First post here. I hope I'm in the right place.

Someone I know is selling two machines. I've played both, but only a couple of games, and I don't know which one I want. The games in question are both routed, but have been in his home for the last 15 years. I'm getting "good buddy price" on either one, I can't afford both.

So, please convince me of why I either want to buy World Cup Soccer or The Shadow.

It's my buddy's uncle. I don't know him "well", but I've known him since I was a little kid. I've played both games, and they both play well. They are both dirty and could use new rubber. I guess my question is whether or one game or the other has longer playability than the other. The World Cup Soccer is immediate gratification, but I'm not sure that there's much beyond that. The Shadow was disappointingly hard to me, but from what I'm reading people say it has lots to offer and it's one of the all time greats.

I'm just not experienced enough to know any better.

Thanks Don - what is it about the shadow that makes you say that it is so much better?

Wow you guys are fast!

I don't want to disclose his asking prices, as they are well below what I found a couple here for. He's asking $250 more for the Shadow than the World Cup Soccer. I found an ad in the for sale page for a Shadow (ironically, only about 30 minutes away from me) that has similar wear above the flippers. Is there some sort of sticker I can get to cover that up, or do I just have to live with it?

As far as "players" games, I don't really know what I do and don't know or like. I like the instant gratification, but if that's all there is to the game I will probably get bored with it. The Shadow seems much harder. My only game currently is a Solar Ride that my parents bought for me, and to be honest, it's not that much fun. The only arcades that I know of are an hour away, and their games are in terrible condition. I've only played a total of about 10 different games, including the two I'm looking at.

As far as reliability goes, is one considered better than the other? Both have a lot of moving parts compared to my Solar Ride.

He's selling both. I pick one, the other goes on the market. I'm in grad school, so it's going to be a few years before I can afford another one.

An edit: because I'm new it won't let me make more posts right away. Any idea about the sticker? The wear on The Shadow is a concern.

Thanks guys. The flipper wear on this machine isn't as bad as the wear on the one in the ad, but it's wear nonetheless. There's a clear sticker over it now, but I don't like the way it looks. I don't need my machine to be perfect, but I think how visible that is will bother me. If there's no sticker available, what other repair options do I have?

The World Cup Soccer is really, really dirty. His kids played this one a lot, but everything works and as far as I can tell there are no spots that the playfield is bare wood.

One of the parts I asked before that no one answered, is one of these more reliable than the other?In reading up on the Shadow, some people say it's mechanically complicated, should that be a concern? Is the parts situation better for either? Gameplay aside, are there other factors I should be thinking about in my decision?

Wow! I haven't checked back in for a while, and there were a whole lot of new posts.

When I went to pick up the first machine (I picked World Cup), he told me he really wanted to get rid of both and sold me shadow for an extra $500. I went from owning one pinballs to owning 3 of them! Having lots of fun with them. Thanks for help.