Very well said and completley agee.

I’m with you
I’d challenge you to buy a fully working drop target EM and give it a try. You’d might be surprised

I think a lot of people think there is extra maintenance for older games. Yes, you have to do some tweaking, but you have to do that for every gen of games.

I'm certainly in this boat. I have EMS, Early SS, DMDs, and an LCD. I'm hoping to have a "mini Pinburgh" style tourney this year or next. Luckily I have friends that can supply some alpha-numerics to fill that current void. A lot of fun can be had with EMS, don't count them out.

I got 2 sterns n soon my second JJP with a 5-6 game max for now .I’m thinking of a bad cats or fathom as a next one for that exact reason .I’ve played fathom and really like it but bad cats has caught my eye and looking for a place to go and flip it .

I get that people will often gravitate towards certain eras that appeal to them, but am always amused by people who have the "standard" collection: Metallica, Monster Bash, Medieval Madness and one or two of the most recent Sterns.

I have limited space and have been trying to make each game in my collection as different as possible from any other.

I love all pinball machines. That said, I am not as fond of the newer lcd pins. If I want to watch tv, I will. I personally care more about theme than the way it plays, but I think that is because I can find something fun about any pin. I completely agree that everyone should try a wide variety of pins and dont be afraid to own some older pins.

This! If you only have 5 games and they all play the same, its kind of boring. Bring on the variety!

My newest game is MeTLE, havent pulled the trigger on a newer LCD game yet but wife wants to try a Munsters.

Other than that, we've run the gamut on designers and eras, pretty much.

If you have the space, add even more variety with a gun game. We have rotated a couple through the game room, it's fun having something other than just pinball in a game room. We have an air hockey table, foosball, multi-cade and some kinda rock band Nintendo setup (no idea).

Right now, the recently restored Bally Strikes and Spares is my wife's favorite, by far.

To each their own of course, and I agree. My experience - I've cycled through a number of pins but certainly not as many as some on here - I started with some System 11s, Gottlieb SS (awful, never again), then WPCs, then modern Sterns. Only 1 EM. I find I'm more entertained on the modern games and appreciate the speed and depth of the ruleset (although while I'm only good enough to touch part of it, in the back of my mind I know the depth is always there for me to explore over time to keep it interesting....).

On the flip side, I appreciate the art/toys/playfields more on the WPCs. I'd almost rather look at them versus play them. More like a collectible versus something I want to play. Not right or wrong just my opinion - which is subject to continue to change over time! Plus with the prices of older games getting out of control, the newer games become more attractive to me. I've added a JJP GNR and that's a nice change of pace. I still have 1 System 11 that will not leave - Jokerz. I added a RBION for a little slower and different style gameplay as well versus IMDN, JP, Metallica, GB etc...I'm sure this will all change in a year or two! But I do agree...variety is a good thing.

I'm newer to the hobby and this is my main concern, but I also know that if I wanna stay in this hobby I'll need to get comfortable with some maintenance. As a result, I've been combing through the marketplace looking for early 90s pins that tap into some personal nostalgia and are still highly regarded. Hoping to add one and swap out one of my newer pins in the next couple months.

Not going to lie. I misread the title. I thought this was "Get A DIVORCE Lineup" and I was curious to see what that looked like

Think I'm doing pretty well -- I have a pin from every decade since the 1950s! Need a 2020's pin to keep the theme going.

I'll admit.. im sucked into the newer stuff. The lights, the toys, the updates, deep code, lcd, music, and more. We've had and played older pins but just wont last over time. We enjoy going to pinball bars and playing a variety of pins, but can't see older Williams or the likes hold up in our collection. Maybe its because we only have room for 3-5 pins. There is a soft spot when it comes to pins like Diner, STTNG, WW, and others. Maybe someday we'll have room to be able to rotate. In the meantime, bring on the shiny new stuff!

While I agree, the current pricing structure is making it difficult. For example, I love System 11 games. I used to be able to pick them up for around a grand or under needing some work, fix them up, enjoy the game for a few months then move on. A lot of System 11 games are now approaching $3k. WPC is the pinball I grew up with and always my favorite. I played the crap out of them when they were new and have since owned lots of them. Maybe it's because I'm on the second time around now, but the appeal is dwindling for me. Especially at $4k. It's tough for me to recommend a beat up Whirlwind for $3k or a well routed WPC game for $4-5k when you can get a HUO Stern Spiderman or Stern Star Trek for around $4k. Hopefully locations and shows will start opening soon so I can scratch the itch playing some of the older games without buying them.

That AFM is set up too easy. LOTR left for that reason. Great game but I really don't want to play games for 45 mins all the time.

Some of it does come down to space and the ability to play with others, older games are just way more fun to throw a dollar on the glass and battle against a bud.

Yes, this. Nothing worse than playing one game for over 20 minutes and not really getting anywhere. The short goals are better IMO.

For me it's usually one game of STTNG then I turn it off. But I can play 20-30 games on Stars in 10 minutes..... Didn't have a good, game, play another ! only 2 minutes!

It's not that STTNG is set up "easy" either - it's just that you get so good at muscle memory and playing a particular example of a game, that you just get really good at it.

I walked away from someone's STTNG because they had the cheater outlanes, set to 5 balls per game, extra balls at replay levels. Got bored on my 3rd run through Final Frontier.

The High scores on the machine were all under 3 billion, too, which is why I guess they made it so easy? I spent most of the day playing Big Game instead.

They also pair really well with music. If I actually want to jam on some music while I'm playing pinball, I throw some in the background and play an early SS game (Laser Cue and Stars are my go tos right now).

I tend to feel the modern Stern games are just too complicated. I enjoy the 90s Williams games the most, but find that I play the early SS and EMs quite a bit more lately. I tried to build a diverse collection of all years, types and manufacturers. Beyond that I do have other EM arcade games and a big ball bowler to try and round things out.

Seriously, there are days where I feel that I could be completely content with having just all EMs.

Agree completely. I've played games from almost (excluding only some of the tougher to find manufacturers like Cic and Cirsa) every manufacturer on games spanning every era of game. No matter the era or manufacturer I can always find a game worth owning. I'd love to have a massive collection spanning the 70+ years of pinball, but limited to ~10 games right now.

Totally agree here. For me it's been part of the "learning curve". Wasn't planned, just how they came and went, while others stayed. But I've learned so much working on the different manufacturers, decades, types, etc. But now have arcades/pins from each decade (1930's thru 2020's), gun game, pitch & bat, shuffle bowler, etc - Gottlieb,Williams, Bally, Stern, CGC, Midway, United, Segas, etc. (Wont say which is my fav pin mfr!)

Some visitors just play the newer games only, like the EM's are too old/slow to play...no ramps, no DMDs, like no fun? Just to look at?

So while they play away on the latest, greatest - I start with my oldest machine - and work my way up to the newest (I have them chronologically lined up by year made).

But after they get bored playing say half a dozen plays, I'm still playing different machines (checking if any need repairs as something always needs looked at) Still love to hit targets, spinners, gobble holes. Playing with small flippers, old mechanical types of games, bells and chine units - those are the things that got me into pinball in the first place.

Oh, I love playing one of the new, modern machines no doubt, can actually work up a sweat playing those - but having the variety - as they say "that is the spice of life"!

I went through my EM/Williams System 11/90s BW/GTB Sys 3 phase when I started the hobby and they were a lot cheaper. Learned a lot about maintenance and proper care. I made enough from fixing them up to buy a NIB Stern Aerosmith Pro and then I was hooked. The games today just have so much in them that the rising prices of used machines make the new ones better value. Prices on used games have gone nuts.

Have you tried these titles? They're really fun players.
System 1 - Joker Poker
System 3 - World Challenge Soccer
System 80/80a/80B - Black Hole, Alien Star, Super Orbit, TX Sector, Robo-War, Victory, Genesis

Victory, Black Hole, and TX Sector are high on my wish list. Great games!

After 17 years of collecting, I agree diversity is the key to this hobby. I have games from 1978 up to including Jurassic Park premium. I have in my collection:

Classic Ballys/Sterns from the late 70s and early 80s.
A pair of System 11 games
Williams DMD classics from 90s.
A couple modern Sterns

What I play depends on my mood and the company that is over. The early solid state games certainly do not sit there unplayed. Stern Stars is probably the most played of all games in my collection. There are great games in all eras. Sometimes the deep ruleset of the newer games isn't a good thing. I sometimes find it cumbersome to have to play 20 minutes to get back to the same mode I just drained on in the game prior. It starts to feel like work. Whereas, a game like Stars a killer game might take 6 minutes. They just dont happen often. I could never have all games from the same manufacturer and the same era. They would all start to feel the same.

Mike

I fully agree, but there's a caveat depending on how much pinball you've played over the years. I find a lot of the well played '80s and '90s classics tend to last a shorter time in my collection. The first few weeks or months it's "I can't believe this favorite (MB, FH, TAF, TZ, Taxi, AFM, MM, IJ:TPA, etc. etc.) is actually in my house!" and all ear-to-ear grins. But then after a few weeks/months it's usually "yep, this is the game I've played 500 times before" and I look to get something I haven't played before (or a lot), like a modern game or '50s or '60s EM that are hard to find outside of pinball museums.

That said, it's still fun owning any pinball machine for a little while. The buying, trading, selling, and meeting people is part of the fun. And it gives us middle aged farts something else to do besides drinking and yard work.

I have not - unfortunately for now all of the Gottlieb SS games are on my "Do not call" list because the one 80b that I did buy was sold to me as "working perfectly" and turned out to have many bizarre and weird issues that I spent months trying to figure out and never did - sold it for half what I paid. On the flip side, I learned a lot the hard way..... Probably not fair, but with so many other games to explore, the Gottliebs get the cold shoulder from me. Maybe that could change over time...I'm open to it.

Totally agree, got to have a diverse line up. I too have my games set up chronologically from early 70's through 2020 (Ok... 2019 JP premium) and just don't understand the collections with nothing but new Sterns and JJP's.... so boring to me.
While I love the new games, I've discovered some true gems from the past that keep me coming back for more.
The game I'm looking most forward to playing again when this virus lifts is Gottleib College Queens 1968, anyone who has been lucky enough to get some time in on this one with Chris at Pinball Pirates knows, this game is super fun.

This is also why we need to support places like the Pacific Pinball Museum and the PHOF, Getting to play everything from Humpty Dumpty to Wonka in one place is the best! No way I'd have had as much fun and knowledge with pinball without people like Mike Sheiss, Tim Arnold and Chris Kuntz showing me how amazing the history of pinball is...and how fun the old games can be.
B

I buy machines to bring back to life. Only have one NIB(Munsters). Finally got my grail pin in(Scared Stiff). But everything else is eclectic. I gravitate to Williams a lot, but that may be just what I tend to find.

Variety is the spice of pinball!

I've always agreed with this sentiment. I own games from all different eras. I have EMs, early solid state (Bally and Stern), 90s (AFM, TZ, HS2), and various Stern games from the last couple decades. I've owned a sold a bunch of others through all eras as well including JJP,

For me, where this really comes together is that I have games for all my moods. Sometimes I want the complexity of a modern Stern, and other times I want to knock down targets on an EM with no ramps. Whatever pinball mood strikes me, I've got a game for it. I've always felt that anyone that owns multiple machines and only has one era is missing out on a lot of the fun.

Bow and Arrow, Shangri-la, Harlem Globetrotters, Raven, Gay 90's, Xenon.

I try to keep my line up diverse from flipperless to Ghostbusters Premium, although my early Solid States seem to be taking over. I need a wedgehead in my collection still.

I was thinking about writing a similar post. So many posts on Pinside in recent years seem to equate “collectors” as “those that have a Stern game made in the last five years”.

I have had (and still do) games from every decade from the 1930’s to today in my collection from Baffle Ball and Jigsaw to Batman 66 and Elvira. No flippers, inverted flippers, 2” flippers, banana flippers, pins, stand ups, varitargets, drop targets, virtual targets, no displays, score reels, alphanumeric, DMD, LCD. One generation isn’t necessarily better or worse than another - almost every game is a different pinball experience.

Having a varied collection allows you to experience and enjoy the history and evolution of pinball design, art, playfield features and technology. Not everyone has the space to make this work (I have 24 games out now and wish I could put out a few more), but even a small number of games can make a collection rather than a line up of recent titles. Playing Jigsaw or World Series for an hour can be just as exciting and challenging as a 60’s EM or an 80’s classic or a brand new game.

Did someone say diverse? I do have an open spot waiting for Led Zeppelin LE.

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That Centigrade 37 looks awfully out of place, you should let me take that one off your hands....

Im gonna take this one step further to say, what was the pin u added, that made the line up more fun and interesting?

Its nice to have a line of all nib pins, im jealous really, but for us low end pin guys or working at other financial commitments, what titles did u add that diversified the line up and made u appreciate the other titles, you already had.

For example, i had f14 and demolition man and an old atari pin. I liked f14, but i swapped it out for Lethal Weapon 3. Lw3 offered a totally different experience to f14 and made me appreciate the flow of dm more and dm made me notice the target and fan accuracy needed for lw3.

Recently added a really great playing Rocky and Bullwinkle and flow is es emphasized even more and now i appreciate the long shots in lw3 and different combos and strategies in dm... maybe i need my own thread..

I had a very diverse collection, i sold it and bought 7 or so of the latest and greatest (mostly stern). While i enjoyed the games, i missed the amount and diversity of the old collection, so while moving i sold everything. I bougjt back a maiden and dp pro, and a gladiators because i loved it. My new rule is besides those 3, no game i have owned before. I am currently rebuilding and id say its getting diverse, but i do have an aiq pre on order so theres another stern!

I have something from the 50s (Wood Rail), 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s and 10s. Nothing from the 30s, 40s or 2000s. Not sure there is something I really want in the 2000s, maybe a Vault edition of LOTR would count
Some days I want a long game and play the newer pins, and somedays I want something quick and its an EM game for me. I also like telling unsuspecting guests the story of pinball through my pins (from woodrail to modern w/ video).

That’s been our strategy from the start. There are Sooo many amazing games and manufacturers over the years it would be a shame to only focus on one OEM. We are going for more of a coin op history for the kids and visitors. An endless pursuit of fun

Vendors currently in our lineup:
Williams
Bally
Midway
United
Stern
Buckley
Chicago Coin
Genco
Jersey Jack
Scientific
Atari
Gottlieb
Dutch Pinball
Heighway
Chicago Gaming
Day One Pinball
Suncoast
Capcom
Spooky
Zaccaria (1)
Jennings
Harvard Metal
Barcrest
Popperette Corp
Deeproot Raza soon
Pinball Brothers soon

I need to add some Gottlieb to my life. I consider myself pretty diverse over the years. But, have recently seen the light with EM's and early solid states. I was a WMS Bally / Stern snob for way too long!!!!

With that said... Does it get any better than system 11!!!!!??????!!??

It's no coincidence that 11 of the top 13 games on Pinside's top 100 are games you could buy NIB in the last few years. That's all many "collectors" know.

I love having a diverse collection, however, too diverse can be difficult to maintain for newer "collectors". It's nice having parts that work on multiple titles in a line up. So a NIB-only "collector" could maybe pick up a couple WPCs or a classic Bally and a classic Stern. This way, many spare parts, and knowhow, are interchangeable.

I have 5 games
1 solid state Williams
1 alphanumeric Data East
1 small DMD size Data East
1 standard size DMD Data East
1 LCD Stern

I feel like gameplay wise they are diverse even though 3 are from the same company. What’s really nice about that is having common parts and common problems and solutions. At one point I had 5 games from 4 different manufacturers and it felt like every time there was a problem I had to learn something new and order new parts.

When I first started getting games my goal was to have something different than I had access to at locations. I had close to 100 games at locations less than 30 minutes from me and I used to play at locations once a week or more. Sadly I haven’t played a pinball machine that wasn’t mine or my dads since March 9th of last year at a league right before everything closed down. Tonight I really wished I could play some Willams Indiana Jones so I watched the Bowen tutorial again to get my fix!

I think about variety a lot when choosing games. Gameplay, designers, eras. Neat to have a bunch of different flavors.

I need an EM in my life though. Spanish eyes. A center pop would be another variety. Then a gottlieb... black hole... and so on haha

I would personally add Panthera to that list as well. Fun player that makes nice use of it’s three drop target banks. And believe it or not I love the sounds it makes.