Question to all the collectors here on Pinside. If you were limited by space and/or finances, and could only have a single pin in your collection for the next 2-3 years, what would be your go-to pin, and why?

We can only have a single game at a time. Over the past 2 years, we have owned Jurassic Park (pro), Avengers IQ (Premium), TMNT (Premium) and currently own a GnR (LE). Of all 4 of these , Jurassic Park was the biggest hit with the family, and we played well over 5,000 games in our first year of ownership. I got to the point where I could get to “Escape Nublar” pretty much every day. Awesome game, but decided to switch things up a few more times.

Hoping to hear some great recommendations for what is a hit with your families in a smaller collection. Looking mostly for satisfying flow and deep enough code not to get boring after a few thousand plays. Our basement isn’t the easiest to get games in and out of, so hoping to find a winner with our next pin. Also not afraid to dive into the Bally Williams era.

Thanks in advance for all recommendations!

Kevin

#2 1 year ago

TKM

Daditude

Pinside Moderator

Rockwall, TX

5y 266K 10,121 23 271

Lord of the rings. It is family friendly, never gets old, has great toys/gimmicks, great flow, has that "one more play" feel, it's super deep, and it is truly underpriced (which is a rarity these days)

Godzilla, Deadpool, medieval madness, white water, the Simpsons pinball party and The Shadow would be good choices too.

#3 1 year ago

KWC

jacksparrow0112

Pinside member

Castle Rock, CO

6y 52,300 216 3 37

Quoted from Daditude:
Lord of the rings. It is family friendly, never gets old, has great toys/gimmicks, great flow, has that "one more play" feel, it's super deep, and it is truly underpriced (which is a rarity these days)
Godzilla, Deadpool, medieval madness, white water, the Simpsons pinball party and The Shadow would be good choices too.

Great insight! Thank you. We love the theme and I have really enjoyed playing on location even with extremely limited ruleset knowledge. Seems like a long ball time game but happy to hear about the “just one more game vibe”. Thanks for sharing. Would be great if Stern did a reissue.

#4 1 year ago

PMD

pete_d

Inactive member

Seattle, WA

1y 32,300 406

OP
Quoted from jacksparrow0112:
If you were limited by space and/or finances, and could only have a single pin in your collection for the next 2-3 years, what would be your go-to pin, and why?

There's no such thing.

Even if I could have only one at the house, there's at least a dozen pins I'd be happy with, probably dozens. Thinking that there's a "best" one, is just a path to unhappiness. It's also a great way to paint yourself into a corner and pay too much for a pin, thinking that this one pin on sale is the only one that's a viable choice.

Find a pin for sale near you, where you can check it out before buying it, which is being sold for a price that is both reasonable given the current market as well as within your budget, and which is one of the many pins that will bring you joy.

Then, go buy that one and enjoy the heck out of it, smug in the satisfaction that you didn't waste any time trying to figure out what was the one, single-best pin you could buy.

#5 1 year ago

BMP

NoSkills

Pinside member

2y 50,550 695

If you were getting to escape nublar every day I’m not sure any pin will hold you attention and not get boring as your only pin for 2-3 years.

I’ve always thought if I could only keep 1 of mine it would be JP. When I first got GZ I liked it but I thought it was a bit easy and I got bored quick, it sat unplayed for a few months. Recently though I’ve been going for completion of all 4 modes in every city instead of going straight to king of the monsters. I try and get my power up level as high as possible before doing king of the monsters. That gives GZ a lot more replay-ability and I’m now torn between GZ and JP as my favourite.

If you’re good enough to get to escape Nublar regularly and just go straight for king of the monsters every time you play, GZ will get boring very quickly as it’s much easier to get there than EN, but if you try and explore the whole width of the depth ( if that makes sense) it can really last a long time I think. If you don’t have time for 60-90 minute games though I don’t recommend it lol

Other than GZ, if I could only have 1 game for 2-3 years it’d have to be something super challenging to keep my interest for that long.

#6 1 year ago

TIM

ViperTim

Pinside member

Surahammar

2y 30,550 305 2

The Shadow will give you a run for your money while still being a lot of fun.
A highly underestimated pin. Top 5 pin for me.

#7 1 year ago

MSL

SantaEatsCheese

Pinside+ Pro!

Crofton, MD

5y 209K 9,653 6 85 1

With only a single pin, you still get to play pinball all the time but you get shots dialed in. My first pin was World Cup Soccer 94 but I sold it after I got to the World Cup twice in one game. My last pin out will be STTNG, as its my all time favorite hitting nostalgia, theme, fun gameplay, and I don't always get to the wizard mode.

World Cup Soccer 94 was the biggest hit with the family, but that was because it was simple to understand with clear noob goals available (shoot the goal) my kindergartner at the time enjoyed.

If you were asking what game on a budget if I could only have one forever based purely on gameplay?

Stern Star Trek Pro. Firm final answer with no argument. 7 Year mission is God Tier hard to get to, there is lots to do, the mini wizard modes are reward enough if you can get to them, and they are still relatively cheap and plentiful going for around $5,000. Theme and art hurts this one but its not bad. I miss mine.

#8 1 year ago

???

DropGems

Pinside member

Atlantic City, NJ

11y 42,800 547 5

Quoted from ViperTim:
The Shadow will give you a run for your money while still being a lot of fun.
A highly underestimated pin. Top 5 pin for me.

Just want to say that The Shadow is easily top 5. Number 1 for me actually.

#9 1 year ago

KJS

Pinside+ Frequent

7y 85,100 1,291

Alien

#10 1 year ago

???

rod90

Pinside+ Frequent

Lincoln, NE

6y 46,400 468 4

Ask this question to any movie star. No matter how hot their girlfriend/wife is, they get tired of banging them.

The last pin to leave our house is Zip-a-Doo. The gameplay is not there. But the memories that come with it are priceless.

#11 1 year ago

JDD

jackd104

Pinside+ Frequent

11y 101K 3,898 11 14 2

TSPP
Godzilla
Wonka

#12 1 year ago

TIM

ViperTim

Pinside member

Surahammar

2y 30,550 305 2

Quoted from DropGems:
Just want to say that The Shadow is easily top 5. Number 1 for me actually.

It is truly terrific game.
I don’t want to put it at #1 or any other game for that matter as I haven’t found “the greatest” yet I believe. But it is really really good. Exceptionally good.

#13 1 year ago

JET

Charger68

The Comet

Oak Harbor, OH

4y 52,050 220 12

OP
Quoted from jacksparrow0112:
Hey everyone,
Question to all the collectors here on Pinside. If you were limited by space and/or finances, and could only have a single pin in your collection for the next 2-3 years, what would be your go-to pin, and why?
We can only have a single game at a time. Over the past 2 years, we have owned Jurassic Park (pro), Avengers IQ (Premium), TMNT (Premium) and currently own a GnR (LE). Of all 4 of these , Jurassic Park was the biggest hit with the family, and we played well over 5,000 games in our first year of ownership. I got to the point where I could get to “Escape Nublar” pretty much every day. Awesome game, but decided to switch things up a few more times.
Hoping to hear some great recommendations for what is a hit with your families in a smaller collection. Looking mostly for satisfying flow and deep enough code not to get boring after a few thousand plays. Our basement isn’t the easiest to get games in and out of, so hoping to find a winner with our next pin. Also not afraid to dive into the Bally Williams era.
Thanks in advance for all recommendations!
Kevin

No such thing as a one pinball home. Soon that one will turn into two and then three. Next thing you know you got the gremlins movie.

#14 1 year ago

TLZ

timtim

Pinside member

9y 89,300 2,958 8 7

Probably thunderbirds, I’d be miserable with only 1. Might as well go all in.

But of mine BSD would be last

#15 1 year ago

QRK

Deez

Pinside+ Frequent

12y 139K 6,783 13

The only answer is to buy a bigger home..

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