If you’d go 30 years, I’d say there are a couple of B/Ws that are still sub-3 that are fun titles (Indy 500, Jack*Bot)

Sleeper titles are getting harder to dig up for decent prices. Since the popular A-list games have shot up in price, people have looked toward less expensive titles, and in turn, the prices for those have shot up.

The best game for you is one you like and is at a price you're comfortable with. Everyone has different preferences, interests, and budgets.

The pin you like most.

Your value will always be in the pleasure you get playing it.

LTG : )

If you're looking at 1999 to present and at games that are "value" I'd say this is $3k and under my choices would either be RFM or WPT. Hard to find other games with that amount of depth and features for under $3k.

NBA Fastbreak is an underrated title that can still be found for around $2500. It has an interesting layout and basketball scoring- also saves the high scores for each team. They can be linked together and are great for sports fans. Good bang for your buck

Value is a really tough thing to pin down. Does value mean what you enjoy most for your collection? What others will play when they come over? Is money no object?(JJP to me doesn't strike me as "value" but it's listed in your post).

If I had to pick a value pin for a first time buyer vs someone who had been collecting for years, I think it would look completely different.

Best value personally? Everything I bought 5 years ago.

Game that is "underpriced"now? Getaway seems to come up for reasonable prices still. Or maybe Road Show.

Sorcerer. For about $1400.00, it's just a fun, fast game that kicks my ass. Cool lights/sounds. Sure, Metallica has more going on, but a value, it ain't.

20 years back excludes 80s and 90s, but you mention Sys 11. I'm confused.

Are 80s & 90s included here?

World Cup Soccer. Deep enough for pinheads, fun enough for house guests.

I like Space Jam in that under 3K realm. But I will also say that Stern’s X-Men offers a lot of bang for buck for a modern machine.

The one game which I no longer own part of, is Capcom's Kingpin.

I'm not a great player. I've always enjoyed playing that game.

LTG : )

Only 9 prototypes were built.

However, Circus Maximus was working to remake it.

Good luck w the search!

Try for a fully working one. Like the Circus Maximus group that is working on making them. The one they have at shows is good.

Years back, some of the Kingpins that popped up at shows had stuff not working and people complained the software was no where near complete. Which in fact it was more finished than Big Bang Bar.

LTG : )

Very few older sterns are worth that. In that case, I’d rather play a quick 2 min game on Quicksilver than a 20 min game of Twilight Zone

We may never have an accurate number, like original BBB's. Supposed to be 10, I've only accounted for about 8, including one lost in a fire.

LTG : )

I could easily rattle off about 50 games. It really depends on what's available, what sort of bargains pop up, and what I'm interested in on a particular day.

For example, if a WPC project game pops up for under $500, that's probably going to be the best value of the day.

Well, remember, one kingpin was hidden away for years with a private owner until it surfaced only a few years ago.

[edit]: This one: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/kingpin-8

I remember. I counted it.

I also know there has never been an accurate number from Capcom. BBB I've hear three different numbers from the lead designer alone.

Might be part of all the shenanigans that went on there. Could be more, could be less.

LTG : )

I would describe myself as a value shopper. Value has take into account price vs function and fun. I even put together a pinball value worksheet - yes, I am a total nerd. Value to me is a balance of:

Price
Art
Animation
Lastability, Depth
Fun Factor
Theme
Sound
Company

Most Stern Pros have excellent bang for the buck - Premiums don't seem to justify the price. Both API games and CGC games have great value. Love JJP games but I don't think they really appeal to a budget, value shopper.

More specificity from the OP might draw more constructive/specific responses. And "best" is too limiting. "Some" would work better.

For instance:

"What are some good values in Stern SAM?" (IM, TWD, ACDC)

"What are some good values in Stern SPIKE?" (ST, AS)

"What are some good values in B/W WPC?" (NGG, JM, HSII, BSD, JD, etc.)

"What are some good values in Williams System-11?" (HS, ES, WW)

"What are some good values in Williams SS?" (not sure)

Lots. Blackout, Time Warp, Barracora, many, many others.
Plus lots of Stern and Bally games from the same era.

It's all subjective though, so play LOTS of games and keep your eyes open for good deals on game you enjoy.

Road Show, Last Action Hero, and WWE certainly come to mind - Lots of bang for the buck

Probably the pin with the most units of ‘fun’ divided by the cost. How are fun units currently measured?

Some in the pinball community speak of ‘fun’ as though it’s a completely inelastic good. I’m confused.

But to answer your question, probably Bally/Williams DMD pins in the $2,500 - $4,000 range. Good balance of toys and code vs the cost, and good value against the opportunity cost of what’s currently new on the market.

Any pin you can buy for 500 or less and fix yourself with minimal investment.

Agree early 90 titles like the one mentioned fish tales, white Water. Also fairly Easy to maintain.

Johnny Mnemonic is my personal favorite But it’s been slowly climbing up in value behind the once value pins of Shadow and Congo.

This. This is probably the correct answer. Ripley is also a contender.

I’d say Jackbot and Johnny. But I think you’re probably right. I’ve owned a Johnny for 6 years. It’s such a fast furious game with some heady choices to be made as you drop balls in the grid.

I have to make to make room in the coming months and Johnny is probably going to draw the short straw in my collection. Sucks, because I’m pretty sure I’m going to miss it!

Bang for buck? Cant beat space mission/space odyssey.
Wish id kept mine.

I love Jackbot, and it's a great game, but it's pretty easy and horrifically shallow...even more shallow than Pinbot, really. Spot on about JM though.... I wish I could've kept the one I had longer. I still play the one I know is on location locally.

Every time I see a Roadshow for sale I'm always kind of shocked at how low the price is. The amount of stuff on the playfield is comparable to a Jersey Jack game.

Flintstones - @ $3k
Elvis - @ $4k (or less)
Judge Dredd - @ $3k

Love them all! Though I’d put Flintstones at the top, Dredd next then Elvis

Edit... oh, I would add Johnny too!

Let me also throw Attack From Mars as good bang for your buck. Hope to add that to my stable.

Hobbit seems to be a good value right now.

+1. You can find a lot of good Stern games for $4500 or less. They may not look the prettiest but most have a good set of rules and good gameplay.

For WPC games, Shadow, Fish Tales, and BSD are great games with challenging gameplay that won't get old fast. Prices are still relatively cheap but going up.

I don't know what it is but I think pretty much all WPC or System 11 systems have a charm yet to be captured. They are the muses in pinball. To answer your question, any of the aforementioned systems not in the top 20 are still fairly affordable.

Depends on your tastes.

That said, I would definitely put Johnny Mnemonic up there as others have listed. Still relatively cheap and a great game (if the game had been called "Cyberpunk" and if the glove mechs had been more reliable it would be an "A" list game today, seriously great title).

Another game would be Stargate. It's the best of the DMD Premiers it has deep rules and great gimmicks and toys. And it's still cheap.

Other value games (at least they used to be) Demolition Man, Baywatch, and Goldeneye. These used to all be "C" games that were ignored until people realized they were full of gimmicks and had tournament level appeal.