The perfect number of pinball machines for my collection is maximum capacity +1.

My peak was 28 with 22 up and running.. Felt like I had my own arcade.

I have about 30 machines. And what keeps them interesting is no two are the same.

Most in my collection have different lower playfields with a variety of flipper arrangements. Something I would not get if I only had machines from the last 30 years.

I feel like once you pass 6 you're just collecting because it's addictive and fun, or you like hosting parties or league, or whatever else, and you are going to start walking past machines and not playing some of them all that often. Nothing wrong with that! But if you're looking for a minimum to just play all the time 4-6 is probably the sweet spot.

I'm slowly downsizing my collection, the urge to have JUST ONE MORE has passed, and now I mostly care about games that I want to play.

I have only room for 3 games plus a fourth in storage so I focused on getting titles with quality and deep rule sets and classic art and sound that won't get tiresome. Every winter I swap out the one in storage. This works for me. However, for me, pinball is more of a cold weather pastime so several months of the year I don't play much pinball at all. When I come back to it after exploring my other hobbies for a while the same games are pretty fresh again.

Because I often organize tourneys... 9-12 would be ideal for me.

If it were only for me 6-9. Would need at least two EM, two early SS, two DMD.

minimum of 10,
covering all eras

Kindof my theory. I have a simple game with high octane bashing (de trek), a game with a ton of ramps (goldeneye) and a mode based game (jurassic park). Between the three i have a game with three flippers, subway ramps, ramps behing the back wall, awesome toys and themes that are dear too me.

I used to own A list titles but i just never loved them. Maybe i expected too much out of them, who knows...

These games are all also data east/sega so i can see their evolution.

Anything over 2.

I do have to admit that I did become obsessed with just finding more machines. I've been doing this for about 10 years now and absolutely loved the hunt for treasures that I could bring back to life. I don't think I would have gone this crazy had there not been tremendous technical support freely available when I started (Many, many thanks Clay). I original thought I would get machines, fix them up...certainly enjoy them for a while, then sell them. This evolved into pretty much find, fix and KEEP! Only when I ran out of room did I find the need to sell some to make room for more. I think all told I've had around 60 games with my peak being at 28. The hunt was the most satisfying to me, but with the popularity of the hobby those days are gone, at least for me. I have reduced my collection down to around a 10 machines that I really love. I have found a new love in making reproduction ramps for games and I have several local enthusiasts that are very willing to loan me their games in support of new ramps which enables me to keep seeing games I have not owned in the past. The fun never stops!

I started with a couple. Found a sweet spot around 15, grew to 52 at my highest point, scaled back to between 12 and 15 where I have stayed pretty consistent for the past decade or so.

As I got more and more, I found the hobby less enjoyable. There was too much work keeping them playing properly to just have fun. I felt obligated to keep them working - instead of enjoying other activities.

I have 5 in the livingroom which are our play most of the time for me and my wife, and if that was all the room I had, it would seem a little light for touraments and maybe long term, but is fine for parties and gatherings.

I also have a converted garage gameroom that has another 12, a couple gun games and a work area. I would love to have more room for the sake of collecting and not having to move stuff out to get new ones.

I think 10-12 is a good number for that arcade feel and to offer a larger variety (couple old bally's, maybe an EM, some newer bally/williams and some modern pins). Realistically I pretty much fill whatever room I have, but that's the collecting side not strictly from a playing side.

I think 12 is about right, but I disagree about being "stuck" with them if they are your all-time favorites. Most of the 13 games in my game room are my personal favorites that I actively looked for myself or had my distributor look for for me. (I tried to buy my ToM proto from an arcade for months with the manager always refusing to sell and finally tracked it down and bought it from a different manager when the parent company moved it to another one of their arcades in another city further away.) Only three of the 13 were purchased for other reasons: 2001 Stern Playboy because I have a Playboy magazine collection that spans over fifty years; 2014 Stern Mustang Boss premium because my wife and I own four Mustangs; and 1999 SW:E1 because they only made two P2K pins and I wanted to collect them both.

My buddy who has 10 pins himself asked me which ones of mine I would pick if I could only keep 4 games. MB and SS and BBB would have to stay. But would my 4th pick be AFM or CFTBL? (I know AFM is the better game, but my CFTBL is spectacular with the MikeD TV mod, lit taillight speaker panel, color DMD, and prototype 3D translite.) And how could I let go of TZ or IJ or ToM or RFM? So 4 is definitely not enough and 12 is just about right (I could maybe give up SW:E1 if I absolutely had to get down to 12).

Well, im up to 5 now, but i cannot simply press any more pins into my house now so ive hit a natural border there

I currently have 24 with room for 50 total. I still have 15 on my wish list, but many of my pins see very little play. When my collection got big, it seemed like the games are competing with each other for my time. My favorites get played a lot, but my 2nd tier games mostly just sit there collecting dust.

That's why I'm passing on games like Alien, Ghostbusters, Hobbit etc....

They just aren't that appealing compared to what I already have.

I've had the full spectrum of games, but I think my favorites tend to be early Bally SS machines and System 11's. The newest game I have right now is Bride of Pinbot.

It doesn't matter how large your collection is, you're gonna get bored and want more.

I have to disagree. I've had a lot come and a lot go, but now I've fine tuned the collection so we never get bored. And the only way to bring in something else now, is to let something that is better go.

Last one should be here later this week.

Pit Stop
Big Daddy
Rocket
Frontiersman
Magic Clock
Trade Winds
Fun Park
Cyclone 1988
Heat Wave
Arrow Head
Ripley's Believe It or Not
Skill Pool 1963
Lady Luck 1968
Satellite
Jolly Roger
River Boat
Eager Beaver
Lady Robin Hood
Fashion Show
Speed way
Earthshaker
Serenade
El Toro 1963
San Francisco
Darts
Struggle Buggies
Wagon Train
Flipper
Kings
Surf Side
Buccaneer 1948
Pinky
And one more on the way...

No, we never get bored with any of these.

And the one on the way is a Bally. I don't have one at the moment either. I'm not counting that chicken until it hatches. Or gets here. Whichever comes first.

Is it the one from OR?

Not Oregon. But I may have mentioned it to you. Should be here soon, I hope. Not gonna overhype until I get my sweaty mits on it.

I enjoy EM Machines. Problem is,I've read too much and remember playing too many duds and now am picky.Most don't deliver the level of strategy I prefer,yet I feel comfortable fixing them so my choice in machines is limited.I have two and would be happy with 4,if the other 2 machines I desire come available.
Of course,42 would be nice...

If the games are fully functional with strong flippers and pop's, I'd 6 or 8 would be about right. I prefer to have games from various manufacturers. Each company had its own feel.

Love how you use the "royal we."

It's more fun to compete. Invite competition.

It's just been confirmed my Bally is about two weeks from completion. But it's getting there. Hey, what's this doing in the EM forum?

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7 games. That was the magic number. All of a sudden there were enough games that if one or two had an issue, it wasn't a disaster. There was enough variety that I was always happy to have something I wanted to play.

When you double that, other stuff starts happening. The variety just increases! However it matters less. Games can sit unplayed for a while (months). But even that is cool because as you circle back to it, it feels like a brand new game.

So 7 was the crossroad in my opinion.

I am pretty compulsive so I bought like 600 or so. Down to like 50 I think. SO my capacity is "one more".

I will add that I like to keep all my games clean, shopped out, and fully working. And since I do it all myself, more than 30 or so might become a chore.

I think 10 running is a good amount . I currently have 16 games and only 2 titles are not played weekly . I play 10-15 hours a week and about 5 hours of maintenance or repair/restore .
Gold Strike
Free Fall
Neptune
Ice Show
Pin Up
Cowpoke
Diamond Jack
Flipper. Cowboy
Flipper Pool
Delta Queen
Sportsman EM Rifle Game
Mayfair
Pleasure Isle
Astro
Dimension
Outer Space
Im working on a deal for another A list Wedgehead

Added over 8 years ago: Forgot Melody

use strlen()

...amateur

Aquarius?

Use to be 15 - 20, not I am downsizing to 7. A good number for me.

7

I think 7 is more than enough.

Q: How many machines keep it interesting?

A: One more than you currently own.

A2: One more than you have room for.

Hmmm. Yellow head. Bally SS.
Skateball? Fireball 2? Lost World?

Pick a card, any card.. Lets just say the theme suits me.

Heck, I'm no good at keeping secrets. Here's another hint.

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At least 7.

I knowed it! That thing looks brand new!
Right Arm baby!

That should pretty much finish the collection, shouldn't it?

It should. It's a brand new NOS Bally playfield.

Then you woke up.

Where do you find this shtuff!?

I was going to ask the same thing. But I usually don't.

I will say this, I know the restorer Robert will make this maybe the finest Skateball in the world. And that my friend is something that is very hard to pass up. Best part is I've never even played one, but now I'll get my chance.

You needed a classic S/S pin in your collection,
and SkateBall is a good one.

I needed them all like I needed a hole in the head. But yes, I think it will fit in nicely.

LOL Aquarius was the worst Wedgehead I ever played ! Had a shot at one for 200, working, 1 broken plastic. Good glass & cabinet. I passed and never regretted it. Nah man an A-list game for me would be a metal jewel post pin with Roy Parker art, card themed, and multiple kickout holes. but they didn't make an AAB version so this will be my only replay pin in the lineup .