You've got Gottlieb, Bally, Williams represented by those games. Gottlieb seems to have a bigger following here and has the biggest parts availability...But pick the game that most interests you and lift the hood and get dirty!

Ken

If you're going to have just one, make it a Gottlieb single player, where the objective continues throughout all 5 balls, and the potential rewards for performance thereafter will keep you coming back! The selection above are multi-player games, and have the objective reset after each and every ball, meaning it's too shallow and boring, IMO.

Space Odyssey is great. Spinner shot on the left, moving target in the middle, horseshoe lane on the upper right.

Nip It looks fun. I've never played it but I love that era of Bally games. Multiball in an EM! You probably wouldn't like it, though. Just buy the one that's local to you and ship it out my way, that'd be the best way to go.

Liberty Bell and Top Score look fun-ish. You probably couldn't go wrong with any of your choices. Space Odyssey would be my vote, though.

Totally agree. There are of course exceptions, Royal Flush for example is a great multiplayer game even played solo, but generally speaking the single player games just have better rules for home play.

I'd make an offer on this Bon Voyage over any of the games you listed. orangecounty.craigslist.org link

Space Odyssey (Space Mission) is a very strong game. Nip It is fun but its price is artificially inflated by sellers due to the "Happy Days" connection.

I happen to love games from all EM manufacturers (though Gottliebs do tend to stand out quality wise) and I love multi-player games as much as I do single player games. Heck, I even prefer Target Alpha over El Dorado. Blasphemy! I know....

I'd agree that generally single players are the best choice, but don't just limit yourself to Gottlieb games. Williams, even Bally, made some very, very good single players, and you'll generally pay less for them as they aren't considered as "desireable" as Gottlieb games.

oooooooo....... why are these always so frikken far away???????

op, i think your best bet would be to try to get to play some different machines... there are likely some pinside members near you that can help you out...

that bon voyage, for example, may not initially "grab you" when you look at the pf, but it is quite fun to play... it also has exceptional artwork, and appears to be cosmetically very good... it is on my short list of games to acquire...

all of us like different machines, and one of the cool things about em's is that there is a very wide variety of pf layouts, eras of games, and so on... for example, i REALLY don't like multi-player machines... other people do... you'll also find a strong bias for gottlieb wedgeheads, and while that bias is not without merit (i'm biased to them personally), there are boatloads of good fun games from the other manufacturers as well...

another example... some of us like replay games, others like add a ball games...

get out and play... then decide...

It's a cool game. If it was me I'd hold out for a single player Gottlieb wedgehead, that's my sweetspot. I really love my Abra Ca Dabra and Sky Jump. I'd pretty much only replace one of them with another wedgehead. There's a whole world of EMs out there to appreciate, but there's a reason those are the most popular.

I don't have a lot of experience playing tons of EMs, but it seems to me that much of the feeling that single player games have better rules for home play comes from comparing the same game (layout wise) to ones that are also offered in a multiplayer option.

I.e, games like El Dorado and Solar City. I'd definitely prefer the single player El Dorado since the drops wouldn't all reset between balls like they do on the multiplayer Solar City. There are plenty of other examples of this.

But there are plenty of EMs that were designed as only as a multiplayer game that also work perfectly as a single player. My guess is that many of these won't be heavy on the drop targets, but to me pins like Bow and Arrow and Grand Prix are excellent multiplayer EMs that also work great as single player games.

That is a very nice Grand Prix. And for a first EM it is not a bad choice.

That Bon Voyage looks sweet! When I first saw the ad there were no pictures. As far as single player games, it has a ruleset that is as good as any, great artwork, a very cool layout, and a rip-able spinner that is also good as any. I'd get it just to have two if I had any space or money left over.

You should probably get a Gottlieb as they are easier to sell when you get tired of them.

Not necessarily, but if you are limiting yourself to one EM, you might. That's why after the end of this week I will be up to around 12. I have found it is a lot easier to turn over the Gottliebs, but the Bally's and Williams I have are pretty much keepers for one reason or another.

Actually I am considering selling it...but Odin has dibs!

Ah, there it was.
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Suddenly...I don't feel like selling it anymore.

I have a Space Odyssey and I absolutely love it. It has a really cool rule set and is just as unforgiving to play as most EMs. I got it last year and when I started inviting people over to play it, I was very worried that they would be bored easily with an EM table. Boy, was I ever wrong. There have been some great nights since I got it. Some long, drawn out battles for a nightly high score and the bragging rights go along with it.

One night during the Holidays we were having a party and a female friend of ours absolutely dominated the table all night long. It was hilarious to watch the guys line up and try to knock her off her throne. Just before midnight, when someone finally did, she ran back downstairs immediately and reclaimed it.

I have read many, many times that Space Odyssey is boring and over-rated, but I suppose it's down to individual taste. For me, give me that spinner shot to the left (lit of course) and let me rip it for 1,000 points per spin. The overlooked feature (in my opinion) is the horseshoe target on the right, which really helps you get your EOB bonus maxed out. Hit the double bonus kickouts that sit mid-table when lit and you will have a 40,000 EOB bonus if you've maxed your bonus out.

Also, I rebuilt my pops and flippers last year. The cost was minimal and the increase in table speed was well worth it. New flippers and pops with three coats of good wax - whew. So much for slow EM tables.

Good luck with your shopping!

Space Odyssey has that swinging target too. Nice!

We have owned a good many EM's over the past 5 years (or so) and the one I regret selling the most is Space Mission (Space Odyssey). If you like earlier SS machines Space Odyssey actually feels a good bit like an early SS machine - it plays pretty fast for an EM.

As long as you stick to 3" flippers and not 2" flipper machines I think you would enjoy any of the titles you talked about but Liberty Bell and Space Mission are the two I like the best of the 4 you asked about.

As far as 2" flippers - don't get me wrong - there are plenty of "short flipper machines" that are fun but if you are use to playing SS machines I wouldn't pick a 2" flipper machine for my first EM.

All good titles. I am partial to Nip-It for the multi-ball, but it would depend on price for me. Any of those titles are good though in my opinion.

Nip-It is pretty, and has a cool gimmick with the gator button, but I don't find it to be one of the better games to play.

Top Score is in my top few EMs, and I think is in the top 5 on Pinside's top 100 list. I would definitely buy that over damn near anything else.

Wedgeheads are nice, but prices seem to be inflated; I tend to keep a few multiplayer EMs and one wedgehead set up.

There was also mention of a Grand Prix; I like that one a lot as well - probably my favorite Williams EM.

Nip it also has zipper flippers which are a fun EM feature.

Space Odyssey is the best of the four choices IMO.

Ken

My advice is to buy them all. But I'm crazy like that.

Marcus

I would go with all of the above.

I just paid $400 for one a few weeks ago and it cleaned up pretty well... underpriced in my opinion so I gave the fella what he was asking for it. I'll try to add a pic of it for reference. It has some chipping on the cab, but the PF and BG are very clean.

-scott

Space Odyssey is the best on that list by far. It's also a bit unorthodox with the flipper slots down low, but I actually found that really helps improve flipper skills - specifically drop catches. It's a really fun game. There's a reason it was one of the best-selling EM game of the 1970s (Odyssey/Mission)

The others on your list are pretty weak games fun-wise.

Like most good EMs, $200-$1500.

I paid $675.00 for mine but had to invest another $150.00 in parts. It played great and was a nice looker with a decent Backglass and little wear on the Playfield.

Ken

If I need to stick to your list, I'd also go with Space Mission/Odyssey. As mentioned, Grand Prix is also a decent Wms. Multi-player game. Wms. had those EM DC pops mastered, and generate plenty of power, good for a few laughs! Both can be had for very reasonable prices as well.

Here are a couple of befores of my Nip-It if it helps for reference...

-scott

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And a few afters...

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Mars Trek.

orangecounty.craigslist.org link

A pox on those stickers under pop bumpers.

I would LOVE to add another Sonic to my lineup! Too much real estate betwween this one and I....

Yes I HATE them. May try to remove since I am keeping it...

-scott

I would ditto the Sonic comments as well...I had a Mars Trek and a Prospector at one time and both were awesome. There is a Super Straight outside of Charlotte and another outside of Myrtle Beach

-scott