I'm not an Op but I work with one closely to put on tournaments.

In all cases, my goal is to build up a "scene" at a location. One game at a location doesn't really draw people, from what I've seen. The minimum to do that is 3 games. You can run some really tidy tourney formats with only three games, but four is better.

You have to work to get the word out. That is the number one thing I see Ops not do. Find all the cheap/free venues of advertising and then what are the most cost-effective after that?

There is a site in my area called SF Funcheap. They posted one of my events and it doubled the turnout. Another time, the East Bay Express chose to feature one of my events and it tripled the turnout. Eventually, a scene builds up and I can get a reliable 20 - 30 players every time. However, it took about six months of work to get there. We had a few nights with only around a dozen players.

What about when ops install lightning flippers on games that aren't supposed to have them? That sucks. It's even worse when one flipper is lightning and the other is standard. My local op commits both of these crimes!

Nice work man. Thanks for putting some games out there in the wild for us.

Have you emailed or called him?

Most of the time I've contacted an Op they were receptive. One was even willing to do a launch party with me.

Most Ops are not players. They operate all kinds of amusement equipment. They don't know what makes or breaks a game, and as pointed out in the thread, pinball generally does not earn, so if not told, they leave it to rot.

My buddy has one at a bar near me. I asked him to swap it out as I was bored with it, he said no way. Great earnings.

Yeah I'm in regular contact when something breaks or balls get stuck. He fixes breakdowns but nothing that is hurting gameplay (poor flippers, kickout alignment, dead slingshots, faulty gates, dead switches, dodgy diverters). He's basically leaving the pins on location to waste away — they're in bad shape. He won't sell them to me either!

Well, we all have our sense of what is acceptable in a routed pin. For example, I and others played a TAF for months that was great fun to play but the thing-flip and magnets were dead. Still, the basic gameplay was intact. It was a fun "bar" pin regardless.

If the game is just broke, though, and the Op won't fix it, well then screw 'em.

Our local "minimal" OP in the Bay Area is California Amusement Games (CAG). They seem to thrive on mediocrity when it comes to pins.

Sucks. He learned from the European operators who originally demanded them to shorten ball times in the '90s. No games were designed to have them. I don't like how they feel, and would replace them with real flippers if I owned any of those games.

same as the op at the location near me, they are owned by the location and I see him working on things alot there and point out issues to him but he never fixes them. so long as they take money he's happy. He had a lotr with a gollum hole that didn't register and required a ball search every time you hit it for the coil to fire (just a switch?) and his TF has issues with megatron not registering and then getting confused about how many balls are in play and giving you extra balls/not enough balls if your on a multi ball. It's really annoying have to wait for ball searches over and over to get through a game. His AV had a broken plastic that actually stopped you ball from leaving the shooter lane for a week or so before he removed the plastic. Woulda thought he'd do it right after we told him about it seeing as it's simple

Plain and simple keep the games working people will play. LW3 earned 90 bucks in 2 weeks at a local pub near me. 50 a play 2 for 75 3 for 100. Its clean fast and 100%. Any pin will earn if its working.

I think this is just a problem with Stern coin doors. It happens all the time on mine.

To Mezzblue, I would strongly recommend buying Imonex coin mechs. In my experience they clog and jam far less frequently than other mechs, and they divert Canadian coins to the chute rather than clogging up with them. And everyone is right, get a bill acceptor. They make little difference in a location with a change machine, but for a one-off machine in a bar, the earnings go way up with a bill acceptor. It's well worth the $70 or whatever it would cost to get a good used/refurbed one.

Here is the best price I've found on the Imonex mechs: http://www.kleen-ritecorp.com/p-1436-imonex-120-900-01-insert-us-quarter.aspx