Does it really matter though? Some of the most beloved machines of all time are based on themes that you wouldn't think would translate well to pinball or themes based on total bomb movies or very dated cultural artifacts.

The Addams Family is considered one of the top pins of all time. That theme doesn't seem all that suited to pinball imo.

Ultimately the theme has very little to do about gameplay. It's the shot design and the code.

Ya, I think it's in large measure that some people saw Spooky's Rick and Morty immediately jump in value and were planning to scalp. Then of course all the typical life circumstances that might make someone drop out and new game announcements.

Also as it's been mentioned the Spooky sales model is such that if a game is selling fast you have to jump on it fast. I got my Alice Cooper order in months after it was available, and my number was in the mid 300s, but even in a couple years the market has changed a lot and while Halloween is something of a niche theme I'd think Alice Cooper is all the moreso.

In any case I'm a huge fan of John Carpenter and Halloween so I knew I had to have this from the very initial teaser. I also think Spooky's success is altogether deserved and good for the industry at large. Even if the gameplay on this doesn't click with me 100% I'm keeping it as a collector item, and it's about as ultimate a Halloween collectible that is out there.

I also really wanted to encourage true horror themes to be made for pinball as those have always been few and far between

Eagerly awaiting shipping notification on mine. It will likely be a close call if I get it before Halloween or not. Invoice paid 10/18 for #79

I'm #79 standard cab. Paid invoice about 3 weeks ago and hasn't shipped. Emailed them earlier this week for an eta and they said shouldn't be long, but didn't give a date.

It does feel like they are are going slower than has been discussed, but ultimately it won't matter if Get it a few days earlier or later. I was just surprised that originally with a pretty early number I thought I may even have it in late September, or definitely by Halloween. Now I'm just hoping to get it before my birthday on Nov. 20.

The good news it looks like I'll be getting my first run Godzilla premium around the same time so will be exciting to get two new games that look to be great back to back.

Got word that my #79 shipped out today. Should arrive with time to get it setup for my birthday. Can't wait to check it out

Good to hear it isn't a tough install. I'm still very much a novice with tweaks and repairs. I made the mistake of first getting into pinball when my son was a newborn and now I have a second newborn lol. So I've never had much time to focus on dialing in my machines.

Hoping mine might come with the new ramp, it's being delivered next Tuesday, but not expecting it to be.

Cool, mine is #79. Looks like a few AZ people/locations on pinside were getting this one. Think I saw someone put up their spot before though.

I was a bit confused that some people also getting the standard cab with numbers after mine took delivery, before mine had even shipped, so it is clear the numbers aren't being shipped in order, but ultimately waiting an extra week or two won't kill me. I've just been impatient and excited lol

#79 just arrived! Will be painful waiting for this weekend to have time to get it setup

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Ya, it's really baffling to see people selling for a significant loss of 500 or so. I could see selling at cost if want to get something else instead, but even for people that don't think they will keep the game long term they might as well just take delivery, give it some playtime then sell it.

Unboxing #79 now and looking to be some nasty damage. Hoping it looks worse than it is...

Box had a tip in tell that looked all good

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Thanks a lot for your reply. Much appreciated. Would you think better to just leave it alone until then? I was debating whether I should just let it be or set it up and see if it's functional

Thanks again. I'll give you guys a call on Monday. Really amazing you took the time to reply on a Saturday afternoon. Spooky really goes the extra mile.

I had just posted to vent after a bummer box opening experience and definitely wasn't expecting any kind of reply from someone at Spooky.

I got my replacement game #79 recently. My original had arrived with significant cabinet damage and looked to have been dropped by a forklift, although the box was pristine.

I want to commend Spooky for their awesome handling of the situation. They rapidly agreed to cover return shipping, and said they would repair the game, but then ended up making me a new machine. I know the situation could have been much worse for me in that I had signed for the initial delivery without inspecting the contents and seeing the damage. So they really went above and beyond in making sure it worked out.

The game layout is a little quirky and the code is early and has some oddities and unbalanced elements, but my wife and I have really been enjoying it thus far. Looking forward to seeing how it develops and thanks again to Spooky!

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Just a trick of the light it seems. The sticker is black.

Some pics of the original damage. Was super stressed as I thought I might be screwed since didn't open the box and inspect since the tip and tell looked good and the box looked perfect, so was a big relief that Spooky took care of me.

Ironically the second box had a big hole in it, but the machine was fine. Was a good lesson for me to always open the box and inspect for future pins. Figured that was just a disclaimer, but not many people actually do that seeing older NIB pins frequently changing hands.

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This may be intended, but I've found that the right drop off hole on the sanitarium playfield is an almost guaranteed sdtm. I've started making a conscious effort to avoid it, but was curious if that might an adjustment thing, or if it's just meant to be a risky thing?

Besides the obviously early code I'm still enjoying the game a lot with it's unique layout and beautiful art package.

I've also been pleased how well it has worked gameplay wise out of the box with no tweaking or fixes.

It may well just be luck of the draw, but I'm a little disappointed with the cabinet build quality. Nothing too crazy, but it feels a little rough and amateurish. My Alice Cooper has had a lot more gameplay issues than Halloween, but the cabinet seemed notably more solid build and basically perfect.

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Ya. I I had that happen several times. The timing might have been coincidence but after I updated to the latest code The game occasionally struggled with ejecting balls into the shooter lane, often taking two tries. I think that led to what you mentioned. I bumped up trough eject by +2 and it solved the issue with the failed ejects as well as the endless multiball.

They gave me the option of them sending replacement parts for a repair and walking me through it, or sending it back to them. I went with the latter since I'm not handy in the slightest and even if I was I wouldn't want to do major cabinet repairs on a NiB pin.

They covered return shipping and the had initially said they would repair it, but they ended up building me a new machine. I think they just built a new one since there was damage to the backbox as well as the lower cab

The new machine has been working great,and while I think the build quality on the cabinet is a bit rough (slightly peeling decals on the edges and the backbox edges are a bit askew and not perfect square flush it doesn't bother me that much

I've had less game mechanical issues than I did with my ACNC, but I think that had better cabinet build quality and maybe luck of the draw, but my ACNC playfield is still pristine after all this time and the Halloween has a lot of dimples like a Stern.

All in all I'm happy with the game and I think Spooky went above and beyond in their resolution of the damage, especially since I only noticed it after unboxing and signing for the delivery since the box looked pristine. Ironically the box was a bit beat up on the replacement game, but the machine itself was fine.

Good luck!

An oddity I noticed on 1.06 and 1.06b is when selecting some of the modes it quick triggers two right flipper flips. The first few times I thought I had inadvertently pressed the button, but now confirmed it is indeed flipping itself without a button press.

Was anyone else getting that behavior?

Ya, I realize that it's probably luck of the draw to an extent and these are unprecedented times with labor, parts, but while my Halloween has been pretty solid out of the box gameplay wise, I'm pretty disappointed with the build quality or the lack thereof. My backbox is a bit uneven and askew, some peeling decals, bow seeing these issues with the power coat it feels pretty amateurish.

Maybe I got lucky before, but I was really impressed with my Alice Cooper and felt it was one of the most beautiful pinball machines ever made. I've had a fair amount of gameplay mechanical issues and it has often been one step forward one back with recurring tweaks needed, but the cabinet and general build quality is excellent. Halloween feels like a step backwards.

I emailed them about similar recently and got a quick response noting would get me on their list, and not long after got a shipping notice. Assuming will be getting a replacement lockdown bar and side rails.