Does anyone know where the magnet is located on the game? Does the upper right flipper shot to the loop exit in the pops? I'm really looking forward to seeing a gameplay video to see if this game plays as good as it looks! From what I can see so far it looks like the first release from JJP that is a Grand Slam from the start! The only thing I'd question is why not make the CE's first? Seems like it would be smart to lock all of that money in right away vs. having to make them wait a few months.

A great reason to buy from Chris at Kingpin games! Plus he has more experience and history with JJP games than anybody.

Does the upper right flipper serve much of a purpose during song modes? -Are there times that its use is required to progress by shooting that side loop? In most of the video I've watched it seems to be underutilized.

Thanks! So there are times in the game when that loop is the "only" shot that is required? -not one of a series of lit song shots? From the gameplay I've watched it seems like I've only seen that upper flipper loop shot a handful of times. Seems like the left orbit is another one that doesn't get shot very often. I was curious whether this is a game that forces you to use the entire layout to progress throughout the game?

CGC games feel different than Williams games as well. No one has been able to re-create the greatness of WPC flippers.

I got to spend a couple uninterrupted hours playing an LE at the Blue Moon bar and grill in Madison, WI an figured I had enough time to put up an early review.

I'll start with the how the game looks. Overall the game looks amazing and fits the theme perfectly.

Backglass art - Much of the backglass is covered by the LCD but the artwork that's there looks awesome and fits the theme well. 10/10

Cabinet art - I really dig the color of red they chose for the trim and love seeing all of the unique touring lithos. 10/10
playfield art - JJP finally has a kickass artist on staff. I love the hand drawn art and thought it was brilliant to represent the band members as skeletons. 10/10

Display animations - This may be the best looking display work yet on a JJP game. The fact that they were able to sync up the modern day concert footage with the original tracks is pretty incredible. 10/10

Playfield layout - I think the layout fits a music pin well. I didn’t think I would like having a scoop in the center, but I actually don’t mind it. The game has pretty good flow and it makes sense to have smooth orbits (like Hobbit) and wider ramp shots on a music pin so that you can jam out to it while you play. It wouldn't make sense to have bash toys or tons of targets on a music pin like this. the key is to have smooth and medium speed flow that you can rock out to. The game isn’t a precision shooter but is a game where you just need to get flow going and rock out while building up your song times. I wouldn't say the layout is amazing with a mix of easy and tough shots like some of KME's layouts like AIQ or JP2, but I don't think those types of layouts would necessarily fit this type of game well. I also really like how the upper playfields are implemented as they are challenging and fun to hit the available shots and look incredible. 8/10

Game rules – to me the game kind of feels like a modern day ACDC with a rule-set that heavily favors pushing your luck and high risk/reward on song jackpots. I think it may be a bit heavy on the multi-balls as it seems you are in multi-ball play far more than single ball play. Scoring seems heavily dependent on the ability to shoot balls up the left ramp and lock balls on the guitar neck, something that can be difficult if you don’t boost your flipper strength from factory settings. Flippers feel a bit mushy and underpowered at factory settings and it can be challenging (especially in multi-ball) to lock balls as it requires clean shots. Other aspects of the rule-set such as “travel” and “patches” are still a bit unclear to me at this time. I would also like to see a more dedicated purpose for the upper-right flipper loop shot. Currently it appears it can be used to travel or help advance through songs, but doesn’t really seem critical to the game’s rule-set at this point. I’m a big fan of games where upper flippers have a lot of importance for things like super jackpots but on this game it seems that most of the big jackpots are cashed in at the center scoop. 7/10 but I realize that code will be improved over time so this will likely go up.

Toys/Gimmicks – The Slash top hat spinner is well implemented but I think most of the BOM on this game went into the lighting and display. The upper playfields are well designed and implemented. 8/10

This game scores a 10/10 for me in all sound and lighting categories. It truly feels like it is bringing the concert experience home and does sound and lighting better than all other games. The game shines in these regards! I did think the hot rails were slightly less impressive (more muted) in person than they appear on video, but they are implemented nicely and add a really cool effect.

Theming – They 100% nailed this theme. It really helps having Slash on-board and unlimited access to assets. Having 21+ songs is incredible for a music pin. If you are a big fan of GNR and have the means I think you owe it to yourself to buy this game! 10/10

Last ability – I think if you’re a big GNR fan the game should have a ton of lastability with all of the content. Since the rules are done by Keefer and Joe Katz I’m sure there will also be plenty of depth to keep you interested in owning the game a long time. On the other hand if you aren’t a big fan of GNR I could see the theming and assets being a detriment. I know I wouldn’t be interested in this game if it were themed after KISS or Iron Maiden and the amount of video assets would be a turn-off for me. I love the Stern Maiden game because of the layout and because they went a different route with the theme (Eddie adventures) vs. tying it to concerts and touring and typical band stuff. If you’re a GNR fan I’d say this is a 10/10 for lastability. If watching modern day Axl parade around on stage for hours on end gives you cause for concern, then this might not be the game for you. If you aren’t a big fan of the band then I’d give it a 6/10 for lastability.

Fun Factor - If you are a fan of GNR it is really fun to bring the concert home with you. The push your luck rule-set is also fun. I don’t think there are any other games that offer this “concert” experience quite like GNR. I think what this game does for music themed pinballs is comparable to what ACDC did back in 2012. Before ACDC we were subject to concert pins like Rolling Stones and ACDC really upped the ante in terms of adding improved lighting and sound and gameplay excitement (risk/reward) to the pinball landscape. I think GNR exceeds ACDC in almost all areas including lighting, sound, video, and especially artwork but there are a couple of areas where I feel where GNR is lacking. The first is that the game is missing a truly satisfying shot. On ACDC this would be the bell shot, which just feels awesome to hit. GNR is a good shooter and flows pretty well, but is missing that magical truly-satisfying shot. The other area where I think ACDC bests GNR is in adrenaline pumping moments. Having a huge song jackpot lined up with a 3X PF multiplier and firing that cannon is such a rush. GNR also has the ability to build up huge jackpots, but it is more anti-climatic when you simply shoot an easy to hit scoop to cash it in. 8.5/10

Overall – I think the game is a grand slam for JJP and does many things better than any game in history. If you love GNR the band you should be absolutely ecstatic with how it turned out. The game is fun to shoot and has tons of content and deep rules and the best visual/audio experience in pinball. I do think it might be a tad overhyped as it’s not going to make other pinball machines obsolete or less fun to play. I don’t know that I would want the pin as an only modern game in my collection (I would prefer a Stern precision shooting game like JP2 if that were the case) but if you have a few other pins already I think it would complement them nicely and add some diversity and a unique type of pinball experience to your line-up. I know I plan to pick one up when the time is right. 9/10

The game's layout definitely feels like a complete change-up from what we've been seeing recently in other pinball machines. Stern games of late have had wide open playfields where most of the action is at the top of the playfield and the action has been fast and full of flow. Wonka also had a wide open flow layout. GNR by contrast feels a bit closed off and most of the action is in the bottom half of the playfield vs. the top. I think it's good to have diversity but it's not in everyone's comfort zone (myself included). I generally prefer the speed and flow and flipper feel of Stern games to JJP but sometimes it's nice when a game comes along that feels and plays differently. The more closed off playfield does make MB a bit more difficult and as a result I think that helps keep ball times lower. I don't think a Wonka or DI type layout would work as well on this game. You can get some good flow going on GNR but it does take more work to get it going. I feel the layout is balanced for the MB heavy rule-set. If this game had the Wonka layout game times would be incredibly long. I do think that JJP needs to turn up the lower right flipper power a couple notches to help with the left ramp/upper playfield shot. It's make-able but can get frustrating to have weaker shots not clear mini playfield flipper during MB. I would encourage people to play the game before ordering if you can as the game isn't going to be for everyone. I think it's important to keep expectations in check and remember that it's just a pinball machine. As an overall package, I think it's one of the better machines to be released in recent memory but it's not without its faults and it's not going to be the perfect game for everybody.

That's great when you own a game but I wish they'd turn them up from the factory so that when I play one on route or at a show they won't have soggy flippers. Its not helping their reputation any. It's been this way with every one of their games.

Looks like they cranked up the flipper power quite a bit! Looks so much faster than stock flipper power.

Since JJP likely couldn't anticipate the demand on the CE, do you think they pre-acquired parts for all 500 games before making the announcement? Or do you think they are in the process of ordering parts now that they know that they have a full sell out? I would lean towards the latter. If it would have only sold 200-300 games like Wonka CE, that would leave a lot of extra parts (playfields, unique aprons, decals, etc.) that they wouldn't be able to use. On any of the factory tour videos, have any CE parts been spotted?

I'm half tempted to just drain this and all other GNR threads for the next 6-8 months and check back in the Spring. By that time I would think it would be easy to get one either new or used and we'll also have answers to our questions on how the SE vs. LE gameplay holds up, possible issues with the game/clearcoat, etc. I can just go on with life as usual and then be excited again once we have some of these answers and once the game is readily available to purchase for all.

Agreed. I waited 6 months for each of my last 2 NIB games. Granted 3 months of that wait were because of Covid factory shutdowns. Staring at empty spaces in your line-up with no time-frame of when you're getting your game sucks. I'm not ready to go through that again, so I'll just wait and get one once they are readily available most likely on the HUO market to save a few bucks.

Has anyone seen anything other than renderings for the CE games yet? I didn't see the Expo virtual tour. Did they show off the CE playfields or the mirrored decals? If they didn't I bet it could be a while until those games hit the line.

I would be surprised to see CE games shipped out in 2020. My guess is Q2 of 2021.

The promo video looks like a proto game. The actual CE playfield artwork looks different. If they have the CE parts in the factory already I agree that we might see them fairly soon, but if not I think it could be a while to acquire all of the unique parts needed to start assembling games.

CEFinal (resized).jpeg

PromoCE (resized).png

I don't think there's anything I'd change on the LE as I think the current art package looks incredible.

I would love to see an alternate art package on the SE as the current package leaves a lot to be desired. Maybe make a variant of the LE art for the SE? Keeping the tour lithos but going with a black or blue base color vs. red.

It's like the flipper in Captain Fantastic. You are better off not using it except for the rare occasions that you have to. It introduces side-to-side action in the game and is much safer to pretend that it doesn't exist.

Request: do you think we can leave the playfield talk in one of the half dozen threads dealing with playfield issues? I'm getting burned out reading about these issues and want to hear some GNR pinball talk! How about some more game reviews?

Owners thread seems to be where owners bitch about the pooling on their playfields. I figure this thread makes the most sense to be playfield talk free.