If the location isn't free play. Then here are my thoughts. I'd like a decent ball save grace timer.
Even more than the standard default(yes I know munsters doesn't have one as default... don't know if you can turn one on... I thought you could.)

I also want the game to award replays.
I know some ops turn the replay reward off... If you do turn it off, then at least give me an extra ball. But, I rather have a replay. I don't mind pumping in quarters and paying to play. I just do want to both occasionally get a free game by match and by skill.

Munsters really intimidates me though. I seldom ever have a good game on it. And that is one game I am not certain I'd ever play in the wild.
Galloping Ghost has a prem, and even though its set to free play. I could in like 10 minutes rack up my cost of admission into that place. That is how badly that game kicks my butt...

Its a shame that instead of a 15-20 minutes of a fun pinball action that you got hosed. Still look on the bright side. Its still always cheaper to take the risk and gamble on a machine in the wild, then to actually own an actual pin.
I've played games on machines that the ball got stuck on the first shot, and no one to report it too. Or one of the slings was busted one time. And of course super weak flippers... Its part of the risk(some could say charm) of location play... But, only out a couple of bucks...

Look on the bright side. You got to rant. And that's always fun.

I agree. I think you're right. I don't mind dumping 10-30 dollars into an arcade or pinbar per night.
I'm a decent player and I'll get a few free plays and as I said... Even a few matches. I don't expect to be able to play all night on just 1-2 dollars. With that said. There have been some machines where I have gotten freeplays 2 out of 3 times that I've played them. And I tend to get bored and want to move on to another game... But, sometimes it gets hard to play out my credits. As one time I had to play 3-4 extra games on a machine due to matching and the replays. I would have given the credits to another person. But, no one was around me at that time.

Anyway... I think what you said made a whole lot of sense. And I never considered why an EM or SS with no ball save really doesn't bother or intimadate me... Maybe, because with an em you get 5 balls. And with a solid state... Sometimes there is still playfield validation that needs to occur. Or maybe because most solid states are like 3-5 plays for a buck. While munsters is 1 dollar per play or sometimes more. And I really, really suck at munsters.