I've got my fingers and toes crossed that they do the next run. Of course price increases are always a bummer but I'm keeping my order for this great game.

My thoughts: Your NIB purchase is through your distributor. You're buying a Stern machine but you're the customer of your distributor. Stern updates them on production schedules and their allocations for production (how many of an upcoming production will be sent to that distributor), so the distributor is who should be giving you honest updates on the latest information they have from Stern. I know from my distributor what the latest update is from Stern to them and where I stand on my EHOH order with their allocation. It's not Stern's role to step in and give you information on this because they don't know where you are on your distributor's list and it wouldn't be good for them to be communicating directly someone else's (the distributor's) customer and possibly be accused of interfering in that relationship.

If your distributor isn't giving you good, honest information then that's the fault of the distributor and the problem lies there, not with Stern. Also, I'm surprised to hear a deposit had to be paid in full. If it were me and I wasn't getting good, reliable updates from my distributor and they had made me pay in full then I'd be looking for a new distributor for the next purchase. I haven't had to pay in full for a deposit on any of my 4 NIB purchases in the past few years. Remaining balance was due only when the game was about to ship (because the distributor hears from Stern how many they're getting and when they're getting them).

From my experience Stern is providing very clear recent communication to my distributor which he has used to update me on my order. I’d be surprised if this isn’t the case with their communication to all distributors. Wouldn’t make any sense at all for them to stone wall their distributors on order status. Things can always change in a production schedule but there is communication.

Nice picture of Elvira's box! Or is it a fake pic like the moon landings and round earth... just kidding! Open 'er up and let us know how it flips!!!

Any time I've needed support I've sent an e-mail to my distributor who then forwards it on to Stern and they've been really responsive.

Is there an updated rules sheet anywhere? I looked at the one on Tiltforums but it doesn't seem to be updated in a lot of areas.

Also, I've browsed through the forum and picture gallery to see if there are any alternate shooter rods on the market other than the Stern clown and the Modfather Elvira head but I didn't see any. Anyone have ideas besides those two for a shooter rod that goes well with the game?

Bummer. Hope your distributor surfaces soon to give you some help. They should be a reliable point of contact for stuff like this. Hope you can get it resolved soon.

Anyone have advice on audio settings for the stock speakers in the premium (frequency & gain settings, etc.)? Default settings sound good out of the box (to me) but just wondering if anyone has ideas on changes to the default settings that also sound good.

Game manual Pg 55 says "Screw, 4-40 x 3/8" PTH MS - Black"

There's always going to be some tinkering/adjusting to do, but mine delivered a couple weeks ago has been solid and seems to have the main fixes from previous runs in place. The crypt shoots consistently (prior to putting the gargoyle mod on the kick out opening - I need to bend the kickout flap just slightly now so the ball doesn't make contact with the mod on the way out), the trunk lock & ramp haven't had any issues, and the attachment point for the left orbit exit screw is an open horseshoe so the end of the guide can be adjusted easily instead of just having a hole for the screw.

I adjusted the end of that left orbit guide out so the ball doesn't touch the sling when exiting the orbit, and other than that the only tinkering I've had to do so far was on the post that holds the ball behind the backboard. The post was binding a bit against the hole it goes through so it was sometimes getting hung up and balls weren't getting held properly when a haunt started. Very easy fix though to just add a couple washers to the screws holding the post coil to the backboard so it doesn't rub against the edge of that hole anymore and now it's working great.

Only thing I might check on is to see if there's a way to change the aim of the ball kicking out from the cellar just a slight bit. Right now it's going near the tip of my right flipper. It's fine 95% of the time but a few times it's sent it SDTM. I'd like it to hit a slight bit more toward the center of the flipper to try to control it a bit easier on the kickout and prevent any SDTM. I keyword searched this forum but didn't see anything on adjusting the aim of that kickout. My pitch is at 6.9 and it's level left to right both at the flippers and by the house. It's not a big issue so far at all though, just more of an "if I have time I'll look into it" type of thing.

Edit: I forgot about the shooter lane. That's the main adjustment I want to make on mine. The ball seems to drift slightly left as it goes up the metal shooter lane after it passes the forks, so it hits the inner guide on the orbit and doesn't go around very cleanly. When I adjust it by prying the left side up to prevent the drift it works for a game or two but then goes back out of alignment. There doesn't seem to be a good way to get that metal shooter lane ramp out to put some support under it to counter the lean without taking the whole orbit ball guide out. On AIQ there was a big opening under that part so I was able to wedge something under it, but there doesn't seem to be a similar opening underneath it on Elvira.

Ball was rolling out the front of my house a fair amount also. When the ball was rolling out of the house I’d noticed I wasn’t hearing the same sound of the post as when the ball did get held correctly.

I checked the post in the subway behind the backboard by quickly raising it up repeatedly by hand and noticed it wasn’t smoothly raising. There was a bit of resistance because the post was resting against the edge of hole it goes through. Put two and two together and figured the post was hanging up on the edge of the hole so the ball wasn’t being held in.

I put washers behind the bracket that hold the post coil to move the post away from the edge it was catching on. It’s worked way more reliably ever since. There are still a few shots that come back out but those have generally been weak shots that probably just didn’t make it to get locked. Went from about 50% holds to over 90%. Here’s a pic of where I put the washers. One behind each screw for the coil.

C2940091-FBAF-4EF1-9F49-093B7D0A6909 (resized).jpeg

There really isn't too much more I can show or describe. It was a pretty straightforward job. When I looked at the post that holds the ball behind the backboard I saw it was very close to the opto bracket that's right by the post and thought that could be causing the resistance I was feeling when I used my finger to pull the post up several times in a row quickly. But then as I looked closer it seemed like the post was more against the edge of the hole on the side closest to the backboard, so I decided to try using washers behind the coil bracket to move everything away from the backboard and more toward the center of the hole.

In the picture in my post I circled both screws. You can see part of the washer behind the bracket and the top screw. I took one screw out and used a magnet to slide a washer in behind the bracket while I replaced the screw. Then I repeated that for the other screw. By doing one screw at a time I didn't have to deal with the coil dangling from having both screws out.

I'm sure there could be different reasons for balls not being held in the house. This was what was going on with mine and it's made a big difference in how frequently the ball is held for me so I thought I'd share the info. It's definitely worth checking first both visually to see if the post seems to be up against an edge and by feeling how the post moves before doing it though, because it could be some other reason the ball is coming out of the house on yours. At worst though it's a pretty quick job to add the washers to see if it helps.

And, again, the sound on mine was a bit of a giveaway also. I'm now hearing a much more consistent thunk sound from the post when I'm playing and a ball gets held in the house. Hope this helps on yours.

^^^ I vote for this. Setup to start a haunt should have the diverter (metal plate) behind the house raised to allow the ball into the subway and the post in the subway extended down. You can check what's going on in switch test or just take the glass off and start a game while standing to the side of the machine so you can watch the exit of the subway behind the pops. Then use your hand to roll the ball through the house to start the first haunt while watching the subway exit and see what happens with the ball coming through. The post should be down and the ball should be blocked by it until the haunt intro video clip is done. Then the post coil should fire to raise the post to let the ball go into the pops. If that's not happening then I'd check the things Scorpius mentioned to try to resolve it.

You're not required to buy the special tool, but it makes this particular job easier to do and if you're considering owing more or different games in the future it's a tool that comes in handy for not just this but sometimes other things also. But the adjustment can certainly be made without it if you don't want to buy the tool. Adjusting a leaf switch isn't much different in concept than tuning a bike out of the box. Pretty routine and common thing to dial/tune in.

What pitch and right flipper power are you using? At high speed the ball could be catching air at the ramp entrance and hopping over the opto a bit so the beam isn't broken. Have you tried lowering flipper power and/or adjusting the pitch of your playfield?

One idea to try: If you need the post to be moved a little bit away from the opto bracket toward the center of the hole in the subway you could drill the screw hole openings a bit wider on the metal bracket that holds the post coil to the backboard (widen the two screw holes of the metal coil bracket, not the holes in the backboard itself). You would probably only need to use a drill bit just slightly bigger than the current screw hole size to widen them. Then that should give you the ability to shift the coil bracket (and therefore the post also) a little further away from the opto bracket when you re-mount it to the backboard.

Other options would be to try using washers behind the opto bracket and/or the post coil bracket to try to shim the post away from the opto bracket and/or shim the opto bracket slightly away from the post (if it can be done without throwing off the opto beam).

Someone with moderator rights on Pinside needs to mark it as a key post.

It's one of the things you have to do in order to sell the house (Wild Market Value):

I've ended up near your pitch also. I started at 6.5 and kept raising until I was happy with it. I'm at 6.9 with flipper power at 255 on the left and 241 on the right. All targets and shots got pretty well dialed in for me there with most of the floaty play of a lower pitch gone.

I wouldn’t think it’s an issue with pitch. I’ve had mine from 6.5 to 6.9 and it’s been fine.

See my pic below. This is how it’s set up under the playfield with the crypt door closed. I think the black “scoop” raises when the crypt is open so that the bottom of the scoop feeds the ball to the clear plastic subway.

Maybe yours is a bit out of alignment and when yours raises the bottom of the scoop is too high or too low and the ball gets hung up against the playfield (scoop too high) or the lip of the subway (scoop too low)? Unfortunately I don’t know how to align the mech if it needs it but might be a place to start troubleshooting?

11FAFBB2-67EB-4450-8862-F21BF57328E0 (resized).jpeg

Do you have the gargoyle mod on? If so, have you tried taking slow motion video of the ball coming out to see if it's coming out cleanly? I know on mine I'm still dialing in the bend of the VUK deflector a bit because sometimes it comes out perfectly clean and sometimes it still just barely clips the gargoyle mod, but that's all it takes to cause the ball to go short of the targets. Also, if you take the gargoyle off does it work properly? If so, then slow motion video with the mod on should show you what's going on with it.

Sorry to hear about your health and machine issues. Hope both can get cleared up for you soon. The balls rolling back down the ramp at the start of a haunt seems to be a standard issue. Here's how the ball hold for the start of a haunt works:
1) Haunt is qualified (3 shots through the house or backdoor skill shot) and the diverter (metal plate) behind the house lifts to allow the ball to go into the subway behind the backboard.
2) With a haunt qualified, a shot through the house is supposed to go into the subway and stay there, held in from going out the other side of the subway by a post. After video clips play the haunt starts with the post raising up to release the ball into the pops. There is an opto inside the subway just in front of the post to tell the machine there's a ball waiting there. The only mechs in the subway are that opto and the post that keeps the ball from going immediately out the exit and into the pops.

The shot through the house seems to come back down the ramp for a couple possible reasons:
1) The ball catches a bit of air off the ramp into the house and doesn't make it into the subway entrance.
2) The ball goes into the subway entrance but hits hard off the back wall of the subway or hard off the post in the subway and bounces back out the subway entrance.
3) The shot is a bit weak and doesn't make it to the subway

A change in pitch may help #1 (ball catching air off the house entrance ramp). #2 (bouncing back out of the subway) is definitely helped by adding some padding to the inside of the subway where the ball first hits the subway wall after going through the house. Scorpius showed adding velcro in this post:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/elvira-s-house-of-horrors-the-owner-s-club/page/175#post-6325790

Taking the subway off to put the velcro/padding in isn't too bad. It's all done behind the backboard. You need to:
1) Remove the coil and post that goes into the subway from behind the backboard. First unplug the coil (I recommend using a sharpie to mark each side of the connectors so you remember which plugs go back together).
2) Remove the opto bracket from around the subway (First unplug the opto cables).
3) Remove the subway, add the velcro (2 or 3 layers for enough cushion) inside the entrance as in Scorpius post, then screw the subway back in.
4) Replace the opto bracket and plug it in. After you screw the bracket in a bit turn the game on and go into switch test mode. Use switch test to confirm you have the opto aligned properly and then screw it in tight while holding it aligned properly. If you don't use switch test to guide you on this it's can be very difficult to get the opto lined up correctly.
5) Replace the coil + post and plug them back in.

I did this on my machine and it reduced the amount of balls rolling back out a lot. It's not going to be 100% because some shots just won't be able to be held, but the ones that should be held are now being held. Hope this helps. Good luck.

Completely unimportant question but I'm just curious. I've noticed occasionally my final score will end in "5" instead of "0". I'm on free play at home so it's not a big deal not getting a match at the end of a game but just wondering if anyone knows where the "5" comes from in scoring?

I was just about to post this same question. I've had the same thing with the garage target on mine. Sometimes a hard dead on shot won't drop it, but any other shot will. Even a softer dead on shot. I also had it be in the up position once during Gappa Angry when trying to shoot the garage lock. I searched the forum and didn't find anything on it, but I haven't taken the time yet to look into the target itself on the machine.

Mine was really clunky when I first got it. The ball started out straight past the metal forks in the shooter lane, but then it was slightly veering left as it ran across the metal "ramp" of the shooter lane before dropping into the orbit. So it was hitting the inner orbit ball guide to the left of the crypt and rattling, usually not making it to the pops. That metal shooter lane ramp is way too springy and has no support underneath it.

I took the right ramp off and removed the metal shooter lane ramp, and I put something under the left side of that metal ramp about half way up it in order to prop it up so it wouldn't tilt left and so it wasn't so springy. Now the auto launch fires it pretty reliably up the lane and I can manage my manual plunge by how I grip the plunger. There must be just a slight bit of wiggle in my manual plunger that still can make a bit of difference between a clean shot or rattling a little bit. I had to do the same thing on my AIQ to prop that metal shooter ramp up and correct a slight left lean that it had also.

I turned my machine on and went straight into active switch test. Here's a list of the switch numbers that showed in my active switch test:
11, 5, 12, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 49, 77, 78, 52, 38, 60

Not sure if my switch 5 (right return lane) & 38 (drop target opto) are supposed to be active. The others seem to track your list pretty well.

What are some examples of your game play issues? Might not be an active switch issue.

What are some examples of your game play issues? Might not be an active switch issue.

Sounds like a bit of a to-do list for tweaks and adjustments. As an update on mine, switch 5 (right return lane) shouldn't have been on for my machine but I slightly adjusted the leaf switch under the playfield and now it's working correctly. On yours, I'd suggest hitting start and rolling the ball by hand through the house to see where it might be getting hung up and then go from there. Hopefully the other issues just take a bit of minor adjustment to work out, like the end of the left orbit ball guide and the deflector on the VUK. For the plunge not reaching the pops, I took slow motion video of mine and it showed me that my ball was veering left a bit before it went into the orbit, so I adjusted that metal shooter lane ramp to keep the ball more to the right and go cleaner into the orbit.

Use slo motion video to see how it's coming out. Might need to adjust the deflector a bit.

The screw connecting my trunk lid to the plunger fell out on mine. I see where it needs to go to connect it back in and I found the screw, nut, and spacer in the bottom of the cabinet. Question is what's the best way to get at it to reattach it. Can it be done pretty easily by only removing the crate lid, or just taking off a side of the crate, or taking off both the lid and a side, etc?

I'm assuming when you say you're getting 10-20 million points you mean that is the total points you've scored when the ball leaves the pops. In other words, it sounds like you're not getting 10-20 million points off each hit to the pops (which would mean when the ball leaves the pops you would have scored 50 to 100M points total in the pops on 5 hits). Is that correct?

As others said, it's most likely that the vibration from the ball being in the pops is causing a switch to register when it shouldn't. The right ramp opto is a good guess because there is a history of it being a bit off on some machines. If you go into switch test in the service menu and use your hand to bang on the playfield a bit (try it in different areas of the playfield) then you might be able to recreate the issue so that the switch registers when you hit the playfield. That way you might be able to find out for sure which switch is sensitive to vibrations. That's how I'd start in trying to find what the problem is.

Edit- one other idea would be to take the glass off and play. Then when the issue starts happening use your hand to put it back in the pops and watch the LCD screen. I’d think the screen might say what shot is awarding the points. A switch related to that shot then would likely be the problem. Just another idea on how to try to figure out what’s causing it.

I've noticed it get a bit more difficult to backhand the left ramp after about an hour of playing on mine. At that point it's still makable but it's definitely more difficult. I haven't played for much more than 90 minutes straight on it though.

On my AIQ I was finding a lot of shots difficult to make after an hour or so of playing so I got the PinMonk flipper cooling fans and that took care of the issue. I'm probably not going to get the fans on Elvira because most shots are still fine after an hour to an hour and a half for me and that's about as long as I play it in any one stretch, but if you're going to be playing for longer times like you mentioned then the flipper cooling fans might not be a bad idea.

In addition to the ones already mentioned, I've also been really happy with this one:

https://pinside.com/pinball/market/shops/1195-rgp-models/02920-anti-airball-ramp-deflector-for-elvira-house-of-horrors

Once in awhile on mine balls coming fast down the left return were hitting the end and hopping over it. This keeps them from hopping over the end of the return and was a really easy installation.

I'd start checking this by testing the switch in the shooter lane. If the shooter lane switch doesn't register when a ball comes out then the game thinks there isn't a ball in the shooter lane and it will kick out another one. If you test it and the switch is not registering, then you'll need to adjust the metal arm of the switch so that when a ball pushes the arm down it will activate the microswitch under the playfield to register the switch.

For #3, I had balls going off the end of the ramp return also. I got this mod and it’s been great.

https://pinside.com/pinball/market/shops/1195-rgp-models/02920-anti-airball-ramp-deflector-for-elvira-house-of-horrors

I've had it happen too. Haven't been able to figure out what does it though.

I'm on 1.02

Looks like Santa was running a bit ahead of schedule last night and had time for a game. Didn’t make the leaderboard but looks like he had a pretty good multiball

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Even with all the crappy stuff that often gets posted by people in various forums I almost never give a downvote. But I've downvoted this one. That's how insensitive, miserable, and just plain dark & ugly this post is.

Edit - Adding here the quote from the post made by @ruenin: "Would I be wrong then in assuming that there will now be a Lyman Sheats special edition run of Elvira HOH that will cost $35K?"

House Party, Gappa, and They Came from Space are more than 3 (Gappa if you get enough locks before draining).

Yep I think I know the one you’re talking about and I haven’t been able to figure out what it’s saying either. I think it sometimes happens at the end of Unhappy Hour or Drive Me Crazy.

Maybe a mode could start with a certain number of rips to the spinner. Would be fun to have that spinner factor in a bit more.

Can you try or have you tried putting a cabinet dot in the spot to keep the ball from getting stuck there?

This happens if you don't have the opto aligned correctly. When reinstalling that opto, after you screw the bracket in a little bit turn the game on and go into switch test mode. Use switch test to confirm you have the opto aligned properly and then screw it in tight while holding it aligned properly. If you don't use switch test to guide you on this it can be very difficult to get the opto lined up correctly. Otherwise you'll spend a lot of time screwing it on, firing up the game, realizing it's not aligned correctly, adjusting it, firing up the game, realizing it's not aligned correctly... and on and on until it's correct.

Screwing the opto bracket in with switch test on gets it done pretty quickly in one try.

I don't think the gargoyles are mechanical. I haven't looked into them myself before. Here's a post from Rdoyle1978 with some advice on how to make them jump:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/elvira-s-house-of-horrors-the-owner-s-club/page/91#post-5796926

That type of error often means the opto that triggers the coil is registering when it shouldn’t, causing the coil to fire. Could be registering because it’s gone out of alignment or if there’s an issue with the opto.

You can try using switch test to confirm what the opto is doing also. If the opto switch is active when it shouldn't be then the opto is saying there's a ball there when there isn't one. Also, if there isn't a problem with the opto itself and it's just a re-alignment issue then you can use switch test as you re-align it to make sure it's dialed in correctly. If the coil is repeatedly firing as you're trying to dial in the opto you can probably just unplug the coil and then plug it back in once you have switch test registering the opto correctly.

One simple place to try first might be with making a slight adjustment to the VUK deflector/hood to see if that improves your results. I'd try bending the tip end of it up just slightly. If that doesn't address your issue then move to other possibly more involved troubleshooting possibilities. Starting by taking slow motion video to see how the ball is coming out is usually a pretty good idea to try to diagnose the issue though.

If your post in the subway behind the house is firing rapidly then the opto for it has likely gone a bit out of alignment. If you put the machine in switch test mode while you adjust the alignment of the opto it makes getting it lined up correctly a lot easier. Keep adjusting and tightening it until it’s not registering in switch test.

Really easy to bend it back into shape. I use one screwdriver to pry the ramp up a little and hold it up, and while holding it up with that screwdriver situated under the point where I want to bend it I use something else to bend it back down from the top. Creates a good leverage spot to bend it right at the spot where you want it to.

Just the thin metal of the ramp flap at the front

And if you have a leaf switch adjusting tool it can be used pretty well for this also. Just put the ramp flap in the slot of the tool and use it to gently bend where you want to

https://www.pinballlife.com/ultimate-leaf-adjuster-tool.html

This ^^^^ Take slow motion video to see where the ball is going off course and then make an adjustment to correct it.

Yep, and like any pinball fix it might not be what'll work as a solution for every case but it's definitely worked for me on both my JP orbit and POTC inner orbit.

It’s just a different order of how things are arranged. The end goal is to sell the house and that final task is a hurry up at the target that determines your sale price. I think that works well for the theme of the game.

They Came From Space, Director’s Cut, and Gappa Angry are all very fun wizard modes. The fact that one of those modes isn’t at the end of the game doesn’t change how fun and challenging (with great risk/reward opportunities in modes) the code in this game is.

Werewolf of Washington is on Comet network and I just watched about 1/2 hr of it. Hadn’t seen any of it before. So bad it’s hilarious. I might have to start watching some of the other movies in the game that I haven’t seen before.

I'd suggest using slow motion video on the VUK kick out to see if the ball is hitting the mod on the way out. After I installed my mod I had the same issue with the VUK kick out. I used slow motion video to see what the issue was and saw the ball was making contact with the gargoyle mouth on the way out. I adjusted the angle of the VUK deflector a bit and it helped. The deflector tends to eventually bend back to its original position on mine so I have to re-adjust it every so often.

Don’t forget, one week from today is the (legit) chance to get the Insider Connected achievement for completing Werewolf of Washington on Oct 31.

Shoot house enough times to light haunt. Shoot house again to start haunt. House window that's lit when the ball goes in is the haunt that's started.

http://tiltforums.com/t/elvira-s-house-of-horrors-rulesheet-wip/5815

It's pretty simple. It's not mechanized at all. It's just a gargoyle on a stick that goes through an opening and rests on an L shaped bracket that covers the target switch. When the ball hits the front side of the L, it pops the top side of the L up which causes the gargoyle that's sitting on it to pop up also. The front side of the L also pushes into the target to register the switch hit. The L is just held in place by a pin.

76BBB3AD-495B-4F45-8E4B-099A065D5ED6 (resized).jpeg

It's just balanced beneath by the flat rod it's attached to. In this case it's intended to pop all the way up and hit the glass.

All you'd have to do to restrict how high it pops up would be to either wrap enough tape around a spot on the rod that would keep that spot from going up through the slot in the bracket, or drill through the rod and use a screw to block it. There's a screw and nut at the bottom of this one to keep it from accidentally coming all the way out. The rod is about 8" long. Here are top and bottom pics of it.

40677221-2B6C-4C13-8AC7-2D691BE0F705 (resized).jpeg

5929C1FC-6423-4EF4-A9EC-0062DA9804CF (resized).jpeg

Here are the two posts I used for reference when hooking up all my machines through the scanner on my Godzilla:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/stern-insider-connected/page/36#post-6626480

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/stern-insider-connected/page/41#post-6663871

Lol, give in to the temptation. It's SO easy to do. When all the components I needed arrived (cables, manual switch box, and mini SD cards), it took about 1/2 hour to 45 minutes total to hook up 3 additional machines to work with the QR scanner in my Godzilla.

Looks the same as what I've been experiencing on my Godzilla recently. On mine I found it's the cable connecting the LCD to the board in the back box. When I wiggle and push on the connection in the back box the artifacting on the LCD clears up. I'd suggest taking the translite panel off, lifting up the LCD into viewing position, and wiggling/pushing on that connection to see if the LCD image clears up. It works to clear it on mine. Here's a picture of the connection I'm talking about.
40E65230-38BB-493A-8B03-551941CAE445 (resized).jpeg

Yep, just double flip to skip what you don't want to see. Works on pretty much everything in Elvira. Works on JP T-Rex modes also (after a couple seconds you can double flip to cut them short). There's no way to skip to make the GZ building go down faster though.

lol, not to get off track too much on Elvira but you can cut the feed t-rex intro a bit short also if you double flip as soon as the dino roars with the green background on screen. When you do that the animations stop and the callout of "T-Rex Multiball" doesn't happen. Granted it's not cut short by as much as the others, but it's a second or two shorter. Been that way for awhile.

Finally remembered to go after the December achievement on SCCTM. Now just need to remember to go after it on Christmas.

118DBD37-18D9-4F82-B647-49183C7824F3 (resized).jpeg

Yep ideally it should hit the 36-24-36 targets.

Might also depend on build date. Mine was May 2021 and it didn't need repositioning. If yours is from an earlier run then it might need repositioning.

A few things I can think of offhand that were dialed in on mine NIB that I don't think were in the initial runs:
- Spacer on the house ramp to keep it from catching on the edge
- Alignment of crypt VUK
- Back door shot ball guide
- Screw point for end of ball guide at left orbit exit is now an open horseshoe instead of a closed hole for the screw to go through. Makes it easier to adjust the end of the ball guide out and retighten the screw so balls exiting the orbit don't hit the left sling.

Have you done slow motion video on yours just to see if it looks like the ball is coming cleanly out of the VUK without losing momentum off the VUK hood (or if it's hitting the mouth of the gargoyle mod if you have that on it)?

Lol Use it as a topper for your topper

In other Elvira owners forum news not related to people posting about whether or not they like the new prices on machines…. The Stern Insider Connected leaderboard for the next two weeks is Elvira.

It’s on the IC website. Log in and then on the home screen click on Stern Events. Then there will be a link for Elvira Leaderboards. Then on the next screen will be links to view 2 leaderboards. One for verified locations and one for non-verified/home locations.

^^^^ This. Tiltforums isn't fully updated for Elvira, but there are a lot of very good streams of it online to watch to get a good feel for the game and the rules.

Lots of risk/reward built in. It’s part of the beauty of this code. On several modes the house ramp lights up to let you move to the next phase of the mode, or you can keep going for lit shots to boost mode score (thereby also boosting trailer trash bonus). So you can move on in the mode asap or try to get greedy and build it up.

Some that were dialed in on mine NIB that I don't think were in the initial runs:
- Spacer on the house ramp to keep it from catching on the edge
- Alignment of crypt VUK
- Back door shot ball guide
- Screw point for end of ball guide at left orbit exit is now an open horseshoe instead of a closed hole for the screw to go through. Makes it easier to adjust the end of the ball guide out and retighten the screw so balls exiting the orbit don't hit the left sling.

Timer still runs as normal during MB. If you don’t hit a mode shot the mode will time out.

I got the left return airball cover for mine. I was having a lot of balls that hit the end of the left return and hopped over it into the outlane and this has worked great.

https://pinside.com/pinball/market/shops/1195-rgp-models/02920-anti-airball-ramp-deflector-for-elvira-house-of-horrors

Might even be neat to just put them in similar to outtakes on DVDs. Maybe have it so you can view the extra unused scenes outside of game play.

I just bend mine back into shape when it needs it. The leaf switch adjustment tool works pretty well for doing it.

Probably. I was thinking that even using a small C-clamp or vice grip along the face of it would work to straighten it but I don't have one small enough to use without taking the ramp off.

Is piece #8 in the manual what you're looking for? part #515-6119-02?

https://www.pinballlife.com/desegastern-plunger-with-nylon-extension-381-long.html?Category_Code=

It's a very easy adjustment. Just remove the plastic over the ball guide screw located closest to the end of the left orbit ball guide (need to move the left ramp to get at it). Loosen the screw. Nudge the end of the guide out while retightening the screw. Repeat as many times as needed until you get the end of the guide set so the ball misses the sling as it comes out of the orbit.

The Stern shooter lane ramps can be a bit out of level and send the ball to the right or left instead of going straight down the middle. I had similar issues on my AIQ and Elvira. Take slow motion video of a plunge and see what path the ball takes as it goes from the plunge to the entrance of the orbit. Then maybe try adjusting that metal shooter ramp a bit to counter whatever direction the ball is going.

Mine was the same on AIQ and Elvira. Good alignment of the auto launcher and plunger, but ball going off course. I took slow motion video to see the path of the ball down the shooter lane ramp and how it entered the orbit. Then I adjusted the metal shooter lane ramp so it would counter the direction the ball was going. That style of shooter lane ramp is very flimsy and doesn't have any support underneath it, so it's prone to being off level and causing the ball to take a path other than straight down the ramp and into the orbit.

When the big arrow insert in front of the house ramp is slow pulsing and a window is flashing lit on the house, then the ball should be held to start a mode. The arrow insert will be lit solid until you hit enough house ramp shots to light the haunt and then it will pulse, although it begins the game pulsing to start a haunt on ball 1.

Gargoyle likely won't loosen up over time on its own. Will likely take just a small tweak to get it jumping if you want it to jump more.

Have you checked the post in the subway behind the backboard? That post is supposed to come down but it's been known to catch on the opto bracket next to it.

The exit out of the pops and a SDTM off the garage drop are just normal drain hazards in the game. Every machine has some danger spots. Those are two danger spots on Elvira.

It helped on mine when I did the velcro fix. Adding padding to the entrance of the subway behind the backboard. Was very easy to do. Note you may want to try more than one layer of velcro.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/elvira-s-house-of-horrors-the-owner-s-club/page/175#post-6325790

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/elvira-s-house-of-horrors-the-owner-s-club/page/181#post-6346410

If the pin can be slid over to a position where the ramp doesn't catch on it, can you use tape or something else to hold it in that spot so it doesn't slide? Maybe not a great elegant solution but might be functional without too much trouble to do it if it works.

Mine was the same way in the same spot on my May '21 build. Didn't notice it until a couple months ago when it fell out. I just bent the rod a bit while in place and it's stayed put.

Tough to tell from that angle of video. The key is to see what the path of the ball is as it enters the orbit. I think a more top down view of the ball traveling through the whole shooter lane would give a better idea of what's going on with it. That way you could see how centered the ball is, what direction it's heading, and what if anything it's hitting as it enters the orbit. Then maybe there could be some adjustments that would straighten it enough to enter the orbit cleanly.

Under the left ramp on top of the plastic was a common stuck ball spot on mine until I put some cabinet bumpers there to block the ball from that spot. Wouldn't shake loose out of there.

As wise1919 mentioned it's worth reseating or replacing the memory card. A friend's not too long ago was having issues with freeze ups and replacing the card cured it.

Game pitch might have a bit of an impact also. Steeper setup might have the ball going downhill a bit steeper after the end of the guide and still catching the sling vs. a bit less pitch where the ball might drift just a bit more to the right.

They are such very different games in both layout and rules that anyone's opinion is really just going to come down to personal preference for what style game that person likes more. A quick look at gameplay videos will give you a pretty good sense of what to expect in each game. If you're on the fence between the two then you really should just play both and see which one you think is more fun.

This