If you looked up CrazyLevi in the dictionary, that's what it would say.

based on the poll, this one is not even close.

almost 80% take DI.

Another Vs. Thread= Another Shit Show! Lol
Buy what you want, no matter how good the game is you will most likely move to the next machine after you have played about 1000-1500 games unless your a hard core collector.....

I'd like to play Houdini a little more,because the theme is perfect for me.I've been interested in magic ever since I was a kid. I also do a little close up magic,which some people hate,and some really like. Not everyone enjoys magic,and when I found someone who didn't like it I moved on.The real fun is when you find someone who likes magic.
I would have played a lot more of Houdini at the Pinfest,but the line for Dialed In was shorter,since they had two games set up for play.I'm also a casual player,and I kinda got scared off,when I read about how tight Houdini played.Even though the theme for Houdini was perfect for me,I ended up buying Dialed in for my first pinball machine.The theme wasn't as perfect as Houdini,but I did enjoy playing Dialed In a lot.
I heard people in line waiting to play Houdini, talking about some guy who was killing it on the Houdini game.I wish I saw him playing, because they were very impressed with his skills on this machine.
I'm thinking that this wouldn't be a game for a first time owner,that's a casual player,due to the tightness of the shots.
My local arcade has a Houdini,and I'd like to put some more time on it,because it sure is a beautiful game.If it didn't beat me up too bad,I wouldn't mind owning one.

Just don’t expect to play it by bashing the ball around like a good ‘ol B/W game; you have to hit the tough shots gently. But over time you can nail ‘em. I can backhand the inner loop (the catapult shot) 7 out of 10 times, and the milkcan shot 4 / 5 times. You gotta learn the shots! And you’ll be “one more gameing” in no time

I'll be tempted to pick up a Houdini when my IM sells. My wife and I loved it on location. DI is a generic theme and didn't grab us, shot fine but felt like nothing special.

I couldn't agree more! I own this game and absolutely love it. I am far from being an expert player and I really don't see why so many people say this is a difficult pin!

Well duh. And I commented on that.

I'm actually surprised the difference is that big in the vote. I do think DI is a little overrated but this is a pinball beatdown.

A whitewood and hall of fame playfield designer can help create that kind of disparity.

Amen! Makes sense to ask a pinball buddy (whom you know/respect) for advice, but the "social" media phenomenon of asking random people whom you've never met for advice almost always results in a Shit Show Guess we can't help watching a train wreck! More random people (including me), prefer DI.

snaroff

I was thinking the same thing about Iron Maiden but it's killing the other two pins in that other poll. IM vs Houdini vs AC.

what a great time for pinball though - so many good choices out there!

You mean like Roller Coaster Tycoon?

You are right about that.

Not if you're indecisive like I am,then it nothing but torture.

I'd still take RCT over 98% of Balcer games

If that game had Houdini's art and sound package, it would be a winner. The design is great, but the troll is more annoying than that stupid Jester from Aerosmith!

Much better game to play than Houdini.

But you knew that when you hit submit.

OMG. Now you're just being ridiculous for effect. RCT is one of Lawlor's worst games. Even he wishes he could erase it from his resume.

LOL. You guys are too funny

PL worst > Balcor's best

that is not true. Actually a good game to shoot just many think it is a bad theme.

LOL. Come on. TSPP & WOZ aren't that bad.

Line up all Lawlor's games on a list, best to worst. RCT is near the bottom on any sane list. So yeah, one of Lawlor's worst.

Hey the OP took your, "this or that" picture so I figured the homage was warranted.

you said that even he wishes he could erase it... I doubt that is true.

He may wish to erase the history of working for Stern where it all comes down to BOM instead of design and you get stuck with some crappy themes, but guessing in that era it was either work for Stern or not work in Pinball...

I personally would put it over CSI, Nascar, and Shrek.

You know honestly I don't know the whole story on TSPP, a game which I don't like but respect. On both sites Balcor receives second billing for the design and I've always thought of it as a Keith game (right or wrong) so i kept it out of this. Unless someone can fill me in?
I mean I also just assumed it's Keith's because it doesn't suck HEY-O!

I would put Woz very very (EDIT: +1 very) low on PF design personally.

No one is arguing it's near the bottom of his collection. CSI & FG are worse. RCT wastes some space for sure, but it has some good shots in it.

The WHY doesn't matter. The statement that he probably wishes he could erase it (and all the low-BOM Sterns of that era) as one of his crappiest pins stands. And it sounds like you're agreeing.

I'd take Shrek over RCT, but when you're talking CSI (I walked away from this at PAGG after a 30 minute ball 1), NASCAR, and RCT, it's too much bad to process, so let's call it a tie for worst. And Houdini is much better than ALL of those, and at least half of Lawlor's list. <---See, back on topic!

Me: RCT is one of Lawlor's worst games.
Whysnow: that is not true.

Mmmm...

CSI is better than Houdini. Pretty sure it at least had a whitewood.

I'm feeling generous so I might just give you Houdini over NASCAR.

You're smart enough to know he was referring to your "wishing he could erase it" statement

SO this thread has now turned into Houdinitards trying to convince us all it's better than the absolute dregs of Pat lawlor's career?

Fitting but sad.

The question is Houdini vs. Dialed In and it's a total laugher. Everbody knows Dialed In is a great game to play and Houdini isn't.

The good news for AP is there's clearly an audience and market for the kind of game they are putting out. Do they have any other designers beyond Joe Ballsearch, and do they plan on doing a whitewood next time around? People like to pigeonhole me but I'm very open-minded. Wasn't a fan of JJPs stuff at all until they impressed me in a big way with Dialed In. If AP puts out a decent game I'll be happy to say it.

When you stopped by my house a few months back, you had a DI in your van. Didn’t you tell me you only kept it for a few weeks? And that you didn’t really like it much so you traded it back to get another IJ?

Just sayin

LOW BLOW!

I have a Dialed In - that I have keys to - 3 blocks from the funtorium and a block from my work. Didn't take me long to realize I had no need for one of my own.

Many people here have bought and sold hundreds of games - doesn't mean we don't like most of the stuff we've sold. I bet you miss Bon Voyage!

Maybe I need to burn out on Houdini, but I totally burned out on Dialed In over 6 months. Too repetitive. Software may save it over time if it's more like WoZ and less like Hobbit in the polish department. No one missed Dialed In when it left the route I help with, and I wasn't crying any tears, either.

People here have said Balcor for #2

Houdini proves that you can, in fact, polish a turd. Move over Myth Busters!

Batman'66 did it first. Don't make me graph it for you.

I played it too much, then took a few weeks off, and came back fresh and enjoy it much more now.

Everything in moderation.

I play Houdini, Iron Maiden, and AfMr at least 3x a week to "test" them and haven't burned out on them. Similar play time on Dialed In at the same location and I was burned out in 6 months.

Nothing to see here, move along folks, just an old fashioned dick challenge contest going on ha ha ha

Haha...come on man, I had to! And I actually do miss bon voyage. That game is friggin cherry...err, I mean plays great. lol

Batman, Transformers, Avengers, Deadpool, Wrestlemania, even NoES:Freddy had whitewoods - all crap games. Whitewoods are no guarantee of a good game. AP had various incarnations of Houdini "on tour" for most of the year before release, and it was tweaked throughout. At least that's more location testing than Stern does now.

I really don't see how Houdini is that different from any other game. There are easy shots, medium difficulty shots and there are hard shots. But the tightness reputation is just a great example of Pinside group think. If a few vocal people cry about it on every Houdini thread then it somehow becomes the gospel truth.

I'm also a casual, average player and I have no problem hitting 95% of the shots on Houdini. It maybe took me a couple hours to start hitting the trunk shot and a couple weeks to dial it in. It's not that hard people.

But the cool kids on Pinside have spoken, it isn't a good game and you should feel bad for liking it.... /s

Dialed In all day long! Great game, so much fun to play.

Mark my words... in 3, 6 or 12 months from now, Houdini will be waaay up there on many people's list!

There are so many followers in this world.... Everyone wants to buy what everyone else says is great.

(Just putting my flame suit on)

My buddy Wayne and I spent a good amount of time with Josh last year after set up hours at Pinfest (2017) getting a good explanation of the rule set, some of the quirks, what went into the game, some of what they might change in the code, the tight shots, everything. Ended up playing a few games with him.

DI is a cool game and plays well, but the theme is not for me. I have a blast playing it when I come across one. Aesthetically I prefer Houdini, and I like that the gameplay is challenging. I had a mint BF before, and miss that game. Very tight and challenging shots also, same for BSD.