I guess baby pac man was technically my first pin. I was 23(now almost 25) when I got into this, so I was one of the young ones too. It was fun for a little bit, but it made me want a "real" pinball machine even more. I was able to squeeze $700 out of mine and I felt very lucky to break even on it. Im still pretty new and EMs still scare me, but a clean fully working one should hold up pretty well. If you can save up to $800-$1000 you can get a cheap solid state or "D" list DMD game. I was able to pick up a working WWF RR for under $1000 as my first real pin and I loved it. Waiting for a DMD game in the price range will take some patience though.

EDIT: Try to find some pinheads local to you. They may be willing to pass along some deals and knowledge.

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