as many as you can fit in your home.

12 pins was my original max crazy person limit.

Now i have 20. Feels right

How large is your home less the refrigerator?

More then 1 less then me lol.

You need at least one more than you think you can afford, have room for, or can justify.

LTG : )

How many machines
do I "need"?
I don't understand the question...

The answer is “one more.”

The answer is always 1 more

For me a JJPPOTC and an Alien LE are all you need as a collection. Low in number but high in quality. These two pins offer all Pinball can offer in just 2 games.

Never enough

Buy themes that keep you interested.

When you hit your limit you'll feel it. Mine is nine.

One more than you have.

Not even close. There is so much pinball has to offer that is not in those games. Those are some new modern games and do not encompass so much that older pinball has to offer.

If you are happy with that then that is all you personally need and I agree that is all you need. That is not what you said though.

I have 17 games. I have about 5-6 of them that are not keepers. I use those spots to keep the lineup fresh each year. The others most likely will never leave.

It really all boils down to time, space and money and where you are with your collection. Early on it was all about figuring out which games I liked enough to keep. My criteria - did I think a game was fun, complemented others and contributed to a good representation of games from different eras. Then it was about how much space I wanted to dedicate to pinball. Then mixing the two.

I have 5 EM favorites in one room and 15 SS games in another with no available space. At this point my collection has all family favorites, so to bring in a new game requires a tough choice deciding which leaves. I’ve done that a couple times now and it’s been a harder choice each time. It will be slightly easier going forward because I’ve pretty much decided there aren’t games I want more than ones currently in my collection. So change is only likely if there is a yet unannounced game that makes a hard choice necessary or someone makes me an offer I’d be silly to turn down.

My real answer is as many as you can comfortably keep working without it starting to feel like more work than fun.

I agree, I try to make sure I get to play them more than working on them. Bullet proofing them before puting into the gameroom is very important to keep your sanity.
-Mike

Totally! I like project games and I enjoy working on them but when it feels like there is always something that needs fixed it can get frustrating.

Wow hard question.

I think minimum, 5 sweet spot 8-12.
Then rotate them out as you want a change.

In a perfect world...all of them!!

Same equation I use for motorcycles

N+1

N=current amount

Also an equation you might need to use is

D-1

D=Divorce

the answer is how many can you fit. It's best to draw out your house on graph paper. do 1 sq ft per square. A typical machine will take 2 1/2 squares wide by 4.4 squares long. You will want 2 squares in front of the machine to be able to get the glass off. Plot out your floor plan to maximize the amount of games you can get in a given floorplan.

I just realized you are out of the country. I do not know how this would translate to metric.

Have 35 in the collection now and is a bit overwhelming at times......but I'm still looking for more lol.

n = number of games you have
k = amount of room you have
N = number of games you want
P = amount of money you can scrape together by selling everything you own including the wife.

mathequation (resized).png

More

It depends on your priorities in life. I once had over 50. Now I am comfortable with about a dozen. The key is variety. One day you might want to play a deep game, the next a simple one.

major variety is the key to things not getting old. Also makes you a well rounded player. Having DMD, EM, early SS all in the mix, really changes things up.

Easy answer you don't need any but keep as many around as make you happy

To be on the safe side I would just get one of each. If you have the money, get two of each so you have extra parts.

Once you get your first machine you’ll be eyeing on another one and another one and another one and another o...Haha! I can keep going on and on

After decades as a pinhead, and now a recovering addict, I can confidently say that the formula is as follows:

Ideal collection = current collection + 1

I realized that when I had like 10-12 premium pins I had restored (back when a nice MM could be had for $4k) and was out of room, and realized I still wanted more. I had a choice. I could become "that guy" with a storage unit or units full of pins still buying and restoring more, OR I could downsize to 1-2 and make a hard rule that if one comes in, one has to go, which is what I went with.

I took my time to build my collection. I figured out what pinball aspects, styles, and themes I liked best. I then proceeded to get pins from different makers, different eras, and with varying styles. It keeps it super fresh and very enjoyable.

Things to consider:

-Number of flippers
-Widebody or regular
-Multi ball styles and quantity, or none at all
-Different eras
-Favorite styles; ramps, bash toys, pop bumpers, modes, etc.
-fast and slow play times

If you have unlimited room and money, get as many as possible. If not, keep your collection varied.

You can always get rid of your bed and sleep under the machines that now fit in that space. Nice and cozy, like a fort.

As a JP2 Premium owner it would be tough to justify replacing it with two lesser games. The depth of the modern games is really quite remarkable - JP2 included.

I’m definitely in the ‘quality not quantity’ camp. Of course, space plays a big part in that as well.

My $0.02

How much space do I need?

...that's what you should asking!

One good game is better than 2 not so good games.

Good games are expensive. Everywhere around the world.

Time for an extension

Quality is better than quantity, but having a variety in a small collection is a " must-have."
Just because they cost more or are newer doesn't mean you will like them better.

I feel that for 9300-10000, you could get 3 very good pins. I would recommend getting system 11 games, early ball and/or stern ss, and maybe a nice dmd game. You could get a bally fathom, Williams pinbot, and The Shadow and have money left over.

I'm at 19 right now. I'll let you know as soon as I figure it out.

When buying pins for home. Think about it. Do you like playing more ? Fixing more ? Find the balance that provides you with what you like the most.

A huge collection is fun until time goes by and you realize you are running an arcade without the income.

LTG : )

I vote quality over quantity. Nothing worse than a large collection with games that have issues. Also, I think it’s easier to burn out of the hobby with more than you can handle. My goal is now 1 pin a year for the next few years, but that largely has to do with my wife and I trying to start a family. I don’t know if I would feel the same without the prospect of kids, but have as many as you can enjoy!

What you really need: Get more of your friends and neighbors into the hobby. Get more games in the area. Swap games *and* have local events (casual or tournament, whatever's fun). Help spread the cost *and* increase local variety. Besides, the social side of this can be fun!

Now, as to how many you need for home, where you can play in pajamas, ... everyone else has this covered. "One more than you (have) or (have space for)".

Simple, are you collecting for them or you, I'm really the only one in my household who plays my pins and I do so 3-5 days a week. My wife will occasionally come down and play but rarely unless some of our friends come over.

We just hit 20, and I've "almost" got them all working. We're holding off for a little while to see if we can keep this many going. . Our game room is a former bank lobby in an 1887 stone and brick building. Stop by sometime!

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The limit does not exist.