Afm. Everyday twice on Sunday. It's pinball perfection. Case closed. Never gets old either.

Attack From Mars....

AFM

Stars, but will get old if you don't have more complex games to play.
Of the 100 games I've owned its still here.

Most games that have come out in the last 15 years will be good for single pinball collection.

Hobbit!

It’s really depends on taste and what you want.
My 3 dmds are 3 totally different games. TSPP, TWD, and BSD.
Simpson’s is my deep long player, and Dracula is the ass kicking, simple, just one more game. Walking dead is kind of the middle ground, I’d say it’s wide instead of deep.

I will agree with others that AFM is one of the best.

The very best games are any pinball you can afford and YOU enjoy.

Better to ask what wouldn't be good. Would be a much smaller list. Also, what era of game?

Having been priced out of the modern game market, I've started looking back into the 70s and 80s. Eight ball Deluxe is a no brainer if you can find one in decent shape for a good price. There's a reason they put this on the line 3 times in the early 80's.
People that come over and play migrate to it as it is quite easy to understand, game times are not too long, and the simple layout is perfect for shot making.

Ghostbusters Pre.Look,four movies, one not so good! family action!!

Best advice. No need for back & forth opinions.

JJP games are best in home due to the depth that you’ll probably never get through. Otherwise I vote JP from your list. Others are just to shallow long term

Any you can find,fix,source,afford,enjoy... Rinse, Repeat Brother !! U will find your groove !!

Metallica and Godzilla

Jurassic park is THE ONE! Family’s theme this pinball bring the magic at home! But you better be prepared, it won’t be able to stay on this one!

You're not listening to the answers.
The games that YOU will enjoy long term will not be the same that someone else does.
Tastes vary. Woodrails, EMs, early solid state, alpha numeric, DMD, LCD, and many, many variations of each.

There is no consensus of what to own or not own that fits everyone.

What do YOU like?

My opinion - Get some variety, even in a small collection.

I would go with a fast flowy game over a longer stop and go game like JP or TSPP

There aren't many pins that aren't fun though, just get one in good shape, that doesn't need a lot of work and play the heck out of it...Don't feel like your first pin needs to be a 10k+ pin

I wouldn't make it my only pin but I love my TNA. Against longer games like TSPP and Godzilla, I find the short ball time fast shooting brutal TNA to be a nice fit.

For me, with a small collection, I have to love the theme as a work of art object and the layouts need to be unique.

I'm a sucker for physical ball locks and long lazy ramps.

Your original post, nice easy concise to read....
All replys seem to answer in the same way....Welcome to Pinball, choices are it's beauty. Artwork,World under glass,Different tastes,2 flipper games,3 flipper games,Ones with upper mini playfields,Subways, Mini playfields below main playfield - Good luck and enjoy !!

There is no real answer. Everyone likes different games for different reasons. And different types of games or different eras. It’s like asking what is the best food to eat in a home. You need to play enough games to develop some perspective, taste or philosophy towards pinball, and that will guide what you decide to collect.

Depends on how many games you are planning to have in your collection?
Im a rental guy for now and the game that stayed the longest by far is hobbit, and i will be looking to ad one once starting to collect.
The second one to stay long is Jp, which has a great and challenging ruleset. TNA is just a great game and such a cool party/friends game with awesome lightshow, short ball times and neat soundtrack, but as a one game collection, it wouldn´t last for long.

I own all three of these. The best is LOTR. Jurassic Park has so much stuff to do, you will never get bored. I got attack from mars, as it was my favorite game to play when I was a teenager. A classic but compared to any new stern game the new ones just have so much more stuff to do. But I still think LOTR is the best stern of all time.

Any game coded by Lyman, but mostly Batman 66 and EHOH.

Agreed. OP move on. How many threads are you gonna create about this with different wording.

You must own the games I am trying to sell….

RCA1 nailed it with his response, but I'd like to add my personal opinion:

Deeply coded, long playing games get really old in the home. I have an AFM, and while it's a masterful game in it's own right, it's a long playing game. Sometimes I just want to play a couple quick games that scratches the pinball itch and kicks my ass a few times as I finish a coffee before I hit the gym on a Saturday morning.

BSD, Taxi, Robo-War, and all of my EMs do this for me, and honestly, they all get played more than my AFM does these days. Just because a game is "shallow" doesn't mean it isn't good in the home.

This really depends on what you like. I have 5 games and think they are all perfect in a small collection - for me.
To me, I like most games in the home setting vs. playing on location.

Taxi.

I own AFM, Stern JP Pro and LOTR as well as a Taxi and a Whirlwind.

My opinion is that AFM is probably the best one if you only had one machine. All of them are great for home use. AFM is the weakest theme of the three for my family, it’s just a generic alien attack whereas JP and LOTR are identifiable properties. AFM is the best playing machine in my opinion.

JP is the hardest machine I own and the one I personally play the most. It’s hard in a good way and not a frustrating way. If I drain it’s often the result of a missed shot or a poor decision. Having said that, it can be frustrating and that might affect your enjoyment if it was the only pin you had.

LOTR is fantastic. The theme is one of my top 3 themes for me personally. Theme integration is top notch, especially with a Pinsound board and a few tasteful mods. LOTR is a “journey” game. It a super long ball time player. I have my outlanes all the way open and still a game can be 45 minutes. I’ve not gotten to Valinor yet. LOTR is super moddable and that’s part of the fun for me. It’s a fan layout, like AFM, but is a slower game than AFM.

Taxi and Whirlwind both provide a very different experience vs the newer games. Easier rules, more approachable for a casual player, campy themes, shorter ball times. Gives more of the nostalgic arcade feel..

Don’t know that I answered your questions but there you go.

This Pinsider thinks AFM code isn't deep enough for home use.

This Pinsider thinks AFM is too long playing for home use.

This Pinsider thinks AFM code is great for home use.

This is why only your own opinion matters.

However, when Goldilocks broke into the three bears' home and played all their pinball machines, she did say that Attack from Mars was "just right" (to which I agree).

Wonka LE or Godzilla Premium.

Please see post #2,3 and 4.

Any Elwin game .If your an average player GZ or IMDN .If your better than average AIQ or JP .We’re a 4 pin home until kids done with college in 8 years and Im honestly thinking of going with all 4 .We have 2 as of now Screw variety his games are far above the others in play ,code and artwork .The triple Lindy

I have been collecting games since 1977... (collection not in order by date)
https://pinside.com/pinball/community/pinsiders/tuukka/collection#history

And this is what is left:
https://pinside.com/pinball/community/pinsiders/tuukka/collection

Like it is already said, get the games you like. But be prepared your preferences can and will change during the years. There is no need to try finding a permanent "best of all times" collection.

Not necessarily deep, but just a long playing game. But yup, I agree with you 100%

There's not some magic answer dude.

I'd say a game like Alien Star or Stars is the best for a one-game "collection." You might say "but I don't like those dumb old games, where's the 4 wizard modes?"

These threads always result in dozens of different answers, and they can't all be "right." It's totally subjective.

My real answer is who gives a shit. Buy a game you think you like, and if it turns out it isn't the "one game worth buying for a home collection," sell it and buy something else. That's what everybody else does. And the funny thing is, every single game you'll see listed in this thread has bored somebody quickly and they've moved on from it.

This is not a life or death decision and it's easily reversible.

AIQ and JP are 'far above' in artwork? Maybe if you compare them to the photoshop era Sterns.

Nailed it . Enough said.

Why won't someone man up and tell OP the truth? Has Pinside lost its spine? There's only one game that he could ever be satisfied with in a one-pin collection. And that game is The Shadow.

Any other game will leave OP with the lingering sense that there's something else, something better, that has just eluded his grasp. The kind of ennui that comes from having too much time on one's hands and too little will to find something to do ….

THE TRUTH (resized).png

A couple of things.

The best pinball FOR YOU, may be different than for anyone else. There is no substitute, you have to play different pinballs to find out what you personally like.

That having been said, the Pinside top 100 list is a popularity contest, and generally reflects the wisdom of the crowds about pinballs that are good in peoples homes. The best pinball ever made is the Addams Family, but in your home you can play the Addams Family enough that the machine has nothing more to show you. A pinball can be great in the arcades, but not deep enough in your home.

So on the Pinside top 100 list, Addams isn't the top rated pinball. That's because it's not the top HOME pinball.

I would HIGHLY recommend you play the new Stern pinballs.

With every machine, Stern is trying to make the best pinball ever made, using all the accumulated experience of designers and design teams that have decades of experience. More importantly, new Stern pinballs are designed with the depth of play that a home user would appreciate.

So.

Pinside top 100, particularly the top 20-50. New Stern pinballs. These will meet your basic needs pretty reliably.

But pinball can be remarkably personal. So PLAY SOME PINBALL. Figure out what you like.

Then play the machine you are going to buy. Not just "I played an Attack From Mars", play THE Attack from Mars you are going to buy (this is what a 'cash on the glass' transaction means). Make sure the machine you are inviting into your home meets your needs in terms of restoration and condition. Don't trust a picture on the internet.

Make sure you have a path to getting your pinball fixed. Pinballs break. They break a lot. Usually they break in simple ways that are easy to fix. Frequently they break in ways that need specialty, or hard to obtain parts to repair. Not often, but often enough that you should pay attention, they break in a way that requires a technician to fix. Don't buy a pinball and THEN find out that the nearest technician is 400 miles away and is backed up six months for an appointment.

If possible, buy from someone who is local enough to fix your machine. Pinballs are frequently broken right out of the box, and very frequently broken when bounced down the road in a truck. Ideally, you'd buy from someone who has some 'skin in the game' and would be willing to make sure your very expensive new pinball actually works without problems when it's delivered.

Good luck on your purchase!

These aren't contradictory. If the code isn't deep but the game plays long, it means you're grinding the same thing a lot. And that does happen in AFM with the saucer. The audio callouts do a good job of making every hit sound exciting, but at the end of the day it's thirty of the exact same hit to complete the game.

That said, yeah AFM is still a contender for the best one-game collection, approachable for newbies and guests, mostly deep enough to hold an expert's interest.

Just a point of clarification. Addam's Family is not the BEST pin ever made. It is one of the most produced pin ever made. You might say it is the best selling pin ever made. If you think it's the best pin ever made, more power to you.

I'm not sure you will find many people who know pinball who think that Addam's is the best pin ever made. It has great theme integration and sold like hotcakes. I can name 10 other pins easily that are better players.

Hey @PlungerHead....... what is the issue?

[Removed]. All he does is downvote.

https://pinside.com/pinball/community/pinsiders/plungerhead/forum#sk/1/329525