I think Firepower is a hell of a game for the money.

I also like EBD even though it always kicked my ass lol

For me Sterns and Ballys rule that time, and its not close.
Most classic ballys would fit your bill along with others. Flash Gordan is a game everykne should own. Things like Harlem globetrotters, mystic, viking, frontier are all good games. Of course they arent cheap theae days, but what is. Centaur is usually well recieved.
Williams 80s games like taxi, space shuttle, whirwind, big guns, all can be fast and bad ass.
Sterns like meteor, nine ball, catacomb, quicksilver, big guns etc etc are getting way high priced so i dont think there's a ton of value there.

Black hole is...well it looks decent anyway.

Strikes and Spares, Mystic, Harlem, EBD all great. I just can’t stand Flight 2000. KISS is a chore to play too. Something odd you probably have not considered is Farfalla. It’s really a great game. I would suggest not going the Williams route unless it’s Firepower.

Hey I like playing Black Hole.

Picked up a Firepower this summer and I am really enjoying this brutal game!

Embryon and eight ball deluxe are my favorite Ballys. I like centaur but not forking out $4000+

I picked up a Stern Big Game a bit ago and LOVE it. crazy fast widebody. I am trying to secure a catacomb now but not sure it is going to work out.

that same era williams I like sorcerer.

How much time to you have on Catacomb?

Seems like a love it or hate it...
I hated the game but luckily it wasn’t hard to move.

no early SS thread is complete without mentioning Alien Star

I'll also second/third the Firepower recommendation.

I say go for the sure bets while you are starting out. Meteor and Seawitch aren’t that are to find and they are both great classic games. No need to think to far out of that box at this point.

FirePower, GorGar, Flight 2k ...

Paragon is fantastic. I own a whole wall of early Ballys (and a couple Williams) and Paragon is probably my favorite. It can be brutal, but so fun. And being a widebody, there are so many different things to shoot for / ways to play. Sometimes I start a multi-player game and play each player with a different strategy. Not all games from this era have that many things going on.

If you like Black Knight, you should also think about Solar Fire. Always felt it was the best of the Williams double playfield games.

Beatles is, pains me to say it, better than Seawitch. Seawitxhbisbat the bottom end of the good Sterns. It is fast and in your ass though.

Lot of firepower love. Good game but ibkknda like Blackout more

If you’d consider 1984 Alien Star is a SPECTACULAR game

If not, Joker Poker is da bomb

Paragon IS an old machine that can play slow as well though. You can jack it up for sure but a lot of golden cliffs, saucer, and lazy Susan's can slow things down.

I respectfully disagree with your assessment of Seawitch . It’s a great pin and no way at the bottom end of the Sterns

I second Joker Poker. I own one and it’s such a great pin. Very simple to understand but so fun to shoot and play. As a bonus, it looks killer as well.

Barracora is a great pin

Well I said the bottom of the good Sterns. Certainly its way above viper, IMDN, Dracula etc

That you did... I didn’t pick up that subtlety. What do you consider to be the “good Sterns”? Just curious.

Nine ball, catacomb, stargazer, big game, quicksilver, meteor, seawitch, F2k (maybe) cheetah, dragonfist....maybe one or 2 more on there but thats the general idea.

Gave away my Stargazer in the late 90s. Apparently a big mistake. I miss it, but I think that might be the current price talking.

I remember Xenon fondly from the era, but I have to admit that I haven't played one in decades....

That’s a good list. No arguments there. I’ve never played a Dragonfist. Still waiting for that day to come.

Its a little linear but cool, and that spinner counter is great.

Yeah Xenon has the looks but the play isn't there for me.

A topic I could go on and on and on about - my favorite generation.

High end lucky if you find them - plus they are real great games:
Frontier, Quicksilver, Fathom, Centaur, Flash Gordon, Cheetah, Barracora, Embryon, Ali and 9 Ball are all super.

Mid range: Paragon, Firepower 1, Big Game, Xenon, Meteor (bit on the easy side), Alien Poker, and Eight Ball Deluxe are all winners.
Power Play, Harlem Globetrotters, Mata Hari, Viking (rare), Future Spa and 6 mill$ man are all fun too.

Even the games people shit on like Kings of Steel, Flash, and X's and O's have merit.

Avoid Gottlieb's - too many headaches unless there are lots of after market electronic components installed, though a Sinbad with a good CPU is pretty fun.
Even then - gameplay is far superior on Bally/Stern/Williams.
Same with Atari games: Miserable hardware, and they look far cooler than they are.

Opinions on Dragonfist will be all over the map as it is a low production game and not many have had the chance to play it. That said, Roger Sharpe wrote a review in Playmeter back in the day and gave it a 2 out of 4 star rating. Pretty much said nothing new to see here and Stern will have to do much better in future releases. Sharpe would rate all the new pinball and video games from each manufacturer and it was unusual for him to rate something as low as 2 stars. As I said, opinions vary so play it first and see for yourself.

I so much wanted to like Xenon because of the art and early voice, but the more I play it the more boring it becomes.

Alien Star, Paragon, Joker Poker, Meteor, Black Hole, and Sinbad are all classics. Though I would not call it "early SS", TX Sector is absolutely the best 80s game if you can find one.

I have a small collection of early solid state games. When non-pinball people visit my Black Knight gets the most plays. Xenon is 2nd. I had a Centaur and it was played a bunch. Bally Strikes & Spares & Eight Ball were also popular, easy to play.

However for me, if I want to be challenged every time, it's Flash Gordon. Paragon is 2nd. That title with a clearcoated PF rocks. Fathom, Centaur and EBD are really fun too but getting expensive. Fireball II is a lower cost option.

For Williams, Black Knight is a great choice. Firepower also good.

Early Sterns? These are getting pricy, Meteor is a good choice but most were played to death. I love Nine Ball but really tough to find.

Lot of bad and good in that list. Every single classic Stern is not great. Star Gazer and Quicksilver are a bore, F2K? Really? That game is so bad. Catacomb is a horrible design... the rest of the games you listed are MUCH better. Flash Gordon and Paragon are way better games then the rest of the Sterns you mentioned.

I really enjoy Galaxy. Flight 2000 isn't as bad as you guys make it out to be. Really cool multiball sequence on that and its an early classic too.

Should have never sold my X’s & O’s. But you already know that

I’m very partial to classic Bally and Stern games. They just have something honest and wonderful. I’m actually bummed out that I’ve never owned (and will probably never own) a Stargazer. It’s just a fun game. I’ve owned a few Bally games, and loved them all. Even the ones I’ve sold away have been fun to visit. If I had more space, I wouldn’t have sold them.

Why do I like them? Just damn great games. In fact, I think I’ll go upstairs and play some Harlem “left”. In my house, Harlem “left” means the one with the plastic prototype playfield that plays slick as snot on a doorknob. I might follow that with a few games on Harlem “right”, which is an awesome wooden playfield. Classics rock!

I agree it’s a pretty simple playfield layout and the rules could use some enhancements, but when set up right it has some great action. I put curved inlanes, special lighting and a say it again board in mine. Really changes the game.

Blackout is the only one I regret selling

There are a number of really great options that are readily available for a reasonable price. Black Knight and Flash Gordon are good examples. I say decide on a few that you really like and look for the best example of one of them that you can find that’s priced fairly. That would be the one I’d get.

My collection consists of mostly early SS, here's my list in no order;
Black Hole
Spiderman
Sinbad
Paragon
EBD
Gorgar
Circus & Gebie (wide bodies)
MARS:GOW
Haunted House
Split Second
Firepower

The nice thing about these is many were made so relatively easy to find
an LOTS of info out there about repair.

Steve

This post all day. Just forget the rest lol

Flash Gordon is far superior to Black Knight.
FG may not appear to be better, and no multiball on FG.
Doesn't matter. FG "Is" better.

Really it's the age old argument whether you like Bally style play more or Williams style play more.
Also harder or easier, as FG is much harder.

Once you re-pin the pins and change out or refurbish the boards and power supply, Gottliebs Joker Poker is in my opinion at the top of the list.

My favorites are Paragon and Flash Gordon. Both are superb games. Great playing and challenging as well.

I will give mention to Cheetah and Medusa as well, since I don't recall anyone else suggesting them thus far.

I second FP. Also wanted to say that when my kids were little they loved FP — simple and fast gameplay, cool sounds, interesting art.

Black Knight, Fathom, Seawitch, Flash Gordon, Firepower

The only great game I haven’t seen listed yet is Countdown. Blast to play for dollars. The bonus countdown never gets old.

I love Crabtowne for the variety of early games they have but their EBD is not setup well. It has no pitch and the sounds are set to chimes. Play the one at Mom's Organic Market to get a feel of how it is meant to play.

Have them both, and they are both excellent pins, both have that "just one more game" vibe going on. I know you were told to avoid early Gottlieb solid states, but I would throw out one - Buck Rogers. Get it with the Pascal all-in-one board replacement (a must for any System 1 Game). No voices but it is still fun to play and it will be a little less expensive too.

It’s horrible. A maintenance nightmare. Black Hole is the better of the two and I can’t stand that game either.

Don’t get stuck on a game that “has two play areas”. It can help some games but don’t assume a game is better or “well designed”, just because there is an additional level.

Flash Gordon is the far superior game on the list thus far. I hate to shoot down others but the best designed Williams two level is actually Jungle Lord. The sound is annoying but the rules are so much better than BK, SF, or (gasps) Pharroh! The gameplay of the other Williams split level tables grows old after a couple hundred plays.

Hell, if you can find one, Barracora is a way better game than even any of those classic Williams.