Don't buy any. Save yourself while you can this hobby is very addictive. One will never be enough, and neither will 16. You will spend all your free time looking at pins, fixing pins, and the best of all playing pins. If you must, get the one you like to play the most. All pins are great find something you like that won't require any fixing. You have been warned, and welcome to the club.

Unless they are absolute museum quality, I wouldn't pay that for any of those titles. Heck, I don't think I'd pay that even if they were museum quality. They just aren't great titles.

The Playmatic I would avoid entirely. It's a poor choice, as you're virtually entirely on your own. So few Playmatics of any title are out there that there will be little to no knowledge base to help you if you get stuck.

Sure shot is over priced, but a good game
Tripple strike comes second

avoid any playmatic at at any price

What Buzz said ....... dead on

You'll also quickly learn that you're better off saving up for machines you really like rather than wasting space on cheap machines, but ones you don't love.

Take your time getting your 1st game.

Lots of folks in Michigan into pinball. If you go to the Pinside map you can find out where others are close to you and find someone with em's in their collection. Send them a pm and ask if anyone they know can help you find a game. There's also Mr. Pinball Classified's Collector Register (link at the bottom of the home page) where you search by state. You can also go to shows and try out different machines to see what you like. Clay Harrell has his show at the VFW in Ann Arbor, and they just had the Michigan Pinball Expo. They used to have a show in Kalamazoo.

Just take the plunge - go and look with cash and be ready to take one home. You might get a better deal than the asking price. If it's running and playing right and you think you like the game take it home if you can negotiate to a reasonable price level. I think the Sure Shot or Triple Strike would be fine if you can get them at lower prices.

Hoov makes a good suggestion in contacting other pinsiders in your area - maybe somebody has an extra game for a new guy. Anybody that has done this for a bit always has more than enough games and is looking to move one out and make space for that next pin.

Good Luck ! Find a nice running player at a good price and jump in.

I would say look around here (Pinside) and find some folks close to your neighborhood and buy from them. More than likely they will give you a better deal and be able to sell you a good working game.

So come on guys....help out the man from MI! He's looking at playmatic! Actually it doesn't look like that bad of a game...smells like Chicago Coin/ early stern to me...

What do you mean by "bad"?

IMO (and only mine... others will certainly disagree) I *love* the artwork on some of those machines-- it's so distinctive, and there's just nothing else like it. On the other hand, I find the gameplay on most machines from that era (not just Stern machines) to be completely and totally uninspired. I can't think of a single game of that era that I've played and want to go back and play again... much less own. I'd much rather play (and own) EMs than early solid state games (up to 84 or so, when the technology took off.

Can't disagree more.

The old sterns are like Ballys with more interesting rulesets and better drop targets. Games like stars and quicksilver are absolutely addictive.

Jump in with both feet. It will take over your life, though.

But so what. It is a safe, fun and cheap hobby.

If you don't like it you can sell it...and look for another....and another...and

If you are patient and do some looking around on
ebay, pinside, CraigsList and Mr Pinball classifieds or other pinball shows
you will eventually find a working EM pin in very good cosmetic shape
for $300-500.
It will probably be a B/C/D List game (i.e. not a GTB "A list" wedgehead)
but that doesn't mean it can't be fun or a place to start to get your feet wet.
I would not spend $1000 on a pin (just yet)
unless it was in super great shape and you absolutely loved the game play.
Do not be afraid of a CCoin pin (if its working) as a starter pin;
or a game like Sonic/Segasa Mars Trek or Cannes (even though its from a foreign MFR)
those Sonic pins generally have VeryGood Condition BackGlasses and PlayFields
and are made with mostly WMS parts.

PM pinwiztom...he has a "couple" games

detroit.craigslist.org link

Sky Jump for $900...a little high but looks nice and that's a top notch EM.

Find a Williams single player in the 1968-71 range, these are good to restore with parts availability,fast when you get them right,and they can be found for a good price.Once the skills are developed and you decide you like it find the pin you want.EM repair can be fun,but some folks find them tedious.Get it working 99% mechanically before worrying too much about cosmetics.

Fun game, not a bad price.

That 300 would be my choice of those 3...it's a little high. Sky Jump would be better than all of them but 300 would be good if you want multiplayer

Pinball at the Zoo is alive and doing well:
http://www.pinballatthezoo.com/