It's an OK game, not an all time great-- not even one of Nordman's best. It has a few fragile points, and those parts are very hard to find (the "Big Shot" comes to mind) so they are often missing.

There's a price estimate here on the site, and most seem to be going for more than that... but I turned one down about 2 years ago that was priced below the low estimated price as I thought it was too much, so I may be a little out of touch on what these are actually selling for.

It's available on the pinball arcade app, if you want to get a general feel for it.

Some people like it, but this and party zone are a little over the top for me.

Depends what you like. I didn't really enjoy it at first but after playing it more it moved up for me and I think it is an enjoyable System 11 game. I'd say it isn't a great competitive game overall, but it does a decent job of encouraging you to shoot several things. Definitely need a well working Mixmaster toy to fully enjoy the game.

It's available on The Pinball Arcade video game if you're curious about learning the rules and trying it out. I've never owned it (we had one on location for a while so I've played it a number of times), and while I think it's fun it is not a game I've ever really wanted in my home.

Someone else can likely give better advice on pricing. I imagine sub $1500 would be seen as a decent/good deal for a buyer at this stage. I'd not go over that amount for this pin, personally (I think the average sale price here is $1700). I think there are too many better options at around the $2k mark to really want to spend such money on a Dr. Dude.

Dr Dude is a GREAT sys11 era game if you like them. I put it up there with ES ansd Wwind and followed by RG.

The dude is a great shooter and fun to play.

Definitely agree here. And not because I own one. It's a fun shooter, spreads the shots around. Exudes that late 80's early 90's feel.
Big Shot figure and the ramp are the fragile pieces. Fortunately a full plastic set has been run so replacing those became infinitely easier!
If you can snag it for around $1500 its a no brainer.

even at 1800, it is a great game with lasting power (IF you like sys11 style of play)

Plastics recently became available for this game again, I got a set a couple months ago for when I finally find a machine I like.

You can buy the Mr. Big Shot too, but it is white plastic and you have to paint it.

These days any game is worth buying for the right price!
Good luck!

I like it!

This and Party Zone are two amazing and deeply underrated pins.

Personally, I would rather have the Dude, than Nightmare on Elm street.

If you've got a list of pins you know you want more, I'd just wait. My personal approach is, if a game is a great deal, I'm willing to buy and try it out. If it is a fair deal, then I have to want it already, and if so I'd buy it (and if not I pass). And if it is an overpriced pin, I always pass, even if I really want it. Your mileage may vary, of course, but in your case, since you haven't played Dr. Dude and indicate you have other games you desire more, given the price you'd need to pay to get it (purchase + shipping) I would label the pin a fair deal but pass because it isn't a priority pin.

Buy it, and if you don't like it I can take it off your hands for free!

I don't understand this, but I agree with most of what you wrote. Have you played a DD set on Tournament mode?

I think so. I've played it in tournaments, and I do not believe the Dude levels were carrying over. I, however, was thinking more about Bag of Tricks and the random awards from that (the one I played those were always different; don't know if that can be handled via settings). Some of them are pretty significant, and as with many Mystery Award games, I think that automatically negates it from being a great competitive game. But, if that can be standardized, I'm more than happy to revise my opinion.

I think it's really underrated and quite a fun game. I've never owned it so I have no comment on whether it has legs if you play it every day.

Bag of Tricks mystery awards are still random as far as I know, but there's nothing really overpowering in there. The best one would be "Light Heart of Rock and Roll". All players can give themselves a better than average chance of getting it by completing Gift of Gab and Magnetic Personality before getting the mystery award. From what I remember from owning a DD, I never saw it award "add a tilt warning" after I set it to Tournament mode. So, they aren't perfect, but they're far from a reason I'd rule it out for tournament play. The jackpot values would be far more significant, but they're the same per player as you point out.

Oh, I didn't mean to suggest it was not worth allowing in a tournament. Simply that it is not a "great" tournament game. It never bothered me to draw the game for competition, but if I were building a line-up with competition in mind it would not make the A list for consideration (if that makes sense). But that's really true for a lot of pre-90s SS games for a mix of reasons. I wasn't sure of the OP's goals with his collection, so I noted it.

Depending on your rules of competitive play, I'd say Extra Ball could be the most potent award. I think I only ever saw the tilt warning award once... not an award I really cared about; I wasn't as aggressive as I should be trying to save the ball on that one. I did survive a round in a strike-out tournament once thanks to the award lighting the ramp for 1 million points (I was totally outplayed otherwise but them's the breaks of mystery). But it really depends on how hard the pin is tuned, the rules of the tournament, and so forth.

Overall, for me Dr. Dude is a Top 10 System 11 pin, but not a Top 5. Granted, I've not tried them all, but what fun would it be for me to operate without a few assumptions.

What the what? Turn off the EB in settings (set to 0) and you're all set. It will never show up in Bag of Tricks.

DD is a fine tournament game.

Good to know (as I noted; I never owned it, these were the rules of the location I played it at). Thanks for the additional details!

i like dude so much i have two

YES x 1000. A good buy at $1600.

Dr. Dude is a great game, classic Sys 11 with a fun theme. Simple to learn, tough to master particularly in multiball, with a somewhat random jackpot that makes it a wild card when playing it with friends. Fantastic muscle memory shots (clutch hitting ramp repeatedly) and deeper strategy than some give it credit for.

Have seen it played as a tournament game (RMPS a couple years ago) so even with the random mixmaster element it can be played competitively. You can also put it in tournament mode which starts the dude-o-meter midway up at the start of each game with a good jackpot - evens the playing field a bit. Mystery bag awards are not unbalanced at all imo, though "jackpot at maximum" seems sort of rare and is one that can make or break a massive game.

I prefer the Big Bang on my girlfriend. Party zone is a close second however.