Taxi was my first pin and was a big hit - easy for everyone to learn. The character callouts are awesome! Multiball is not the best in Taxi though but is still fun.

Word Cup Soccer also comes to mind as a fun family game. Good luck with your search!

If you can score one Demo Man - lots made and very different pricing depending on condition.
Flinstones - Jurassic Park (data east) - Whirlwind- Earthshaker
Almost said taxi but the prices have been going up and only a 2ball multi.

Johnny Mnemonic is an awesome $1800-$2200 machine...so is Whirlwind.

First off congrats! I remember when I was buying my first, thinking I wasn't going to end up with many many more (Not to mention all the tools and spare parts needed to fix them). Welcome to the sickness!

Judge Dredd is a great pick! If there is one available in your price range that would get my vote. Demolition man is another amazing title in that price range. You can't go wrong with either of those. If you have any questions just ask!

Don't discount WWFRR. Great shooter...two scoops...bank of drop targets...captive ball...standup targets...upper play field, some cool diverters on ramps/habitrals, tunnel action under the play field...shaker motor...and has multiple multi balls (including a 6 Ball multi ball)!

Getaway. Straightforward rules that are easy to explain, and running the red light has not gotten old. Super Jackpot is tough to get, and Redline Mania is still a hoot after owning it for years.

Last Action Hero.

Its plays really well. I like it more than Demoman and way more that Jurassic Park.

Whirlwind is cool to but, its a pretty hard game and very shallow.

Judge Dredd is a great game too if you can tolerate the theme.

I am fixing up a players game LAH that will be $1300. I actually have 2.

Oh +1 on the DM. Also a great game.

I just got a World Poker Tour for $1825, awesome and DEEP ruleset - on the level of TSPP.

Heres some good games in the $2k - ish or less range off the top of my head:
Demolition Man
Last Action Hero
High Roller Casino
Judge Dredd
Sharky's Shootout
Pinbot/Jackbot
Bride of Pinbot
Taxi
Black Knight
Whirlwind
DE Jurassic Park
Cyclone
Getaway
Mr. and Mrs Pacman
Genesis
Johnny Mnemonic
Baywatch
Fire!
Rescue 911
Black Rose
World Cup Soccer
Tee'd Off
Hollywood Heat
Terminator 3

Cant recommend Demo Man enough! Especially if you like multiball. Judge Dredd has horribly obnoxious music unfortunately.

I wish... in the Bay Area. Pins start at 2K and that's a project with a destroyed PF.

Johnny m or t2

T2 is a great game to learn modern pinball rules on. Aside from DM and JD I would recommend this as well. It's a great demonstration for your wife and kids that pinball is more than just keeping the ball in play. Of course the other games will demonstrate this as well but the super-jackpot is the main point of the game and is straight forward.

JackBot , BK2K , Black Rose , LOTR ,, Several More !!!!!!!

Another vote for Black Rose. Great game.

Jackbot. My kids and I play it all the time.

There are a lot of good SS game for less but DMD is a hard find.

Even system 80s?

LOTR for 1500.00 to 2000.00,where?
I'll buy everyone of them at that price!

no fear
NO FEAR

don't forget NO FEAR

Steve Ritchie classic...play better...second place is first loser!

Welcome to Pinside!
I will caste my vote for Jurassic Park. It is a good bang-for-the-buck pin that is often available and fun for the entire family.

Buy both the Jackbot and Judge Dredd from the local guy you're talking to. Both outstanding games. T3 is also around the $2K mark and a very good value.

World Cup Soccer: has a great family theme, good flow, fun toys and still priced reasonably.

I would vote against no fear. I have it and I think it's too difficult for a first family pin. I would think stargate would be on this list.

T2. All day long. Love that game for the price. Don't go more than about $1600 on that one though. Tons of them out there.

Last Action Hero.

I C I got Yur attention !! I dis-Like the Pin ( but i've owned it Twice ) I'd buy it 2 for that price .

Right now I'm enjoying my NASCAR a lot. There's a lot of depth, and the Champion Challenge wizard mode is always just out of reach. It flows well too, once you deal with the garage kickout.

F-14 Tomcat

You're getting a lot of good feedback but you did say for a family.

For a family I don't think you can beat WCS94. LAH would also be a good choice.

HSII is a great choice but I don't think it has the same "family" appeal. I've owned HSII and WCS94 and the kids picked WCS 90% of the time.

I think Atomicboys Review is spot on:

Atomicboy edited previous rating on September 30, 2014.

“The single most valued pin out there. One of the deepest pins of the 90s as well. LAH is a crap load of fun, with 10 regular modes, all of which are for the most part interesting and diverse. There is an add ball mode, where hitting the movie targets continues to add balls to the mode; Big Mistake, where you have to hit the drop targets, then stand up eyeball targets, then the main scoop; find Benedict , where you have to shoot the three scoops to locate where he is hiding.... and so on and so on.

After that, there is the additional three modes to complete “Last”, “Action”, and “Hero”, which starts a 6 ball TZ LITZ like MB, which is timed, but can be extended, where you have to hit so many targets in a short period of time. Completing all modes then will start the Movie Premiere finale which is fun final mode.

The Crane toy with shaker motor, which locks balls, and is used for the super jackpot shots is a cool addition. The regular MB, which is started on the third ball, or by being advanced with the movie targets, is a three ball (however locking balls previously adds to this) MB where you have to hit the ramp for the jackpot. After this, it enables the crane shot, as the crane moves over with the super jackpot lit, and making this releases all 6 balls.

All MBs, which are many in this game, have the TAF style magnets firing the balls around, adding to the challenge. There are 5 drop targets which need to be hit to enable the crane to move over to lock balls (this is only one of many crane applications in the game though). These locked balls do not lead to the main MB, like in most games, but add additional balls into play when the MB is reached (IE if you lock 2, you get a 5 ball MB instead of a 3 to start). If, while shooting the drop targets, you miss, there is a long target behind the drops, which resets all the drops, and you have to start from scratch.

It has definitely been a product of all the Williams games to that point (TAF magnets, scoops, relighting ramps, T2 ball shooter start, F14 kicker), but it does it so well, and with a ton more play and things to do than I already mentioned, that this game may be the deepest game to come out of the 90s PERIOD.

The only poor thing I can say about it, and it is without a doubt very poor, is the translite. I am planning on having a graphic designer make another for mine.

If you get a chance, buy this machine. You cannot go wrong. Interestingly this game fluctuates within the top 20 on the IPBD, but is in the 80-90s on Pinside.

EDIT 2014 - dropped this rating as I get very annoyed with the typical DE third ball pity MB activation. I wish you had to earn that every game.”

I can get a BSD N this Price range if anyone want's it .. It's a Re-import w/ a Few scratches in the decal's , but it play's 100% .. PM me if interested .. I Could Pimp it like Mine 4 someone 4 a Fee !!

Pay No attention 2 IMVE ,, It Doesn't lOOk the same now .. I Need to get a New Vid- of it

T2 or Getaway.

If you can find one, which you wont. Sys 80's are still $1500+ In the Bay Area...

Destroyed EM's are $1000+ in the bay area.... MADNESS!

Any pin in my collection. My collection is a bang for your buck collection all the way.

A wcs can be tough under 2k, JD as well. Depends on what kind of hurry you are in both are awesome but I agree that JD is just absolutely terrible music. Fish tales is another under 2k but harder to find in that price range. If you live near Black Rose getting a bsd under 2k is great and when you're tired of it, it should yield a little more money than that. At 1300 you could probably ship that last action hero and still only be at 1600 which isn't terrible and it's a fun game.

I really liked the music in JD.....more than most!

Elvira and the Party Monsters of course.
This pin is ranked at #39 on Pinside and for good reason.
There are two others ranked higher in this price range: Whirlwind and Getaway HS2.
These games get their rank from many players who have played them and taken the time to evaluate based on several different factors such as sound, graphics, gameplay,etc.

Really,going off of what one or two say in this thread won't help you much as people are different in what they find attractive in a machine based on their understanding of depth of pins combined with their skill level. All of the top 100 are great pins or they wouldn't be there. Good luck in your search!

Hey Jimmyb , im not that far from you and a huge fan/owner of an F14. Totally awesome game!!! One of my all time favs and always a great choice !!

JD is a Killer Pin .. I've owned it 3 tymes and Would again ... WCS is Cool but Dam it tOOk 19 hrs to Shop .. 13 hrs was Non stop w/ me & Shanetastic Tag-team-n it ..

My vote is for LAH. At 1800 in great shape it's a steal. Better than most top 50 games at double the price.

a quick warning because of your location.

DO NOT BUY from oldpinballer/ Dean/ Kevin/ whatever the hell his name is in Rock Island.

He is a fraud and takes advantage of everyone he can.
Here is a recent thread where he pulled yet another scam.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/got-choggared-by-a-guy-in-rock-island/page/3#post-1984168

Do you research before buying so you can avoid guys like him.

He has been know to lie, cheat, and steal. he often has all sorts of pathetic stories he uses to try and get people to sell him games cheaply and then turns around and jacks up the prices and sells crap.

We have owned well over 100 machines in the past few years and there are - or have been - only a hand full of machines I would never sell. On that list and on the low end of your price range would be Pin-Bot and Mousin Around. Both are lots of fun - kid friendly - lots of shots and everyone seems to enjoy both. On the high end of your price range Whirlwind is another game with lots of stay power.

Of all the machines I have had and sold the one I regret selling the most is Space Shuttle - fun game - great art - and just a nice all around machine with a nice look. I just bought two more to make a nice one from two machines to get it back into my line up.

So my vote would be Pin-Bot first, Whirlwind second (if you can find a nice one under $2000), Space Shuttle 3rd and Mousin Around would be my 4th choice of the 100 or machines I have had.

In addition to the ones already mentioned, NBAFB and almost all System 11s.

Look at it this way, at least you get to live in the bay area.

Signed,

Crappy weather for 75% of the year.

For $2K I would be looking at two System 11's instead of just one machine. You should be able to get a High Speed + Pin*Bot/Rollergames/Jokerz/Police Force/etc. This will give you two different designs to play with and learn with.

For me Johnny Mnemonic is just as good as any of the top / expensive games. An absolute steal for the $2k range they sell at.

Is your family sensitive to violence or sexual themes? That will drive a decision too.