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.