Hello,and welcome to our addiction!! I have played most of the pins your looking at! I own a AIQ PRe,but I don't recommend it as a first pin!I also have a DP,Le,and looking at your list,I would go with a DP,PRe!! You must first learn how to shoot a layout! Then learn all the shots and how they score!If you get a nib pin you won't have much trouble with it working correctly!! Pinball machines also need attention from time to time, read the threads on whatever pin you choose! For a beginner,I would program your pin to 5 ball play and set the difficulty to "easy" this will allow you to see what's happening !Also have fun, this is your toy so play it your way! Don't pay attention to the players that tell you 3 ball play is best!Don't think about compitition,till you learn how to work the flippers!Be wary of used, or routed pins, they may need work that's beyond your ability at this point! Most of all, have fun,B safe!!

Welcome!
The assumption that higher priced games hold their value or appreciate more than others isn’t necessarily the case with pinball. “Cheaper” used games that are out of production tend retain or appreciate in value as do the rare, super expensive games. But you should always expect some depreciation on new game purchases.

My advice would be to play as many as you can and don’t focus on the ratings too much. The top 100 is a good list of games to try, but they are not in order from best to worst. The top 100 are pretty much all great games at this point.

Also, I assume your list of available games is from a local shop. Make sure you compare prices with other distributors. Most offer free shipping and you could be surprised at the price difference. There are a lot of good distributors. Game Exchange of Colorado, Cointaker, Tilt Amusements are some to check out. Give them a call to get actual pricing. It will be cheaper than the advertised price on their websites.

Good luck!

It’s a great time for pinball. Pretty much every new game is good.

First thing is don't think about pins as investments. There are far better and easier investments to make money. Important thing is to find a game you really enjoy playing. What you enjoy in a game is different than what other people enjoy in a game. Best thing is to get as many plays as you can to see what games you enjoy the most.

Buy for fun and... stop right there. Buy a machine you enjoy. If it's your first machine, buy one in good shape that has been shopped out.

When you only have one machine, it's a real bummer if it's down due to some problem. Not so bad if you have another machine or two to play while you fix or have the first one fixed.

Honest advice. You'll be bored with one machine before you know it. Be prepared for more.

Get the one you have had fun playing. You can always sell or trade and get something else if it doesn't do it for you once you have it home.

As others have said forget the investment rubbish just have fun with it.

I'd suggest playing a wider range of games. Post your location. Maybe someone here with
a decent collection is near you. Even though the focus these days on pinside is NIB or pins
built the past few years, they have been around since 1931 and you may find older generations
to be even more fun. Especially as a first pin.

You need to decide if you are going to learn how to maintain your pins or pay
someone else to do it. The falacy that new pins are more reliable is wide of the
mark. They are far more complex and take more specialized tools (test equipment)
and knowledge to maintain. Older pins are easier to work on when you need to and
once they have been gone through properly are very reliable.

Hard to say buy a investment game unless you buy it NIB from a dealer at retail.Like GNS CE or Rick and Morty as a good example.Secondary markup values might go up over the years but the resale cost is too high to see a gain worth looking at it as a investment.If your a big Rick and Morty fan or a Hobbit fan ect, I suggest you buy a theme your into and you will enjoy the game a lot more regardless of price.
If you love tinkering with games then buy a lower cost game because most likely you will be fixing it more than a new in box.So my thought is the cost factor between a NIB over a 4K range game might bring you more headaches over enjoying just turn on and play.New in boxes will have issues also but Stern,Spooky,JJP and your distro will help you out but your on your own with a older game.
New in Box and a theme you like is my suggestion. Then make room because they magically multiply quickly.
Looking at your list, I agree with past post that deadpool is the easier ruleset and a fun shooter, but if you can find these games somewhere to play first I highly recommend you "try before you buy".

It’s a dilemma not easily answered, but whatever you decide on it’s likely you add more pins or trade it out after you’ve enjoyed it for awhile. There are many good games so I wouldn’t stress too much on the first pin you choose. While they are heavy and expensive there is a large secondary market for sales, trades, rentals, etc. DP, GNR, AIQ are all fantastic pins. I would go with what brings you happiness and not count on the value appreciating.

Well,there you have it!! All very good advice from owners who have already been through the mill!! Bottom line, have fun,B safe!!

Don’t buy one until you’ve played it somewhere.

Unless you get that “I have to play it juuust one more time” feeling repeatedly, it may not be the one for you.

We all have different likes/dislikes. Deadpool is probably the only one on your list that made me push the start button again and again.

1. Assume you won’t make any money on it when it comes to resale.
2. Buy what you like, I’d recommend playing them prior If you can on route somewhere.
3. Find a theme you love and hopefully you like how it plays equally.
4. Basically what everyone above has said

SW pro

Has a good amount of code different paths and character to play and progress.

While I’ve owned a lot of premium pins to be honest the pro versions are generally 99% as good for 70% of the cost.

Deadpool pro is the perfect first game, though it will spoil you for the future

Where are these cheap fun games < 4000 you speak of?

Advices #1, never buy an LE.
No point other than speculating a price increase and trying to make monies which really shouldn't be the point.

Here’s something to remember. Not everyone likes the same games. Some folks don’t like SW, some don’t like GnR. Some think GnR is the best pin ever some think it’s not very good.

I put GnR as an example because honestly I don’t like it very much.

Anyway try to play the game as much as possible before buying and also look at the tutorial videos. It took me a while to warm up to SW but think it’s one of the best games ever.

Also you’re not married to whatever you buy you can always sell or trade it and get something different down the line.

I love GOTG and hate DP.
Love SW hate TMNT.
Love GnR hate TWD.

Love Pat Lawlor games.
Love Steve Ritchie games (except No Fear).
Hate Jpop games.

Different strokes for different folks.

Pinball is a hobby not an investment.

Lastly.
When your new game breaks, and it will break, just relax. Pinball machines are extremely repairable, there are a ton of knowledgeable people on Pinside that want to help you and your game will be back in fighting shape sooner than you think it will.

Buy as many Whitewaters as you can for under 3.5k

Depending on condition, you can't go wrong with many of those in that price range! Whitewater is a no-brainer for under $3.5K and I personally love both Judge Dredd and Junk Yard, but others won't agree. Everyone has different tastes and likes/dislikes. So try them out and see what you enjoy. You could pick up 2 of those titles for less than what you might pay for one of the new games. But again, it all depends on condition. If it is decent shape and all works, then I would go for it. My Scared Stiff has been more reliable and needed less work than any of the 3 NIB pins it sits next to. So brand new does not always mean trouble free...

It seems like you might be close to pinballrockstar and if so, you should reach out to him and his "amigos" and see if you might be able to talk pinball with them. They're well known around here having created some awesome "home brew" games. I'm sure they'd be able to give you some advice and guidance and maybe they'd even let you come over and play their games...

Judge Dredd is a fun shooter and a great widebody SuperPin but boy has it got one bad movie backing it up and you sort of got to like Sly Stallone (or a vocal sound alike), but rocking one all the way to wizard mode was super satisfying for me. I like it better than Indy Jones TPA but around here that is blasphemy.

Don't you DARE base the Judge Dredd pin on that blasphemous (Stallone) movie!! The pin is based 100% on the comic book, which the movie totally did not honor (Dredd never takes off his helmet!). If you want to mention any movie in regards to Judge Dredd, then the 2012 film "Dredd" with Karl Urban is as close to the comic as they have come and worth mentioning.

Luckily, when Williams/Bally decided to make the JD pin, they based it off of the comic as it should have been. I am so glad I don't have to look at Stallone while playing JD.

Anyway, sorry for the derail, but the non-movie Judge Dredd pin is a great game!!

Its all better now, everything is going to be ok.

You're in the Netherlands ?
Join the dutch pinball organisation (nfvpinball.com) and visit the pinball museum in Rotterdam (if it's open now ?) both are good resources to help you and get you started..

To answer your questions:
Do 1 or 2.
But:
1/ nothing is really 'cheap' anymore nowadays, so prepare to pay market price or even overpay because you have no patience and want something, or the real cheap deals are gone because someone else is faster and you were still asking questions if it was really a deal..
some guidance from local collectors can help that you make the good decision

If you overpay a bit - just make sure it's a title you enjoy (so you don't sell it after 3 months) and that it's technically in good condition

2/ looks like the best option if you have the budget available
buy a nib game that's available - just try to play it and compare to select one you really like

3/ pinballs are not an investment - especially if you're new and don't know the hobby, you shouldn't buy something too expensive (over your budget) and hope to make a profit when you sell it

BSD
WW
El Dorado/Target Alpha
Flash Gordon
Getaway
Sorcerer

These are all games I own/owned for under 4k that are "cheap" and fun. WW and BSD are creeping up in price, but there are plenty of titles that fetch less than 4k and are great fun.