Quoted from jfh:
The Munsters code was made shallow on purpose apparently to be more approachable for location players. Who exactly? The 25 year old couple you mention that has no idea of who The Munsters are? They are likely to be in the age group for most locations but if they can’t relate to the theme it won’t matter much no matter how “approachable” the code is.
PROLOG
I get what you are saying here. But I am not entirely in agreement. I'm retired. I used to play pins when I was a kid but I never was any good. I had never heard of a pinball wizard until The Who hit the airwaves with the song all my friends loved. The big problem for me as a young kid was walking up to a pin, dropping my quarter, only to find it was down on a flipper or a pop bumper. Every once in a great while I would get that killer ball that would pull me back for another round of drain balls.
PHASE 1
But after I entered the military in the 1970 I was doing so many other things in life. Pinball was not one of them. Some time during 1977, a titty bar I was hanging out at had a Williams Satin Doll; I had a good time with SD but that was my last pin for a long time. After many no-pinball years, I was in position to play a new Williams Fire. I did not know what I was doing other than shooting hard and hoping for the best; I got some lucky shots in and enjoyed the play. Fire hit the streets in 1987 so I am talking 17 years of no pinball with exception of my mini-detour on SD for just a few games.
1987 to 2012 = 25 years. Several things happened. The internet. An Apple iMac. And I stumbled onto Pro Pinball and fell in love with Pro Pinball. Then You Tube hit the scene. And Craigslist. And then Visual Pinball.
I first saw there VPs on You Tube and was trying to figure out what was going on. It took me several months to figure it all out. And then I built a VP mini-cab. And then I bought a Bally Playboy for sale on Craigslist. And I kept learning about pinball. And then I discovered Pinside.
I started learning how to play pinball and develop flipper skills by playing my VP mini-pin and watching YT videos. Eventually, I got to liking one of the VP games so much that I went shopping for the real deal. I bought a classic Stern Big Game pin. I went chasing this pin because of all the YT videos showed me it was fast. I now have 5 classic Sterns in my house with 2 more that I am building. I also have a Robocop. I'm a speed freak and all of these pins first quality is they are fast. The Playboy got sold. My shopping list no longer included any EMs.
Sorry to bore you with all of the above but I'm trying to set the stage. My flipper skills are getting better but I am no Wizard and probably never will be. But I am sure having a good time.
Phase 2
I live in Wichita Kansas. I have family in Dallas. I make a trip to Dallas two or three times a year. I don't even remember how I discovered it, but in Oklahoma City there is an arcade called Cactus Jacks. Cactus Jacks is where I lost my virginity with all of the pins I was learning about on Pinside. MM CC, STTNG, Congo, MB, BSD, DW, WW, T2, LOTR, TWD, SW, ST, WOZ, Hobbit, Rob Zomie, Most Haunted, AC-DC, GB, MET, TNA, AFM, IM, IMDN, TZ, TAF, AS and a few more. Some I liked;Some I did not like. With each stop, I got a little better and my roll of quarters would last a little longer. Part of that was I learned which pins to avoid. On my shit list is BSD, IMDN, STTNG, and TWD. MM is OK. CC is meh. I finally got good enough that Like GB.
Anyway, on my way to TPF, I stopped and a Munsters Pro was on the floor. You can call it too easy. You can call it shallow. You can call it what ever the fuck you want, but it pushed my average flipper skill playing buttons. It was fast with short ball times. But, unlike BSD, it gave me a fair shake for my quarters. I had a ball.
At TPF, Marco had the floor loaded up with Munster Premiums. I stood in line to play. Several times. On my way home, I stopped at CJs again. This time AFM got one play and then Munsters got the rest of my quarter roll.
I am the world's original skinflint. A cheap bastard if there ever was. Buying this LE is so out of character for me. I look at this Munsters sitting in my game room and I still scratch my head in disbelief.
Sorry for getting carried away here. All of the above was to shed some light on weaker pinball player's point of view on Munsters.
So, here we are again.
Quoted from jfh:
The Munsters code was made shallow on purpose apparently to be more approachable for location players. Who exactly? The 25 year old couple you mention that has no idea of who The Munsters are? They are likely to be in the age group for most locations but if they can’t relate to the theme it won’t matter much no matter how “approachable” the code is.
Yes. One time while I was at CJs, an older couple was in walking around looking for something to play. They did not know much. I told them about AFM, MM, and TNA. TNA was a mistake for them. I wish Munsters would have been on the floor. With all of the flipper friendly shots, I think they would have had a good time.
SIDEBAR: A couple of years ago I was at the register to pay for my hamburger and a 60s year old woman was laying shit on the 18 year old girl at the register because the girl did not know who Bonnie and Clyde were. " YOU MEAN YOU DON'T KNOW WHO BONNIE AND CLYDE WERE ?!!!!" I wanted to tell the self righteous bitch that if it was not for the 50 year old movie with Beaty and Dunnaway that she would have no friggin clue as to who B & C were, either. I felt sorry for the girl. When my generation gets to be my age, we have to make sure we are not shaking our finger in somebody's face. No point in giving anybody a reason to wish the old farts would just shut up And I probably fail miserably
My point in all of this drivel is that I don't think the theme is going to matter all that much to some 25 year old average player going out for a good time. If he is like me he is going to be too busy watching the ball to be bothered see whatever is being pumped out on the video screen. And I don't think the theme will matter to a 25 year old Wizard.
This pin has good flipper action. And has some great pinball playing music that gets the blood flowing. That right ramp is killer. Get one fast Eddie loop boomeranging back at you. If you are an average player, what is not to like? If you are a wizard, other than the code, what is not to like?
That right ramp, one good Eddie Loop, and some good flipper action sold me. No matter how old an average player is, I just don't think theme will kill this pin. I could be wrong but this is what i am thinking.
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I think retirees, as myself, are the sleeper market that Stern is looking for. We are not working. We have some cash. We don't feel like loading up the fishing poles and wasting gas to go to the lake only to find the fish are not biting and then being thankful they are not biting because we don't want the hassle of cleaning them. All of our friends are dying off---and I am sorry---but Arthur Murray dance studios and the senior centers don't cut it for some of us.
Pinball is an easy decision. Wake up, turn on the switch and you forget all about your lumbago Is it cold outside? Fire up the coffee pot and throw the switch. Is it hot outside? Ice up a Coke and throw the switch. Have you already seen every re-run on TV, or You Tube five times? Forget about it. Throw the switch. Bored and tired of looking out the window? Throw the switch.
If I am right on this retiree stuff, in about 10 years when we all started dying off, there are going to be some great pinball deals to be had for all of the young whipper snappers. Munsters might be a dime a dozen
But I digress. In fact, this entire post is a digression. If you have managed to read this far I applaud you.
For the better players that crave more of a challenge, I understand your frustration because it is a cool pin. I hope Stern heeds your call.