I'd go with TSPP if I had those options, with South Park close behind. Non pinball people flock to smashing Kenny.

Before you buy any pinball machine, definitely play the titles you’re interested in and see what you like best. All good choices as there’s no right or wrong way to go. I would choose a theme you love

If you haven't played it and don't enjoy the buying and selling process don't buy anything before you play it.

If you're fine with selling it in a month if you don't like it I'd go with TSPP. The rules are very deep and you can stack most stuff together. Make sure everything works, especially the garage door and the upper flipper.

Family Guy is a Lawlor game with a decent shot layout and good theme integration. South Park is simple and you'll probably like it if you like the show.

Congrats on your growing family...good times!!!

I have 3 of the 4 you mention (X-Men never did it for me)

FGY, TSPP, SP would be my order but definitely play them all as much as possible...love all 3

TSPP and SP can be long games (for different reasons), and FGY is highly underrated on here.

When friends, guests come, they all get about equal playtime...SP will be the least expensive of the 3, if that matters.....good luck!!

Congrats on the baby and welcome!

The Simpsons Pinball Party is going to be the favorite among the majority of people here. If you look at the pinside top 100 it will give you a general idea of how others view these games.

But there aren’t any rules to what games you’ll enjoy so there is an argument for all 4 games. If you have a chance to play any of them at a pinball show or barcade, go out of your way to do so.

I would personally go for XMEN or The Simpson’s pinball party. Both games are fun and have a lot to do.

I personally would prefer TSSP, deep pin, appealing to most, and seems to hold value quite well

SP would get old in my place

Family Guy is probably underrated

Not played Xmen

Let me give my honest opinion as i think it would benefit you a lot. Simpsons was my first pin i bought and everyone loved it. It's packed with toys and it's the deepest game out of the 4 you have listed by a football field. When i owned the game everyone was frustrated because it was too hard and they didn't understand what to do. For some reason casuals cannot hit the garage shot consistently and that alone kills it for casuals. It was sold but its my most missed machine ive owned. Resell Value is not good right now. There a glut of them on the market and a lot of people are having trouble moving the game.

Family guy is a great game for casuals and if you love the show you will love the game. Theme intergration is spot on. Downside of the game is the layout is not the greatest and its not good in a small collection. You will get bored and it probably will be sold. Most people who have owned a long time have one in a larger collection. When buying one the game is usually in great condition or beat up with scoop wear. Family guy's playfield takes a huge beating. You will take a hit when you sell.

Xmen another great game for casuals suffers from a lot of the same problems as Family guy except add in magnet burn. Code is better and has some of the best dots in dmd history. Add a color dmd and the game looks like a comic book. Wolverine Sculpt is cool but large,clunky and in the way. Ice man ramp is a pain and will drain a lot of your balls. Wolvie scoop gets eaten alive by the ball. Unless the playfield is spectacular you will lose money on resale.

South Park people love shooting the game. General consensus is game is shallow and short. Great game to play once in a while. Theme and call outs spot on. I dont have a lot of experience with the game as most on route are usually broken. Biggest problem you will have is finding parts as a lot are unobtainable. Game will get boring after a while and you will probably end up selling. You will take a big hit on the game when resold.

My recommendation is Simpsons, X-men, Family Guy, South park.

Where are you? The hobby has many great people. We can steer you to places to try and play games, whether they are in public or our collections.

Go play them, I dont like any you listed

I think that's a great choice for an only game.

Congrats.

Simpsons has pretty much universal appeal and is a great theme for the little ones. Deep Rule set will keep you plugging away for a long time into the future.

Not a big fan of the X-Men or the South Park Machines, myself. Though my time on both has been short and on routed machines. X-Men looked like it was relatively new, and pretty well banged up around the magnet.

Don't have enough play on a Family Guy to say much.

Of all of your choices, TSPP would be the only one I would want in my place.

Good choice...just get ready to make room. Hard to keep a 1 pin lineup very long....

If the little ones have a difficult time with it, no harm in cutting a few rubber pads and throwing them under the front legs to slow the game down a tiny bit and open up the orbits to smoother shooting.

Really, once their coordination catches up with their ability to process the ruleset they will commence kicking your ass!

Fortunately, by then you will have a few other machines to play them on. Like Pringles these things are.

try all 3 and decide for urself. Ones mans TSPP is an others Xmen. But I'll answer it anyway out of sheer boredom. None of the above. Get a JP pro or Deadpool. New and better games all around. Good Luck and Good Day to u sir. I said Good Day.

I have the most fun on my TSPP out of all my pins. A keeper.

I don't see why Family Guy and South Park are grouped together in the poll.

Still, out of the 4, family guy is my pick.

I remember saying that in 2008 when I bought TZ as my first machine. Unless you get totally frustrated with playing, repairing or cleaning it, more will find their way in.

Simpsons is too hard for small kids imo. Content is fine, although the drain calls can be a little brutal (It’s over? Already??), and it’s almost certainly the deepest game here. So deep you’ll probably never see it all.

South Park is much easier, but it could be kinda crass for kidlets... although it’s from so early in the show so even if your kids watch SP now they might not quite get it.

Family Guy is a weird pin, but it’s a treasure trove for fans of the show, there are so many calls. It’s still probably a little tough for the kids with it’s short, very asymmetrical PF. It has a lot of messed up content too.

X-men is probably the safest bet content wise but man the magnets make this game kind of a bastard. Still, it’s a straightforward layout and has some nice ramp-age, plus kids love superheroes, although these are much more the OG 90s X-men vs any modern take on the team.

Sounds weird but putting content concerns aside, I bet your kids would have the most fun with the easy play of South Park, although you’d probably prefer TSPP or FG... and X-Men is probably the happy medium. Tough, but straightforward.

Reach out to Martin at http://www.head2headpinball.com/
He's a great community resource in Australia and if he's not local to you he probably can put you in touch with someone who is.

Family Guy is my pick. Not a huge fan of the show and yet I still have no intention of selling mine.

Keep in mind it’s very adult themed with the voice actors of Seth M, Mila K, Norm M, Seth G etc. So it might not be great for kids(settings can be changed)

With multiple challenging wizard modes(gotten to sperm attack once in 3years), a unique layout, cool toys, multiple playfield action- personally think it’s underrated and a very fun pin.

I think TSPP is the best of the given options. I have a FG and it doesn't get a lot of play. If you get a 2nd machine consider a classic fan layout like MM, SM, MB or AFM.

My advice is buy the pin that you like. Don’t worry about what your kids like. Children will love your pinball machine as long as you playing pinball with them and teaching them how to play pinball. By the way my kids (7 and 10 yrs old) don’t like TSPP. It is too complicated for them and it took me nearly two years to like my TSPP.

I still vote FGY, but TSPP is a solid choice. If you worry of resale, alot will depend on the condition of the individual machines you are looking at. I dare say a very clean FGY would bring more than a TSPP, as there aren't as many out there.

As far as the kids.....I agree w some comments posted prior...Get the game YOU want. I have 4 kids, and tried desperately to get them engaged ( WCS was my initial bait, as 2 of them play). The truth...most young kids don't play these things as much as we would hope. Had a gazillion parties at my house full of kids...they generally flock to them for about an hour, then scatter to video games and their phones, many machines left w balls still in play. I was so ocd I'd tally game counts and post on here years ago...while total games played was disappointing, FGY always seemed to win.

Buy the one you want and don't look back...

TSPP is fun, but to me feels like chopping wood. Hard for new players to understand. I’d say none of the above on your list - play more pins in the wild or at friends houses and then make a choice.

TSPP is probably deeper, but FGY is no joke code wise. An amazing game from Pat.
It has vastly better callouts and taunts than TSPP imho .....I know the jokes are a bit crude...Just keep it in family mode for the kids. Stewie mini play field is a blast...Nothing like it until Munsters came out, and the game just makes you laugh. Can get satisfying, easy games, or destroys you.

Overall theme integration is just more accessible, scores low, shorter ball times. You, your friends, kids will love it. TSPP can be a bit of a grind at times....long games.

I have them both, neither leaving...But a clean FGY is tough to pass...Just my opinion...

Honestly, I don’t think that you are. I say that because it seems like you’re buying based on theme.
Code (rules) contribute so much to your enjoyment of the game, that it’s a smarter move for you to get out there and play these on location for a while, til you know the difference between them.
Owning a pinball machine is awesome and I highly recommend that you get one. But take your time before pulling the trigger because it’s worth the effort to determine which one you’ll find “the best” before buying one of them based on our opinions. Otherwise you’ll get bored and probably take a $ beating, reselling it to get something else.

Hope that helps?

As always, i recommend playing the games you are considering as much as possible first. If you are unable to do that, at least look at tons of videos and pics.

TSPP sounds like the easy choice, however. Great theme, modes, depth, gameplay, callouts, sounds, artwork, fun...and it is appropriate for the whole family.

You can play them all at Flipout 2019 Next Week in Melbourne

If you don't overpay when you buy, they will all hold value well compared to almost anything else, as they are collectibles.

You could also consider Shrek (if one is available) - it's the same game as Family Guy, but more family friendly content.
Additionally, you can load the Shrek code on a Family Guy, or the Family Guy code on a Shrek for the different content (but won't match the art work).

You can add leds and color dmd later,really isnt worth concerning yourself w that at the moment.I got my first pin in march and believe me you wanna play whatever you buy first,everyone who said get what YOU want is correct,i tried several games thru reselling and trading and my 13 and 10yr old have very short attention span for pins ive learned.Save yourself some headaches,backaches and cash and dont jump in til YOU know what you really want.I vote none of the above personally as i say get the new black knight if you wanna spend enough to get a xmen or tspp.Me i learned that being 41 and a arcade kid really leans me into games from when i was really young hence my black knight which i truly love,best of luck to ya man

ColourDMD - $400 usd
LED kit varies, but $150 usd is about average.
(That's purchase price, you'll install it yourself.)

.

About right. Probably a bit more. Installing colordmd super easy. Putting leds can be a bit tedious but also easy. Just make sure to turn the game off before doing any work.

I wouldn't put too much thought in getting your first pin. Best thing is to get out and play as many games on as many pins as you can to get an idea of what you like. What others like in a pin, you may hate and vice versa. If that is not possible then watch gameplay on youtube and/or play virtual versions.

I suggest is trying to find a less expensive game to get started with if you are not sure what to get. That way you have less stress over initial cost and learning repairs. Get a few of these cheaper games and trade up over time as you learn what you really like.

I’ve owned Simpsons 3 times now. I just can’t get into it and I’m a fan of the show.

I owned a Magneto Xmen and loved it. I’m actually possibly buying it back soon.

I would vote Xmen. Just my personal preference.

Get what you want. If you want something cheap(er), and kid friendly, look into a World Cup Soccer. It is very kid friendly. It has:

1. A giant dog on the backglass. Does your kid love dogs?
2. A soccer theme, does your kid play soccer?
3. Multiple things to shoot for, older kids and adults can shoot for multiball where very young children can just shoot for goals.
4. Soccer ball and magna save are cool toys.
5. Wizard mode is achievable with practice and fun.

You could buy a World Cup Soccer, cut your teeth on it, and sell it for about what you paid for it and get something new down the line.

Good luck!

You just said both machines are thrashed and flippers not working,etc.Id keep looking man,i strongly advise against getting anything thats a fixer upper for your first game.Theres no rush on this so just keep looking and maybe search thru the top 100 list and start researching some games.Theres too many great games out there to be settling for something your not loving.

Hello,

I own a lot of pins and have owned XM LE and Tspp.

Interesting that SP is what got me into pinball. I played pinball in the 70s when I was younger but never kept playing until after I got married, basically maybe around 1999 so I missed all the developments along the way. My brother in law had a SP in his home and I really got interested in pinball after playing that however as I got exposed to other pins I found that SP was not a good game (imo). I would cross that off the list.

I owned Wolverine edition of XM from new and really it never clicked with me. I think that it’s a good game but maybe too tight shots and a few rules didn’t sit well with me. However it is a solid pin and has a good amount of toys and good depth and you can play it even if you are not an expert. Overall it’s a good pin. It’s just not great.

Tspp is great, it’s got it all, humor, art, rules, shots, callouts, toys and great rules. Maybe the best or in the discussion for top 5 rules of all time.

You didn’t mention it but Stern PotC is also a great pin, I have owned mine for 12 years and it’s still fun. They must have built them better back in the day because my PotC looks almost new and I’ve seen a bunch of them also that look near mint. Sinking the ship is great and the chest and spinning disk great toys. The rules are a bit simple or linear but overall it’s a great classic game.