I’d go with

Stars
Seawitch
Meteor
Nineball

For straight gameplay
Quicksilver then Meteor

I haven't quite played all of them, but I have to put meteor and seawitch up there.

The surprisingly great one is Freefall. Rarely hear about it, but the one I play most often. Rules, shots, and sound really well done, very challenging game.

I’ve never had the pleasure of playing one. Hopefully someone will bring one to TFP this year so I can give it a try?

Stars

Check out the tpf 2020 thread, there is an entire lineup of classic Stern machines that will be there

Dracula

Quicksilver, Meteor, Ali, Seawitch.

rd

A Freefall is being prepped to be there. I think it will be done in time.

Man Free Fall just does nothing for me.
Another one I'm trying to put more time on.

You’ve got Magic and Galaxy on the list twice, they must be double the player!

It has a lot more going on than it seems. Really hard to get multi-ball (8 letters plus locks). The 3 bank plays tic-tac-toe to raise the value of the side target from 5K - 200K. Two different order rules on the left bank for EB and Special. And the spinner rotates between 100 and 5K per spin which really drives what you want to do. Make a bad shot and you're toast. Definitely worth some more plays.

Buddy of mine owns a Stingray, its not the best of rh3e classic era, but its amazingly fun.

Itll be in my line up soon

Fun fact, Stingray and Pinball share the same ROM.

I gave a Pinball to my parents, pretty fun game. Magic is still my favorite though. I know I'm biased though, it was my first game.

Awesome thanks for the info!

Thats the whole rub with classic Stern, the wacky rules are why we love them, but since they aren't intuitive you can miss something and leave a bad impression. That's why I try to never completely count a game out.

Other than Viper.

the rare ones have less love cuz most people have not played them (dragon fist, etc).
meteor is the highest produced game on your list so of course it will get high votes.
quicksilver i have a feeling people vote for to jump on the price bandwagon.
its not that fun.
light a spinner from either in lane, shoot corresponding spinner.
that's it.
big game is prob the best rule game on the list, but once again, prob not many have played it.

WAIIITTT a second. Are you saying Quicksilver is Grand Prix 2.0??

These are the 4 I currently own.

Have owned previously: Stingray, Lightning, Freefall, Catacomb, Meteor, Split Second, Lectranamo, Cheetah, Big Game, Trident, and Seawitch.

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Nice line up! Are these your favorite out of the Stern Classics you have owned?

Thanks Stones!! Close. I really miss Meteor, Big Game, and Seawitch. Actually my favorite at the moment is Quicksilver! Someone mentioned all that you shoot for is the lit spinner. That couldn't be farther from the truth. The multiplier targets are extremely important. Spelling Quicksilver and getting 5X bonus results in a pretty cool light and sound show. Sweeping the targets in the center of the Playfield are also rewarding (spells a quicksilver letter)

Very cool.....!

Yes, spelling "Quicksilver" is much more lucrative than just shooting spinners, and more fun too. Maxing out the bonus gives you one of the best sounding and looking bonus meltdowns out there.

I also like freefall, the bonus rules are fairly insane

It is interesting that quicksilver is now being rumored as the new base for Stern's next pin (Queen)

I’ve never played a Quicksilver, so if it’s a retheme that would work for me. At least I’d be able to play it in some form. What makes this poll tough, is that I have to believe there are very few people that have played most of the pins in the poll. I’m not saying they aren’t the right answers, but Meteor, Quicksilver and Seawitch are the easy answers. I’d love to see the same poll but with the “big hitters” not included. Kind of the best of the rest.

Out of the classic Sterns I've played, in descending order

Stars - I think it's pure pinball and elegantly simple
Meteor - Best spinner rip game?
Cheetah - if it wasn't for the art and the stock software with unlimited bonus collects, I think this would be way more in demand. So many good shots.
Flight 2000 - I love the spinner rule, the 3 bank drops, and giant bonus x to build up. Dinged for how much space the multiball takes up
Big Game - Weirdly addicting
Seawitch - I didn't love this as much as others (I really like The Beatles though)
Free Fall - Love the art and goofy angles
Magic - Meh
Lightning - Super meh

Really want to play an Ali and a Quicksilver. I'd like to see what sort of minor improvements they could make to Quicksilver like Seawitch and The Beatles.

I agree I think there are some rarer ones that do get missed by people. The fact people are putting Seawitch above a lot of other ones is the only proof I need

What are some of the rarer ones you would put ahead of Seawitch? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Dragonfist I never played until a year or 2 ago. Stargazers were already thin and getting thinner. Not major rare but I think Big Game & Cheetah are obviously way above Seawitch.
People like what they like...but someone (2!) clicked on Viper and submitted it

Catacomb

Big Game

Dragonfist

Nine Ball

and then Seawitch.

Are there any Stern Electronics pins more rare than Dragonfist? 302 produced is a really low number. I ask the question knowing I could take the time to look them all up on my own.

Cue. There 6 made of Cue.

I know that no one would agree but i really liked Trident. Owned it for nearly 10 years

I’m assuming those were just prototypes?

Only game operators asked Stern to take back it was such a turd! I got to play it at The Sanctum. It’s very weird but kinda cool.

Also what’s the deal not a soul has mentioned Split Second?!

Lots of good opinions provided here. . . I think I'll add mine.

I've played most of the Classic Sterns and trying to decide which one is the "best playing" is like trying to decide which of the tractors I've restored is the "best driving." Each one is unique, but some have more appeal than others.

I don't own Quicksilver, Big Game, or Stargazer but have played all a lot and understand the appeal. I would add each one to the collection if the opportunity presented at the right price. That being said I'm not on the hunt for them at top dollar.

I've owned Meteor, Flight 2000, and Galaxy -- all good/great games but ended up selling as I could not connect to the space theme. I rank Meteor at the top of those three due to the spinner shot alone.

Stars is/was another good game in the collection but the chimes did not win me over. I realize that is what a lot of people like about that game. Mine did not play very fast -- I could not get attached to it.

Lightning is definitely different. It has a Classic Stern feel but is a bit more clunky to play until you master the shots to the upper playfield. When you do ripping the spinner before hitting the ramp is almost as satisfying as Meteor. Almost.

I keep a beat Seawitch in my garage to play in between burger flips while cooking out in the summer, or to play just about any other time too. It keeps me content with plenty of drop targets to hit and the loop shot is definitely unique. I might enjoy it more if everything was dialed in perfectly -- I don't get the best spinner hits on this game. Takes some of the fun away.

Nine Ball has been a keeper for me ever since I played my first game on it. Even with a wide open playfield there is still a lot you need to be accurate for. . . and that floating spinner is just cool. The sounds/visual of the resetting drop target bank add a bit to the gameplay experience for me.

I also fell for Cheetah the first time I played one. So much so that I persuaded the games owner to sell it to me. Again a bit of a wide open playfield but a lot of drop targets and spinners (three!) to shoot for. The shot from the lower left flipper to the upper right spinner never disappoints -- neither does the left alley/bonus collect shot. I have the prototype sound roms in mine and while quirky the electronic effects work for me.

More information than most people probably want, but I had a few extra minutes here at work.

Because Split Second isn't particularly special, not a bad game, just an average game.

Best thing about Cue is that you can use the board set and game parts for other classic Sterns!

Plenty of good games on these lists, many of these classic Sterns will keep you coming back again and again.

If you think about the difficult times facing all the pinball manufacturers in that era, it is easy to see all the game format changes as they competed with video games for quarters. Think about all the innovation introduced in 1980-81: Voice-late 1979, double level and triple level playfields, more widebody games, ball-walkers, and 7 digit scoring come to mind. Even with all this new stuff listed above, players were being lost to video, and then the recession hit in 1982 essentially ending the party for a time anyway.

Stern seemed to spend more time on developing rulesets and getting the most out of the traditional single level playfield. Their double level playfield games are not usually listed on any top gameplay lists, yet their simpler games tend to be their best games.

Very true!.... it doesn't surprise me how popular some of these games have become!

Ali has to be up there and not referenced much above. A real shooters game especially spelling greatest. It bit rare as I've only seen one once before in the wild. Recently picked one up largely because of that and was very surprised at how good this game is. Check the vid below of the game. Really good tutorial and game play. Not me in the vid.

Great thread and a good intro to classic Stern. Only have a couple (Split Second and Trident)
and really like the Split Second. May have to find more.

Meteor, Stargazer then Quicksilver for top 3. I will say of all the classic Sterns I've owned none lasted very long so for all their want they really are just good old school pins that will get boring real fast. Great for a large collection but next 2 JP or DP or Maiden they stink.

I find it depends what frame of mind I'm in. If I'm at home by myself, I'll play JP majority of the time. But when friends are over, Quicksilver and Stars probably take the cup. They're just damn fun! Simple gameplay and fast!, you're not waiting 15min for your turn like you do on modern pins. That said, Escape Nublar is a game changer in this respect.

Agree with this, in a group setting classic sterns are so fun.

I agree 100%. Thats what I meant by a larger collection, they are great. I use to have more people over and for freindly comp or maybe even small betting they are the best. Sys 11's are also great for that. But how many times are u gonna play it in a small collection before u need something new?

If you have space they are great for playing wasted by yourself at night.