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(Topic ID: 19255)

Hardest pinball machine you've ever played???

By Winball_Pizard

11 years ago


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Topic Stats

  • 220 posts
  • 189 Pinsiders participating
  • Latest reply 9 years ago by modfather
  • Topic is favorited by 2 Pinsiders

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#1 11 years ago
OP
 
DSD

Winball_Pizard

Inactive member

US Austin, TX

12y 75,400 1,104 12 54

The topic says it all. Whats the hardest game you've ever played. Don't post about a machine that you've heard is hard. Don't post a list of hard games. Post about the machine that you've played a hundred times trying to get better at but it still laughs in your face and takes your balls... ouch!

Ill start it off with BSD! Mine is setup at 6.5% with white rubbers throughout and it just kicks the crap out of me on a daily basis. I've only had it a few weeks now but, I though maybe it might be possible to get the hang of this machine and tame the beast within that time, wrong! Every once in a while, BSD will give up a high score fooling me into thinking I've learned something or have suddenly gotten better at pinball only to come back and kick me in the teeth repeatedly! lol So whats the hardest pinball machine you've ever played?

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#2 11 years ago
 
JIM

BackFlipper

Pinside+ Addict

US Sugar Grove, IL

12y 104K 2,174 17 34

My TRON LE kicked my ass regularly for the first 100 games I had it. If you count Orbiter with it's curved walls, it will kick your ass for a while as well.

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#3 11 years ago
 
???

soren

Dots and Loops

DK Copenhagen

13y 80,050 1,377

Attack From Mars. Jackbot.

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#4 11 years ago
 
BAS

Snowdale

Inactive member

US Boston, MA

12y 14,400 714 3

Fish tales super is pretty tough. For some reason Elvira and the party monsters used to kick my arss!

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#5 11 years ago
 
OLP

BlackKnight_2000

Inactive member

US Minneapolis, MN

11y 21,900 23 11

The Simpsons Pinball Party, Cannot beat it. Drives me crazy

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#6 11 years ago
 
MGS

MikeS

Pinside+ Frequent

18y 160K 6,047 136

For DMD era I'd go with BSD. That game continually kicks my butt!

For pre-DMD i'd have to say Flash Gordon.-Since I swapped in my CPR playfield, I think my average game-time is about a minute!

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#7 11 years ago
 
JDT

Jake

Inactive member

US Atlanta, GA

11y 25,400 257

The outlines on BBH can be pretty brutal. I have always heard about how difficult BSD is, but I have yet to play. The one game that always got the best of me but kept me coming back for more was whirlwind.

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#8 11 years ago
 
DUG

dug

Pinside+ Frequent

12y 101K 2,238

Another vote for Flash Gordon.... that game kicks my but.

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#9 11 years ago
 
HAZ

hank527

Pinside+ Addict

13y 128K 5,427 249

This is difficult because all of these games the more you play the easier they get plus the way they are set up makes a huge difference.

BSD - is a great example. Hard at first then it gets easier to continually hit the ramps. BTW its a great game

I found BBB to be pretty hard though I've only played 4-5 games on it.

Johnny M is pretty crazy

I still like Tron in this category. I'm good at it though I never know if I'm going to have a 3 minute or 15 minute game and I've owned it for about a year playing at least 1-2 hours a week.

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#10 11 years ago
 
CER

Squeakman

Pinside member

US Lake Havasu City, AZ

12y 64,550 3,351 9

I will also say bsd. I just picked up a popeye and it also is kicking my butt.

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#11 11 years ago
 
STV

Doctor6

Pinside member

US Roscoe, IL

15y 116K 4,423 6 58

The Shadow has pissed all over me on many occasions.

Iron Man will do the same thing. I've had games on Iron Man that lasted all of about a minute and a half.

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#12 11 years ago
 
BAM

Blakesell

Inactive member

US Columbus, OH

12y 37,900 1,099 2 19

I'm going to lean on Sterns for this. IM, ac/dc, SM, Tron, LotR & TSPP, even WPT, if you're trying to get final modes on these games, you are going to be having one hell of a hard time. I can't think of a recent stern that wasn't very brutally hard to get to the final modes on. In some cases the games may seem easy, but in the end you'll just find that you only completed about 3-4 modes.

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#13 11 years ago
 
JGB

bballfan

Pinside+ Frequent

US Wichita Falls, TX

14y 122K 1,499 10

STTNG can be unforgiving with the factory outlane dividers.

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#14 11 years ago
 
NPS

Natetheviking

Pinside member

US Louisville, KY

12y 29,400 149 6 8

Stern Lightning is pretty tough. So fast and yet I feel like most of the drains are my fault. Feels really great to hit that last target during the last second of Valhalla time, though.

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#15 11 years ago
 
OLK

OrochiLeona

Inactive member

GB Nottingham

12y 15,400 167 2

Flash Gordon. Thats a meeeean game.

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#16 11 years ago
 
ROB

RobT

Pinside member

13y 129K 21,266 3 40

Black Hole

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#17 11 years ago
 
TRP

fuseholder

Pinside+ Frequent

12y 97,800 911 70 1

Williams Big Ben........JK.

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#18 11 years ago
 
RAY

abcdelmrs

Pinside member

US Atlanta, GA

11y 23,900 289 17 5

As we see from the responses so far in this thread, even a seemingly simple word like "hardest" can mean various things when it comes to pinball.

If hardest means the game that is the most difficult to make it to the end of then I'd go with TSPP or WPT.

If hardest means the game I just can't seem to score on and still haven't taken over the GC after years of ownership, then JP and Tommy fit the bill.

If hardest means the game that has the shortest ball times then it's Flash Gordon for me.

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#19 11 years ago
 
BJS

DrStarkweather

Pinside member

US Chicago, IL

12y 59,300 2,002 3 26

JunkYard is my biggest nemesis. I just blow at it. I can't keep a ball up for more than an average of 30 seconds.

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#20 11 years ago
 
FED

hassanchop

Pinside member

12y 84,900 2,443 82

iron man. real hard game.
congrats to stern for putting a "old school" style game like that

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#21 11 years ago
 
JMS

swampfire

Pinside+ Addict

12y 168K 13,602 48

+1 for Black Hole. Sucks when the ball is slammed past the wire gate and down the right outlane.

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#22 11 years ago
 
DJE

Chudmeat

Inactive member

US Dallas, TX

12y 19,650 317

A lot of the EMs I've played kick my butt. Luckily most of them are 5 balls, but still. Right now, my Shadow games can be pretty quick. I'll have to check avg ball time in the settings, but I feel like its 30 secs. However I do have to say, ever since I changed the rubbers from black to white, the outlane drains have been reduced.

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#23 11 years ago
 
DAV

turbo20lbs

Pinside member

US Schaumburg, IL

14y 92,550 2,178 8

TFLE, hardest game I've ever owned. Shadow is a walk in the park compared to this thing. Maybe I should adjust the outlane posts or at least add rubber rings to them, but I refuse to at this point.

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#24 11 years ago
 
JTJ

LesManley

Pinside member

US Woodbury, MN

12y 127K 5,825 9 46

OP
Quoted from Winball_Pizard:

The topic says it all. Whats the hardest game you've ever played. Don't post about a machine that you've heard is hard. Don't post a list of hard games. Post about the machine that you've played a hundred times trying to get better at but it still laughs in your face and takes your balls... ouch!
Ill start it off with BSD! Mine is setup at 6.5% with white rubbers throughout and it just kicks the crap out of me on a daily basis. I've only had it a few weeks now but, I though maybe it might be possible to get the hang of this machine and tame the beast within that time, wrong! Every once in a while, BSD will give up a high score fooling me into thinking I've learned something or have suddenly gotten better at pinball only to come back and kick me in the teeth repeatedly! lol So whats the hardest pinball machine you've ever played?

Ripley's Believe It Or Not. Hard to get high scores on, near impossible to get to the wizard mode. No ball save by default with a skill shot that drains if you miss it. A real player's game.

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#25 11 years ago
 
TOK

TOK

Pinside member

US Falls Twp, PA

12y 51,150 1,258 3

Pinbot can rub your nose in it sometimes... It'll do that thing where it drops out of the Vortex ramp, hits the pops, then shoots down the left outlane without ever going near the flippers.

If it screws you over twice, it will light the Extra Ball light in the outlane, but you still have to cycle it to the correct lane as the ball drains to get it. I think the overt random cruelty of this game is the reason it ended up with the pin between the flippers.

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#26 11 years ago
 
BRI

gweempose

Pinside Moderator

13y 154K 20,207 37

Tommy is by far the hardest game in my collection. Those slings are so brutal sometimes that it's hardly even fair.

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#27 11 years ago
 
SKB

Eskaybee

Pinside member

12y 155K 12,966 40

Quoted from turbo20lbs:

TFLE, hardest game I've ever owned. Shadow is a walk in the park compared to this thing. Maybe I should adjust the outlane posts or at least add rubber rings to them, but I refuse to at this point.

Put the rubbers on; it gives you a slight chance to nudge a possible drain but the game is so fast you have to be quick. I recommend middle or open outlanes; narrow outlanes made the game a little too easy for my liking. In fact, the only game I've owned with narrow outlanes is BBH; that is a must lol.

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#28 11 years ago
 
???

system11

Inactive member

19y 52,400 1,042 4 54

Pinbot - pop into left drain is just rage worthy, and common.

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#29 11 years ago
 
NAM

kwiKimart

Inactive member

US San Diego, CA

12y 90,650 10,693 3 71

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#30 11 years ago
 
GMB

bigdaddy07

Pinside+ Frequent

US O'fallon, MO

13y 106K 4,718 5 28

I've always struggled with IM.

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#31 11 years ago
 
LEX

pinnation

Pinside member

US Brick, NJ

12y 26,650 112 5

Fishtales and Whirlwind

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#32 11 years ago
 
WHY

Sarge

Pinside member

12y 67,550 676

Im going with BSD and Iron man, both brutal but rewarding, it makes me come back for more everytime...

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#33 11 years ago
 
HAZ

hank527

Pinside+ Addict

13y 128K 5,427 249

I'd second TFLE based on getting to the end of the game. Though ball times can be long

I don't know though. I think hardest should mean games with the shortest ball times.

Iron Man once you've played it past 10 games gets a lot easier to get whiplash and Iron Monger multiballs. - I do not think its brutally hard. Though I think it is fast and kicks major arse

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#34 11 years ago
 
LMB

bellbrand

Pinside member

US Chino Hills, CA

13y 62,150 1,735 6

+1 whirlwind

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#35 11 years ago
 
GAB

gabegabegabe

Pinside member

14y 54,300 502 18

To me hardest games means hardest to keep the ball in play, which pretty much eliminates any DMD game. Based on that, the hardest games that I have played are Paragon and Flash Gordon.

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#36 11 years ago
 
TJH

Teen_Wolf

Inactive member

US Pittsburgh, PA

11y 7,650 37

Paragon

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#37 11 years ago
 
OTO

OTTOgd

Pinside member

CA Brampton, ON

11y 85,150 1,206 45

Flash Gordon kicks my butt. I sold my first one because it frustrated both me and my son too much.

But I had to find another and only recently found it again. Just having that one great ball where the spinners are lit, making that wicked sound, the in-line drops are all down and ready to get that extra ball ... when the inevitable happens ... and it seems the bonus is never going to stop. Awesome. Never leaving.

My Stargate is jacked up as well and it's brutally fast.

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#38 11 years ago
 
SMK

TheLaw

Pinside+ Addict

US Ann Arbor, MI

12y 162K 48,081 19 30 1

Ha Paragon was a hard one for real. What a layout on that beast.

To wizard I would say TF for sure...no chance of it ever happening for me...mostly because it's so tough I gave up!

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#39 11 years ago
 
ABC

Crash

Pinside member

13y 141K 14,139

Bride of Pinbot. Seriously I plunge the ball, make a shot, try a slap save, and it's gone. I haven't even hit the shuttle ramp the last 3 times. My average game time is less than a minute.

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#40 11 years ago
 
JTB

The_Gorilla

Pinside+ Frequent

US Pleasant Hill, IA

13y 116K 5,602 2 160

LOTR and BSD for me. Actually, BSD was so hard I passed on it as a purchase.

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#41 11 years ago
 
EMH

pinheadpuckguy

Inactive member

US Coon Rapids, MN

14y 54,400 2,608 12

My Shadow kicks my butt.

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#42 11 years ago
 
MVM

markmon

Inactive member

US Hillsboro, OR

13y 98,300 13,010 21 81

Cftbl

Quoted from pinheadpuckguy:

My Shadow kicks my butt.

Mine use to also until I learned the left orbit-hold upper flipper-mode start combo.

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#43 11 years ago
 
KIM

pinballkim

Pinside member

12y 74,300 1,025

I have to vote Pinbot, that game has always kicked my a$$.

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#44 11 years ago
 
XOT

Outlane-Avoider

Pinside member

14y 77,300 570 268

STTNG, by far the hardest and most evil game for draining that I have ever owned, followed by The Shadow.

BSD, Pinbot and Iron Man are the hardest games to play that I haven't owned.

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#45 11 years ago
 
DLS

leaffan67

Pinside member

CA Toronto, ON

12y 65,900 621 46 37

I find acdc even harder than iron man!

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#46 11 years ago
 
TDA

The_Dude_Abides

Pinside Moderator

US Northern California, CA

14y 137K 9,468 151

BSD & IM are pretty darn tough.

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#47 11 years ago
 
DAD

Pinballdad

Frozen

Unknown

12y 0k 1,137

Quoted from gweempose:

Tommy is by far the hardest game in my collection. Those slings are so brutal sometimes that it's hardly even fair.

I ditto the Tommy comment. Only good thing is it is fun getting your butt kicked with that game...I actually chuckle instead of getting frustrated

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#48 11 years ago
 
MHB

Metalpin

Inactive member

US N/a, NC

11y 29,150 374 38 12

Quoted from Crash:

Bride of Pinbot. Seriously I plunge the ball, make a shot, try a slap save, and it's gone. I haven't even hit the shuttle ramp the last 3 times. My average game time is less than a minute.

Surely you are kidding. I've had games last an hour+ on mine with 3 Billionaires in same game. The only hard one I've ever played was one way back on location that was missing the spinner lane diverter wire. The ball went sdtm constantly. I love BOP, but I consider it one of the easiest games I have. A favorite though.

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#49 11 years ago
 
MHB

Metalpin

Inactive member

US N/a, NC

11y 29,150 374 38 12

I've had huge games on STTNG, but sometimes that game will kick my ass over and over like it is possessed by something evil.

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#50 11 years ago
 
RAY

abcdelmrs

Pinside member

US Atlanta, GA

11y 23,900 289 17 5

STTNG, BSD, and Shadow can be tough as nails, but with them I agree with what someone posted earlier. Once you get a feel for the games they are manageable for the most part. I've yet to figure out how to manage Tommy or Flash Gordon. Not enough time on Paragon to place it, but I do enjoy playing it when I come across one.

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