Quoted from jgentry:

Game looks pretty good. Great to see a fresh new designer make a game.
It's crazy over priced though and I think it's funny how many of you are running to order a CE like 12.5k is some great value or something. New pinball is great but at 9.5k I'm out and it's crazy to see people applaud another huge price increase. I can almost fill a game room with fun stuff for that price.

Quoted from woody76:

LOL, leave him alone Kenny.

Quoted from jgentry:

You left the preorders that you backed out on out of that list Kenny. Selective memory. I've had 14 tequila shots since lunch and I still remember better then you.
I love pinball, but I just can't get 9.5k fun out of one. If it's good and they go at a nice HUO discount I might look but otherwise I'd rather save my money or use it for something more practical or see a new part of the world. Fortunately you don't have to spend 12.5k or 9.5k to still have fun with the hobby. The game looks good and I'm sure it will be fun. But I've owned all 3 of the last jjp games and none were keepers for me. 9.5k can buy me a pile of tequila shots. Hard to compare that to a pinball machine.

Quoted from pinballj:

I know 3 is the left ramp. It has a diverter on the top that makes it go down the Maelstrom funnel (Eric was telling me that when I played it..though I never got movie 3 multiball).
4 would be the spinning disks since that is the map that was used to find the fountain of youth in the 4th movie. It was introduced in the third though.

Quoted from Zavadoza:

It doesn't hurt sales for them to show the game earlier. When something costs $9,500 it's good to give people a chance to reserve their money for it instead of buying the 3 other games that come out from other manufacturers during that time. It also helps the manufacturer know what to expect as far as sales when you have some time to generate excitement.
Movies have trailers more than 6 months in advance. Pinside is going to speculate all day whether you have 8 months or 2 weeks before a game comes out. It sucks to wait, but we can always get off the internet and actually just play pinball until it's time to get your new game.

Quoted from Yelobird:

You can have all the time you want on the machine at 257 as long as your cash holds out? lol Played it several times over the past few weeks and maybe its the time I have been going or day but JJP seems to always have a software guy near by observing and taking notes. Very impressive in my opinion. If I witness a error or flaw it is miraculously repaired by my next visit. They do seem Very committed to making certain this game is Dialed in perfect. Love it and there team is amazing! Can't wait to get mine. #17 CE (which Jack Better Sign this time!!!)

Quoted from romulusx:

The lanterns are sweet and the way they flicker adds authenticity

Quoted from ZMeny:

Oh Baby! Here it is!
SDTM Episode 51: Pirates of the Caribbean Pinball Machine Review - Deluxe Edition Part 1
» YouTube video

Quoted from Eskaybee:

I don’t know why so many people are hung up on video footage. Is it because of Hobbit? Cause that’s a totally different game in itself, support JJP and buy that if you want video footage in your collection. Me personally, video footage on the display is one of my least cares about assets. The display should thrive on scoring, progression and rules IMO.
If movie clips and stop n go Pinball really is your thing then I can respect that. But don’t get too tunnel vision on it. $8500 doesn’t buy you stop n go movie footage; it gets you a world of Pinball magic that Eric, Keefer, Joe, JP, and David bring to life.

Quoted from PanzerFreak:

With this being the case I wonder how the modes will feel unique seeing as theres no actor audio from the films, as well as video, that plays when that characters shot is hit.
Are there custom Gibbs lines that are unique to each mode? If so that will help fill in the gap left by no actor audio for scene and help each mode stand on its own. However, if that's not the case I wonder how 100+ modes will feel unique?

Quoted from Eskaybee:

Regarding modes and rules - and this is my assessment of the game, take it as you will.
They keep referring to them as chapters in the stream, not necessarily modes. I wouldn't think of them as 125 different modes, but the chapter section of the ruleset is ONE mode in itself but is played out in different ways based on 3 elements; the chapter itself (i.e. # of characters), your scoring bonus going into a chapter, your chapter X going into the chapter, and any penalties/rewards you have on the character you're playing as. You are then rewarded based on how quick you complete them and on the scoring which plays a later role in the game at each movie's wizard mode. So while it's 1 mode, it has an infinite amount of possibilities of its outcome from game to game.
Breaking modes down more, there are:
+ 1 chapter mode with infinite possibilities of how they're played.
+ 6 multiball modes each with unique rules associated to them. These are unique rules, and not just hit the flashing light and get a jackpot. Obviously, the more stacking you do, the more jackpot possibilities there will be. But, from what I've seen each multiball has cool and unique rules and corresponds to the games theme integration.
+ 5 unique wizard modes. And based on the only wizard mode we've seen so far (movie 1 - curse of the black pearl), these wizard modes will be very involving and appear to be deeper than traditional modes or even wizard modes. I don't suspect it will take long to achieve wizard modes either as players learn their risk/reward strategies in progressing. And will there be a super wizard mode...?
+ 1 Arggh frenzy
That in itself is 13 modes. All played differently and all stackable, and all appears to be achievable from game to game. When it comes to pins that are based on mode stacking, you have to be very delicate where you go with it or you can end up with a hot mess (i.e. see XMEN mode stacking feature).
There is also PIRATE lane rewards that are player selectable. There are TONS of mystery features > I used to love mystery features like in MM and such but that feature has been lost for many many years due to sterns weighted system mystery features. Keith and Joe programmed the mystery choices to be weighted before they are seen, but once shown on the mystery level, all rewards have an equal chance of being selected - no weighted 'non-mystery' mystery awards. This is very welcomed!
And lastly, the map wheel. We have yet to see what integration this impacts rules, modes, or gameplay.
So while this isn't your traditional mode game; i.e. shoot scoop, hit flashing lights, end mode, rinse + repeat. JJPOTC is more of a stackable mode risk/reward strategy up your yin yang style game. If that's not what you want, then this game will probably not be your cup of tea - in which games like Hobbit, LOTR, Star Trek, Dialed In, Guardians of the Galaxy, etc... will be the game for you. Wonderful time to be in the hobby with so many good games to pick from that suit each of our tastes for sure!

Quoted from Eskaybee:

Here's my review. Got to play close to 20 games at Arcade Expo in CA.
I agree with what a lot of people say; this game does not feel or play like a wide body. The game design is stellar, top notch; Eric did an amazing job. Every shot feels good. The rules & code utilize the entire play field very well.
The far left orbit shot on videos shows a magnet that blocks the loop shot and diverts the ball back down the left loop. This looked uninspiring on the video, but in reality the magnet really whips the ball back down the loop. It was really a neat feature.
Chest shot; when the shot was a pass thru it whips around to the upper flipper. Good shot. With the chest ramp up, it's a very brickable shot. This shot is probably the most concerning for me overall. It felt cool when you made the shot, but it bricks a lot. Im hoping production games have a solution and/or there's an easy fix adjustment to make it not so ejectable.
The upper flipper shot was very cool and satisfying. The Maelstrom whirlpool does obstruct the top part of the shot; but after a few plays I got the feel for it and was making loops like crazy. It was very satisfying and fun to hit some loops and decide whether it was time to shoot gold targets and collect gold. One time I hit about 6 loops then nailed the gold targets and collected a TON of gold playing as Gibbs. More on that later.
The right ramp to the boat play field is steep and tough. It's much better than it appears but if you don't get it up there, get ready for a brutal return.
The mini boat play field was actually way cooler than I thought it would be. I was able to load the cannon probably 6-7 times; unfortunately, the coil was very weak and could never make it to the other ship.
As far as overall gameplay and rules. This thing is a masterpiece homerun. Everyone did their job...Eric, Keith, Joe, JP, David, etc...This game feels good, looks good, sounds good, plays good, and keeps you on your toes. The PIRATE Lanes are BAD ASS!! So inventive and intuitive. It was much harder than the design team makes it look on the streams to toggle through lane rewards let alone get all 6 lanes lit. I didn't focus too much with the multiplier rules until my last few games where I started getting the hang of the rewards. Overall, this is a very fun feature. Gathering gold is also very fun! Being able to repeat loop shots and decide when to cash out by hitting the gold targets and then collect that cash out with the action button was cool. Way better than doing the tie fighter button mashing in SW. I didn't focus too much on chapters and such since most the wizard modes aren't coded in yet. So My go to characters were Black Beard, Gibbs, & Jack Sparrow - though I did try a few of the others. With black beard I was able to get a huge multiball stack going and started getting some super X's going which ended with a good 560k GC score. But, it wasn't til my last game of the night that I broke that GC score playing as Gibbs. Utilizing what Keefer said in the stream 'it's important to focus on each character's strengths'; I went straight for gold with Gibbs. At one time I looped around 6 shots, hit the gold targets and collected nuggets upon nuggets galore. It was still ball 1 so I decided it was best not to start Tortuga mb with that huge gold collect, but rather get some other multi balls ready and I did just that. It wasn't til that game that I realized how bad ass the Tortuga multiball sound effects and call outs were. I was able to get Maelstrom and Tortuga going, then kept resurrecting multi balls either with add a ball or by starting another multiball just in the nick of time. It was very satisfying! During this chaos I did happen to look at one of my chapter values and it was inching close to 4k so I kept hammering away at the chapter modes. I think I got through 3 or 4 chapter modes of that movie that game. In the end, I blew up that Tortuga multiball with over a 100 gold going in playing as Gibbs and cracked my previous GC for just over a million and had 230 gold champ as well.
All in all; this game is exciting! it keeps you on your toes; you have to think fast and think ahead. It has great shots, fun toys, crazy diverters, wild ball feeds, lots of strategy, feel good moments followed with exciting call outs and more importantly, that one more game feel - it has tons of aspects that make you feel rewarded. This game smokes any other newer game out on the market now. Owners will not be disappointed. I don't see any other game out now, and possibly ever, that can match up to this pin. Yes, it is that good! For me, its not a matter of IF I'll get one, but when.