Everything from Funhouse (90) to Cactus Canyon (98) seems to be cut from the same amazing set of creativity, quality, and engineering innovation. The last 5 years have been pretty stellar too!

Today, starting from about AC/DC and Star Trek when Stern really started putting their act together. The modern games blow away the 90's for everything from production values to strategic depth to mechanical and electronic reliability. This is the golden age, whatever the people bleating about "I just want to bash a simple castle/saucer" might say.

No love for the 80s? So far no one has cast a vote there. Tons of innovations, the upper playfield, the lower playfield, the jackpot shot, the wizard mode! (yeah i count BK2K and LCA as the first ones) The soundtrack on the System 11s alone have to make you think about it.

60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s for me.

Now to get tacos.

Tie between 90’s and 2010+. A few years ago I would have said 90s, but a lot of great games have come out and looks like more to come.

2000 to 2009.

In the worst decade ever in coin op, Gary Stern kept pinball alive.

And some of the games he made in that time have stood the test of time.

LTG : )

The 1980s, brought in full force Solid State era.

85-95.

People really don’t know what Golden Age means anymore. Stern’s reliability is a joke.
Until Stern starts pushing 10k+ machines regularly, we aren’t even in the Silver Age. This is a Renaissance and maybe a Bronze Age or whatever they call the 3rd wave revivals.

Golden age for pinball was the 1930s and 40s when there were hundreds and hundreds of manufacturers and pinball was so widespread everyone around the country started banning it.

Often people overlook and take “Golden Ages” for granted because they fundamentally change our culture.
Video games had their Golden Age in the late 70s and early 80s when they were invented.

I can go there.

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No need for a full decade: 1977-1983

Definitely, the 90s for me.

90s and it's not even close. Modern era (2010+) gets 2nd place.

1975 to 1984
Best of the EM, the birth of Solid State and the Awesome year that was Bally 1981

60s all the way for me
baby!!!

Looks like I have a nice upward trend in the 90s and another the modern machines. (Blue is mine, green is a friend)

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90s will always be the best imo. Those pins have original themes, lots of humor, wonderful dmd animations, a ruleset that can be understood even by beginners and unique toys/mechs that define each game apart from the others. They hit the sweetspot between fun and challenging.

Today's modern games that Stern and others are churning out feels like the same game over and over, just with different art and a million flashing lights. It doesn't help that the themes are always boring movie/comic licences with zero originality. Lastly, the rulesets have become so deep and complicated that the average player will se about 10% of them and don't understand what to do. Don't get me started on the lcd screen that plays long movie clips that the player can't look at while playing. If I want to watch a movie I won't play a pinball.