Just got mine today, updated with todays code and had a couple of questions. First, sometimes it seems to just auto plunge when I start a new ball, is that normal? Also a question on the topper. not sure if mine is maybe not assembled quite right but you can barely see the knife at all from the playing position, mostly just see the hand rotating, was also curious if that was normal because while the knife is huge it remains mostly inside the head.

I've had a couple people ask me to post my thoughts on the game now that I have one. Never done this before as truth be told I just play for fun and I kinda suck at pinball, but I'll give it a shot. Here's some thoughts with the latest code as of today.

I grew up with this movie so the theme is perfect, more so because I've been wanting a horror themed game for a while. The art, sound and light package are brilliant, I really don't think that comes across on videos well at all. In person it looks amazing and the sound quality from a Spooky pin is always a treat.

This is my first Spooky pin as my previous games were from Stern but build quality overall seems good. A few issues on mine, the topper had come apart but took a few seconds to put back together. One thing though, make sure you have a full allen key set as the knife on the topper came off in shipping and it took the smallest possible allen key on my set to adjust the set screw to put it back together. Mine also has a broken rubber on the right side of the middle playfield, I've emailed support to get a new one. One more thing is when the ball ends up back in the shooter lane during play, on mine it sometimes gets stuck on the rollover near the plunger and I have to shake the machine quite a bit to get it to roll over it so I can replunge. Maybe I need to adjust that rollover, not sure, in the meantime I removed the tilt bob so I can shake it as needed when it gets stuck there. Overall it has fewer issues than my NIB Elvira's House Of Horrors did.

I normally hate mini play fields. For example I prefer AC/DC Pro to the premium because I dislike the lower playfield on it, don't like the lower playfield on Munsters, don't like the upper playfield on Black Knight Sword of Rage, etc. In this game the middle playfield is just average but the top playfield is actually pretty cool. I find myself really working the game to get those pretzel loops then banging the ramp, very satisfying. I can no longer say I dislike all mini playfields.

The ball hides on this game more than on any game I've played in recent memory. Tough to explain but there are instances where now you see it, now you don't, then boom the ball is back. The inlanes are the example most talk about but it happens in other instances. For this particular game I really like it because it adds tension, almost like the ball is Michael and popping up here and there, it's unique and it works.

Not super crazy about the topper. The idea of the rotating knife is cool but when you play you can't really see because it's hidden behind the Halloween banner and it's kinda noisy.

The shots to me feel good. Ramps on other games sometimes frustrate the hell out of me, but on this game I can hit them ok. Locations of the targets are cool as are the goals assigned to them. It's not fast like TNA, now flowy like LZ but it's it's own thing. I was initially afraid it would feel too cluttered but that hasn't turned out to be the case. I prefer Stern flippers as they seem more powerful but these are fine for this game. One quibble thus far is that the ball seems to end up back in the shooter lane more than I'd like.

This is not a complex game which to me is good. I haven't watched many videos on it but so far I've been able to figure it out on my own. There is the occasional confusion like the game will say mystery is lit and I can't see mystery anywhere on the playfield. I think the blood scoop on this game is the mystery shot as on Ultra Man it's actually labelled mystery. Being a noob player I find some games are just too deep, too complex, too layered and I'll never figure them out so I like that this game seems more understandable and approachable. I think if you're the type that always gets to wizard modes or you have Deadflip level of skill then this game won't last you. For me it's good and very different from other games out there so I like it.

Latest animations are very cool, minor quibble is that they seem over compressed so compression artifacts are easily visible. The lcd screen does seem kinda low quality to where blacks are basically light gray. Not really a huge thing in the grand scheme of this because I find this particular game affords me the least amount of time to actually see the screen because of the way the ball creeps around the playfield.

Latest code update is really nice, gives clearly selectable goals and modes on screen, and it's always nice having multiple ways to start multiball. The hidden skill shot is neat, got that one by accident one game and was a pleasant surprise. I've read that some people complain that you can just hit the center ramp over and over, truth be told I think every pin in existence has someone saying "Just do _____ over and over" so I don't think it's an issue.

My distributor mentioned that the early runs used a 2 amp fuse for the flippers and it can burn out, apparently the solution is to replace those with a 5 amp fuse. I'll just wait until mine pop before I swap them although presumably this is fixed on current builds.

Ok that's some thoughts, hopefully this is useful to someone. I personally love the game, wouldn't have bought it if I didn't. I think it fits nicely into a collection as it's so different, only issue I could see is expert players tiring of it quick.

Ah reminds me, forgot to mention the extras they include in the box, pic attached.

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It could mostly be because my middle playfield came with a broken rubber, and it's via that middle playfield that it ends up in the shooter lane more than I'd like. They are sending a replacement which is cool. Seems like their support is about as quick as Sterns, send an email, get a part, nice.

I think I may disable the topper though. I'm tightening the set screw as tight as I can and yet the knife will still fall off Love the new blood shop in the latest code, find blood, spend it on stuff, I dig it.

Oh didn't know this was being tracked, I have CE #3 for whoever maintains this list. CE #4 is at the AYCE Gogi restauant.

I think this will happen to Spooky games much more so than say Sterns because of how they handle sales. With Stern buying a machine is fairly simple, place an order and get your game typically in a few weeks. With Spooky it's try and get your order in then wait 12 to 18 months. Given that I figure many bought just in case knowing that they could flip their spot easily if they changed their mind.

Definitely, playing this one at home is a very different experience. It's one of those games where playing it at an uncontrolled environment like a bar/restaurant does hurt the experience somewhat more than most games.

I just had the same issue after I replaced the broken rubber. Do you guys sell a thinner one for that location? I did stretch mine and it works now, but I'm afraid over time it'll either slip back or break because of how much you have to stretch it so the ball can make it through.

I didn't want to go with a narrow post only because there would be a large visible ring under it with no playfield art. I do wonder if I could loosen the post and slide it over though like spooky_dj suggested.

Where are you guys getting the code update from? On Spooky's support page it still lists "Code Update V1.01" which is the previous one.

For what it's worth that phenomena isn't limited to pinball. Back in the day there was a video game forum where actual developers posted and over time the same thing happened. People hated on them, hated on their games, hated on their pricing, hated on their policies, just endless hate. Result was the inevitable, the developers simply stopped posting and fled the forum. I wouldn't be surprised at all if the same thing happened here because why bother posting with info and insights when you'll just be hated on. Plus at some point it can actually become an employment issue if a thread/post you are involved in spirals negatively out of control against the company you work for.

One of my Michaels is leaning far to the right, was wondering is it just a matter of pressing the connection point back down to straighten him out? I'm not sure how he connects to the rotator, so before I start pressing and tweaking I wanted to make sure I'm not breaking anything.

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It's my first Spooky game and I got CE #3 fairly early. Code is progressing slowly and is currently kinda buggy but I still really like the game. I do feel that ace pinball players will rip through the game quickly, but fortunately I suck at pinball so this will last me for a while. Very unique type of game hence I feel it fits nicely into a collection of pins, there isn't much else out there to compare it to. Theme integration I feel is excellent, and for once I find a game that doesn't make me hate it's mini playfields. As far as fixes and tweaking it's about on par with my Elvira HOH, little things here and there but Spooky support is really fast to respond so making the fixes have been simple and should be resolved by the time you get yours anyways. I'm a big fan of the game, I just don't normally post my thoughts about pins because I'm pure amateur when it comes to playing so I figure I'll miss too much hence I typically leave the comments to the better players. My main gripes are that I wish code was further along, especially since I have Godzilla sitting right next to it which seems much further along even at 0.8 code, and the topper which is really fragile and I find the noise it's motor makes is kinda horrible. I didn't plan on modding this machine but I may swap out the topper if someone makes an aftermarket one.

Is there any anti rattle tape y'all would recommend? Many seem to be sold but I was wondering if maybe some brands just fit better for this particular game.

Anyone ever get the ball stuck here? It will rest there and remain until the game does it's ball search sequence then the little metal bracket will rotate and release it. Shaking the machine won't free it, I have to wait for the ball search sequence. That's all the way at the top center of the machine.
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Ah so it's not just me. Ok, I emailed Spooky service about it and sent the same pic, maybe they can let me know if it's just a software bug or if they have a replacement part to fix the issue.

By default it has the correct name, I've never had to rename mine. I think the issue may happen if you decompress the firmware update into a directory that already has a previous file with the same name in it, then often the decompression software will append "_1" or something like that to it. That's assuming you got the file as a .zip of course. Alternatively the "_1" could also be appended when downloading the file into a directory where a same file already exists.

Another dude had recommended this one so I ordered it, it works well.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07ZWW3BW5/

On my machine the ball tends to get stuck in the scoop because it gets hung up on the pumpkin cable that's been routed through that hole, after which only removing the glass will fix it. A bit hard to tell from my pic, but the ball is being cradled between the cable and the metal wall. For now I put some packing tape to hold the pumpkin cable against the metal bracket so that the ball will just roll over it when it falls into the scoop, but that's just a temporary fix. Anyone have ideas on a more permanent fix? The best solution would be to route the pumpkin cable elsewhere and not via the same scoop hole that balls go through regularly, but I didn't see any other nearby hole where I could re-reroute it to

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Yup already have an email out to service for this and for a fix to my diverter, but sometimes I ask here as well just in case it's quicker

EDIT: Maybe someone here knows how to adjust the diverter? The ball get stuck on mine. I do have an email out to service, but I wanna play the game tonight Instructions from service were "You may have to adjust your servo by taking the diverter off and moving it by one tooth.". I removed the diverter but, umm, have no idea how to "move it by one tooth".

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Just got a solution from Spooky service for this in case others are having the ball get stuck on the top diverter. Just remove the two screws that hold the triangular metal diverter piece onto the servo (pic 1) to reveal the orange part. That orange part can then be pulled off, it's a little difficult but it does indeed pull right off. Then you can rotate it a bit and place it back on effectively altering the slope of the diverter. It has teeth so it only snaps back on in certain increments. Then screw the metal diverter piece back on and give it a try. I just rotated mine and will test it tonight.

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I used to have several machines at a property that had a little kitty. She never damaged the machines at all, instead it became a challenge to play "cat pinball" as we called it, playing with cat on glass going after the ball.

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On mine I lubed all drop targets with 3 in 1 oil and haven't had one get stuck since.

That's what Spooky told me to do when the targets started getting stuck.

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