Are you a fan or picking up people in a taxi? We all need to work together to stop theme whoring; themes don;t make games; Fish Tales is an all timer.
Buuuuut Flash Gordon is even more of an all timer so for me it's the easy choice.

Both great games but for the money, get both a Jungle Lord and a who dunnit.

FG is such as ass kicker for sure. If you have Lightening Flippers for FT it's no joke either; Both great.
And you're missing both a Bally & WPC; tough call!

Ha you can skip that shit show.

They are.. different.

If looking for something the family would enjoy I'd say go with Fish Tales.

Flash Gordon is a beautiful red head you take home and wake up in the morning with your kidneys missing.

FG is a hardcore players game, you don't play it causally.

FT is a better game but I have no interest in sitting on a riverbank/in a boat/on a freezing lake... wasting life trying to hook a fish. So in this rare occasion - theme beats gameplay. Flash Gordon.

Agreed, I never had bad experiences playing Flash Gordon, the few times I played it I got huge scores, but that was back when I only had Classic 80s solid states to play. If you’re in that “zone” you can really play it, but most the time FG kneecaps you and takes your wallet.

Fish Tales is a great, fun game. It is ridiculously brutal. Love the sounds, the SDTM power drains are infuriating. If you’re gonna play in tournaments, in my experience tourneys lean towards WPC over Classic SS games.

Flash Gordon will give you a different experience than adding FT to your collection -- if you crave "different eperiences," FG, if you want your games to "feel the same," FT.

Flash Gordon is one of my all time favorites. I honestly miss owning one. Fish Tales does nothing for me, but I know some people love it.

With those two pops front and center FG will rip you a new one for choosing poorly.

And I'm good with that.

20211209_162747 (resized).jpg

I have room for 6 and have rotated every one of those through my basement, currently holding a LOTR and Whirlwind in my lineup. This is a really tough decision, but I have some pros and cons for you. You are looking for an, “asskicker game”. I put 3 games in this category, TNA, Fish Tales, and Flash Gordon. Firstly, if it is more than just you playing your games, if family or friends frequently play, Fish Tales 100%. It is much easier to explain to a casual the rules of Fish Tales than Flash Gordon.

Second, if you are looking at them more than you play them Flash Gordon is a real “looker”. The art is stunning on it, with bright and vibrant colors. Fish Tales is not ugly, but Flash Gordon is just “cool”. Another thing to consider is maintenance and care. Replacement parts for everything on Flash Gordon are available (excepting the backbox flash) but it WILL break more and need repair, even in a home environment than Fish Tales. You can get Altek boards (essentially modern electronics) to run Flash Gordon but stuff will break on it, and troubleshooting a game of that vintage is not as easy as a WPC pin. There are more Fish Tales on route than games of similar vintage and production value not only due to its relative low value (it’s a steal) but because the games are relaiable. The only real mech toy on it is a fishing reel, and the part that broke, the rubber connector, is reproduced.

I will say that if you tend to do leagues or tournaments, I’d go Flash Gordon as the “feel” on the way it flips is more different from you other pins than Fish Tales is, which flips similarly to AFMR SE. This one is a really tough decision. Looking through my history I kept Flash Gordon longer than Fish Tales, but you can’t go wrong with either game. Your games on Flash Gordon WILL be shorter than on any other pin in your collection, to include a potential Fish Tales. It’s nice to have 5 minutes to play and know that even in that 5 minutes you could get the grand champion score.

Now that I see this... Flash Gordon!

If the proper work has been done to Flash Gordon, it is dead nuts reliable. There were after all designed to be on route collecting the bucks!

My Supersonic has been at work now for over 2 years, on 12 hours a day without fail. SDB has new caps and ground mods, MPU has been repaired (battery damage) and has NVRAM and the lamp board has been modified with resistors for LED operation. It still even has the original bridge board!

A well setup Meteor is a good choice, its different from FG as the only way I can think to describe it is the ball is always coming out you for some direction. Very fast paced game and you can get some sweep action going time to time on the drops. They are still available for reasonable money too.

FG is a better game than Meteor though and as I said it's different. I can roll my Meteor on a good day while FG will extend the middle digit.

If you're looking for brutal games that will kick your ass, can I throw you a curveball? Consider a Bram Stokers Dracula instead of a Fish Tales.

See I have a different opinion there, I played a very nice unit at Pintastic last year and on the third game I railed on it for a 1/2 hour.

Both are great games for different reason.

FG has come and gone, FT is a fun game most enjoy and still in lineup

Is game strictly for your challenge or for everyone to enjoy?

Both games get heavy play from me whenever I see them.

I would buy both Flash Gordon and Fish Tales and sell Taxi first or Whirlwind Second.
I personally choose the most difficult or challenging games because they make you a better player.

All our guests always gravitate to the humor and playability of our FT.
Actually have a few who ask on occasion "Is that for sale yet?"
The value has increased well over time, I consider it a classic. I don't know if FG is that long-in-the-tooth.
Judging by your lineup with a Taxi and a WW, I'd go long with FT as another Williams classic.
Just my 2 cents, good luck in your decision!

Flash Gordon, just watched the movie again the other night. Classic. And get that new sound mod for it that plays the soundtrack.

What new sound mod are you talking about?
I’m interested!

You guys remember the Flash Gordon movie with that suspended spiked platform they fight on? Weird