Advice Needed Picking New Games...

I know some people get irritated when people ask for help picking games. I get it, everyone has different tastes. But I really want to change up my lineup, and due to COVID and other issues, I have not played location pinball in ages (and don't see it happening soon). Some of the games I want I've played a bit, others I have not played.

Ultimately I'm looking to sell 4-6 games from my lineup and replace them with new-ish games. Probably going to unload things like MM, IJ, TotAN, etc.

If you could pick 3 of the following games (based on fun-factor, and variety amongst the group) which games would you pick? I'd like games that have some variety from each other and from what I have now.

THE GAMES:

Star Wars Comic Premium - I've played this the most of the games on my list and I like it quite a bit. I sold a HUO T2 last year and I miss the flow. This seems like a good flow, but also a good rules-based replacement.

Deadpool Premium - I've played this a fair amount of times, and I really like it. I'm not sure how well it will do in a home. Does the challenge / rules / "humor" hold up in a home? Not a critical factor, but my wife's not a huge fan of this game.

Jurassic Park Premium - I've only played this game a few times. Seemed kinda fun, but it was loud and I ultimately had no idea what I was supposed to do. Got bored just flailing around, but after watching some rules videos, it sounds really cool. Not a huge JP fan, but the rules seem up my alley. How similar to AIQ?

Avengers: IQ Premium - Never played this game. Watched a few streams and the rules seem really fun. LOVE the concept of the limited flip modes. I'm really neutral on the theme, but the flow and Elwin rules (from what people say) have me interested. How similar to JP3?

Elvira's HOH Premium - Played this on very early code and I'm mixed. I really LOVE my Scared Stiff. When I played EHOH I didn't like it as much as SS, but I've heard it's come a long way. Never had a Lyman game before, so I don't know how much I'd dig that, but it seems like Elvira/Lyman would be right up my alley.

JJP GNR LE - Never played this game. Used to love GNR a million years ago, but am pretty neutral now as the music is sorta played out. I'm not confident I would like the constant multiball rules, but the concert-in-a-box concept sounds really fun, and it sounds different from anything else I own.

Hot Wheels - Don't laugh. Never played it, but I own and really like Oktoberfest, and always liked Full Throttle. This seems like it might be a good hybrid of the two. I had no interest on launch, but watched some Jack Danger streams and it seems like it could be fun. Might fill my missing T2 itch?

I'm also open to other suggestions, but want to stick with newish stuff to mix it up. I wouldn't be surprised if I ended up getting most of these games over time. But with no location playing in sight, I want to prioritize a few of these games that would make a good and diverse addition to my lineup.

Thanks for any insights!

#2 3 years ago

CRD

chad

Game Guy

11y 140K 15,165 9 5

For you truly to know, you have to play them personally and get the feel . Dead Pool Premium is good.

#3 3 years ago

SMK

TheLaw

Pinside+ Addict

Ann Arbor, MI

12y 162K 48,039 19 30 1

Avengers & SW for sure for the first 2

#4 3 years ago

IAN

HEAD_boss_HOG

Pinside member

Murrieta, CA

6y 67,150 580 7 37

EHOH, GNR LE, and AIQ

perfect blend of easy and hard games. all different designers with diferent styles. All thematically diverse (fun, serious, and funner) for a refreshing lineup once you get them!

Cheers!

#5 3 years ago

MOO

Cheeks

Pinside+ Frequent

Quoted from chad:
For you truly to know, you have to play them personally and get the feel . Dead Pool Premium is good.

I totally understand, but I'd like to refresh my lineup sooner than when I'll be playing location pinball. Plus, as long as I buy a used game, I shouldn't have to worry about losing money if I end up deciding to sell.

#6 3 years ago

ROK

pinmister

Pinside member

11y 129K 7,602

Lots of people asking for opinions lately. Not a bad thing but for me pinball is too subjective to take others opinions. I have learned that it really comes down to theme for me to connect. I would say go with your gut on what you think will be fun to you-nobody else. You have a very unique collection and I can tell you have different taste than most do. I want to say Hotwheels-because you have an itch for it.

Star Wars Comic Premium-Fast challenging game with orchestrated soundtrack and awesome theme. I mean it is 'Star Wars',
Ritchie masterpiece, tons of flow and fantastic rule set.

Deadpool Premium-great layout-hated Katana-now I love it. Have not been able to see value vs theme yet-waiting for price to drop? Comic art, call-outs, and bobble head just are missing for me? It is an ok theme for me but not great-lots of others I would want first.

AIQ-First time playing I thought it was amazing. Got about 20 games in and it did nothing for me. Do not care for comic style, call-outs, animations, etc. Another theme where I may be interested later as price goes down? I thought the ramps would keep my interest but without out bash toy or something-lost interest quickly.

JP Premium-Had an LE set up and decided to go Pro-better flow. It is a great game and has great flow and rule set but does get repetitive. Recommended for larger collection-not in my top 10

EOH-Great game with a fun layout. Really enjoy shooting it but theme does nothing for me and I feel it is overpriced. Now if you love the theme-it is a winner for sure.

JJP GNR-Did nothing for me and I have decided GNR is past its prime with me. JJP doing 20+modes makes this game extremely repetitive quickly. Good game for larger collection and for variety

Hot Wheels-Loved the theme and thought it may be fun for my son. Quickly realized it is pretty generic in terms of toys and features. The spinning car has to be one of the worst fails in terms of interactive toys. It got old quickly for me personally.

Now again these are my opinions which really mean nothing. I do really like Star Wars though(2nd favorite game)

Other suggestion is to look at some titles a few years old? Ghostbusters LE is awesome and so is X-MEN LE? Packed full of goodness

#7 3 years ago

GNZ

KrisGonzo

Pinside member

Sandhurst

3y 32,550 92 7 11

Firstly nobody should be getting irritated at people asking for advice on a discussion forum so I wouldn't worry about it. Anyone who get's annoyed by such things probably shouldn't be on a forum.

As for your choices it would depend on your standard as a player.

If you're terrible like me and just like fun games then I'd go for Elvira, Deadpool & G&R

If you're a decent player who get's high scores then perhaps Elvira, Jurassic Park & AIQ

I've had all of the above (apart from G&R) and JP and AIQ are the deepest games with a lot of shots. However when guests come over who aren't into pinball those games get played the least. Everyone who comes to my house loves Deadpool and in particular Elvira.

The pinheads who come over play AIQ & JP2

#8 3 years ago

MDG

Vegas9

Pinside member

Arlington Heights, IL

8y 54,800 245 10

OP
Quoted from Cheeks:
Hot Wheels - Don't laugh. Never played it, but I own and really like Oktoberfest, and always liked Full Throttle. This seems like it might be a good hybrid of the two. I had no interest on launch, but watched some Jack Danger streams and it seems like it could be fun. Might fill my missing T2 itch?

Laugh? Anyone who has played this game would not laugh at you. Hot Wheels is extremely fun and has that 'one more game' feel to it. It's truly a gem, and if you enjoy Full Throtte, Hot Wheels will blow you away. How Wheels pinball is easily the best bang-for-your-buck NIB pinball.

Check out what the owners say for themselves here: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/official-hot-wheels-club-challenge-accepted/page/44

#9 3 years ago

TKM

Daditude

All solid choices. Really tough decision. For a diverse collection, I chose DP, JP, and GNR. I really don't think you would be disappointed in any of those.

I was tempted to replace DP with either hot wheels or AIQ. I think hot wheels is EXTREMELY underrated. I'm not big on the theme, but I can admit it's a very good game.

#10 3 years ago

REW

woody76

Pinball Marketing

Nashville, TN

9y 142K 6,843 6 98

JP Premium and Elvira are the 2 I like the most of that group but I have not put any time on GNR. As you can see answers are all over the board here.

#11 3 years ago

MOO

Cheeks

Pinside+ Frequent

Thanks for the input from everyone. In normal times I try to play everything on my own; I don't necessarily like a lot of the most popular games. But, I really want to change up the lineup, so I'm leaning on some opinions of people who have experience with the games that interest me.

BTW - I found a JP Prem for sale super local to me, so I'm picking that one up tomorrow. Are JP and AIQ too similar to consider both as 2 of my 3 picks from this list? JP probably wasn't at the top of my list, but being only 15 minutes from me, it made the most sense to grab it and figure out the other games from there.

#12 3 years ago

TKM

Daditude

OP
Quoted from Cheeks:
Thanks for the input from everyone. In normal times I try to play everything on my own; I don't necessarily like a lot of the most popular games. But, I really want to change up the lineup, so I'm leaning on some opinions of people who have experience with the games that interest me.
BTW - I found a JP Prem for sale super local to me, so I'm picking that one up tomorrow. Are JP and AIQ too similar to consider both as 2 of my 3 picks from this list? JP probably wasn't at the top of my list, but being only 15 minutes from me, it made the most sense to grab it and figure out the other games from there.

I think you will be glad you got JP. That really seems to haven fallen in your lap. Nice!

AIQ is different enough that it shouldn't be an issue to own both.

#13 3 years ago

JAY

Jaybird815

Pinside member

Manhattan, IL

9y 123K 6,908 2

OP
Quoted from Cheeks:
Thanks for the input from everyone. In normal times I try to play everything on my own; I don't necessarily like a lot of the most popular games. But, I really want to change up the lineup, so I'm leaning on some opinions of people who have experience with the games that interest me.
BTW - I found a JP Prem for sale super local to me, so I'm picking that one up tomorrow. Are JP and AIQ too similar to consider both as 2 of my 3 picks from this list? JP probably wasn't at the top of my list, but being only 15 minutes from me, it made the most sense to grab it and figure out the other games from there.

I’ve played that JP, nice example and he’s a great guy to deal with. JP is one of my current favorites.

#14 3 years ago

FTP

fixintoplay

Pinside member

11y 62,050 650

I didn't see any EMs in your collection. One would suffice. I keep a few of my favorites in the game room because it gives newbies (of all ages) a chance to see and experience first hand the historical progression of pinball. I try to give visitors a mini-tutorial about how technology changed dramatically over time -- it combines fun and amusement with education.

#15 3 years ago

LAW

dung

Pinside member

12y 86,050 5,578 6 30

Quoted from Vegas9:
Laugh? Anyone who has played this game would not laugh at you. Hot Wheels is extremely fun and has that 'one more game' feel to it. It's truly a gem, and if you enjoy Full Throtte, Hot Wheels will blow you away. How Wheels pinball is easily the best bang-for-your-buck NIB pinball.
Check out what the owners say for themselves here: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/official-hot-wheels-club-challenge-accepted/page/44

Disagree and I own a full throttle. Hate the light feel of ap games coils. Liked houdini when i had it but oktoberfest and hot wheels bleh. Theme does nothong for me. The game left me feeling flat.

Full throttles animations suck. The theme doesnt do it for me either. Layout is great. Its simple fun and its fast.it leaves me wanting more. Hot wheels makes me want to leave.

Quoted from fixintoplay:
I didn't see any EMs in your collection. One would suffice. I keep a few of my favorites in the game room because it gives newbies (of all ages) a chance to see and experience first hand the historical progression of pinball. I try to give visitors a mini-tutorial about how technology changed dramatically over time -- it combines fun and amusement with education.

Different skill set to learn. They don't like sitting unplayed. I enjoy them but avoid ema for this reason. An early ss is a better option if going this route.

#16 3 years ago

SKB

Eskaybee

Pinside member

12y 155K 12,955 40

If I had a 3 pin lineup based on those choices, I’d go:

GNRLE
DP PREM
SW PREM comic.

Lots of diversity in those 3 pins.

GNR = the total package. Lightning strikes in a pin once in a lifetime (pun intended), and this is it.

DP = Fun, light hearted, entertaining, with unique and satisfying shots. Great code and one of sterns best ‘attention to detail’ games with rules, sounds, music, display, art, etc..

SW = fast, punishing, strategic, lots of breadth, One of the best unorthodox rule sets in pinball.

#17 3 years ago

EMC

Pinstein

Pinball Alterniverse

Ft Lupton, CO

10y 83,550 1,739 13 1

Dont sell that TOTAN or IJ, you will regret it and not be able to afford to buy them back. Yes Im projecting here.

#18 3 years ago

MOO

Cheeks

Pinside+ Frequent

Quoted from Pinstein:
Dont sell that TOTAN or IJ, you will regret it and not be able to afford to buy them back. Yes Im projecting here.

IJ and MM are going for sure. TotAN I'm a little more on the fence about. I've owned most of my B/W stuff for SO long, and now I'd like just about everything I listed in my OP. I'll need to sell stuff for space and money to get 6-8 new games, so there will be some casualties that hurt more than others.

#19 3 years ago

TKM

Daditude

OP
Quoted from Cheeks:
IJ and MM are going for sure. TotAN I'm a little more on the fence about. I've owned most of my B/W stuff for SO long, and now I'd like just about everything I listed in my OP. I'll need to sell stuff for space and money to get 6-8 new games, so there will be some casualties that hurt more than others.

If paragon or TZ are casualties, send me a pm.

#20 3 years ago

JTL

fnosm

Pinside+ Pro!

11y 97,300 1,970 1

+1 for Hot Wheels this game is beautiful and fun to play. Fully loaded, great construction bargain basement price. This is my pick for sleeper game of the year.

#21 3 years ago

TKM

Daditude