I'm 57, I have an Aztec em and 2 ss pins. I started playing pinball by riding my bicycle to Zippee-dee pizza and feeding the machine nickels. Then somebody ratted me out to Mom. Pinball was the spawn of the Devil in Mom's mind. That was Mom's biggest come apart to date only to be topped by coming home with an Alice Cooper album, then the motorcycle. I still love the sound of the score motor and relays working.

Has the average age of an em'er reversed course?

Thinking about it...those pics of pinball parlors in the 30's and 40's show a lot of men dressed up, suits and hats on etc. so maybe the ave dropped going into the 50's, 60's and 70's...then of course started to rise after that.

My first game was my 71 Stardust my dad bought when I was a kid ( in the 90s) I'll always love em games because of this. Still playing it today

I'm voting on behalf of my son. He just recently discovered how much he likes EMs (and how much he can kick my butt at them), so he's been asking me to get some when we get our new house. He's only 14 right now, and he's usually into gaming, so it's cool to see him really enjoying the older machines over the newer ones.

48 years young, the 70s was a great time for me at the arcades then when the solid state games came out when I was around 12 I thought the art, gameplay and sounds were awesome. The Bally's and Gottlieb's from 1977-82 were eye opening to me. Back in 77 everyone wanted a digital watch, it was a big deal back then. But EMs have a special place in my heart. Bally's Wizard is the first pinball I played at my grandmothers café.

Ill be 45 on February 6. Im pretty much a 70's Gottlieb guy. My collection so far is: Atlantis, Hit the Deck, Abra Ca Dabra, Jacks Open, Sky Jump, Buccaneer, Jungle and a Bally's Dr. Dude. Can't wait to find me an El Dorado and/ Centigrade 37. I will say, that most of the people on here in the EM community are some of the nicest. helpful people ever. Its been great getting to know a few of you.

I'm 17. My oldest game is 30 years older than me (and a few months older than my father), which now typing that out seems REALLY weird because 30 years seems very little for what it's age is now, 48, because right now 30 years ago was 1986. That's still distant but being that close to 1968 is a little mind boggling to me. Must be getting old. My newest arcade machine (or machine in general) is 8 years older than me and that's quite new compared to the rest.

57 next Thursday

I'm 46 and a half. I have a five-year-old. The "half" is very important.

42, and after reading this thread, I need a EM from the year I was born.
My 19 year old has laid claim to my Who Dunnit because it has a manufacturer sticker from his year of birth, it must be a trend.

Bally "Bow and Arrow" EM version.
Great game.
So good, they made it in to one of the earliest SS machines.
Bally "Wizard!" is another fine choice, but most of the production was pushed to 75.

Holy Crap, I remember games being a nickel, then quickly went to a dime or 3 for .25

I'm 46 and, until a year ago, always dreamed of owning a real pinball machine. Today, one year later, I'm an EM addict and have taught myself (with the help of alot of Pinsiders, specifically Dirtflipper) how to pretty much fix and restore one of these beautiful machines from the ground up. I've bought eight EMs over the past year (have sold four of them) and am on the hunt for more (Jacks Open/Lucky Hand, 2001, Sky Jump, Abracadabra, plus I love the 60s Gottliebs as well). My kids love the games, as do their friends, and their friends parents come over and play them, as it takes them back to a simpler time in their lives. Pinball machines are gorgeous to look at and a blast to play. I love this hobby.

Pins set on Dimes I do remember playing, in department stores and drug stores. Didn't really know what to shoot at but some how knew, "This is Fun!"

I'm 56 - so mostly 70s EMs in my lineup... mostly Gottliebs, but I like some of the Williams and Bally games from the mid to late 70s just the same. I have a few SS games - KISS, Whirlwind, FATHOM but my heart is with EMs...

Starting to get into some really old EMs from the 40s and 50s too... there are some wonderful players in that era, just give them a chance. Like all games though, they have to be playing top notch to get a true feel for how great these games can be.

Don O

I'm in the 51-60 age group. I first remember playing solid state pinball machines at the local roller skating rink. I know I played Black Hole and Flash Gordon. I remember EM pinball machines at a few restaurants down in Chesapeake Beach, MD when I was small. I just picked up a Gottlieb Card Whiz that is in a Jet Spin base cabinet, plus a Fireball. I'm painting the Fireball playfield this summer and I'm anxious to get it put back together. So right now I have two great EM's, plus a Flight 2000 and High Speed. Really enjoying working on the Fireball and the change of pace that Card Whiz offers. Can't wait to get the zipper flippers and multi-ball action going on Fireball. With the price of modern machines, I can imagine adding another 2 or 3 EM machines over the next decade.

56 years young. I’ve always loved the Gottlieb titles and now enjoy owning 4 of my favorites.
Eye of the Tiger, Centigrade 37
Surf Champ and Quick Draw.
Now that I have become more confident in servicing the machines and have mastered stepper units, score reels, AS relays and drop targets I am able to buy games some might pass on because they need extra love.

Still looking for Super Spin/ Jet Spin

What a overall friendly and knowledgeable group that resides here on PINSIDE. Always willing to Share their knowledge!!!

Finally….Gottlieb chimes cleaned and tuned up are still the best sound in pinball to me.

I'm in the over 60 group. Discovered EM pinball machines while a teenager in the arcades of Ocean City, Maryland (Playland, SportLand and the best pinball palace, Jim's Place!) during summer vacations. There were other arcades in Maryland that had pinball machines, but Ocean City was the only place where someone under 18 could play pinball without a parent or guardian present. (Because, you know, they were "gambling devices.") And it was HARD to convince my mother to take my brother and me to the smoke-filled arcades. So we spent most of our week in Ocean City playing pinball.

Just started collecting a few years ago and have focused on Gottlieb wedgeheads. I own Atlantis, Abra Ca Dabra, Jacks Open and one multi-player, Surf Champ. While I knew absolutely nothing about fixing/maintaining EMs when I started, the vets on Pinside have made it easy and I have grown to enjoy working on them.

I’m 47 and found pinball only a couple years ago in the fall of 2019. My first machine was a CC Kicker. I enjoy the fixing more than I do playing them. My kids and their friends take care of the playing part.

I’ve fixed up almost two dozen machines by now. Some I keep, most I sell so I can continue to buy and fix project machines.

The ones I have are Ship Ahoy, Golden Arrow, Lucky Hand, and Pro Pool. There are several other machines in my queue, waiting to be brought back.

Alberto

Well.I'm 72 and played EM's my early years, started when I was 5! Followed pins getting newer, and now play them! Still enjoy playing EM's at festivals!!

LOL, me as well. Stepped up to the 50-60 crowd since posting in this necro thread.

But we are still here and still playing pinball. There is no denying the draw pinball has on us.

The passion remains a decade later.

I can still hang in the 30s group until next year
Admittedly when I first saw this poll I had WAY more EMs then today but still have my favorites that I won’t let go

Currently 4 ems but have owned others in the past.

59 years old -

62.

My '74 Duotron was kind of in my sweet spot in terms of playing them in the wild as a kid. My '68 Domino would have seemed old fashioned to me back in the day (the bells vs chimes, I think) but I'd pretty much play anything. And I'd encounter the old flipperless bingo games (and old electro-mechanical drivers, flyers, etc.) at amusement park / boardwalk arcades each summer.

I was haunting the arcades / bowling alleys / bars when solid-state games, multi-layer, multi-ball, etc. were coming around - remember Silverball Mania, Xenon, Firepower, Genie, Black Knight, Gorgar, Paragon, Flash, etc. when they were new and really hard to get time on.

And I actually played Hercules, at Fun n Games in Framingham MA. Just once (because it's not really that fun) but I did drop 50 cents (probably) into it.

61 and all-EM.

The Argosy was a recent aquisition?

The two Argosys were recent acqusitions, and they are in line for going through (to end up with a “best” one) after Space Mission (which is almost finished), Mars Trek, and Rancho. I’m planning to eventually sell the Argosy that’s left over as a project.

62 and pretty much own the games that I can remember best.

Currently 54.

So, the pinball hobby is doomed.

ALL OLD FARTS!

I currently own 23 pins and 8 of them are EMs.
I love pinballs from all eras, and each of the ones I own are amongst my all-time favorites. There are a few more that I am loosely on the hunt for.

I feel there are some TERRIFIC EMs that people are sleeping on.

It sad. I had to change my age category from 41 -50 to 51 - 60. What sadder is I should have changed it 6 years ago.

Hey ChipS, we were probably in one or more of those arcades at the same time in OC back in the day. My parents would take us on vacation to either OC or Rehoboth from about 1970 to 1978, usually a two-week stint, and sometimes we could talk mom into a day trip or two each summer. I remember those arcades like yesterday, and spent hundreds of hours playing my favorite pins and pitch n bats. When I hit my 13th birthday my parents would let me take the city bus that ran from about 180th street down to where those arcades were... Id take off after dinner and get back around midnight. I bought my first pin in 1986 and still have it today, along with a small collection of mostly EMs and 3 SS games.

I worked at one of the boradwalk arcades for summer in Ocean City in 1986. I grew up on the Eastern Shore in Chestertown. My grandparents had a tailer at the Indian River inlet and we spent many summer vacations fishing and swimming as a kids.

What I really miss, the CRABS!!!!

68 years old and 52 pins. About half EM's of all eras.
Yeah, another olde fart.

44 here and I have 7 EM games. They are addicting "one more game" games. It all started with Jungle Queen in a tournament. I was hooked.

Also have a Primus. Does that count as an honorary EM?