MM vs. AFM vs. MB

Have both ...love both, but perfer afm overall. Definitely room for both in a collection imo ( especially a collection of 5 or more pins) . Actually most my pins are similar in layout and rules.... afm, mm, mb, met and all play very different and i dont feel like im playing the same game when i go from one to another. Try one out and i think u will also love it .....

Your collection is great

Had both MM is gone.....Imo afm just never gets old

Agreed as ive had afm for alot longer than mm and afm is still the pin i play most..... just fast. Flowing, difficult awesome fun.

Thax ...im very proud of it for sure.

I have both. I consider them very similar in layout. I like the long ramps and catapult on MM. Also, I like the castle better than the spaceship. I also much prefer the 2 part (and difficult) wizard mode on MM versus just having to score points on AFM. I would hate to part with either game, but MM is my clear favorite.

I think being popular and being two of the better themes out there is the only thing these games have in common. Completely different theme, ruleset, and strategy. I played these games so much in the late 1990'S. I don't really feel any desire to own them. They are both excellent games. To me they both seem equally challenging as well. It's cool that they were both remade so more people have a chance of owning them. I do enjoy playing Medieval Madness more though.

I like AFM better than Mm as well. That isn't about the rules or theme. It is all about the fact that I have more fun playing AFM.

I also think they can coexist in a collection. I don't feel they play all that similar.

I agree with what a lot of people are saying in that they "don't feel or play like the same game". They are very similar though.

If have a small collection and are looking for something a bit different to go with the MMr, grab a game with a third flipper and super deep and complex rules like a Star Trek or something along those lines. RFM goes great with MM (I have those two in my home lineup right now, they compliment each other great).

I love AFM and couldn't order an AFMrLE fast enough when they were announced. In fact I sold my GBLE in a heartbeat to get it. For me I just enjoy the pace and theme of it much more than MM. However I don't agree with others who say they are so much the same game. Not really that close IMO. The layout may be similar but the shots are not the same at all and the pace is totally diffierent. if you love MM I would say you will also love AFM not as the same game but as a compliment to each other. If you don't love MM (like me) you can still have an appreciation for AFM in your collection.

Both are fun and funny. AFM is campy humor, MM more like Monty Python. AFM is faster than MM. Call outs are better on MM (Tina Fey is the damsel).

I am also in the "they are not the same game" camp, though I probably wouldn't have both games in a small collection. I always wanted an AFM to go with my RFM, but don't have the space. I'm a little biased toward MM because (a) I did the original WMS web site for it (b) bought the game NIB in 1997 and still have it and (c) my wife likes the humor in MM better.

Can't go wrong with either game - both hold up very well.

Can't go wrong and it's all opinion, but MM is better. Better theme, better sound/music, better toys, better code, better art. AFM plays smoother and faster, but that's pretty much it. Several annoying things on AFM: SOL hole that constantly gobbles balls and that horrendous video mode.

Don't forget aliens that keep shaking...way boring and painful for me.
MM is king.

I'm still undecided. Owned an original AFM and sold after about a year, then bought an MM remake with initial doubts as at the time I thought AFM was better. But MM has really grown on me, seems to have longer staying power.

Now I miss AFM so have ordered an LE remake, have no problems owning both they are both timeless classics.

And I think AFM's video mode is way better than MM's.

This is the only weakness of MM

I do like fighting the saucers + the Mothership
JY has this video mode too! Accessible through the time machine.

I prefer the Sci-Fi theme of AFM, but that's a personal one. Music is great on both. The castle is better than the saucer, but the jumping aliens are a great toy. Code is slightly more complicated on MM, but art is great on both.

So really it comes down to personal preferences. AFM is my favourite but I'd like an MM to go with it.

AFM & MM are at the same time completely different games in every way as well as almost exactly the same game depending on how you look at it.

If all you ever saw and experienced were these two games, you would not see any similarity between them. Like if the only fruits that ever existed were oranges and tangerines you would love them both in subtle and complex ways and think they were completely different.

On the other hand, if an advanced alien race systematically studied every pin ever made by us humans, then, in the aspect of playfield layout and flow, AFM and MM are very similar to each other. In the aspect of playfield layout and flow, they are similar like how you think of oranges and tangerines given that you have experienced a large variety of fruits (sweet citrus fruits). There is a reason for this, MM is a modified version of AFM in the way that they started with the layout and code of AFM and added/removed things and made a different game. "What if we had a castle and had a two stage drawbridge." "What if we added some trolls that popped up and blocked shots". Etc.

IMO, both are fantastic games, each a pinnacle of the pinball artform for a large number of reasons. I think it's nuts to say one is the best and the other sucks - like saying out of the top steak restaurants in the world, one totally sucks over the other.

Now when you hear someone saying "don't get both if you're new to the hobby" what they are saying is that AFM and MM are similar enough that you should probably try a different kind of game (say a stop-and-go like TZ) so that you experience a wider range of pinball layouts. They are right to say this. But those who say they are both awesome are also right.
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(looks like I must be getting hungry given all the references to food

MM and AFM are both top 3 games for a reason - they are super fun! I wouldn't hesitate to get both since they differ substantially in theme, music, call outs, and rules. If I had to choose only one to get, however, it would definitely be AFM. The energy and humor in that game is out of this world (pun intended). I played the AFMr LE at TPF and was so impressed I ordered one, even though I wasn't planning on getting a new game. It was too much fun to pass up. Try playing both on Pinball Arcade. That will give you a good idea of what to expect.

I've had both and love both. Choose both, buy and sell. Sold AFM and MM is out on temp trade.

Owned both MM is still here and is never leaving.

Just those minor details, huh? LMAO

I don't see how you can call them the same game. Completely different imo. Sure there are some similarities because they share the same designer. Same thing for Lawlor, Borg, or Ritchie games. I think they are both fun and see no reason why you shouldn't have both. I would try to play any game before buying one. Not everyone loves MM and not everyone loves AFM. I enjoy MM but much prefer AFM. I love the callouts of AFM and the retro scifi theme.

So close...

I'm not trying to derail this thread there is a commonality. Honestly, I have more fun playing Revenge from Mars. If attack from Mars seems too similar to Medieval Madness for you then this is viable and feasible alternative. Some people don't like the video screen. It's a deal-breaker for most. The layout is very similar. It has the same ridiculous humor comedy and rhetoric. And you still get to kick Martian butts!

Afm has a much better ruleset, which doesn't encourage you to spend the whole game shooting up the middle. Instead you aim to spread your shots all around the game. Much more fun.

Agree!

I have owned both for a while in a smallish collection, currently 8 games. I think that there is justification to own both. AFM is faster and a little harder to get consistent scoring, MM seems a little deeper. While the layout of the shots is the same they play differently. And yes, they are both consistently top 2-3 games for a reason, for the same reason that they are the first of the remakes. They are both just phenomenal players games. Not the first ones played by my nonpinhead friends when they come over, put other pinball players almost always go straight to my AFM first.

THIS ^^^

For me it was an easy decision to go with AFM, I have owned MM off and on 5 times since 2003 but have never owned AFM. I literally have played AFM less than 5 time (5 games) in my life, so I am looking forward to owning/exploring it (AFM LE ordered). I love MM but have played it so much that I think I liked owning it more than I liked playing it if that makes any sense.

AFM>MM

its easy as that

for me between the big 3 its AFM>MB>MM

It is easy as...top 100

ST is possibly the smoothest, best shooting game of all time. Way smoother than both AFM and MM, but it's still a turd. Just saying...

AFM because of:
-Not spending the game shooting up the middle. More balance on things to do.
-No finnicky Merlin saucer which messes up strategy around trolls and multiball.
-Theme, but that's subjective.

I wanted to like MM more, since I have nostalgic memories playing it as a kid. But even still, I prefer AFM so that's saying something.

BUT Shadow is Brian Eddy's best game.

AFM all day
classic campy theme, good music, fun quirks in the code, nice shots, achievable but not easy, understandable rule set
MM is still a classic but AFM is pinball perfection if a shooting game with flow is your thing...
greatest pin of all time title is a dead heat between: Attack From Mars & Monster Bash
Had AFM MM And MB originals in restored fashion - AFM & MB stayed but MM went out...

Great games, Like the opinions from current and former owners of both as Ill prob only be able to take a swing on one of them soon.

The gameplay is so good and similar with both of them that I'd have to use theme as the deciding factor.

For me swords and boards is a bit more enjoyable than little green men. Wouldn't mind owning both though!

Just looking through your list, why not get a modern game to add to your collection? I see you have Dialed In! on your wanted list, probably not too far off in price between AFMr and Dialed In! Standard.

You certainly won't have to start a thread asking if they are too similar with Dialed In! And MM.

My afm and mb are more difficult than my mm .... especially afm as mine is very difficult and i love it. Dont count on tom being remade and mb is a while off yet.

Cant wait to get my dile... such a great playing pin with alot going on.

Well, MMr was announced in October of 2013. Its now April of 2017 and only a couple months has AFM been officially announced.

Everyone seems to feel MB is next after AFMr is all done (late 2018 or early 2019?)...not sure how much further into the future anyone can predict as so much could happen. But would you really want to wait till 2021 or so to get a TOM (assuming it is affer MB) anyway?

For me it's AFM=MB>MM

agree

None have been made yet .....so lets not jump the gun until that happens lol. Easy to announce something.... producing a quality product in a timely fashion is another thing.

Both are great games. You have had alot of great comments. But, I choose AFM all day.