Monster Bash would be my pick. It’s a good fan layout, has great humor, it’s fun to play, and it’s easy to understand.

Get the Willy Wonka.

You'll get bored of Monster Bash in a hurry, just like your Munsters.

Later,
EV

I never played Willy Wonka but monster Bash get old fast. I used to live in fountain BTW

Idk why but Wonka is like chopping wood to me. I would get an AFMr instead of a MB if that's an option, but would get either over Wonka.

I own a MB and wouldn’t recommend it if you’re limiting your collection to 3. It’s fun but gets old. If you ever decide to start rotating games, it’s a good one to have for a short period, the trade or sell for something else.

MB is amazing. If it gets easier then just disable extra balls and crank up the rear legs. All pinball gets repetitive.

I have both, Wonka owned since july have over 700 games on it. MB owned for 22 months just less than 1000.

I plan to keep them both (They are the base models) but with a smaller collection I think Wonka has more staying power.

Just saw this was mentioned, also have AFM se great game as well and one I plan to keep.

I actually am not a huge fan of Wonka, but that aside, your collection sounds like you have 3 modern Stern games. Although the MB remake itself is "new", I'd go with that one for a little classic 90s DMD variety in the lineup.

It’s not so bad New Jersey has handled it pretty well. I go for my second vaccine on Wednesday so i’m looking forward to going out to dinner sometime soon

I was in the exact same boat back in the fall. I love MB but always wanted a JJP machine. Went back and forth and finally opted for Wonka LE. And I am so happy I did. Not only do I find it fun and challenging, my 9 year old daughter loves it! Plays constantly and is the current grand champion in our house. Wonka is a super fun shooter!

Hearing this trips me out. We have still been going out to eat and stuff since the beginning. Kids have actually been going to school since the beginning and I heard the other day some states will not go back this year. mind blowing to me that some states completely stopped.

My location has all the above. Granted it's been closed since practically Thanksgiving. IMO - Turtles is a dud. Nice layout and toys..but not a clean smooth shooter for me. Wonka I get pissed at the TV Shot - which starts modes and runs half the game. Impossible to backhand and hard as hell off the left flipper. Granted if I had one in my house, it may be easier to shoot. I love the colors, modes. It's a nice game. MB - it's a classic. It's not "deep" like Wonka, but the rules are decent. Multiballs a plenty, and hard (at least for me) to get to the wizard mode. There's a reason it's been in the top 10 as long as it has. If you're looking for a deep ruleset with a ton of crap to do, and dont mind it being choppy and lacking flow - Wonka. If you're looking for a fun game with good flow and somewhat easy to hit shot - MB. I'd dump turtles in a heartbeat.

At one time, I thought I had room for only three. I’m up to 12 now. There’s always room for one more.

New turtles pin is rather so-so imo, I would not recommend it for small home collection. Granted I only played it about 45 min total one evening but it never "clicked" with me. After that session I wasn't feeling "one more time" as I do with many other pins.

I have played well over 100+ games of MB. Love the heck out of it. Yes, just like any other game, once you get down the rule set a game can get boring, but MB is not that, especially if he has kids. I am a EM collector, so not many DMD or later SS interest me. I find MB to have that constant “just one more game” drive. In my opinion, MB should be his choice because it’s a great single player and a great 4 player competition game.

As for Wonka, here’s my experience from a friend who owned one for just 4 months.
My friend bought a Wonka LE and was very excited with his purchase at first. Within the first two weeks a part broke and he had to wait for a new one from JJP. He installed the new part and was back up and running again. He called me and a couple friends over to play it. About two hours in of game playing, the machine went into a full hard crash. He went online and downloaded something from JJP to do a full reboot the machine. Reboot didn’t work. He eventually got the machine working again, but he said enough was enough and dumped the machine. He said for the money he paid for a NIB, the machine just wasn’t worth it for constant fixing.

My final advise to the OP is to consider, does he want a reliable game or a game that is constant trouble?

I would take TMNT and MB of those 3, but it is honestly all subjective ha. I love Lawlor games but WW just never clicked with me. I don't enjoy the lighting at all as everything is always lit all the time, theme does nothing for me, I don't find the layout very satisfying especially the upper right playfield area, and I'm not crazy about the rules. I'd much rather take Dialed In over WW if I was spending that kind of money on a modern Lawlor game. That is my personal taste though, I see why people like WW and I'll drop a few bucks on it on location, but no desire to own one personally.

I voted for WW because it has deep rules and plenty of different ways to play it. If you want to try to get a bunch of chocolate bars, try for golden tickets or just try for one of the many high score categories. WW shoots smooth with a mix of easy to challenging shots and I just love a game with more then 2 flippers it keeps it interesting. I’ve owned my WW for a few months and it’s a bit confusing at first with so much to decode on the tv screen. I also own a TMNT pro and I think it’s a great pin that has a decent amount of rules that are a bit easier to understand(compared to WW) but definitely not shallow. I also think TMNT brings a extra perk to the table which is the CO-OP mode. My wife and I love that we can team up and battle together against the pin instead of each other. The shots a fast but smooth on TMNT and again more then 2 flippers. Good luck on your hunt but it’s always best to play before you buy.

I love that your mom buys pins. I told my parents they should get a WOZ for their home but they just thought I was crazy!!

And as for JJP, their customer service is awesome. And I haven’t had much trouble with my Wonka. Had a scratched back glass when it arrived and they replaced right away. And I had one issue where the CPU wouldn’t boot, but they helped me through it. Also, I have a Stern Stranger Things and I love that game like crazy. But the demogorgan shot and Telekenesis multiball don’t work right for a majority of owners and I spent hours under the glass tinkering with that thing. So it can happen with lots of companies but the important thing is how they respond to the owner and I find both companies to be helpful and responsive.

We have only had the option of going to a restaurant since around September. I was never one for outdoor dining. My daughter who is in high school has only been to around 20 days of in school learning since last March and they only go for five hours.

I hear ya! My wife and I flew down to Florida to watch the Super Bowl in some form of normalcy. Outside in a bar. Been here five days, ate out in a restaurant every night. It’s weird that we have to go through these hoops just to feel normal. Thank G for Florida.

Huh? Your friend had tech issues with one build of Wonka so no one should buy it?

Wonka is by far the better game on the list. As with any game, set up will influence redundancy.

I am not necessarily saying that. If someone has the know how to fix a newer game when it crashes, NP. I just expressed my opinion to the OP of other things for him to consider before making his purchase. If he is technical enough and wants to deal with a game breaking down, that’s his choice. We all have games breakdown at some point, it’s just how quick can we get them back up and flipping.

Not trying to argue, but it still seems that you're insinuating that all Wonkas will break down like the one example you've been exposed to. A sample of one is not a good sample for that type of argument...