(Topic ID: 312419)

Free Play vs Coin Op for HUO

By briyau15

2 years ago


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Topic Stats

  • 28 posts
  • 23 Pinsiders participating
  • Latest reply 2 years ago by Miguel351
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    Topic poll

    “What setting do you go with?”

    • Free Play 61 votes
      91%
    • Coin Op 6 votes
      9%

    (67 votes)

    #1 2 years ago

    Curious for the pins at home, do you normally set the machine to Free Play? I personally like the idea of replicating an arcade and have it set as coin operated where it ties back to the apron card. However, in the long run Free Play May be the way to go to result in less wear and tear on the coin mechs.

    #2 2 years ago

    I have mixed coin play in to entertain the kids or guests from time to time, they like the arcade feel as I also have a few real arcade machines as well, but generally it's all free play 99% of the time.

    #3 2 years ago

    Free play. Also, for new games the only way to prove a game is HUO is to check the coin-in audits. If you set your home game to quarter play, then there's no way to prove to didn't have it on route at some point.

    Not a big deal, since condition is king anyway, but something to consider.

    #4 2 years ago

    Ha, don't worry aboot coin wear and tear that isn't a thing.

    Putting quarters in my games was 'neat' when I had 1; totally pointless

    #5 2 years ago
    Quoted from briyau15:

    less wear and tear on the coin mechs.

    You won't be around long enough to wear out a coin mech. If you do, they're $10.

    #6 2 years ago

    Free play…especially if your game is new….it prevents wear on the coin entry slots…it’s really up to you. If you have older games with wear it really doesn’t matter…..yeah it’s cool to put coins/tokens in a game but I have become lazy/spoiled to just walking up and push the start button. If you go all out and have a change machine to make people put quarters/tokens in your games go for it but it can be a pain sometimes…your quarters/tokens disappear. If you just want convenience then go with free play.

    #7 2 years ago

    Pay to play at home gets old after about 2 credits.

    It’s also additional wear on the coin door for no good reason.

    #8 2 years ago

    The novelty of dropping in coins wears off pretty quick. As others have said, you'll end up causing wear around the coin slot if you this for a decent period of time.

    Everything I have is on free play. Press start and flip away.

    #9 2 years ago

    I, personally, will never tire of the sound of a coin going through the mech and splashing into the coin box, especially nowadays that there are practically zero arcades out there anymore. I have a couple thousand tokens that I use in my game room for it and it's great fun for guests to grab a few a relive the old arcade days.

    But, I admit, I'm the weird one in the bunch. Coin drop isn't for everyone. Try it yourself for a while with a bunch of quarters. If you like it, stick with it and convert your mechs over to whatever token size you want to use, buy a grip of tokens, and have a blast!

    #10 2 years ago

    I keep all of my machines on coin play. Half the fun of Pinball is playing to win a credit. And for arcades, they instantly become useless if I have unlimited credits. In home use, you will likely never put enough quarters through your game to cause any noticeable wear on the door.

    #11 2 years ago

    Its not about coin door wear they can be replaced.....Never credit through the coin door switch's on documented HUO games .

    I know its all about condition, but I have a certain clientele and you could never prove they weren't routed with newer systems

    "Gee it has 2800 in lifetime earnings and its not slightly routed ? " ...... Not for the folks I sell to.

    Ot could make the difference in a sale and a few 1k dollars

    #12 2 years ago

    Free play is the way to go, keeping coin up just seems like a big hassle.

    #13 2 years ago
    Quoted from RandyW:

    I keep all of my machines on coin play. Half the fun of Pinball is playing to win a credit. And for arcades, they instantly become useless if I have unlimited credits. In home use, you will likely never put enough quarters through your game to cause any noticeable wear on the door.

    But aren’t you worried about the wear and tear on your coin mechs? And perhaps wearing off a little of the paint around the coin slots. You bought these machines to have fun. How dare you!!

    #14 2 years ago
    Quoted from TheLaw:

    Ha, don't worry aboot coin wear and tear that isn't a thing.
    Putting quarters in my games was 'neat' when I had 1; totally pointless

    This. When you only have one or two, it feeds that nostalgia. Any more than that and its a pain.

    #15 2 years ago
    Quoted from RandyW:

    I keep all of my machines on coin play. Half the fun of Pinball is playing to win a credit. And for arcades, they instantly become useless if I have unlimited credits. In home use, you will likely never put enough quarters through your game to cause any noticeable wear on the door.

    Yeah my current approach is to see how far I can make $5-$10 go for the night by putting $1-$2 worth of quarters in all my machines and rotate. Getting a match credit after the game is over is still exciting because then it extends my night to play. When I did Free Play that thrill didn’t exist.

    #16 2 years ago
    Quoted from Pickle:

    Free play…especially if your game is new….it prevents wear on the coin entry slots…it’s really up to you. If you have older games with wear it really doesn’t matter…..yeah it’s cool to put coins/tokens in a game but I have become lazy/spoiled to just walking up and push the start button. If you go all out and have a change machine to make people put quarters/tokens in your games go for it but it can be a pain sometimes…your quarters/tokens disappear. If you just want convenience then go with free play.

    My initial grand vision was to get a bunch of pins, arcade machines, maybe a claw machine and then get a change machine. My lack of space and bankroll prevents it from being a reality. I did like the thought of having a change machine so I can have a more obvious “there’s always money in the banana stand” reserve for cash emergencies since I never have cash on hand. $10s/$5s for misc random items and a stack of $1s for, uh, when the ice cream truck comes around…

    #17 2 years ago

    I know of two pinheads in the cities that have their restored EMs on coin play.

    #18 2 years ago

    do whatever makes you happiest. That's why you bought an item like a pinball machine to begin with. as someone mentioned, coin mechs are $10, if you can possibly break them in a home. and coin doors are replaceable for little money compared to the cost of the machine itself. especially if it's a more modern game, where brand new doors are readily available.

    #19 2 years ago

    I used to run my games on tokens. It was fun and cool to hear the coin up sounds. I admit, it did get tedious at times, though. Because I used multiple sizes of tokens, I bought these:

    https://arcadeplastics.com/any-coin-v3-replacement-arcade-coin-mechs

    I've since went back to free play on my games. If anyone wants to get a bulk deal on 30 of these anycoin mechs, lemme know.

    #20 2 years ago

    Free play. I don't have a stash of quarters laying around, and as others have stated, less wear on the coin door.

    #21 2 years ago

    Keeping quarters around - what a pain. Do you expect your friends to pay, or are you supplying the quarters? Kids/family want to play and you're not around, but nobody has any quarters. You have a stash of quarters but your spouse/kids keep "steeling" them. Want to restart a game for whatever reason - bad start, interruption, etc. - quite easy when on FP. Free Play all the way all the time for me.

    Also, what am I supposed to do with all the extra parts, tools, cleaning supplies, etc. that I keep in all of the coin boxes?

    #22 2 years ago

    Within my household it’s just me playing the pins even though I’ve tried to get the kiddies into it so I go with quarters. Had to go to the bank to get a few rolls but no big deal. When we do have people over I do put the games on Free Play due to convenience so really the quarters are just for my nostalgia purposes. One time after everyone left I kept it on Free Play and it was easy to get sucked into the “one more game” mentality and before I knew it I lost track of time so I also use quarters/credits to track my time played so I’m not withdrawing from the family too much.

    #23 2 years ago

    I'm confused...I thought the point of having pinball machines was so that I COULD withdraw from the family...

    #24 2 years ago

    I just bought it. I sure as hell aint paying to play it haha.

    #25 2 years ago

    What about a dollar bill validator? I enjoy feeding cash money into the older games I have with them and watching the bills get sucked in.

    -1
    #26 2 years ago

    I'll run a few coins through to make sure the mechanics work, but after that it's all free play.

    And another vote for using the coin box for storing tools, small parts, balls, and such.

    #27 2 years ago
    Quoted from mcmnky:

    I'll run a few coins through to make sure the mechanics work, but after that it's all free play.
    And another vote for using the coin box for storing tools, small parts, balls, and such.

    The coin box - the answer to the age old question: "Where the hell did I leave that X?!"

    #28 2 years ago
    Quoted from Mr_Tantrum:

    Keeping quarters around - what a pain. Do you expect your friends to pay, or are you supplying the quarters? Kids/family want to play and you're not around, but nobody has any quarters. You have a stash of quarters but your spouse/kids keep "steeling" them. Want to restart a game for whatever reason - bad start, interruption, etc. - quite easy when on FP. Free Play all the way all the time for me.
    Also, what am I supposed to do with all the extra parts, tools, cleaning supplies, etc. that I keep in all of the coin boxes?

    This is why I bought a few huge lots of old arcade tokens over the last couple years as they came up from time to time. I've got just under 2000 tokens now and I don't think I spent anywhere near $100 on them all. I even got lucky recently and found a Rowe BC-35 locally for under $20. The plan is coming together nicely, muah ha ha!!

    As for storing extra parts, tools, cleaning supplies, and whatever else, I ran out of room in the cash boxes looooong ago. I've been using special organizing cases for each specific game's unique parts and for everything else, I bought an old single width, six door/space locker that I built a simple wooden enclosure for to put all the general pin parts, parts for my vids, cleaning supplies, tools, and all manner of things in their own designated locker. It really cleaned up my game room and it adds to the overall nostalgia of the room.

    I don't mean to come off in a know-it-all kind of way, I've just been planning these things for a while and knew what I'd be needing and what would be cool to have. Then, when great deals came up on the items on that list, I snagged them.

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