I finally played this game for the first time last night. I was very impressed. Admittedly, I’m a huge Halloween and John Carpenter fan, so this purchase was a no-brainer for me, and my first “must have” game sight-unseen. I love the art, music, and fairly good use of movie content. Yes, some animations are pretty…something. But even those didn’t bother me, and perhaps future code will improve that. The game was immersive and oozed Halloween right from the start. A couple of spots on the playfield trapped the ball (uppermost playfield outlane too narrow and the flap for the right ball return under the sling), but those are correctable. The shots are satisfying and smooth. Nice mix of flow and interruptions. My #702 arrives soon, hopefully tomorrow. Looking forward to unboxing and getting into it more! So far, very encouraged. I was hoping the game was at least ok, that would be enough for me given the theme. My first take on the layout and gameplay is, it’s much better than ok. It’s creative and unique.

Yours is 701 and mine is 702. They were side-by-side on the line. They shared an experience that will surely form a special bond. Mine arrived today!

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Thanks! Mine will be set up Weds, so I have to wait one more day. It’s been a very long wait, but this theme alone is worth waiting for. The tricky part is, my 3-year-old son likes pinball, and Halloween is probably above his authorized clearance code level. He is already none too pleased about that!

I set up my CE today and it plays great right out of the box. So far, so good. No stuck balls or adjustments, yet. My topper wasn’t connected, the hand and knife wasn’t connected to the motor. I slid the hand/knife mech onto the motor drive shaft and it seems to work fine. Is there supposed to be something keeping that in place?

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Thanks. Are these attached, or did they fall off and vanish? Maybe someone can post a pic of the screws. Thx!

Added a 1979 Ford LTD wagon (can’t find a 78), but still need to paint it gray, remove the roof rack, and add the “For official use only” sanitarium logo. These are easy to find on eBay or Amazon for under $15 packaged in either T2 or Charlie’s Angels themes. If these were discussed above already, forgive me!

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I just received my Halloween CE #702 and the sanitarium drop target is usually up until I knock it down (after it turns red) to start sanitarium mode, then it’s back up again during that mode. I’m not sure which code version mine has.

No worries. Just letting him know my drop target on the sanitarium playfield is usually up. I should check my code version, but my pin was fairly recently produced (#702). I’m guessing it’s current, unless we’ve had a recent update.

Actually, since Michael busted out of Smith’s Grove in late October, 1978, he could have been driving a ‘79 LTD. New model year usually comes out in Sept or so the prior year, right? So, assuming the official use vehicle was brand new (nothing but the best for Michael), it could be a ‘79.

I’ll make them. My wife is pretty good at making custom target decals. We will zoom in on the image of the logo from the movie, recreate it, print very tiny images on decal paper.

Yep, I agree. Just kidding about it being a new model ‘79 for fall of ‘78. It’s definitely a ‘78 from what I’ve read. The ‘79 is close, but has some slight differences.

That’s amazing!!! I want those on mine! Make me some???

I’m so much less worried about my pins now than in the early days, when I took every glitch personally. Now I accept that some pins will play for months without a single stuck ball, while others will need switches replaced or diodes or whatever. I kept having issues with my right slingshot going out on my BSD, so I finally just replaced the switch and diode. Works 100% again. Lost all sound on my Fish Tales, installed FF speakers, 100% again. My left flipper was glitchy on Halloween last weekend. I couldn’t figure out why. It was glitchy for a game then stopped entirely. I physically checked everything and it seemed fine, turned it back on and it works again. Stuff happens!

I turned off my shaker on my Halloween (had to physically unhook it, I couldn’t find a setting to turn it off). I find it much more immersive for me when I can focus on the music and the game without the noise of the shaker vibrating everything. The bass adds enough feel for me. I admit, I’m not a shaker guy. I only like them on a few pins and only a subtle amount. Try it without the shaker and see if you agree.

Found the problem with my glitchy left flipper. I figured it was a bad connection somewhere, since it worked fine and then slowly started to fail intermittently. Examining the coil, I could see the glob of solder didn’t look right before I touched it. When I did, the wires moved around freely with the solder attached to them, but not to the coil. Reflowed and all is well.

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Nice autograph, and yup, smokin’ hot and au-naturel, just like Cassandra P… ah, the 70’s.

My hedge Michael closest to the flippers stopped working. He’s just stuck leaning forward, peeking around the bushes, and won’t go back behind them. Any ideas? Is this a common problem?

Also, does anyone else feel the Judith Myers shot progress should carry over from ball to ball? It doesn’t, right? You have to hit that shot 3 times to qualify the lock, but if you lose a ball, start over again? It’s one of the hardest shots to hit, for me at least. I’ve only locked a ball in there about 3-4 times in about 30 games. Seems like a 2-ball feature like that should be more common. Do other people get that ball lock frequently? A setting to allow progress to carry over would be awesome!

Lastly, when I start a new game quickly while the match segment is playing, I get “missed skill shot” nearly every time. Is a switch being triggered when the drop targets reset or something? If I give the game a few seconds before starting a new game, that doesn’t happen.

I tried that, I pushed him back, he worked again for a few games, then he retired again in the same “peeking” around position. I can’t get him to hide, and it’s just not the same with him being so conspicuous.

It could be 4 or 5 hits, which feels like a lot. It would be awesome if a setting allowed that to either carry over or be adjustable. I did know the ball locks if hit before any other switch on the plunge. I’ve maybe pulled that off once.

I didn’t experience any smoke or smell, but I definitely felt the shaker was stealing the show and spoiling the atmosphere. I unplugged mine.

Question, is there much care and grooming of the hedges involved? Do they grow rapidly, require frequent trimming, watering, or fertilizing?

I’m too lazy to read the rules, so can someone explain how you get super jackpots in House? My high score is still just 30 mil, and I’m a fairly moderately reasonably decent player.

Yep, I have seen those complaints too, mostly about the house rejecting balls and a few other issues. My EHoH is a very early build, Nov 2019, and I’ve had no issues at all. My VUK needed adjusting to correct the ball trajectory, but that was super common. I haven’t had any issues with my Halloween, except the left flipper coil had a detached wire. I reflowed the solder and all fixed. Halloween is an awesome pin and it’s not even fully finished, with more code/content coming. It has masterpiece potential.

What mode(s) trigger “Don’t Fear the Reaper”? I don’t think I’ve heard it yet. Is there enough cowbell?

There is still no mode for visiting the Rabbit in Red Lounge.

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Halloween is such a complex, challenging game it asks a lot of casual players. I definitely agree this game is better suited to a dark, quiet room in a home where the music can pull you in fully. All the noise in arcades doesn’t help, and the immersive experience is lost in the arcade atmosphere. Stranger Things is a hugely popular Netflix show, and the game is easy to play the basics, shoot the ramps and hit the gorgon. Halloween has ramps that are obscured, and send the ball up to 2 more playfields where you need to be ready. I’m no Bowen Kerins but I’m much better than the casual players, and Halloween kicks my butt and makes me keep hitting start to do better. Plus, it’s a theme that really isn’t for kids and not everyone likes horror/slasher movies (tho Halloween is pretty tame by modern standards). It’s an awesome game, especially for us pinheads and fans of the genre. But other titles have broad appeal and are aimed at the widest audience, which is what Stern often does. This game might be ranked lower overall because of that, but it’s a top title for those of us who appreciate the uniqueness of it, and have had good luck with reliability and/or customer service.

I personally feel everyone’s feelings are pretty valid about $8-10k games not working right out of the box. That being said, I was REALLY frustrated in 2017 when I bought just my second ever pin - ghostbusters. It didn’t work from the first plunge. I got a “subway mech error” warning, and although I had a WOZ for a year at that point, I never had to fix any issue at that point. So I called Stern, spoke with Chas (rip), who was very patient, but what he told me was disappointing. He said Stern would mail me parts, and walk me thru it. I felt for $7,200, a new machine should work 100% or they should make it right, not me. But, I replaced a node board, a coil, and he walked me thru it for over an hour. It made me less afraid to raise my playfield and fix something, or learn how. 5 years later I can fix most any problem, solder anything and do some restorations. So, it helps a lot if you can fix your own issues, because they will arise with pinball machines. But I can also understand the frustration of those who aren’t super experienced, and even those who are, with problems out of the box. I had to re-solder a flipper coil on my Halloween, and fix a servo. I usually have something to repair on at least one machine, old or new. I do find solving those problems to be satisfying tho! Keeping these playing 100% and dialed in is a lot of fun, for me.

Oh, and I also love Halloween, but I notice differences in quality between manufacturers. I’ll just say it that way.
I think you can expect to see a certain level of quality with JJP, CGC, Stern, etc. I love different pins from all of them. But everyone knows true quality died with Bally/Williams. Just kidding! I do love me some 90’s tables tho!

It’s like going to see Halloween in the theatre in October, 1978 and your soda cup is leaky, your box of Chuckles are all hardened and stuck together, and the movie isn’t properly formatted to fit the screen. You still enjoy it, but come on!

I had some of the same at unboxing. Set screws fell out of topper, living room plastic broke, legs pinching cab decals at corners. Love the game despite all else!

You guys are really good at this game compared to me! Admittedly, I’ve only put about 40 plays on this table, but I’ve yet to complete most modes. I need to get into this pin more and focus on playing better. Can’t wait for the new code!

I actually prefer the title on the BSE backglass also. I see the issue with the topper and duplicate titles, but I’m considering getting a BSE version also, if possible. And the extra monitor on the apron. Great idea on this title, as there seems to be lots of moments waiting for the ball to sneakily appear from the inlane.

Wrench slap! You can’t see it unless you look for it, but maybe paint the wrench the color of his hand, if it had to be a wrench!

Is that potentially a problem? I’m not super board savvy.

Halloween III: Season of the Witch is the next Spooky after TNA 2.0! I’m already reserving a Tom Atkins edition with Conal Cochran shooter rod. Each pin comes with a piece of Stonehenge! You won’t believe how they did it!

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Yes. Sadly, it’s just my wishful dreaming. Halloween III, The Thing, The Fog, Creepshow, Friday the 13th. I’ll take any of those!

I don’t know what it means, but I like the phrase!

It should be printed on t-shirts for techy fashiony people! “Lift the trace…and say goodbye.”

Copyright it!

How do you open a ticket for fingerprints on the armor?

Thx.

No chance. I didn’t pay $9k to have to wipe my game off. Every part of this game that gets the slightest bit dirty will be replaced with new parts, or a completely new machine. Just fyi, I did open a ticket. Spooky is sending a tech with a towel tomorrow. Now that’s service!

My 3-year-old loves pinball, but Halloween was the only game he wasn’t allowed to play for concern it might give him nightmares. I forgot to cover it up tonight, and he was so excited to play it, we decided to let him try it. He agreed if he got scared, we would turn it off. He loved it. It took him 3-4 games to get the hang of it. He locked a Judith ball, he started Sanitarium mode, and he started battling Michael in the house mode. Crazy how quickly kids learn things!

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Ahhhh, so that’s why my wife leans against the Halloween cabinet every time I start Sanitarium mode! She said she was trying to get a bird’s eye view.

Promise you won’t tell anyone about this? She got stuck in the window, she’ll be right here. Hi, Annie, stuck, huh? Alright, cut it out, it could happen to anyone. Sure, stuck in a window.

Did you look at the Neca Halloween II toy set? Includes a Dr. Loomis, Mike, scary pumpkin from the intro, weapons, and plastic fire if you want to set MM on fire. Even includes a Loomis hand with lighter to blow up MM.

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Spooky has been A grade at service for me. Parts, troubleshooting, responsiveness. The best service of any pinball company I’ve dealt with. I’ve dealt with them on my TNA last year and Halloween this year.

P.S. I recommend their long-sleeve Spooky Pinball shirt! Very comfortable and cool styling on the front and sleeve. Get yours today!

Go Mike! Dude has moves, especially having been shot 6 times! (7 at the start of Halloween II).

He was beheaded, but he got better.

Well, she’s been thru a lot. It’s hard to keep track of who’s head you are lopping off.

You better not be joking. I’ve been snorting rage-hormone powder for the last hour and I’m waiting for it to kick in.

Wow. That’s really unfortunate and a total downer for sure. It’s crazy to think these boards might be suspect and could just start cooking coils at any time. I’ve been lucky so far with my Halloween. About 100 plays and “no” issues except a cracked living room plastic, a temperamental Michael servo and a flipper coil that needed solder reflowed. Pretty reliable so far, and service is stellar.

“You’ve fooled them, haven’t you, Michael?
But not me.”

Who can name that scene and why it was filmed?

Close! Halloween TV version. Extra footage filmed in 1981 during Halloween II. Loomis pleads with Smith Grove to transfer Michael to maximum security. They decline. He tells Michael in May, 1964 “you’ve fooled them, haven’t you? But not me.”

Yep! I just watched it again today. Linda comes over to Laurie’s house to borrow a “silk blouse.” Later, we know she yells at Bob not to rip the blouse, “it’s expensive, idiot.” Laurie is just out of the shower and wearing a towel on her head, because Jamie Lee Curtis had short hair by 1981. (She wears a pretty obvious wig in HII). The funniest thing is Linda, who looked pretty old for high school in 1978, is wearing pigtails and looking around 30 years old by 1981. She says she saw the station wagon again, the one that followed them after school. She’s pretty sure it’s Steve Todd! Totally!

Halloween Kills should have been called

“(Hey, Jerk): Speed Kills”

I’ve owned them both, and I agree Alien is highly immersive with a creepy, intense atmosphere. I feel Halloween is easily as immersive, with near perfect theme integration. And the gameplay is better on Halloween, imho.

I love John Carpenter and The Thing has always been my #2 fav right behind Halloween. Maybe more like 1A and 1B. The atmosphere in The Thing is so relentlessly ominous, from the opening titles and the absolutely brilliant minimalist sound designed by Ennio Morricone. I would almost call The Thing a masterpiece, from the location shoot to the casting to the plot. Maybe a bit too excessive a celebration of slimy gore, but it’s still a lot of fun.

Man, the artwork on this machine is just killer. This has to be among the very best art packages on any pin. And I like the Jack-o-lantern start button, but the stock blue button that looks like moonlit trees is awesome.

Halloween is definitely a hard game for newbies/casual players. Godzilla and many others are probably better suited to a broader audience. Nothing wrong w that, we want pins like Halloween that is both challenging and deep, with more things to reach for. Imagine if all pins were as easy to play as Cactus Canyon!

To the bottom of a Tron pro or LE. It really thumps!

He should try Swords of Fury. Talk about immediate audio gratification. Everything produces a sound, including constant sword woooshes for every flipper flip. It’s a lot!

Oooooo you got the basement ready for Halloween season! I gotta come over soon. I’m gonna host a spooky Halloween pinball night too. I’ll letcha know when.

Mr. Riddle launders ALOT of sheets and linens. He’s very active for 87. Probably all he can do.

My wife makes really creative drop and stand up target decals. I love the 3 from Halloween III suggested above. I’m going to have her make some sheets of them on decal paper. I’ll post pics, and if some people want some, I’ll mail you some. They won’t take up the entire face of the target, maybe 2/3 of it, so the light should still show around the borders. Here are some she made for my BSD, FT and WH2O.

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House mod is first-rate. Adds much to the presentation and looks like it was always part of the game design. Custom vids are fantastic. I can’t imagine the game without it now.

So here was my solution. I use those little rectangle grey (or black) target cushions, and place one (or two) between the front of the house on the far right and the brown molding it sits behind. I also use a thick 2-sided tape under the house, but only along the front edge of the house so it tips back a bit. It’s kept mine upright, in place and the windows visible during gameplay for weeks.

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My BSE backglass arrived! I like the title on the glass, but I see how people find it duplicative. But I’ll downsize to low ceilings someday when I’m retired and I get shorter, so I’ll prob lose the topper.

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Low libido.

That is a very interesting room! I could see a seance happening there.

Some Halloween III prototype decals for the 3 drops, and some larger alternates for the other drops. The Judith tombstones are designed to be applied over the top of the target. Should have sheets of them later this week. 22 more days til Halloween…

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I’m happy to mail these to those who would like a set.

These are the first run version. I may improve them. They are printed on a clear decal that is fairly thick, like mylar.

Easy to apply without taking the drops off. Just power on the game and press start to pop up the 3 targets. Power off. Place your finger behind each drop and hold them forward (press backward and they will drop!). Apply the decals near the top edge and center.

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In fairness to Michael, he probably only murdered 5 people by the end of Halloween. And a dog.

5. Judith, jumpsuit/garage dude in the weeds, and 3 “teenagers.” And probably 2 dogs. The Wallace’s and the one he ate.

PM me and I’ll send you a set.

I agree, no one is up in arms, but Open Arms by Journey is a great make out song. Let’s at least acknowledge that much.

Spooky has great customer service and is generally very responsive to replacing parts and helping fix issues. If a defect or failure is due to a mod, sure, it’s a problem. Otherwise, if you open a ticket, I’m sure Spooky will respond to your problem, and won’t demand a list of all your installed mods to date.

Nearly ready! “These decals haven’t been thru final processing yet…”

Contact me if you haven’t already if you need these for your 3 center drops!

Due to the long list, we are suggesting a $10 donation via PayPal for 2 sets of decals (includes shipping.) PM me for details by tomorrow if possible!

If you’ve already given me your name and address I’ve gotcha. I’ve gotcha.

Thanks.

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*We do expect delays with Covid, USPS limitations and also the shipper is on the lazy side. But, we guarantee you will have them when they arrive!

Long live ‘78 and II and III are fun too. Most of the rest I can personally live without. H20 isn’t bad and 2018 was pretty decent. But the simplicity of ‘78 never gets old.

Halloween III: The Decals went out this morning for the first 30 orders. The rest will go out on Monday. Thanks for your patience, everyone! Just fyi, we are trying to find the best material for durability. Mylar is the best so far, but does produce some tiny bubbles. If your targets don’t look 100% awesome, message me and I’ll replace them.

Awesome people from some awesome movies! Thanks for sharing.

Great score. I am a decent player (I’m #2 on CCr and #5 on MMr classic). I can barely reach 20 mil on Halloween! I can start all 3 main multiball modes pretty consistently, and I can defeat Michael and hit the ball up the stairs. But I’m not good at getting through modes and I’ve never reached Boogieman or heard Don’t Fear the Reaper.

Speaking of Don’t Fear the Reaper by Blue Öyster Cult, have you guys seen X, the Ti West horror flick released early this year? Pretty darn good movie with Texas Chainsaw vibes. And a gruesome use of Don’t Fear the Reaper…

I have the same experience with mine. Plenty of power to shoot the drop target and scoop, but the upper right drain, when lit, is very difficult to make.

Yep, this isn’t a sure thing on mine, but probably 50% of the time, if I don’t touch anything and let the ball auto-plunge (usually when I’m multi-tasking or helping my kiddo with something), I hear the ball lock and I find it in the Judith lock. Pretty cool!

Boo!

Just fyi, second run of Halloween III drop target decals are going out tomorrow. Thanks for your patience. We had to buy more mylar. . If you gave me your name and mailing address and weren’t in the first batch, you’ll receive yours this week.

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Yep, it was mine that recently went down, all servos out. It’s a 3A fuse, as BrianBannon noted above. It on the large red board near the bottom/right. The board is marked “servo fuse” or something like that. Pull out the little black plastic housing, and the fuse pops out. Looks like this…

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Actually all the servos went out when I blew that fuse. There are several more servos in addition to the 3 peeking Michaels. The lift motors that deliver the ball under the slings, and a few more. You can test all of them in servo test. It was user error that caused mine to blow, I think I installed a replacement servo backwards. Easy to replace at least!

Mine was user error. I replaced a Michael servo and attached the wire connector backwards. Works perfectly now!

Halloween III target decals (2nd batch), went out yesterday. 25 more people including the Canadian requests, in addition to the first 30 people last week. The second batch we printed on a different decal paper, and they turned out great. So feel free to hit me up for free extras if you were part of the first batch.

Thanks for all the interest!

5 more days till Halloween…

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Yep! And I had forgotten there isn’t a decal on that lock drop target at all. So I should have included 2 of those tombstone decals. I think I sent most people one. If you’d like a couple extra, just message me!

I just noticed Judith was only 15 (going on 16) at the time of her hanky-panky and death. Seems a bit young for that! Especially knowing who she really was at that time, a 20-something Playboy model! Carpenter couldn’t make her 17-18? Perv!

What a beauty!

3 days a week is standard in the pinball industry unless their contract is set to 5. Extra days can also be earned.

Batch #3 of the Halloween III: Season of The Target Decals went out today. Anyone who requested them the past few days were shipped today.

3 more days till Halloween!

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I feel pretty much the same way about my Halloween. I have go-to pins I love to flip regardless of score or how far I get. I tend to play TZ, FT, TOTAN, GB and EHoH. I also really enjoy shooting The Shadow, CV, SS and BSD. For goal-oriented challenges, Halloween requires the most focus. LOTR and Tron are goal oriented, but less intense. It’s a solid entry for sure, but the theme is the draw for me, being one of my very fav movies. For me, the theme, art, music and immersion make it a keeper.