CV has been labeled as "tacky" but I belive it is a very fun game.

WPT is my vote. Translite is ugly (i made a new one), and the overall art package is so-so.

But it's a timeless card theme, has 16 drops, smooth metal ramps, good flow, Steve Ritchie layout, Keith Johnson and Lyman rules, Chris Granner sounds, and nice long shots. It rocks in my opinion.

The best part is you can buy a nice one for under 3K.

So maybe the lack of love is a good thing for buyers?

Agreed! I also find Big Buck Hunter to be a lot of fun, even though the theme does nothing for me.

My vote goes to Mustang. I loved that game had to sell for room. Added met and hobbit.( sold pinbot owned 25 years.)

Avengers LE . This is a partial copy of my review from my 2012 purchase of Avengers LE . 1.7 code makes it even better .
"I must now add that after 26 games I need to address the music sound track. It is excellent. There is one track that is full of great rock and roll with a solid bass and lead guitar that will make you head bang. Lots of cool sound effects. You can here HULK call out SMASH in the back ground as if he is a back-up singer. Edit: 150 game. Each character has there own sound track. The rules are solid. The unique play field lay out is very hard but refreshing. This is a very addicting pinball from the 4 different Skill shot. To the LED lighting that changes colors in each mode you are in. Awesome. Great multi-balls , and there are many. To collecting the different avengers. And going into a versus mode against the avengers you have collected is very hard and rewarding. It is one of the Best pinballs I have ever played or owned. I have been collecting for 23 years." It is a must have .

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Avatar has a bad reputation for only having one ramp but the game as a whole is great fun. Great sounds and call outs, cool modes, tough to beat, atleast for me. Keeps me going back for more.

24 gets my vote it's a fun game!

I don't understand why Gladiators has the reputation it does. That game is -AWESOME-.

Does Gladiators have a poor reputation?! That might be my favourite Gottlieb pin.

I think most gottliebs have a poor reputation. Gladiators is great!

Punchy the Clown (AGC, 1993) , SMB (Premier, 1992) , SMBMW (Premier, 1992) , Cybernaut (Bally, 1985), Lady Luck (BLY, 1986) , Beat the Clock (BLY, 1985), and Pistol Poker (AGC, 1993).

Some examples unfavorable in pinball history due to release timing, negative propaganda by competing companies, and/or which resulted in low production runs, but not quality of gameplay.

Separately, but not pure pinball, some shuffle bowlers get a bad reputation as well, mostly due to quality of construction for games after the 1970s, or those made with "fake" non full pins and baseboard switches. Those that are "old" are the collectible games, but there are still some good nuggets up to the 1990s. I am partial to the 1965-1969 Bally Bowler with the soft pins, even though other companies are equitable with hard pins. A TRUE contact "fly away" shuffle bowler.

Yet another category are pinball esque games like Bromley's "Little Pro", a remake of Williams 1964 "Mini Golf".
Quite fun, yet not collectible comparative to say modern versions of pitch and bat like Slugfest! to their older EM counterparts, especially with 'running man' units.

Robocop, a great game, many many gottliebs, sega and DE games, transformers pro.

+1 for Pistol Poker.
I had a chance to play that one recently and it was surprisingly good.

I vote almost every Sega game.

Baywatch.
I think the theme hurts this one a bit, but I always have a ton of fun playing it.

That and the B/W purist douche bags. great game

Every bingo pinball machine ever produced by Bally, United, Keeney or Williams. The one ball games before them, including those made by Gottlieb, Universal, Bally, etc.

The 'why' is simply gambling hysteria. There's quite a lot of gambling happening on modern machines among folks around my age. A surprising amount. Almost any time that people get together to play pinball, there are wagers.

The bingo pinballs -do not- have to be used for gambling purposes, and taken on the merits of the individual games, are some of the most complex, fun, and challenging pinball machines ever produced.

I don't do a lot of gambling with myself at home... but if a group of folks get together over a flipper game, the dollars come out.

Hardbody rules.

I picked up an Eight Ball Champ a few weeks back and think the game is highly overlooked. I think if it had come out a few years' earlier it would have been a big hit but at the time it came out (1985) it seemed outdated compared to other releases and also suffered from being part of the cost cutting Bally 6803 era. I think the game is just as fun as Eight Ball Deluxe which came out 4 years earlier and is regarded as one of the best early SS games.

Hardbody currently sits a few spots from the bottom in the Pinside rankings. I find it hard to believe that those low are rankings are coming from people that have spent time playing one. There really is a lot to enjoy on this machine. The basic gameplay involves completing target banks, raising the ramps, and shooting the jackpot loop. That in itself is a lot of fun. Because the playfield is divided, all of the target shots are challenging. You really have to play in control or risk quick drains. It takes awhile to get used to, but the flex save is a great feature. I know technically it's always your fault when you drain; but with the flex save it really does feel like you have more control. I also really enjoy shooting the in-lane drop targets to collect the extra ball. I hope with the resurgence of appreciation for 80s games more people go back and give it another chance.

starship troopers

Popeye. Many people just jump on the hate bandwagon without ever even playing one. It's not perfect, but once you figure it out, it's a pretty fun and definitely challenging game.

Wrestlemania too. Game takes a while to figure out, but once you do it is fun and it is extremely difficult to try to win the Championship.

I'm partial to Star Wars Episode I since it was the first machine (out of 2 )I bought. It's been as much of a fun learning experience fixing it up as it is playing it. I just put in the Ultimarc Video amplifier and it really brought the original monitor back to life. I used to just shoot balls up top constantly during the modes, but now I'm going to hunker down and take time and set up shots. You can get some bonuses for completing a mode with perfect shots.

May be the king grand poobah of disrespected Stern DMD's - the deep and challenging Xmen.

The voices and lingo are dreadful (Storm's lines are particularly silly), and it's a backwards Tron, I know...but the super deep ruleset is excellent.

Avatar
24
Avengers LE or premium
Transformers

#genesis due to the fugly translite and pink ramps. The playfield art, sounds and gameplay/rules are all excellent.

Street fighter 2. Oh wait, that one actually does suck!

Grand Prix/NASCAR gets a bad rap, but there's a lot going on in that game, it's jam packed with modes, some really awesome modes like hauler ride where the ball keeps looping around the track till u hit the hauler then gets released in play an another ball hits the track an starts looping, it has one of the best multiball starts I've seen, also have to get into first place , while collecting CHAMP letters. Very fun game in my opinion which gets over looked.

I still firmly believe bad girls get's an undeserved bad rap. Yah, the theme is cheesy as hell, but its a fast, flowing fun game. It can be brutal and difficult to master.

World Poker Tour (a lot of fun!), Big Buck Hunter, Avatar and most Sega games.

A lot of people complain about Stat Trek Next Gen as not dependable.

NASCAR. 2 massive ramps, 2 spinners, 3 pop bumpers, 3 drop targets, 2 toys (garage, race loop). Fairly deep. Software by Louis Koziarz (ToM, ToTAN, RBION, NGG). Pat Lawlor design, Youssi (TZ, AF, WH2O, WW, ST) on the artwork. I think the theme turns a lot of people off.

Hobbit! Oz!

Bally El Toro.

No machine could have a harsher reputation, but when I played it when it was new, I didn't think it was that bad. Or it was good enough that I dropped five dollars worth of quarters in it in one afternoon.

Perhaps it was a better location than home use game because getting a special and free game was always close to doable.

100%. I also think it is the absolute ugliest pinball machine to have been made, but being that it's based off of Eight Ball Deluxe, it's a strong player.

I think a lot of those 80B games are more fun than people let on. Despite the artwork, Hollywood Heat, Genesis, and Diamond Lady are pretty fun games with solid rules.

5 ball multi ball
4 ramps
4 flippers
3 drops
XL dmd
Full color coming
All for under $2500 , ALL DAY LONG !

Baywatch, avengers, transformers, wheel of Fortune, csi...love them all, and all are very reasonably priced.

I think Ghostbusters has been unfairly labelled as a fun game and really, it isn't.

I had to ultimately get rid of my star trek next generation because I couldn't keep it running.I loved the game and probably would have kept it long term/permanently but just could never get it to stay running right.Granted this was quite a long time ago before so much info and
mods were available online but troubles forced me out nonetheless.

That's because we have owned them.

I'm sure yours is great.

Same with me, if I could find a nice one 100% running I'd get another in a microsecond.

I think Party Zone is alot better than people give it credit for.

On the flip side, I just don't get the TOTAN love.

Transformers gets scolded by many but is a great game. I owned a Pro and now own the LE.

My sttng wasn't perfect when I got it. It was very frustrating at first, had several optic problems, solenoids popping off all over the thing, ball tough optic problems and bad wiring harnesses to the cannons etc. Just had to logically figure things thru, and yes other peoples experiences on this forum helped a lot.

Being an owner of one, I can confirm these issues. Once you get it dialed in, its a while before it happens again. I'm actually bordering on selling mine as it's a prime example of a game. Barely any issues and looks great. Time for a newer game. Thus how the hobby goes.

I had a few issues with my STTNG when it first arrived. Replaced optos and bridge rectifier and it's been solid. Maybe once a month I have to reseat a ribbon or something but that's about it.

Agreed. Monte carlo comes to mind too. Play-wise i like it a lot, if they could just do something about that irritating "jackpot" sound.

Wheel of Fortune, Party Zone, and Hardbody.

World Challenge Soccer