Fish Tales has the best video mode.

Will you be bringing the guacamole?

Talk to my squirrels about that. Actually no avo's until late October. If those little varmints will leave me any.

your always going to be 50% with this because both are practically the same game. Same style of rules with practically identical layouts. MM has more on it since AFM is practically an empty playfield and the castle toy is nice. I don't care for rules where you need to shoot each shot every shot 3, 4 or 5 times. And the center close to 100 times.

Both are fun, but AFM for all of the above reasons.

MM is my clear choice, for some reason AFM just never connected with me like I thought it would.

The combination of art, humor, and gameplay on MM is just about as close to perfection as a pin can get IMO.

afm , but doesn't mean I would not pick up a mm if opportunity knocks. Just like the speed and theme of afm better for slight edge to it, as well as lower price

My opinion to the Ops question .....

Just the opposite.......

MM > AFM

Definitely Medieval for me. Own both, will keep both forever as they're different enough to enjoy both.

AFM is "Brian Eddy 1.0" It's his first attempt at the fan layout of his dreams.

Medieval is "Brian Eddy 2.0" even though it's just a reskin of the same game, with some better software in it. No lame "5 way combo" requisite to get to the wizard mode, better bad guys (Trolls >> Martians anyday) and a much better bash toy with the castle drawbridge and gate.

They're both fun (even though they're almost identical) but I still always give the edge to Medieval Madness because it's Wizard mode is that much better. Gathering the crowns to get there is much more rewarding (to me) than picking up the blue requisites on AFM. Royal Madness >> Total Destruction. Heck, even Castle Multiball is better than AFM's standard multiball.

The only thing I'd give to AFM over MM is Strobe Multiball.

Cow video mode in AFM rocks! So does strobe multiball. AFM all day.

Ill agree with some of what you said but TA (Total Destruction???...lol) is way better then the stacked madnesses on MM. The rules alone in TA may be the best of any multiball out there.

Yeah, yeah, memory going, Total Annihilation... Dunno, I like the short timer running during Royal Madness instead.

Lets compare em: (this also points out how MM is a derivative work from AFM, same game, just reworked)

TA:

Total Annihilation

Total Annihilation involves collecting the awards from the orbits and ramps. The left orbit is Capture, the left ramp is the Big-O-Beam, the right ramp is the Tractor Beam, and the right orbit is the Atomic Blaster. It takes 3 shots to complete one of these, unless you complete it using the super skill shot. Once one of them is completed, it starts a hurry-up in which the flying saucer (inner targets or force field) starts at 100 million and counts down. If you finish another one of the ramp/loop awards while the other one is counting down, the hurry up will reset at a higher point value. If all 4 awards are completed during the countdown, the game will award 1 billion points.

Once you complete all 4 things, Total Annihilation starts. It is a 4 ball multiball in which every major shot awards the Annihilation value. The lock shot awards an Annihilation jackpot, which is increased by hitting the other shots. Therefore, if you collect a lot of annihilation values, you get the points for hitting it and they are also put into the jackpot making it worth quite a large amount. Once the jackpot is collected it resets back down to it's base value an can be built up again.

Royal Madness:

Royal Madness is lit at Merlin's Saucer when you have lit all 5 of the
Madness lights, and have already played Multiball Madness. Royal Madness is
a single-ball round where the goal is to make 10 shots (2 to each ramp, 2 to
the orbits, 2 to the Catapult, and 1 to each Troll) before a 20-second timer
runs out. If you manage to make all 10 shots, you are immediately rewarded
with an Extra Ball (or 15 million, depending on settings).

For some reason, Royal Madness gives the player a brief ball saver, even
though only one ball is in play. Go figure. Take advantage by aiming for
the most difficult shot right away, the Catapult.

The timer is set to 20 seconds; making any shot resets the timer (and you'll
hear a warning at 10 seconds, and a countdown from 5 seconds left).
During Royal Madness, the Lock shot remains lit; it will award one shot of the
10, starting with the Catapult. The Catapult Standup also counts as a shot to
the Catapult, so it is possible to finish the difficult Catapult requirement
with one solid shot.

The first shot of the 2 required (or the first Troll) scores 200K and awards
1 of whatever award is given for completing that shot in regular play
(1 Catapult Slam, etc.). The second shot awards a Jackpot worth 1.5M + 250K
for each additional Royal Madness (second time around is 1.75M, etc.).
Sample games base this Jackpot on your performance during Multiball Madness,
approximately one-tenth of your total in the round. The second Troll counts
toward your total of Trolls destroyed.

Orbit shots will careen back around if Super Jets isn't running, so watch out!

Note that you can_ use Troll Bombs during Royal Madness. Although it is
relatively easy to hit the Trolls anyway, you may want to keep this in mind
if you have 2 seconds left on the clock and need a shot, or the Troll is the
final shot of Royal Madness (which happens on occasion).

Royal Madness ends when you finish the 10 shots and collect the Extra Ball,
when you drain the ball, or when time runs out (there is a brief grace period,
as always). Whatever happens, the process of setting up Multiball Madness
begins anew.

Great rundown of the two modes. I prefer TA over RM.

Meh, swiped it straight out of some old rulesheets, no credit to me!

To each his own, it's what makes it possible to make and sell machines like Dr. Dude, Party Zone, etc.

SOMEONE out there will like it!

Who doesn't prefer T & A?

Here is why I would pick MM. MM is smooth and AFM is wreckless. Both are great. But I didn't know you could stack Strobe with the others. Must try harder.

-As for flow, when I played Metallica LE last week, I thought the ramps were like MM. The cow and lobster are not that ever.

-Hurry Ups on MM are the ultimate risk reward, if you are in the groove on both ramps you can pillage. And it is fun to do that over and over and over and...drain to get nothing.

-Royal Madness is my favorite mode in pinball. You get an extra ball and must do well to reach BFTK. or you lose a ball and get laughed at. Starting Royal Madness and then BFTK is total satisfaction

-This is a big one. The Strategy to how and when to start Trolls to get your 10+ in one go beats the crap out of Martian multi-ball. There are way too many times when I have drained on ball 3 with the extra ball lit but not qualified on trolls to shoot the merlin hole. I have also drained with BFTK lit trying to get Trolls lit to get Royal Madness to get total satisfaction.

-BFTK is great to finish, RTU is harder to start but a so what to finish.

-To get to BFTK again you must kill the castles again where Conquer Mars only is needed on the first x . RTU 2x or 3x is << than BFTK 2x or 3x (never been to 4x on either).

- And BFTK is not the end. I think Barnyard multi-ball (especially if you start it during Victory laps) is the ultimate night cap to a great game.

-I didn't mention the catapult because I try to see if that happens before I shoot except for Royal Madness when I shoot that first (ball saver)

Now here are the things I am glad they didn't put into MM or we wouldn't like AFM so much in comparison. IMHO.

-Strobe Multi-ball is magic in the dark

- Forcefield is nasty to shoot and I do it much more carefully than the castle gate.

-The flippers are way too powerful for the layout. That is why I call it wreckless. The ball can hit the back of the game and jump over the flippers with ease.

-In multi-ball, you can only kill one saucer where MM lets you get through as many as you can

-Super Jackpot is the one thing I wish MM had.

-5 way combo is the other. Love the rules on the loops vs rest of the shots.

-Super skill shot to drop the force field

Rules are what makes them so different and lasting. Even though the layout is similar.

YMMV.

MM has super jackpots in regular multiball (and in madness multiballs).

Agreed. What a great multiball. Neon Multiball in CV is outstanding as well...both are great machines, but I would go MM. It is tougher to finish...

Most of these responses are slight nods and hair splitting. The poll is 50/50. Kind of crazy then that MM goes for nearly double the money, especially considering there were more MM's made than AFM's.

Strobe multi is pretty cool, no doubt. But let's face it. It's just hitting the target bank up the middle, and nothing else.

One thing I don't like about it is that you can't drain out on that multi, even if you double drain to end it.... so that takes a little of the risk away from SDTM drains.

You can basically just mindlessly flail up the middle with no real risk, and that's Strobe multiball.

Isn't that pretty much the same thing as hitting the castle, and nothing else?

I own AFM, but also really like MM. This is one of those arguments like "what Trilogy was better-Star Wars or Lord of the Rings"
Answer:They're both great.

Also, don't forget The Shadow when talking about great Eddy pins-most underrated...pin...ever.

No, not at all.

He's talking specifically about Strobe Multi-ball. What is the objective of Strobe MB? To hit the three bank target! As many times as you can, in order to light Extra Ball.

MM has no Multiball mode where the objective is to simply hit the castle.

I'm pretty sure you can build towards TA during strobe multiball. You can also stack it with martians.

I was just saying as a major goal Super Jackpot is not needed to reach the wizard mode like it is on AFM and has no impact on BFTK points like it does not RTU.

OK, here's my opinion on the matter.

Medieval Madness is a better theater package. Monty Python humor is ALWAYS a good thing. The not so good thing is that in tourneys, this game is reduced to a bash the castle strategy where points is points is points...

Attack from Mars is a true player that has multiple strategies that are relatively balanced for gameplay. This game is a better playing game than MM for that reason alone.

And the best Brian Eddy pinball design out there is: The Shadow. HA!

Enjoy all you pin-jokers!

Just bought an afm and out of the 3 similar games MM and MB AFM it is the best of the 3 hands down.
I don't think the price difference is that great between the 3 now around £6k in reasonable to good condition around $9500.

I like and enjoy playing them all but would you own all 3 games in a 3 game collection?

If they were priced the same, we would not be having this discussion.

But they are priced the same in the UK

bullocks

Both these games are pretty, but way too easy.

Well...too easy for a GOD!!

Why yes. Yes, I would.

I had all 3 and AFM is still here.
Just depends on what you like, this poll is always 50/50 every time it is brought up.

Sorry MM for me every day. AFM saucer and strobe multiball are terrific. However, those alone do not beat out Trolls, a damsel in distress, castle, and a freakin Dragon!!

Dragon and Trolls beat Martians. Sorry. And I didn't even bring Merlin to this fight.

Me too

Love them both and play both, but my heart skips a beat when I see that lightning and know MM is in the house... Goosebumps baby

Back when those games were new, not very many people were buying NIB for their homes. We'd look for them used through local distributors when they got to be around two years old, when they'd still be in pretty good shape (and not at all worn out yet), would cost maybe half what they did when new, and you could order whatever B/W parts you needed to mint one out by finding the part numbers in the manual and ordering them through the distributor. I followed this system in buying CFTBL and TZ and IJ.

It was harder to find AFM at two years old than any other game, because they were great earners for their operators and a lot of ops held onto them longer than usual. But MM was made in 1997 and two years later in 1999 B/W was pulling the plug on their pinball business. There was nothing new coming from B/W for operators to trade MM in on. Consequently, prices for used MMs were already going up when used pinball machines historically would have been coming down in price. One or two of the know-it-alls here on Pinside will be able to brag on how they scored a MM back then for $2K (or thereabouts), but if they did so they were really lucky.

I like AFM a little more than MM also. They're both great but AFM just feels smoother to me.

AFM all day, ev'ry day.

Back before the major price inflation, I was set on picking up either AFM or MM. I played the crap out of both of them while trying to decide. After a lot of nitpicking between the two, I just found AFM to be the more enjoyable game overall. I like the flow better on AFM, I like the smoothness of the shots better, and I think it has a more focused presentation.

But saying that I definitely prefer AFM over MM doesn't mean that MM sucks, the two are actually pretty dang close. I just think AFM has the edge in more categories than MM does.

Either way you go, you're talking about a fantastic game.

Edit: Also, Martians >>>>>>>> Trolls for the knock 'em down to earn multiball mode.

MM, AFM is boring. Flailing aliens dont do it for me.

I would not mind to add an AFM to it's side, but for now i like MM just a little more.
Knights and battles.
Trolls and an exploding castle!!!
And last but not least, such a beautiful playfield!

MM-PF.JPG

The one thing I like more about afm is that the shots are more difficult to hit due to them being longer.

Two very similar games but MM has the edge in almost every aspect. I've owned 2 AFMs now just to make sure but with an MM in the collection the AFM just gets no play.