101 through 200 on the Pinside rankings. 1-100 are overrated.

Only 100!

The most I have had at one time was 75. Trust me on this. It might sound like a nice dream but you don't want that many. Upkeep is a nightmare!

Same here - had just over 50, now I stay between 10-15.

Sounds like a small pinball collection vs a large pinball collection is the same as my housing situation.
Went from a small house to a huge house and it's a maintenance nightmare.

Wish I could get down that low. Just to hard deciding what game to let go. Plus I know I will probably never get the game back and probably never get to play the games again.

The question to ask is, do you ever play the game now, while you are able to?

If you barely play it, you won't miss it.

100 Road Show, each themed to a winter and summer theme of a different state.

50 linked pairs of NBAFBs

Hmmm, Pinside won't let me post my 100 wishlist. I guess I would start with MM, AFM, Aliens, Aerosmith, Batman 66, Tron, STTNG, TWD, Avengers, WOZ, Hobbit, FT,

In the past we have typically had between 35 and 45 machines set up to play and another 100 (or more) in storage (machines in storage were project & parts machines) and it has taken the fun out of the hobby. With our recent warehouse fine we decided it was time to sell off most of the collection & project stash and now we are down to around a dozen machines in the collection and pinball has become fun again.

It seems once you exceed about a dozen machines the hobby becomes a job between fixing up projects and repairing stuff that goes wrong. Our "end game" is to have 8 to 12 well maintained machines in the collection and 4 or 5 project machines. I think once you get much beyond 15 machines the hobby actually becomes less fun.

Parts machines are my next thing to attack - at last count I had almost 100 of those sitting around and I know I will not live long enough to deal with all of them so some of those are likely headed to Allentown in a few weeks. I still have not figured out where the "final count" should be on those but I am thinking one storage unit (about 40 machines) seems like the most logical number for now. Once I get down to around 40 I'll see how things go and adjust it from there.

The crazy thing for us is we still need to pick up most of the stuff from the warehouse find so I'll be selling one heck of a lot of machines in 2017. 53 sold and gone so far in 2017 - seven set back for people (we are waiting for those to be picked up) and one headed to a shipping company Tuesday to be crated & shipped to Australia.

Next thing I'll be attacking is the parts stash getting some of those dug out for Allentown.

Anyway - talking for experience - more is not always better!

Let me know when you run out of room Wally, I'm always willing to babysit extra machines over here.

Sorry, but I'm not downsizing.

Thats easy. The next 100 release titles by all companies

I'd probably go with all 100 versions of the next Stern title.

I would need a way bigger house first. Sounds like a maintenance nightmare though.

When I bought my big house I thought I would be owning a big house.
Now I have realized that my big house owns me.

Owning too many pins takes it from being a fun hobby to being a job.
And I already have one of those.

Couldn't agree more! Even selling off a bunch of machines is way more work than most people can even begin to understand. Selling a machine or two is easy but selling a couple dozen machines in a month is insanely hard even if things go good and how often does that ever happen!

Still haven't broken promise to self of not buying 1 single machine over what can be set up to play. So, nothing stacked or stored.

18 games set up in house. All working 100% - all get played weekly!

RotorDave's

I think I am with your wife on this one.

Talking about first world problems. Hmm, I don't know, I'm about to buy 100 pins, but don't know which.

only my favorites.

All Gottlieb's and SEGA's.... No B/W , JJP, Spooky or Stern...

The two games you own are in the top 5

Perfect answer! Maybe even a couple from 201-300!

If I had the funds to have a 100 machines, I would hire a full time tech to keep the hobby fun for me!

That list will continue to grow once you get the "pinball bug".
I only wanted one pin and now I have 26.

26? Ahhh luxury! We used to dream of only having 26.

Any dreams to open your own arcade?
Just for interest.

Most people do not realize the overwhelming amount of experience, space, and parts required to maintain that many games.
Time alone is basically a full time job, unless you store machines, and not play them.
Particularly, if the machines are from multitude of manufacturers.
At one point, I had machines from Bally (6 generations), WMS (5 generations), AGC, Zaccaria, Stern, LTD, Chicago Coin, Gottlieb (4 generations), Gameplan, Sega, Data East, and Interflip.

That is 24 different types of games, all with different parts and assemblies.
It is an absolute nightmare.

Total amount of spare parts?
Over 10,000 lbs.
That is right, about 5 metric tons of parts.

Once you get to around 20-25 machines, realities of space and life, start to become readily apparent.

To put things into a visual perspective:

Games require a minimum of 40 inches of row clearance to get glasses to slide out (without lifting the front legs over a game playfield), and that still requires them to go "sideways" bit on the channels.
20 machines fill up a standard two car garage, tightly, with barely enough room to get playfield glasses out.
Six machines can fit in a 10X12 bedroom, dependent on layout, sometimes only five, the limitation is the width, as every game is a 3X5 ft "box".
A 3200 sf, 5 bedroom house can put around 50 machines, but this is very highly uncomfortable with games in locations that are not optimal or recommended. 3 bedrooms are dedicated "game rooms". Essentially games are everywhere, in every room, except the bathrooms.
Ceiling height, hallways, and door widths (or associated moldings) can also be also a problem.
Old game back boxes are wider than most modern doors, and halls.
Stairways without landings are a challenge.
Power consumption, breakers, and outlets are a challenge.
Practically, it would be better to own a british flat with no walls.
Essentially, modern homes are not built with pinball machines in consideration.

I know this because I am an expert at space maximization, as I moved around the world for over 20 years and owned four houses.
I have a 5X10 "closet" alone for my backglasses stored in vertical racks, which is a different challenge.
The only way for a person to effectively own more than 50 machines under "normal" circumstances is to rotate the games out of storage.

Most collectors start to "settle", or begin to make plans for a larger house, if they are reaching this point.

It takes over 4000 sf of DEDICATED pinball space to properly set up and run over 100 games.

Yes, you can compress the space down, quite a bit, but there are problems.
Remember, you have to have room to work on the games themselves, not counting parts space, and a workshop for tools in an organized fashion you can actually use effectively.

Keep this factors in mind when you head to the next pinball show flea market with a trailer.
That is the "#1 source for too many project games" now, since landfills and warehouse raids are becoming less prevalent than 20+ years ago.

19 is my CURRENT number.........When I showed this post to my girlfriend......she showed me a rolling pin....and said How many do ya want!

It is weird how this hobby can get out of hand. I originally started thinking just one machine would be enough. Then it went to three. I remember thinking, "If I could just get three machines, that would be enough." Now it's five to six. I really do think that is enough for me; but if I won the lottery, sure...I'd love to expand. If I won one of those mega jackpots (after consulting a financial planner) I'd plan to build a community center building with a multipurpose gym, pool, theater, workshop, barcade, etc. I want access to those luxury things, but I wouldn't necessarily need or want them in my private house. Even in a situation like that I'm not sure I'd want 100 pinball machines. I'd shoot for a space for 30-50 games, including arcades, and then rotate things in and out. Ah...it's fun to dream. What's nice is that at least four of the games in my current collection would make the cut.

Who were you asking this to? To group?

If you have lived supporting a big collection you might appreciate this point of view . Have a friend close by with the 100 games ( one whom does his own repairs ) .

For entertainment, the Luxery statement was referring to this Monty Python classic

.

What's a good size for a collection that keeps maintenance manageable if you do all your own maintenance?

I love this question!

20-25, if there are only 3-4 manufacturers system designs included in the lineup.
The less manufacturers the better, but a little variety is important.
If you collect EMs versus SS, it is easier, and some parts are interchangeable without breaking the "purist" rules.
An owner can also squeeze in a few extra EM machines in an equal space, if you own wedge heads.

xTheBlackKnightx - I'm going to pretend I didn't read this, I know I can make them all fit in my available space somehow.

I have said the same thing for years.
My tape measure has always said the opposite, unless my workshop was somewhere else.

I hate those things. Always taking the fun out of buying the next pin.