OP

Quoted from OnTheSnap:

Guys,
I'm totally struggling with this decision. I attended the Golden Gate Pinball Festival and played both quite a bit. They are both great games, but obviously completely different in almost every way.
My 9 year old daughter played both as well, and to my surprise thought Iron Maiden was more fun. And she wasn't too enamored with POTC. So I am considering her opinion a bit here.
I'm a novice emerging skills. I own a TNA and DILE. Both of which we love. My daughter plays TNA most. And as a family we really enjoy CO-OP and play it almost daily together.
Iron Maiden is just a fun game. Super fun shots. The target is a really appealing shot to younger players. Just a big target to shoot for. And because the game is balanced, younger players are well rewarded for just keeping the ball in play. For me, I like the rules, and all the ways to learn and score well.
POTC is just STUNNING in person. Super fun. But stuck on the idea that my favorite part about the POTC movies is the humor. And this is missing from the pin. But the implementation and machine is literally the most stunning thing I've ever seen in a machine. It stood out among all 400 pins at the show.
At this point I'm inching towards a IMDN Premium purchase, with shaker and HD glass. Because it fits in as a "special" shooting pin just like TNA and DILE. So basically I end up with 3 pins that have that extra shot refinement.
Help!

OP

Quoted from OnTheSnap:

I'm going to take the plunge on an Iron maiden premium. Just getting in some quotes to decide where to buy from.
I really appreciate all the diverse opinions. I'm really struggling with this.
But I look at it this way - I have a DILE (super fun, simple rule set, amazing shooter), TNA (amazingly fast, has become our main family game with CO-OP. My kids LOVE LOVE) it). IMDN is a special playing game to me, has a totally different style of rule set, and is a really neat monster themed pin. 3 games with totally different styles. IMDN looks fun from a kids eyes. You have really clear targets. Lots of shots are pretty easy, and the ball stays in play a while. My 9 year old daughter scored well for her on the first try and had a lot of fun trying to hit the center target and ramps. Yah she won't get the rules for a while. But the way it's styled I can teach her just modes, 1 multiball, and she will focus on that for a long time. So it can be simple since it's balanced and has a lot of ways to play the game. It's only when you layer it all together that it's complicated.
All three of these machines were born as really special pinball projects. Made from passion. I like that my collection has stuff with an interesting story behind why they were built. They all have this in common. All are exceptional for different reasons.
I have to say, JJPOTC fits the same bill. That machine is amazing. Beautiful. Super neat shots. But the game didn't make me laugh (except the occasional arrgh mode which is the best moment). fine. But it feels very serious. And trhough the 5-6 games we played we didn't have fun. I want to get POTC. Maybe future code changes will make it fun like DILE?