technically, i am both 1 and 4...

seriously though, that might work to give some type of raw numbers...

Ahhh. .... What? Had to read this twice, and edit this 4 times. Ooops.
#1, and interested in meeting a #2

My experience is that you can aim better with 3" flippers, and that 2" flippers were more random, ie luck, no?

nope.... 1&4 are true, 2&3 are false...

Definitely No.

More practice may be required, but you can sharp shoot with 2" flippers too.

Marcus

I like playing EM's. I have a few in my possession. I do not think electronic displays are sacrilege. Where does that put me?

That makes you an EM guy in my book.

Marcus

check

You are playing EM pins on a regular basis, and enjoy them.
You know what EM stands for.
You may own an EM game or even more than 1.
Then you qualify as an EM player.
'Ownership is not Essential'

i think what that really breaks down to is "it is easier to catch and cradle the ball on 3"ers, and thus be able to control the ball and shots easier"...

when i keep the ball "under control" on a 2" game, i can aim basically just as well as on a 3" game... the timing of the flip just becomes more important in terms of optimizing the shot...

the issue is that is is very easy to lose control of the ball on many (most) 2" machines (and often impossible to get it back) and when that happens, you (or me, anyway) ends up flipping mostly in attempt to save the ball... thus, it becomes "random/luck" where the ball ends up, since you really aren't aiming at anything...

as a general rule, the number 1 skill on most 2" machines is keeping the ball under control (imo, ymmv, etc.)... and it is the hardest thing to do...

I currently have one EM and it's a project, but I enjoy EMs. Does that count?

--Luke

if it makes you feel any better, i had to think it through several times too...

fortunately, i already have a #2...

4 System 1s
1 Bally SS
3 woodrails
~ 3-4 Bally EMs
~9-10 Williams EMs
~ 40 Gottlieb EM

Yes, I lost count.

As a percentage of Pinside traffic, he may be correct.

As a percentage of solid citizens who don't cause trouble and are truly the salt of the earth, he is wrong.

Yep. It counts.

Marcus

Add one more......

I like all pinball. That being said, I would consider myself an EM guy by a few factors.

First, if, or more likely when, I have to reduce my collection to only a few games, I expect the majority of those games will be EMs.

Second, I love to work on EMs. Not only due to the challenge, but also due to how much the designers were able to do with so little technology (just relays and steppers). I also like the fact that we will be able to service EMs long into the distant future with only a hand full of mechanical parts. One parts game can keep a whole fleet of games going. The SS collectors will always be challenged to find obsolete electronic parts and/or need designers to build newer technology to replace that which is no longer available. And this will only become more difficult as time goes by.

And, being 51, I obviously cut my pinball playing teeth on EMs and seeing and playing them brings back fond memories of a fun, simpler time in life.

"I prefer EM pins", please do not miss quote me on this statement. Early SS are ok, I do not currently own one of those. In general, I enjoy all pins, I just do not need to own them.

EM here, but I do enjoy all pinball.

I grew up with EMs, and am an EM guy at heart. I have 4 currently, but one is at a friend's in Boston, one at another friend's in PA, and one is coming home from storage soon. I just don't get people who say they love pinball but can't stand EMs. EMs are pinball at its purest. I guess it's the instant-gratification/twitch-reflex/glitzy leanings of the younger generation. (Speaking as an old fart here!)

I grew up with a Bally Nip-It in my house.
Will always have a soft spot for the EM's.

Grew up with mostly SS & DMD & I'm more into EMs now than I ever was. After playing Pinball my whole life, there are a handfull of DMD games I haven't played, and only a little more than I haven't played 1000 times. Basically, all EMs are new to me. It's great!

After my next DMD I'm changing my purchasing to early SS & EMs.

EM only for me, and 2" flippers. If I'm honest, I don't class SS as real pinball, played the odd one, can't understand why anybody would want one. Can't stand most of the 'art' and really don't like them at all.

I don't get this sentiment either. I think all pin formats (EM, SS, DMD/LCD) have great games. OK, I don't play too many flipperless games. But I did beat JPOP on his Ballyhoo!

for me, it's kinda like "the only place to get real pizza is where i grew up"... i grew up playing em's, and basically lost interest in pinball when video games came out...

to me, there is "em pinball" (i will expand that definition slightly to include real early ss machines) and there is "modern pinball", and they are two different "games"...

i agree, there are many great machines from all eras, and i appreciate the modern ones what they are... i'd never knock anyone who prefers them, nor would i say they aren't "real pinball"... it is just that they are "different pinball", and i don't enjoy playing them, and i've tried... it just isn't the same game...

Me got lot EM me guy

Total EM guy

OK, but possibly there's more fluid movement with a 3", you can shoot off a roll without cradling, thus a faster playing em, just waiting for the ball to get to the sweet spot. Sorry to hijack thread. As you were.

I am an EM only guy.

First off there is nothing so cool as thinking that an EM is really a complex mechanical computer.

That it takes all those relays, switches and steppers to perform the function of a a few chips. I just love the cause and effect logic.

Exactly like the mechanical computers on 1940's battleships that could drop a Volkswagen weight shell into a few square foot target 20 miles away. Simply amazing.

And they are static and surge proof. When the big nuclear EMP goes off everything solid state will be dead and old cars with points and EMs will be left.

And second I work on solid state crap all the time at work. And it's just about replacing boards. Or the obvious burnt component.

Nuff said.

Depending on the mood I might play a game of Volley or STLE or Jack in the Box or ACDC Premium. So I guess both!

I think when they are shopped and working correctly, 2" flippers are quicker and more accurate than 3" flippers. On 3" flipper games, I always try to flip a split second early to compensate for their inherent lag (moment of inertia, due to their greater mass and mass located farther from the center of rotation).

10/10, what Xeri said..........!

8 out of 8 for me

Have a modern DMD, early SS, and EMs in my (so far) modest collection. Generally speaking, my preference runs in the reverse order, a trend that has been increasing for quite a few years now -- even though I've only owned pins for a little over a year, at this point. I've been a player since well before college days, a long time ago.

EMs, a.k.a. "traditional pinball", are the real deal. (That said, I was never down with those damn 2" flippers.) More often than not, the toys, gizmos, and speech of "modern" pinball is mainly a distraction, and beside the point. Yes, modes, more complex objectives, and deeper rulesets can add something of value, but this is not a given, and does involve tradeoffs.

I don't seem to be meeting any collectors who are free of this "curse" of tiring of their pins -- often sooner rather than later -- and wanting to move them OUT in favor of acquiring others. I think all the gimmicks and the soon overly familiar dialog only accelerates this "getting tired of it" factor. It's kind of the opposite of the long-term-keeper status, which you are much more likely to find in the great EMs and select early SS games, before they had much if anything to say. Just my opinion. The EMs also hew much more to fundamental pinball skills, rather than finding rules and loopholes some more knowledgeable players can exploit.

If I'm ever able to assemble a larger collection, EMs would be a mainstay of it.

I can do everything but 7.

Yes, I clean the PF as best I can, cabinet to get the nicotine off and score reels to look like new.

All grease/dirt comes off mechs and steppers.

But the inside will never be clean and shiny. Chris is my hero there.

I get them working 100%, but really appreciate the bangs, scars, scratches and tarnish.

To me it tells the best story of how they have been through so much and can still hang in there and play a great game.

I consider myself to be an EM kind of guy.
th-3-913.jpeg

2 of 9 so im a 22 percent em guy i enjoy getting my ass kicked in slow motion

What's your latest avatar from Odin??

I have 2 EM's, does that count? Mostly my collection is Early euro SS.

Diver Dan!
One of the first TV shows I can remember. About the time I learned to walk.

All Em's Mostly Gotts and Ballys . personally have no love for the newer pins as they say " to each their own. "

I am always looking for more too.

Brian

I lean more to early SS, but have a handful of EMs too. Really like the creativity in the design of EMs and appreciate the style of artwork. Have a few DMD just to round out the collection.

At this exact moment, I have:

6 Solid state machines (including my new IJ in the garage!) and

7 EM's, including one still at Al W's house (CrossTown - awesome!) and one coming up from Fla. (Central Park - awesome!).

Check back in a week....a WW and TAF just got traded to Georgia. Could turn the tide back to SS....

All EM, and all 2 inch.

Like Dirty Harry said, "A man's got to know his limitations," and at my age I have no desire to enter the world of circuit boards, sound chips, and mpu's (whatever those are).

If I can't fix it with a contact adjuster, a pocket screwdriver, and my trusty $9 soldering iron, I'm not interested.

I am 48. Back in the 70s my parents used to take me yo Suffolk Downs race track in Massachusetts and I would head right to the arcade. Of course back then there were only EM pins there. The operator of the arcade used to throw credits on machines for me. I only wish I knew of one of those titles today. Brings back memories every time I hear those bells.
I don't own a em now.

If I can't fix it with a contact adjuster, a pocket screwdriver, and my trusty $9 soldering iron, I'm not interested.

I like that saying!

No. It just takes more skill to work the two inch flippers.

Here Here

And I'll add Mean Green and lots of rags to that list.