Sold my pins when we moved from apartment to house. Strange Science was a keeper for my wife, Pinbot for me. Ended up buying both again, but they aren't in nearly as nice shape as the ones I let go.

F-14 was a game I had a love/hate relationship with. Didn't care for it in the arcade, then bought one and fixed it up really nice and said it was a keeper. Then one day a switch went off and I said it was time for it to go. Still like it, but have no desire to own another one.

I sold two gamesIi never intended to part with....funhouse and fishtales....to get my first NIB metprem. I miss both games very much, but don't regret the move. Metallica is an awesome game and the timing was meant to be. I think I will end up with funhouse again someday.

Keeper? There's no such thing. Enough money can buy any of my crap.

I call them keeper games in all of my for sale ads.

I knew a guy that had a 2nd hand store. He had display cases with nice stuff. He would pick a watch out of the case and wear it. If he had a buyer that was indecisive about buying a watch, he would offer to sell the guy "his own personal watch" off his wrist. He sold "his own personal watch" many times. LOL.

Called my STTNG a "keeper" as well as "my holy grail". It stayed for a number of years but just wasn't getting played as much as my tastes changed. Was a little sad to let it go but it was time.

Every pinball machine has an expiration date, even the keepers. Sometimes it is 100 plays, other times it's 5000 plays, but they all get there eventually.

I've sold keepers. I've sold games that I thought were "The best game evah!!" But once they get stale, well, somebody else will probably think it's the best game evah after they buy it.

OP, what are those 3?

My favorite FS ads must contain all of the following

"It's a keeper"
"Great flow"
"Look @ all the mods"
"In no hurry to sell"
"No shipping"
"Price is firm"
"Willing to ship"
"Price drop this weekend only"
"Price drop"
"Price drop"
"OBO"
"Game still available"

Also it needs a circle jerk of "great game" & "great price" bumps by people who own the same title. It's important to list the used game FS at the same price you paid shipped NIB

It's a keeper!

keeper_(resized).jpg

My MMr (The game I played a ton of in 98-2000 in the arcade. I passed up buying one back then. And regretted it ever since. Very nostalgic for me.

My Interflip Dragon. (Too good of shape and too much fun at parties to let go of.)

Pinbot (2nd one after regrettably selling the first)
And a game me and my best friend since I was 8 played like crazy at the local 7-11. And later when it came out on the Nintendo.
Nostalgia again.

Only maybe...someday, I might consider selling my IMVE. But something great would have to come along.

And the Ghostbusters I have right now I have no attachment to. It's on loan to me. It will be gone once my friends house is finished.

Overall all the games I own right now are keepers. I honestly can't think of any games out there that I simply must own at the moment. Or a good reason to part with the games I have.

I have played most of the top 100 games and can say that I'm glad I got to play them, but I don't want or need to own any of them. Besides the pins I have.

"Minty Keeper"

IJ was a keeper for years, as well as Corvette. But then I beat Corvette and never really wanted to play it again. I sold the IJ for my ACDC.

Well I still own IJ, Flash Gordon and AFM so my keepers are the last ones to leave or sure.

haven't sold a game yet.

I get too attached unless I just absolutely have to

I had my Pinball Magic for more than 15 years and thought I'd never get rid of it. It was my first, it was the game I really learned to play on, and it was the game we had in the bar I worked at in college, so it had some sentimental value. But I did everything you can do on that game and she stopped getting played. Space is at a premium out here, so I eventually let her go. I do miss her, but I know she wouldn't get played enough to justify a spot in my row, so I'm glad someone else gets to enjoy her.

i know what you mean! my wife thought i was crazy spending $1300 for "one game" when you could get a state of the art game system and dozens of games for that price. Of course, there really is no comparison. owning and maintaining a pin is an amazing experience and a ton of fun.

i started with Black Hole and absolutely feel in love with it -- and that's the problem. i get really emotionally attached to these things, especially once i get my hands dirty pulling them apart and putting them back together. i know it's silly, but i feel guilty if i go downstairs to play them, and i favor one over the other. i make sure i play all four at least once, so they don't get jealous of each other, haha.

STTNG was my second pin, and i always knew it was my holy grail. i'm a huge fan of that game and a huge fan of that show. i've done soooo much work on it. it will never leave. i can guarantee that. Funhouse came next, because i found one that was just absolutely perfect condition -- better than NiB. and then came WOZ, which is an absolute marvel, and adored by the whole family.

but you are right -- someday i probably will sell one. i have no idea which, though. maybe the first to go will be one i don't even own yet. i don't want to think about it.

Watch the PAPA video of Bowen and Co. horsing around playing. Super fast pop bumper action and just a brutal, brutal game.

I have TS and WCS94 ( plus EBD, EBC) ...TS is a fantastic game! It probably has the longest legs in my current collection. Lots to do and very challenging. Had since September and have yet to get to Final Battle. Actually just completed a mode to the end this week. I'm not that good! Haha! There are a few different ways to attack the game for points, and that's something I really like about a pinball.

WCS94....can get to Germany on pretty regular basis now. Had for a year now. My daughter is into soccer and non-pinheads can score goals and feel like they accomplished something. It's in great condition, too. Even though I wouldn't mind having its space for a different game, the reasons above make it a keeper for the foreseeable future.

Well I can tell you that my Mustang Pro is a KEEPER for sure.....same as my Mustang car which just celebrated it 46th Birthday May 1st.

You know its a keeper when you have been offered a very generous offer to purchase the machine and you respectfully decline.

I understand the concept but even the games I don't want to sell... every item has it's price.

I won my Space Shuttle in a tournament and I would not sell it for twice what they typically sell for in similar condition. It's the ultimate trophy. If money was no object though, I would let it go.

Any machine I own after that is replaceable but some of the games I own I really busted my balls to get, driving all over the country, shopping and fixing them up and such. That is the part of the hobby that money can't really pay for, in my humble opinion. Once you get a game playing exactly how you want it to play, that can be very hard to exactly recreate. It's something that $ can't buy.

Another perfect example is my Funhouse. It is a monster. The most beat down Funhouse I have ever seen. So much so that it has homemade assemblies and fixes that give it some serious charm. It is an import machine and has at least 50,000 plays on it, probably more. The point is that the game plays perfect and is VERY difficult. It's all original (cept for rubber and flipper assemblies) and has absolutely no new parts on it. It looks like your typical routed and beat down game but it plays fantastic. The ultimate sleeper that will hand you your ass. If I try to sell it, I would not get much for it. It's way more valuable to me, exactly the way it sits.

There are too many restoration and perfection queens in pinball. It bothers me when someone tries to restore an original game that is an 8 or 9 out of 10 condition wise. Makes no sense to me at all.

I agree that what might have been a "keeper" eventually might have to go to make room for more "keepers", lol

The only thing that stops me from selling any of my "keepers" is the fear I'll never be able to replace it in as nice condition. Or, in the case of my TRON:LE, being the original owner. Even if I got another one, it would never be "mine".

Me neither. The 13 pins in my game room are all keepers that I either specifically asked distributors to look for because I wanted them (CFTBL + IJ + TZ + W?D) or that I hunted down myself (ToM proto + SS + AFM + MB) or that I purchased NIB (BBB + RFM + SW:E1 + Mustang premium + Stern Playboy).

The 3 pins outside my game room aren't keepers to me. They were just opportunity buys all purchased in 1997 ('94 Baywatch + minty '96 Barb Wire less than a year old + '97 X-files as a NIB closeout). But I've never considered selling any of them because I like pinball and the prices they would bring aren't enough to tempt me.

I thought HS2 was a keeper until I understood my tastes better and how restricting limited pin space would eventually become, so I sold it.

My current keepers are games I can't replace in their current condition without spending additional months of my life. I have thousands of dollars and months of restoration in my TZ. I spent 2 years searching for TX-Sector. I only have so long to live, so I don't want to go through that again.

was that the switch that lit up the playfield and exposed the fact that all those wire forms are nothing but eye candy or the one that made you realize it was nothing but two duplicate sets of standups and a kickback?

And that one isn't even set up that hard.

Yeah it's always space vs monies. When I had fewer games I always had space, but you run out and it forces you to make a decision. And when you get into newer games it's straight cash homie. Only way to afford GB was to sell MET and on down the line.

For me: ST Premium and LOTR
Thought they were both long term keepers but after a while they both began to become tiresome. At my skill level the wizard modes just too far away to even hope of getting to one day. Themes were good but just couldn't pass up the games that replaced them... I like to be able to actually accomplish some of the goals so more straightforward rules and not super deep games seem to suit me better.

All my DMDS were keepers.

Hahahahahahah!!!!!!

WCS94 was a keeper becasue the rest of my family are all soccer fanatics and my wife and I actually attended the 1994 World Cup. Here was the problem....none of them play pinball.....gone!

HS2 was a keeper and a pin I had wanted for a decade......it lasted a few years....and I still like the game. ST Pro was another "keeper" and one I still love....but something had to go to bring in something new.

I don't foresee IJ or STTNG leaving (they are both all time classics to me).....but I never say never (anymore).

Well, TZ was a "keeper" for me until I needed to raise some fast cash to help me buy my classic car. Still miss that game and want another one some day. IJ was a keeper until I didn't play it much anymore and needed granite for our kitchen.....see a pattern here? I now have new keepers...my MM is NEVER going anywhere because at the time my fiancé helped me buy it and it was at our wedding reception.....my Embryon is a keeper since it is HUO and WAY too nice to ever get rid of....my firepower is a keeper since it is one of my favorite pins, my fast draw is a keeper, my jungle lord is a keeper....my 300 is a keeper since that is the first pin my fiancé and I played at Expo 2007....most of mine are keepers....unless someone offers me stupid money for anything but the MM and 300.

No Good Gofers, a family favorite.

I will eventually sell something for space. Hope I don't need to sell for cash. I wouldn't mind selling a game if it gets replaced with something else.

LOTR and ACDC, as I refuse to give up on getting to Valinor and Encore.

Once I get to the wizard modes, I may consider switching them up.