For me to rate more EM pins, means another trip to the PHOF. Great!
Dan does have a point. More EM pins do need more ratings.

"Wish I was closer"

I'm having a hard time rating this one..........the truck keeps moving and it's hard to see the ball with all the shrink wrap on the pin, plus it's dark in here with the door rolled down.

Should be much easier to rate once it is at my house next week.

Ken

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Good idea. On my to-do list.

OK OK put the gun down lol

ill rate the following now

GTB Happy Clown
GTB Baseball
GTB World Series
GTB Jungle King
Bally Captain Fantastic

those are ones I owned for a fair rating

i am sorry i have made you a sad panda...

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Rat wants you to become a Panda Express.

"gourmet chinese food", straight from the steam table...

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I rated my games I mentioned above

C'mon

EMs need loving too

B titles are worth 10

Please help talk this guy off the bridge. He seems to be a pretty good pinsider. I'm a lazy procrastinator and I just reviewed 5 games. I can't wax poetic like some, but I gave it my best. Seeing some of the reviews where all aspects of the game are covered, and compared to other games...got me nervous mine would come across as a dud. But, I'll just try to compare my pins to my likes, and how I feel they add to my collection. If we all waited to be 'expert' reviewers..we would be missing out on a lot of perspectives. I made a point to make sure all my games will be rated by next week, promise. Put it on your to-do list people!

Games reviewed today.

Atlantis
Dancing Dolls
Big Hit
Jacks Open
Buckaroo

Dave

The biggest problem for me is access. I have access to something like 100 titles on route in my area, and only two of those are EMs, and neither of those are in great condition.

Why does it really matter though? Are you looking to bump the values of your games or get them up higher on the "bang for your buck" table?

Telling others to rate games would then affect your 'ratings', so..no.

1. it's a great thing to read personal thoughts on games, hearing what others find fun or compelling. Then you can fit that into your likes/dislikes, and that can help your game searches.
2. New pinsiders can be directed towards this data base to answer questions they may have.

I think it's great to have, and would be fantastic if others would assist. I just got off my lazy arse, so I'm not throwing stones.

What are you talking about? I must be missing something here. How do other people's ratings affect your ratings? I really don't know what you mean here.

1) The OP is *not* asking for reviews, they were specifically asking for ratings.
2) ... Yes? Again, I'm not sure what you're talking about here. The ratings database is a great resource. I'm not sure what questions it answers though.

Fresh off the STI truck. Now it's here in my garage.............

Of course I will have to rate it after I restore it.

Ken

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Restore it how? Not really a cab repaint candidate. Looks like a good shop job will be enough on that one. Good looking game.

Thanks. Your right as it is more of a full Shopout, but the Playfield will need paint touch ups where the Kickout holes are and a few other spots. Backglass in great condition and just needs a couple minor touch ups in the non-lit areas. One of the Score Wheels is stuck in between numbers telling me time for service. Won't get around to this one for a while, maybe late this year.

Ken

The good old Gottlieb nine position switch issue once again.

Yep. It will need all new chrome coin door parts in front and a couple new legs too then it will look real spiffy.

Ken

Ok. This is how I understand it. Anyone can feel free to correct me.

You can just rate games, but you can also give some copy (reasons why you like or don't, etc), which would be the review, as I call it, which the op seemed to be asking for.

If I rate my game 10, it's a 10 until someone gives it a 7. Now it's a 8.5. Asking for more ratings does the opposite of what you were referring to.

Am I missing something?

Ems can be hard to find, let alone play. Ever buy a pin you regretted? Do some research first. Read ratings and reviews! Some people are left to the Internet for YouTube play. An eloquently written review (which I didn't give) by one of the pros here is a great read. It puts you into the game. Then some will give insight to comparable games, which most don't have access to either...and it goes from there. I read the pro's reviews, and all the rest, to give me a good feel of a game I've never played. I YouTube also. But all those together gives a good picture, for me anyway. Then the hunt is on.

Rated today:

Surf Champ (re-do)
Gtb. HI-DIVER
Bally Skill Roll (yes, it's on there)
Gtb. Volley
Gtb. Team One (barely in the top 150 , but Abra is No. 1, blasphemy!)

I plan on improving my reviews as time goes on.

Thanks Dan, Rat_Tomago, for the motivation to finally get around to this.

Dave

It's odd how Skill Roll is included but none of the popular EM Pitch and Bats. Skill Roll has very little in common with a pinball but gets by on universal love.

I just can't seem to rate games without having anything to compare them too. I would give all the EMs I have now solid 10s and the ones I no longer have and the ones that others seem to think are so great 1s. So it is probably best that I stay out of this game.

QFT

Also, have to say, that is quite a collection you have.

this is similar to my "problem" with rating games... i'd like to contribute, but i start thinking about it, and it makes my head hurt...

i guess i'm not cut out to do it...

I'm kind of the same way. It's tough to rate a game you haven't played recently. On the other hand sometimes you don't know how much you really enjoy a game (or don't) until after you've sold it. The timing is always tricky to be completely objective. For me anyway.

I suppose there is one way to find out...

what's ironic is that i can be extremely objective when it comes to the great majority of things in life... but when it comes to toys, objectivity tends to go out the window... especially when there is some nostalgia involved...

hence my irrational (and undying) love for pro-football... i can't give a "fair" review of that game... likely if i had never played it before, it would be hard to learn to like it... but i've got such great memories of playing it when it came out, they cloud my judgment...

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That's ok though. You know some guy had a Rogo in his basement as a kid and probably thinks it was the greatest. It's always fun to read those nostalgia based rating on IPDB. You just have to take them with a grain of salt.

And Pro Football is not without it's charm. I haven't played one but would like to. It "looks" fun if anything.

Rated 5 EM games:
Jungle Princess
Jungle Queen
Post Time
Paddock
Baseball

Something I did that may (or may not?) help is rate games that I have, and then also the "same" game under another name. Jungle Princess and Queen are the same, but one of 2-Player and the other is 4-Player. Rated both same.

yea, good point... after all, i'm sure there is someone out there who loves "el toro" too...

oh, it IS fun... i'm just not sure it's as "fun" as i think it is... but that ties back to your first point... as long as it is fun for me, that is kinda all that matters...

i've also avoided the "ratings" because of the disasters that happen over on "the other side of pinside" with ratings wars, but with that being said, we are usually pretty well behaved over here and aren't going to go to war because someone rated a game an 8 instead of a 7...

we need vulture t-shirts, btw... it would be great to wear them to pin shows...

I've actually got two back because I missed them. Air Aces and Williams Grand Prix for now the third time. I found out the people that came over would rather play multiplayer games and these IMO are two of the best I have played at least from the 70s.

that grand prix is like a bad penny for you...

It is now growing roots like so many vegetable plants. I think I'll keep it before it goes away for good.

Thank you (and also to Pinside and Pinsiders, you know who you are). I have one more coming in, and will have a very nice Space Odyssey for sale to make room for that...then I am filled to the rafters. Done, finished. Unfortunately I've said that 2-3 times before. Thanks alot Pinside.

I had same quandary with rating. Just put down what you like or didn't like. Maybe compare them to other games you own, or why they have stayed or left. Anything is better than nothing, and my reviews are bad, so you will definitely not have the worst one.

Hmm..never noticed that. That's a shame.

Lastly (I better get back to work), there was a comment on another thread about EM's DECLINING in popularity. Wut? I don't agree, but looking at that sorry EM top 100 list makes it seem so. Lets show some pride people. Write that open love letter to Pinside EM Top 100 about your favorite games!

i saw that comment too...

i did not respond, because to be honest, i'd like em's to decline in popularity a bit... cheaper for me, and i've always been a self-centered and avaricious sob...

however, us "em guys" have done too good a job lately about convincing people to jump in the water... we've picked up a bunch of new owners in recent months...

Otherwise nobody would own a Bally El Toro.

i don't think we've managed to talk anyone into one yet... but i keep looking for a collectors quality one, just for you...

Maybe we should all get together and pump that one to the top of the list just like the DMDrs do.