Bought a LOTR because it was a good deal - Never played the game or seen any of the movies. Still have it, It's awesome!

Chris

Jurassic Park. My boys love it, so yeah, I guess it worked out.

JP and SOF. I did give them both a spin in visual pinball.

But you should always hold the cash until you had a test drive (I did). If the machine isn't as good as advertised you have control over the situation.

Most of my projects have been bought having never or almost never played the game.

Games I've bought without playing first:
Jack*Bot
Bullseye 301
Elektra
Centaur (played once at a show a while back, but didn't really get into it.)

There's something very satisfying about having brought a game back from the dead, then having your first go on that particular title.

Almost all of them. I'm talking hundreds, digital and EM. Had never played a game on the first game I ever bought, Williams Argosy. Still got it.

If the pin is in the right place at the right price, why not buy it? If you don't like it...guess what, you can sell or trade it. As long as you don't overpay this system works well.

You don't REALLY know if you like a pin or not till you've played dozens of games on it.

Never understood the need to plan out pin purchases within an inch of their life...studying for months...lasering in on that ONE pin that's gonna make you happy. It don't have to be so hard.

Every single one of our games except EATPM and Cyclone.

This:

DH...good price.

MetallicA LE and I would do it over again

Metallica LE, NIB, yes it worked out

RAZA, Did it work out? Yet to be seen, but feeling optimistic.

If Pinside has taught us anything, it's that if you buy a NIB, you'll think it's the best game ever made right out of the box.

I bought XMLE before I played it and Tron pro before I played it, Tron I love to death. XMLE was love hate but now it's solidly one of my favorites.

I bought STLE before I played it, but had played ST pro a bit.

Metallica Pro NIB after not having a pin for about 5 yrs, would do it all over if I had to, well I kinda am w/ TWDLE

The ones that paid off (i.e. I still own):
Metallica LE
Star Trek LE
NGG
No Fear

The ones that didn't (i.e. since been sold - some rather quickly):
WOZ LE - somewhat regret
High Speed - don't regret
Haunted House - don't regret
Judge Dredd - don't regret

TBD:
Predator
TWD Premium

STLE - played pro before purchasing NIB
STTNG - played it before purchasing (purchased from TNT Amusements)
Transformers LE - just watched a video on youtube, that's how I decided…I got lucky.

PreOrdered Star Trek LE... because like Trekkie... I didn't have any choice.

Demo Man.
The price was right and it looked like fun which it is. Don't regret it at all but it will probably be next to leave the collection when I need the room or the cash for a new pin.

I had a choice, that's why I went to NYC (modern pinball) to play it.

I figured I dodged a bullet with Transformers…didn't want to test my luck a second time.

I have room for one more pin, which will be Tron…unless Stern releases the Star Wars game that all geeks like me deserve.

Bought Stern Star Trek before playing, it's long long gone now.

I preordered the day they announced it officially... so I couldn't play anything because it wasn't available. No worries tho... I bought it for the theme.

STLE was/is proably the only NIB I order.
I'd like to get Lexy NIB. but tbh; I'm still recovering from STLE's price tag... and the ST:MU's build.

MM- but had AFM
BBB- saw it in the background of an Ebay ad and contacted the seller
LOTR- because I like the film(s)
IJ (W) - it was cheap
CFTBL- it was in awesome shape

Read reviews and watched the promo videos and you tube gameplay.

Turned out OK!

XMLE and TBL.

I purchased all 3 of my pins DM , LAH , & WWF without having put hardly any time on them. 30 min was the most I played before buying DM. I was new to the hobby and trusted the vids I had seen and other Pinsiders opinions. A very important element was the price was right. I just recently bought LAH & WWF with zero previous plays. I did watch a lot of vids on them and felt I had a good feel of how they played. I'm 3 for 3 as I really enjoy all of them.

THLE, Yet to be determined ...

I just had a Palooka shipped in yesterday. I have never played one before. Hard to believe because it is almost as old as I am. But it is a great machine!

Hs2, and bsd don't regret either purchase. There have been some I've almost bought that I'm glad I didn't tho!

Most of the game I own I had not played before buying

My playing games on location finished during the sys11 days

Most of the games I have owned bc there really is no where to play em with out buying them lol

I bought IMVE at CAX without ever playing IM. I had heard lots of good thigns, plus I love John Borg games, plus it was beautiful. I am VERY happy with it.

There are no games I've ever bought before I played them. Seems odd to me.

I bought a Fish Tales without ever playing it. In fact I thought it would be terrible based on the fishing theme. The price was pretty low so if I hated it I figured I could sell it for a profit and get something I did like. Lucky for me FT turned out to be a great game.

A friend of mine did the same thing with Scared Stiff. SUper cheap HUO with almost no plays. Both of us hated that game. I played it a lot. Its highly rated on pinside so I thought maybe I would "get it" eventually, but that never happened. He felt the same and sold it for a hansom profit.

As long as you don't overpay for a game you can usually sell it for at least what you paid. I dont see any reason not to buy a game you think you might like.

Bought ACDC Premium without ever playing the game. No regrets.

Also bought Punchy The Clown (had it shipped) without playing. At first I regretted it, because it played like an absolute turd. I gave it some TLC, jury-rigged the kicker arms so that they work the way they were intended, and now it's a blast to play. No regrets there either, though this one took a bit more effort.

Spider-Man (1st pin) and STLE (played a pro)
WOZLE

Bought all three of my games after playing only one game on them. Worked out well for me. I think you can just get a gut feeling if you'll love it or not.

The Shadow. Drove 17 hours round trip. Well worth It!

Fireball 2.... still haven't played it. lol

All the games I own, I never played until they were set up in my basement.

Whitewater. Thought the theme and ruleset was good, had good ratings and I found one in good shape at a reasonable price. Glad I did. Shortly after I got it I figured out why the previous owner "couldn't get into it".... a bunch of the optos were connected incorrectly causing the game to play completely wrong.

Still one of my favorites.

I've lost count.

The first one I really remember was a HUO Spider-Man, though.

Roadshow -- only game I've bought off eBay, made a pretty low bid never thinking I would win it. Enjoyed having it, sold it, and then bought it back a few years later from the guy I sold it to (he needed some quick cash). Told him I would sell it back to him again at the same price when he was ready for it.

Nope, but bought my SM after playing it and not liking it. Owner was dumping his HUO perfect Red one for cheap because he got a Black SM. I bit and it was the best pin purchase I ever made. Awesome game when you open the outlanes up and play the latest code.

Only one was LOTR back in 2003. But I had read all the reviews; saw the layout and knew I loved the theme so not too much risk.

Opps....make that two.....my 1971 Gottlieb "Roller Coaster".

Most of my games have been bought without playing them before.
Centaur- Keeper
Fathom - Keeper
Star Trek - not going yet
Flight 2000 - not going yet
Medusa - not going yet
Elektra - Not going yet
Nitro Ground Shaker - sold
Night Moves - may sell
Heavy Metal Meltdown - may sell
Blackwater 100 - not going yet
Devils Dare - keeper
El Dorado - keeper
Seawitch - keeper
Embryon - Keeper

Modern:
Bugs Bunny
Medieval Madness (NIB)
No Good Gofers
RFM (NIB)
SWE1 (NIB) - sold
Time Machine
Haunted House
F-14 - sold
STLE (NIB)
Monopoly (NIB) - though I had played a prototype before ordering

EMs
Sweet Hearts
Target Alpha
Sittin Pretty
Cinderella
Teachers Pet
Flying Aces - sold

I may have gotten ST:TNG (now sold) before I played it, but it was so long ago I don't remember.

Tron LE. Wms IJ. WOZLE. I've been lucky.

Stumbled on a TZ available locally (about 120 miles away) when I was looking for my 1st pin. Had my dad check it out and I bought it without ever playing or seeing it. My only problem is now finding other pins that won't be a let down by comparison.

Worked out. Don't think it will ever leave my game room.

I've done this on the following:
Bought LOTR LE without ever playing it based solely on it's reputation. Awesome game.
Bought Indiana Jones Williams without ever playing it based solely on it's reputation. Awesome game.
Bought IJ4 based on it's theme. Traaaaaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin Wreeeeeeeeeeeck.
Never again will I buy based on theme. I will buy a game if I've played it and like it or if the game has great reviews. I will never buy a game because it's the latest and greatest or because I like the theme. There are so many examples of over hyped games that are disappointing that it's just not worth the gamble (Transformers, xmen, ect).

QSS

South Park
TFLE

I did a lot of research before I bought them including asking people here on Pinside what they thought and watching YouTube videos. I Love them both. GL.

Everything