Any EM fans headed to the VFW show this weekend?

Too far, but you know where we will be.

I didn't say I didn't like them, I said I don't understand them.

I'll be there Saturday.
It's great playing the EMs once things get a bit busy. Most folks are off playing the newer solid state games and the EM sections are pretty open.
Gotta play a bunch of oddball EMs and woodrails that I won't see anywhere else.

That's a funny way to spell "Count-Down"

Planning to be there 9am tomorrow!

kind of like woman lol.......just when you think you got it right............

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Love the em’s, give me Scuba, Rollercoaster, Flying Carpet or drop targets like Solar City, Fast Draw, Spirit of ‘76 or spinners like Pro Football, Super Soccer, Top Score. The newer games are truly state of the art and have brought many new pinball players into the fold which is great for everyone, but nothing will ever replace EM’s for me.

Find, if you can, a Hokus Pokus. Three spinners, need I say more?

I agree, that is why my collection has at least one game from every decade from the 1950 Spot Bowler, to 2017 Guardians. And more em's than ss's.

Put a Powerball in your EM game. I've been trying to promote this for a few years now with little traction it seems.

Your game will play faster and bounce differently, almost like a new game.

Yeah, I know they're expensive, so just try one and see if you like it. I've done this on a ton of EM games over the years and all of the EM machines and mechs work perfectly.

For multiball games you can replace all of the balls, or just mix one powerball in for a random change up.

Also add Titian rubbers and away you go.

I was saying that I thought Count-Down is better in a joking/teasing way. Sorry it did come through text very well

The people who poo-poo EMs, those that wont play anything older than 90s Bally/Williams and those that only buy NIB Sterns, are sorely missing out on what EMs have to offer. So many fun games with unique ideas and a high skill ceiling at a fraction of the cost of the newer stuff. I dont know how someone can look at 4 Million BC, with the ramp skill shot, zipper-flippers and multi-ball and dismiss it outright for being boring because it's an EM.

It's a bit like Analogue v Digital for music. Me, I only 'do' Analogue. Better sound, warmer, more interesting, more enjoyable. Vinyl & EMs. Perfect matches.

I’m glad you posted this. I’ve been toying with the idea of putting one in my Strato Flite.

All EM here. Did own Family Guy once. Just too much $$$$ invested in one game and it didn’t fit into my collection. Sold it and used the funds and some other cash to buy El Dorado, Surfer, Lucky Hand and a couple Wade Krause playfields.

I've owned a Twilight zone, Fish tales and an Addams Family, and I've sold the lot. I still own a WMS Jungle Lord and Pharaoh though. Just cant bring myself to sell these just yet...

Been doing that for 15 years. Better still, put ONLY one in Grand Lizard. THAT really changes a multiplayer game for the better.

I've been all EM for a few years. Not necessarily opposed to SS/DMD games. When you actually enjoy EMs though you realize what a good value they are. Hard to buy a system 11 when I could buy a handful of nice EM projects for the same money.

All EM. All the time, I never owned a solid state game.
I take that back. I picked up a Bally Speakeasy once. Traded it the next day for an EM.

Honestly the reason to go.

I also think Em's get a bad rap if their not playing up to their full potential. These games new out of the box played super fast. On several occasions, I've restored Em's for some high end Electronic Game Collectors, this being their first EM. Next thing I know, they want more and on two occasions, their electronic collections were replaced with EM's. So if some folks can't acknowledge EM's, thats just being short sited because if not for that foundation, there wouldn't be any of todays technology, thus no Pinball Evolution. Just my 2 cents!

I enjoy EM's. I am more of a value shopper. I also admire the technology used to make these things.

I think EMs are the most vulnerable to lack in gameplay if they are not pristine - more than SSs.

That's true. We've all played that floaty ball EM at a show. Or bought that "working" game that hasn't been tuned up in forever that sort of plays. Those games aren't going to give a very good impression.

Before and after bgresto pics

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One thing I love about EMs, is that I STILL see a "new" one from time to time - that is a game I've never seen or even heard of after all of these years.

Great backglass on this one...

I love that the back glass is them playing on the back glass

Just wait until you get into the oddball non pinball EM's, that is the real EM rabbit hole! I bought Ringer, Skill Roll and Turf Club all in the last year, I'm hooked!
B

EMs will always be in my lineup. I have a GTB wedgehead with 2-inch flippers at one end and a brand new CGC at the other. Guess which one I play more often.

Yes indeed! Include Turf Champ, Target Roll, and (e-gad) BINGOS! And the
flood gates open to the back alleys of vintage EM pinball collecting.

Its almost like its 2 different cultures. To me, EM pinball is a totally different category than all other pinball. I love EM (mostly Gottlieb) games. I have been collecting and restoring them a long time. Em's can be both challenging and simplistic at the same time. You have to be willing to work on your games. But as a pinball enthusiast I respect both cultures of pinball. For me there is a desire to collect both New and Em games.
El Dorado, Atlantis, Sky Jump are favorite EM's of all time.

I have one in my interflip dragon. Now THAT’S how that game was meant to be played!

I had over 35 EMs working and set up which was more than half the size of my collection at the time. I’m down to roughly a dozen now.
Awesome, and I repeat AWESOME when playing head-to-head.
Between having less people over due to Covid, my wife and kids wanting to play newer titles, and less time to hang with others at the house I’ve sold most of the EMs to new owners that still talk about how much fun the EMs I sold them are.
I can tell you there’s nothing I “want” or “have to have” anymore but I would take a nice looking 60s Bally in a heartbeat!

I can sell you an EM rifle shooter.

Well, pinside obviously, but also the old warehouse collector types, games stacked everywhere bought everything for years and now too old to do anything with them, those guys have the weird shit. Getting them to sell is an art tho.
I know a guy locally who has 4 Sega gun fights among other treasures just collecting dust.
I've got two games I'm working on getting one of these types to let go of, might take a few more years
B

VFW (to play but not for sale!)

Which one do you have? Condition?

I forget where I got it, but I found a relatively inexpensive powerball and bought 2. I put one in my Jungle Queen and it was amazing. I ran it for a few months, and then switched back to the silver ball. I also put it in my Hot Shot, which made a huge difference in the game. The ceramic ball is definitely a lot of fun, but I keep going back to the original.

I just put Titan rubbers on my El Dorado and they are awesome. I may try the powerball in that game with the Titans. I will probably be doing that on more of my games as they need to be redone.

the two machines that I play the most are EM's and they are probably the most unwanted machines in the EM world ....not much value when I see them for resale .....Wild life and Triple action .....but when I was a teenager I couldn't wait to go to the mall and play them.....I prefer working on EM's .....nothing really breaks (un obtainium circuit parts , switches or assemblys) they are like old American cars in Cuba ...you can always find a way to fix them. I don't need all the complexity and rules of the new machines and to me endless ball times are boring. I will never aspire to be a tournament player, just doesn't interest me. I would rather have a three minute game where sometimes I get the satisfaction of hearing the knocker and sometimes I dont. Back in the day you could make a good bit of money off the old machines and they were a pretty good return on your investment ....nowdays at 8000 bucks or better you would be lucky to get your money back as an operator. I went to pinfest this year and I realized that nowdays the new pinball machines are just expensive mostly plastic toys they are no longer tools to make money. To be honest with you I wish they would bring back the gambling aspect of it. Think about it a gambling machine with flippers ....I'd be in ......and now that online casino's , fan duel and all those other gambling apps designed to take your money are allowed to operate, there would be no Mayor's with sledgehamers destroying them to gain public approval.

I never appreciated EMs until I had to play them in competition at Pinburgh. Now I prefer playing EMs over any other. I have not changed over my collection to just EM’s and never will. I still enjoy all pinball but I’m just finding more and more love for EM’s every year.

Ten years ago

https://pinside.com/pinball/machine/back-to-the-future

After starting with a few DMDs, I quickly switched to EMs only, for much the same reason as everyone here has already said; can usually be fixed, largely reliable, vintage history and art, shorter more difficult games, affordable.

The more I play new games at Pinfest and on location, the more I think they are moving toward more elaborate sounds, more screen visuals and more gimmicks on the playfield. To me, EMs are pure pinball.