going to say spidey or tron before seeing poll.

Go with SM. I've owned mine for three years, and it won't leave my collection. I'm spoiled and get to go play a really nice Tron and ST LE all the time. I might get cut down for saying this, but SM destroys those 2. ST has a clunky code, Tron is awesome, but SM has that WOW factor IMPO.

Is this some kind of trick question? There is one obvious choice. Tron!

For now. But... There will be one obvious choice: ST.
I have faith. Stern is working on its code. This game is good but will become a masterpiece!

XMLE is great and so is Spiderman. There are so many modes with both of those games that it's hard to walk away after a few games

x-men.

ST>>>>>>>SM>>>>>>>>>>>>>Tron

Yes

Xmen has great varity of modes and dots. But I feel the side ramp is difficult as well as inner loop shot.

Stay clear from SM if you don't like long ball times. That's one of the many reasons TRON and STLE blow it out of the water. Long ball times on those 2 pins are rare yet exciting when it happens. When you have long ball times on SM you just can't wait for it to end cause its so dang repetitive and boring.

LOL! ST doesn't have long ball times?? ST has equally long ball times as Spidey in my experience...unless you left your SM stock with inlanes closed all the way in. Even SR said that was a mistake made at the factory. Outlanes should be opened to highest setting on SM. Anyways, if you like boring monotonous modes, pick yourself up a ST. Modes as currently coded are a snooze fest. Seriously, great layout that is a borderline turd because of its uninspired rules. Talk about walking away from a machine and never wanting to play it again...

Totally agree with this. If your having short ball times on ST, you'll have short ball times on SM...

The look of ST is awesome, but it's a clunky playing game as is. SM has longer ball times because of the modes. Your trying to get a play-field multiplier going or 2, and yes that takes some time. You wanna make Spidey tuff? Take out the middle post and de-activate the pop-up post, but I'd never recommend that to a casual player though.

While long ball times do exist in ST moreso than TRON; im curious if your long ball times are on a pro or LE? Pro has more of a crutch due to the outlane not as wide and having rubberized posts. I have my LE right lane wide open. But, My point was long ball times are more exciting on ST moreso than SM. Star Trek has polished code incoming so while we can't comment on what's coming from that code, one thing is certain if you think ALL the missions are the same then you just don't understand the game and should educate yourself on the dozens of combinations to attack and strategize with the game. All games have pros and cons in the code and i feel the cons of Star Trek (in its current state) outweigh the cons of SM.

I bought SM before Pinside had forums and before I knew about rgp. I bought it cause I played it on location and thought it was amazing. In a home ennvironment though, it didn't take long to see how monotonous it was. It was my 3rd pin and had to compete with LOTR and FGY so maybe that was the problem? LOTR and FGY are just pure genius imo by keefer. But repetitive call outs and villain battles on a long ball time game coupled with monotonous story building is just a few of the reasons I can't stand SM. That said - I bought into the overrated hype of this game and decided to buy it again not too long ago. This time I had Pinside on my side to help me see what I was missing in this pin. So 5 years after owning it the first time I got SM again. This time I put lightening flippers on it to help with ball times. Holy shit this game is the best ever! I Did make a mistake selling it....one week later after mastering it with lightening flippers - oh yea, that's why I hate this game - long ball times = boring and repetitive.

Ya I'm in the minority on my thoughts with SM and will get your typical thumbs downs, but that's my story and I'm sticking to it. Have no plans to try to own SM a third time

SM used to be my favorite pin but it can easily have long ball times. The only way I find it fun is to focus on getting to superhero. The one thing which pisses me off the most is the random weakening of the right flipper I haven't figured out. Just when I think I have, it comes back. I put on stronger coils which make the game fast as crap.

Tron is fast and flowy but I still have long ball times on it and my outlanes are open. I rarely drain out of the right side. What is great to me is the fact that I always get so close to SOS but something usually keeps me away. Arghh! One more try. Damnit! Just...one...more.

Can't get into ST even though I am a big fan. I guess it is too similar to my others.

Anybody with a detailed reasoning never gets a thumbs down from me, even though I disagree with a lot said. I will say, I hope ST code becomes awesome. I want to love that game, I just don't currently.

Improved code can't make up for the lack of shots/targets. For challenge/depth, gotta be SM with Tron in second place.

Well obviously I favor Tron. It is a fantastic game. And second I would go for SM. Also a great game, but it doesn't quite hit it for me like Tron does. As for ST, no. I realize there have been improvements in the code, but it still just doesn't hit the mark for me. I just feet ST should have been a much better game. To me the game just gets boring too fast.

So Tron>SM>>>>>>>ST

While I haven't had EXTENSIVE time on it I've had enough. The thing is, you HAVE to play ST a while to open up the more interesting things. The early modes are just uninteresting and boring. The layout is spectacular (very similar to Spidey, but feels different), but the code just kills the game for me. I don't really want to play it unless the code gets an overhaul. It is what it is...potential. I respect your opinion on SM, but I don't see how someone could say SM is repetitive but ST isn't. Just isn't true.

Edit: my ST playtime is mostly on a pro.

I have to say star trek, i actually think i like the other themes better (not to sure on the movie spiderman's but the comics are great) but I love the play on star trek.

The way i always explain my love for ST is that it has smooth flow

Oh man the mid 2000's Spider-man movies destroy the new ones, yes even SM 3, Haha. Gotta love Sam Raimi! And yes, Bruce Campbell makes a cameo in all three movies. The newer movies... Well suck to say it nicely. I'm a comic guy, and none have done the comic justice, but the new 2 are epically bad.

I sound like a repeating book, but Spidey again on this. Tron is cool with the Quorra to Gem combo, but the Spidey Venom ramp is so dope. It's actually the super skill shot a lot of people don't know about. The 3rd ball on Spidey gives you a 2x bonus multiplier just plunging it up in the pops. If you short plung on ball three, and then nail the Venom ramp, you get a 3x bonus multiplier. IMPO SM is such a complete game.

On ST, it feels like the 3rd flipper is only there for warp ramp shots - which feel like nothing more than bonuses, ie: you can ignore them and the game is the same. The warp ramp *is* awesome though - feels like a unique shot that isn't in any other game. (Also, yes you can hit lock targets from the upper flipper, but you'll probably pick up a ton from the ball bouncing around randomly).

On Tron, there are two different shots from the upper flipper, and both are critical to starting/completing modes.

tldr; Tron's is more integrated.

Exactly

Venom is my favorite ramp shot in pinball but not much else to hit with the upper flipper on SM

Warp ramp is cool but no code, I mean it's not for anything

Tron has Two important shots

XM also two important shots but feels harder for me almost just luck on hitting them so IMO Tron is better for the upper flipper shots .

Xmen. If it were (insert Tron or Star Trek theme), this conversation would not exist.

Well based on the votes thus far, I'd have to say this is why pinball is so great. Such deep passion for 3 great games and even a little xmen love thrown in here and there.

Never played Spider-Man but both Tron and Star Trek are fantastic. In my opinion, Star Trek gets more points on use of the third flipper. Less to do with the flipper than in Tron but one of the most exciting things in Star Trek is hitting the warp ramp. In terms of the actual theme, sound, etc I prefer Tron. Star Trek is quite easy to find NIB or at great HUO price. Once the NIB dry up and the next code hits, pricing could be different. Rumours are rampant of a Tron vault shortly also. Prices on existing Tron's in my neck of the woods are continuously over 6k when they come up for sale, which isn't often.

Heck, I'll take it a step further. The layout is a snooze fest as well. There is nothing unique or exciting about it at all.

Go with your first instinct - i LOVE AC/DC - it's a great pin with awesome sound and I have always loved the speed and flow of Steve Ritchie designs!

My vote is for AC/DC!

AC/DC is either a two or four flipper game, depending on which version you get. So, I think that AC/DC is disqualified from consideration.

What are you talking about? He already has AcDc premium, it's his avatar for gods sake he's not going to get another one. He's asking about a replacement for The Shadow.

You mean drop targets, then? Because ST has plenty of stand-ups!
Lack of shots? How so?

I'd get tron for a variety of reasons, but one is that the upper flipper's on the other side to Shadow, just to get that change of pace..