As a pinball museum curator with only enough room for about 65 machines, I am tasked with a difficult decision: Which ones stay, and which ones leave? From time to time it is important to mix up the collection every once in a while and keep it fresh, yanno?

Note: It is impossible to please everyone. As an operator for the public, my decisions factor in the pinball pros and collectors (that would be you), tourists, families, older guests, and regulars who play often but aren't quite "pinball enthusiasts"... yet.

Over the last 2 1/2 years I've let dozens go (Black Hole, Comet, D&D, Firepower II, Jungle Lord, Junk Yard, mostly B/B+ titles) in exchange for some absolutely stellar "perma-keepers" (Addams Family, Banzai Run, Iron Maiden, Lord of the Rings... etc).

The current inventory as of September 2020:

Addams Family (Bally, 1992)
Arcade Legends 2 (multi-arcade system)
Bank-A-Ball (Gottlieb, 1965)
Banzai Run (Williams, 1988)
Beach Queens (Bally, 1960)
Big Day (Bally, 1964)
Black Knight (Williams, 1980)
Captain Fantastic (Bally, 1976)
Cleopatra (Gottlieb, 1977)
Creature from the Black Lagoon (Bally, 1992)
Dixieland bingo machine (Bally, 1979)
Doctor Who (Bally, 1992)
Doodle Bug (Williams, 1971)
Eight Ball Deluxe (Bally, 1981)
Fireball (Bally, 1972)
Fleet (Bally, 1934)
Funhouse (Williams, 1990)
Getaway: High Speed II (Williams, 1992)
Ghostbusters (Pro) (Stern, 2016)
Gorgar (Williams, 1979)
Gridiron (Williams, 1969)
Haunted House (Gottlieb, 1982)
Hi-Deal (Bally, 1975)
Hollywood Heat (Gottlieb, 1986)
Hot Tip (Williams, 1977)
Indiana Jones: The Pinball Adventure (Williams, 1993)
Iron Maiden: Legacy of the Beast (Pro) (Stern, 2018)
Jokerz! (Williams, 1988)
Jungle Queen (Gottlieb, 1977)
King Pin (Williams, 1962)
Kings & Queens (Gottlieb, 1965)
KISS (Bally, 1978)
Klondike (Williams, 1971)
Lord Of The Rings (Stern, 2003)
The Machine: Bride of Pin-Bot (Williams, 1991)
Magic City (Williams, 1967)
Melody (Gottlieb, 1967)
Metallica (Pro) (Stern, 2013)
OFF-ROAD arcade game (Leland, 1989)
Out of Sight (Gottlieb, 1974)
PIN-BOT (Williams, 1986)
Revenge from Mars (Bally, 1999)
Ringer (Williams, 1970)
Ripley's Believe It or Not! (Stern, 2003)
Safecracker (Bally, 1996) - Win a custom RPM token!
Screwball (Genco, 1948)
Sheriff (Gottlieb, 1971)
Silverball Mania (Bally, 1980)
Skill-Score (Caldwell Novelty, 1932)
Skyrocket (Bally, 1971)
SlugFest (Williams, 1991)
Snow Derby (Gottlieb, 1970)
Space Mission (Williams, 1976)
Spanish Eyes (Williams, 1972)
Star Trek (premium edition) (Stern, 2013)
Star Trek: The Next Generation (Williams, 1993)
Strikes & Spares (Bally, 1978)
Super Shuffle (slide-puck multi game system)
Surf Side (Gottlieb, 1967)
Target Alpha (Gottlieb, 1976)
The Munsters (premium edition) (Stern, 2019)
Time Machine (Data East, 1988)
Wheel of Fortune (Stern, 2007)
Whirlwind (Williams, 1990)
White Water (Williams, 1993)
Winner (Williams, 1972)
Wizard! (Bally, 1975)
World Beauties (Gottlieb, 1960)
Xenon (Bally, 1979)

Lately I'm thinking of selling/trading our Ripley's Believe It Or Not. It's a fun game, but we already have "lots of Lawlor" so it won't be a big loss. It has been LED'd and OCD'd and is in good condition. However, it isn't getting as many plays as it used to... and that's my cue that The Public Wants A Shiny New Thing.

So... based upon what we have, if you were me, what would you do? Acquire one of similar value/recency? Or two cheaper but good classics? I do have a new CPR Firepower playfield waiting in the wings... hmmmm.

Did I mention I love my job?

I had that in mind, but despite the size of our building it has almost no storage space. Alas. Was thinking of rolling out Pioneer, Liberty Bell, and the Freedom prototype around Independence Day. Not many Christmas EM's though. For Halloween there's Vampire... hmmmm. Too bad there isn't a playing cards & billiards national holiday. No shortage of titles there.

Yes. I'd like to have at least one JJP. Probably Wonka because of the mass audience appeal & flips better than WOZ. Alas, covid budget curtailed that idea. Then again, I could sell RBION and a System 11 (probably Jokerz) and get close-ish. But Taxi seems like a better bet for replacing Jokerz.

Thanks! But Skyrocket and OOS are heading back to my pinball B&B once the attic is done (big project) along with Surf Side and Snow Derby. But on the upside I'll put a Freedom prototype, 2001, OXO, and Big Brave in their place. Along with a cleared pristine Bow & Arrow.