And it matters a whole bunch for what reason exactly?

So you are saying that faster pinball is always better pinball? I disagree but to each their own.

Also, any game with a cleared and waxed playfield, set at the same pitch, and some new flipper assemblies as the same title without all those things would always be faster.

So by "fast" did you mean the speed and frequency that the ball returns back to the flipper and not the actual relative speed of the ball?
Did you really mean to ask, "What game allows the player the most main flipper to ball interactions per second?" I would cautiously suggest Fish Tales but it’s definitely not for everyone... myself included.

Same is true with rule depth. There are some very deep games with oh so terrible design and low fun factor.

I understand why the question is asked quite often, I’m just trying to understand why it’s typically always perceived as a good thing.

To voice my opinion? To understand why people love pinball? Why are you here? Do you feel you have to right to tell others what to do? Voice your own opinion about pinball, don’t hate. You could actually contribute to the discussion and not just poke others, asking them to leave.

Pinball takes up a lot of space. I like fast games too but, I would not buy a game just because it’s fast. Just an opinion. Jeez.

I guess my take away overall was that there are a ton of things you could do to ANY pinball game to make it “faster”/smoother. Something else to consider perhaps. A lot of people put stronger flipper coils in LOTR to make it faster.

That’s funny. I only immediately understood the question because there is a Stern thread with the same discussion.

You are right. I regret posting that comment... Did not mean anything other than it’s not the first feature I look for when buying a game. Trust me, no one post is important enough on a site discussing pinball to anger me. I learned that 16 years ago on RGP.

Houdini could maybe be slow because it has a flipper/power issue, maybe the pitch is off, or some other factor. I played one on location in Ashville last year and though it was fast/tight. Another example here locally when it was brand new... that one was fast too.