I've owned all of these games, and they're all super good. I honestly say they're all great in there own way. I love the simplicity of ft and dw, and I love the speed and strategy options of jm.

Which is the most expensive? I'm gonna guess Fish Tales? Worst thing about that game, however, is those fish inserts get DESTROYED easily. Haven't seen a FT where the fish hes holding aren't always beat to shit.

I own doctor who and JM and I have played fish tales many times. I would rank them in this order 1 JM, 2 Doctor Who, and 3 Fish tales all 3 great games but I just feel like fish tales gets repetitive after a while in a home collection but it's a good tournament game.

I can make any of those the most expensive...how much you got?

They are all good, but IMO Fish Tales is the best and more timeless game. Fun, fast, perfect theme integration and a wonderful, tight rule set. Dots and music are top notch.

I owned and enjoyed JM for awhile and there’s a lot to like. I’m actually looking for a Dr. Who now, because it’s fun. But neither of these games are as good as FT.

All these are good choices. I think each could be the winner based on what you are into. For me JM is the best game. The speed of a dialed in Johnny is awesome.
FT would be #2. Simple rules but the challenge will keep you coming back.
Dr.Who is not a game for me. I am not into the theme and the sound is not good.

Had all of them , some a few times .

FT
DW
Jm

FT is better than the others on that list in my opinion.

Mike

I see doctor who isn't getting enough love. I have been searching out a good DW for the last year and finally found one worth restoring. I absolutely adore the game. Deep as a puddle, but something about it is so so satisfying.

Huh. I had no problem like this. I've seen a few with that problem, perhaps it has more to do with climate, I don't know. This is mine.

I am a bit impartial, FT is the best game of those three hands down. I think all the Dr. Who's I have seen carried a higher price.

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FT
DW
JT

The issue with DOCTOR Who are the sonic booms which can skew the score a bit. Obviously at home you can avoid it but the diff'rence is quite large.
I'd like to say DW audio can be really annoying, which it is, but plenty of folks would say the same aboot FT.

Johnny for the win
Fish tales runner up
Dr who last. Fun game but don’t care for the layout or the dalek screaming.

Fish Tales
Doctor Who
Johnny Mnemonic

I've owned both DW and JM. I don't miss them at all.

I will say DW is a slightly better game if you have the Pinsound upgrade.

I love playing FishTales in other friend's collections. If I had room for a large collection, i'd have one.

I like them all but Fishtales is my favorite of these .

I'm partial to Fish Tales.
But just look at any for sale ad for these games lately. Especially FT. It seems no matter what the asking price is or even condition, the ad is gone in a week. I've watched 4 on Pinside and CL come and go quickly.
DW and JM sit a bit longer. The people want them FTs!

Ft>jm>dw

FT>DW>>JM

Dr who is the toughest to find so a lot haven't played it. For a long time it was a go to game to part out and fix others hence the rarity despite the production run size.

FT
DW
JM

In terms of fun. In terms of value DW pulls more than FT and will sell faster. JM is one of the lead liked wpc 95 games next to Fastbreak and they seem to sit when for sale.

Man.... I remember when I sold a near perfect, no fade, DW about 8/10 years ago for 1800.. I though my shit was the bomb and couldn't believe I got that kinda cash.

Cant even get a RT beater for that price now.

Mine has a nice cab and with the sample topper I would be between 3500 and 4k for mine. Some on here might say that is nuts, but you go find 1 of the 100 samples for sale and one with a bright cabinet. 8 years ago I sold a nice normal cab one for 2500 thought it was the moon then, later learned it sold for even more shortly after.

Fish Tales

I've also owned/sold all 3. The only pin I ever bought twice so far was Fishtales, and it won't be leaving again.

FT
DW
JM

FT is by far the best.

DRwho and JM are good games but cant compare to FT.

FT is a better shot layout and score strat combined with just the right difficulty to keep you coming back for more.

Both DrWho and JM are nuked with a single dominant strat (sonic boom ramp multiplier becomes too lopsided on Dr and super spinner on JM) Aside from those scoring issues, they are both fun games.

With a moving Dalek topper, nice cab and wear-free playfield with everything working, I have no doubt you could command that much for it. Sellers market right now.

This is actually a really interesting VS thread, because there are so many different ways to look machines....

For art (backglass, playfield, lighting, cab), FT wins in a landslide. JM would easily be the worst of the 3. That translite is beyond horrible and no nice replacement options exist (and no flashers or non-GI lighting in the backbox either?! Jesus, it was 1995 people!)

For theme, again FT wins. Awesome audio that fits well and playfield/toy design really hammers home the fishing theme. DW would be a close second.... but it's a much less "accessible" theme for a lot of people.

For playability, however, JM really spreads it's flippers. Great shots. Nice flow. Fast as hell. Midnight madness. Glove makes for a good change of pace gimmick and ball placement means something. This would be a runaway.... But it does also have probably the worst video mode ever made, so it just barely beats out DW fir me, with its nice "pick your strategy" options, 3rd flipper, the time expander and the Dalek screaming at you. FT, unfortunately, is an easy last. My favorite video mode, but the boat ramps just consume so much space that it feels very restrictive....and even though the fishing reel is pretty neat, at the end of the day, it's just a ball lock.....

what is the identifying feature of the sample topper vs regular?

I have a moving dalek on mine but honestly never thought it was anything special