Get MB and BM66 imo, good mix of shallow + deep, guests will like MB and its always more fun to play with people.

Are they NIB? You're going to have to do some work at some point regardless of what you purchase.

Play them all as much as possible and buy what YOU enjoy the most.
All the games you listed are loved by some members here and hated by others.

You have a ball traveling around in there. Sooner or later you'll have to clean it. Sooner or later you'll have to fix it.

LTG : )

Its usually sooner.

Ghostbusters is the worst game ever made. Avoid. Batman is OK. Theme goes a long way, but gameplay is cheap and clunky. Simpsons Pinball Party is fantastic, but highly unlikely you’ll find it new.

Consider buying classic Bally Williams 90s games. New doesn’t = better. Gameplay, rules, and build quality in classic games are far superior to what’s being made brand new.

Just remember everyone has their own opinion. We all like and dislike games for different reasons. You may like, or even love, a game someone else thinks is the worst ever. Be sure you get the games YOU want and want to play. You also may decide to sell one or both off down the road to try something different. Best thing to do is play as many different games as you can. Watching YouTube videos to get ideas on how games play won't hurt, either.

And, be prepared to maintain them.

Buy a new stern, dont listen to all the haters. Do the research, buy what you like. I've bought 5 new sterns and 2 used in last 2 years, with no prob whatsoever. Ok, 1 bulb on Metallica. I will say I've heard of problems with stranger things, but havent seen or played it

You buy a 90s game, you're buying 20 to 30 yr old stuff. Lots of maintenance, but to be expected. Good games then, have a few myself. Just more issues generally than new

if it were me, (of the choices you mentioned), I'd get Batman and MB. MAYBE Simpsons, although that game is very complex, and you won't get as much enjoyment out of it until you're a more experienced player.

I'd mix it up with something else that you like because of how it plays, as was mentioned. Games that have a cool theme but are boring end up not lasting too long, and you'll be wondering why you just blew $9k on this thing that takes up a huge amount of space and just looks nice when you turn it on but don't play it.

for example: Pirates of the Carribbean. I could not possibly care less about the theme. The movies are fine, but why blow that kind of money on it. Well, it's PACKED with stuff, and it's fun, and it's complicated. Probably not going anywhere for quite a while.

Any 90s game, once repaired & shopped out, will have minimal issues in a home environment. I’ve had tons of old games and tons of new games. I’ve had way more problems with some new games than I’ve ever had with my old games. New doesn’t = maintenance free.

All games will require some work & maintenance.

Take a look at my collection. Hard to pick a Top 5! Bally-Williams made lots of excellent games with different themes & design styles. Something for everyone.

For the record, I’m not a “Stern hater”, but I’m not part of the current cult of NIB-only new hobbyists. I have 7 Sterns & have had many more. Stern games pre-2014 are generally designed & built better than the current ones. Their new JP is very cool, though. That’s the only SPIKE system game I’d personally want to pick up one day.

My first pins chose me.

For what it's worth, I have only found this to be the case when I am knowingly buying a "player's" game, specifically for the purposes of working on it. I like working on the games, so I will occasionally buy one to restore. If you exclude those, I have overwhelmingly had more issues with NIB games. I've bought JJP games new (Dialed In, Hobbit, POTC) new, also owned 2 WOZ; Sterns (Iron Maiden) new , AP's Houdini new, and lots of Bally/Williams games. I had issues with almost every game - most minor, some major.

Every game needs to be set up, some of them come with things that have fallen off in shipping. All of the B/W games have been rock solid because they've been properly maintained. 20 years old doesn't mean "falling apart"

haha.. kind of same here. I bought a TAF from a guy down the road who had an amazing collection. That was exciting! And to think what I paid for it... I owe that guy a huge amount of thanks. My wallet, however, hates him.

Just remember, you don’t have to spend over 5K to have a good time and learn about pinball. I tell people just starting out to seriously think about taking your lumps on a Space Shuttle or Pinbot before you spend used car money on a pin. These things aren’t a permanent commitment, you can always sell.