I would say that the meaning of an A list pin is the rating on a pin from a "comunity point of view" being one of the top 10 give or take a few spots. IMO I would include some pins to be A list pins that are not in the top to like CFTBL TRON CC IM and a few others. Some tend to think that its a pin that has good value 4k and up give or take. I dont consider BDK to be a A lister or TS FH WH20. So its just terminology use as on of the BIGGER pins. Not somthing I pay attention to.

Too expensive...

Robert

I define an A-list machine as one that, over the course of pinball's history, stood out for some reason or another above all others during its time.

Addam's Family for being one of the best selling pins of all time.

Twilight Zone for being quite possible the deepest pin ever made and one of the only pins whose designers had complete and utter freedom to design what they wanted (http://mirror2.ipdb.org/files/2684/Bally_1993_Twilight_Zone_Pat_Lawlor_discussing_Twilight_Zone_Audio_.mp3)

Captain Fantastic for being such a huge part of pinball culture (

)

Medieval Madness & Monster Bash for being the last full and complete pins made by Williams before the fall of pinball and the desperate Pin2000 attempt.

The list goes on and on...

Games that everyone wants but can't afford or find.

I am ashamed of myself for continuing this thread.

For me, it's the Pins that I Have to Have but can not afford.. which currently.. is A LOT of pins..

I bought an A-list IJ a few months ago. Waited and waited, saved and saved, researched and researched. I couldn't afford it for months and months. ...It was hard but I had to tell myself no to beautiful reconditioned B-listers for $1000's less. Glad I waited till I found one. They are out there, and they are expensive - but Damn are they worth it.

It's the pins you like and enjoy...You make your own list not going by other peoples likes and dislikes.Just because a Pin is high price does not mean YOU will enjoy it.

Use to be a $ 2500.00 Pin ,, SS , TZ , TOM etc... Hell if I know anymore !! $ 4 to $ 5K & Over now i Guess......

19,000+ Karma and you don't know the answer to this question already????

For the time... for the time. TSPP is at least twice as deep as TZ.

Its really subjective IMO but, the consensus seem to be any pin that fetches over 4k on average (save new pins) is an A lister.

I'll even go so far as to say that A listers aren't worth it. I've been playing the ever living crap out of Doctor Who, a game that shouldn't cost much more than 1600... and, while I love my TSPP and enjoy LOTR, I can't say that they are honestly 3 times better. Not even twice as good. The cost of these A list games doesn't go hand in hand with the fun I have with them. I love the crap out of Judge Dredd, HS2, and DW, and all three of these MIGHT cost as much as my LOTR. And I can tell you which I'd rather have.

TSPP is the deepest and LOTR is second deepest.

I think it's way more than that. TZ isn't that deep anymore relative to a lot of other modern games. Lots of games now that are deeper, heck even some games of that era (Tommy, Stargate) are as deep or deeper than TZ.

Depth is another reason for putting a pin in the A-list like TSPP and LOTR.

I think games with the perfect depth are:

Shadow
White Water
Family Guy

Sure, there's a lot of things to do. Not too much, but enough that beating it will still be extremely hard. Games like LOTR and TSPP where you know that you'll never ever beat, well... that's just too much.

This post should have been thumbed up to the moon by now.

A-list is a machine I really like. I don't really care what anyone else grades it as. Spirit, Andromeda, Fathom, all A-listers to me.

Anything popular and expensive, until the owners of established a-list machines get upset and vote it down en masse because they can't have anything upsetting the applecart.

Buy, own and restore the games you like. Those people who just surf the rop ratings and prices when building a collection are not true fans of the game. It's probably just as snobbish in the other direction, but when I check peoples collections and see nothing but 'A list' titles, I do kind of look down on it. It's a case of "you really needed other people to tell you what to like?". I'm sure a few of them genuinely enjoy those games most of all, but that would be a few.

I was starting to wonder if I was the only one who felt that way. Glad to see I'm not .

Some of the a list games are actually quite good but few are worth the price they command.

I feel that way about TZ and TAF.

MM I don't because I have not played one IRL yet; therefore, I can't say "Yes, it's worth $15k." yet.

Any game I am trying to sell...

the top 25

An A list pin is anything you are trying to sell. A B list pin is anything you are trying to buy!

I think it is any pin desired by many for any reason. The higher demand defines the price point.
As also stated I think sometimes you could get 2 3 or 4 other machines in ones place.
I like them because they seem to have more staying power in my collection.
Usually I would consider A-list as the top 15 to 20 titles amongst all players rating forums.

Just my opinion this one seems to vary greatly depending on who you ask. Thus the reason for the thread I assume.

A list is what I tell myself when I spend a ton of money on any particular pin. Just my buying it automatically makes it A list... lol

Andromeda ,because it begins with A

To me, an A list game is a game that the majority of the people buying machines seem to want, and the majority of the people buying are okay with paying a lot of money for them. Theoretically, they combine loved themes with really well put together playfields. I find that often, their play is really hit and miss, as there are definitely certain titles where the price undeniably makes them an 'A' list title, but a lot of people don't think the gameplay holds up...

I take some offense to this. Look at my collection. I have games that I enjoy. If most of those are A-listers it's because I think those are the better games. I've had most Williams and stern games in my house for a few days each over the last year. The ones I kept are the ones that I didn't bore of. Minus a potc, which i want back and perhaps black rose and Congo, nothing else out today interests me that I do not own.

Nice catch.

+1. so much nonsense!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I feel it is the top 25 of each era with a large sample size. One offs or very limited runs cannot be included in the list. When I say each era I am basically saying you cannot compare DMD list against EM. They each need to have their own list.

BBH

Considering I'm priced out of the A-List range, I usually refer to any 'really good' pin over 3.5k

I know that's not a commonly held view either. But if they are out of my price range, they're all the same to me.

For me it's one of those all too rare amazing games. Great art, lasting replay value, lots of objectives and depth, and too expensive to ever call my own. Like AFM.

"There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so." - Shakespeare

Oh, in my own words? Making and reading lists is a waste of time, better spent playing pinball.

In response to the OP's question, anything in my collection.