Depends, some will never go .

I think that depends a lot on your personality and circumstances. You will see people talk about "keepers" which are machines that they think they will never get rid of, while others are out the door almost as soon as they arrive. It also depends on your resources (both financial and space-wise).

For me, it is pretty hard to get a machine into my basement and so far none have left

Welcome! Your question will drum up a deluge of different responses! Some will say immediately others will tell you they still have the first machine they bought. I can tell you 98% will tell you their first machine was only the beginning as then they bought their second, third, forth and so on! It becomes an addiction!

Usually you start thinking about get a second, third, fourth, etc machine about 10 minutes after getting your 1st machine.

Still have my first, rarely sell anything. It's more about what kind of a horder will you turn out to be.

as was said some will stay forever. I am about at that point in my collection right now. Cannot see getting rid of any of the ones I have really. Maybe Argosy but it would have to be for another 4p EM.
Ones that I thought were keepers started to sit stagnant and would get no play. I would have to force myself to play them. That is how I knew it was time for them to move on...

I only have room for 2 so I try to rotate them every 6-12 months. Life is short and lots of pins to own (and not that many on location around here...)

Welcome!

Depends on how well you do on your first machine. If you get something that resonates with you as fun to play and/or has a theme you like, you'll probably hang onto it for awhile (years).

If you get something b/c you just found the first pin out there (not knocking it, alot of people get started this way) -- it's a bit harder to forecast, depends on how lucky you got.

The Pinside Top 100 is a great resource, if you get anything in the top 25, you're likely to never let it go

6 months to 15 years......depends on the title

Play enough games on a lot of different machines first and then buy a pin that you really love playing and you'll never want to sell it.

It's perfectly fine to want to own only one pin. One machine in your family room is a cool point of interest to visitors, since most people don't own any pins. But don't come back on Pinside once you acquire one game that you really like (unless it is to ask a repair or maintenance question) or you'll soon be hooked and looking to buy several more pins (like the rest of us that post here).

Welcome.

If you over pay for your first one. You'll keep it a long time and say it's the greatest.

If you underpay for your first game. You'll keep it longer and say it's the greatest.

If you get caught up in the hype of drag one home at any cost. You'll dump it quick if you can.

You get a game you decide you don't like. You'll get rid of it quick. And then remember you like it and try and get it back.

Things like that. You'll love it here.

LTG : )™

still have my first which i got 16 years ago. all depends on how much you like a game. best thing to do is go to shows, play as many as possible. or if you have someone local to you who collects, become friends and play their machines to see what you like.

My first pin is Pin Bot I owned for well over 20 years and still do. Many others that I owned last from 1 to 10 years.

I tend to keep things.

_{Post edited by indybru: swiched years}

The worst thing is always selling one you shouldn't have sold.

In order to give you some sort of numerical answer to your question, I would say a period of 3-4 months would be fairly standard honeymoon period. At this point you will have quite a few hundred plays up (hopefully!) and be starting to get a feel for the staying power of said machine.

it goes like this you buy one..... and it multiple like bunnies.

just make room, you'll need it!

Keep extra room in that basement for more Pins. I know it' like cool thinking "OK I'll my my pinball machine there and that will be neat." In theory that's great, but at some point you'll be getting more...that's just how it works. I had only 1 for a few years till my basement was done, and then I got 2 because 2 is better than 1. Then 6 more after that in record time.

Oh you'll get used to hauling them around.

A better question is 'how long do you usually keep a machine before you start looking to sell your sofa to make room for another?'.

We have room for three machines...I have six. But I rotate them out fairly quickly. If I wait until I'm tired of each one before I sell it, I'd miss out on a lot of fun with new games. For me the hobby is more about fixing and playing, not collecting.

I have said it before and I'll say it again......there are times where I think I would be better off addicted to painkillers or something else!!!!!

Right on. I started buying/selling/trading in fall of 2013 - I've had 8 games so far, I just enjoy playing them and letting them find their next home. I've taken a mild financial hit with moving them so quickly and not adding my fixes to my sale cost, but I've also had an arcade with a rotating line-up in my home, so it's fair.

My suggestion is to get out and play as many machines as possible before you start buying machines. Get a feel for what you like in a machine - then try to find machines you like at decent prices.

Depending on your location - normally you can find pinball shows, a local pinhead, retro arcade, etc to get your feet wet.

We started with cheaper EM's & early SS machines and worked our way up to more expensive DMD machines over several years. But there are a ton of inexpensive earlier machines that are lots of fun that can become long term keepers. Personally I actually like playing earlier (pre ramp) machines better than "modern" machines.

If you have a garage or a little extra room on your first floor keep machine upstairs for a few weeks to be sure it is a keeper before moving it to the gameroom. Play the heck out of it and then decide if you want to sell it and buy something else or keep it long term.

Everyone will tell you something different but in my eyes 8 to 12 pinball machines is the perfect number of machines to own. Not so many that you can't keep them all working yet enough you will never get tired of any of them.

If you are more interested in entertaining and want to make your guest happy also include a Skeeball Machine & a Shuffle Alley in your gameroom. When we have guest our two most played machines are our Skeeball & Shuffle Alley. Pitch & Bat Baseball machines are also always a hit with guest but 75 to 90% of the time our pinball machines don't even get turned on. This makes my son & I kind of sad because we have over 20 pinball machines in the collection that no one other than us really ever play.

For me it's Extremely difficult getting games in and out of my basement....and so far nine have left

I had 2 in my bonus room to start, up a curved hardwood staircase. So that means carrying it with the help of a friend who may not answer the phone next time I call . Now there are 5 up there and figuring how to put 3 more there. 2 are slated for the basement (IJ4 and Cirqus Voltaire) and that's another curved staircase.....rest are in the garage so that's easy. If you are looking for a good start go system11. A lot of good themes and play there, many available, possibly not too expensive and they have good universal popularity. My choices have been theme and play based, both need to appeal to me...and yes its like purchasing a 300lb piece of crack

So far, I've kept all my machines except one. Purchase #5, paid the NIB (New In Box) tax, ended up getting minimal use compared to anything else. Space being a premium, we sold it 2 months later.

How about one that takes 10 years to complete?
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/valinor-a-10-year-quest-completed

This sums up my first experience. By the way, I have another Stargate and it's going nowhere.

Run!! while you still have a chance.

Hi paterson180,

Based on your post one hour ago..."any recommendations on good affordable-ish pins that have modes/goals like that?" Maybe take a look at T3? In my opinion (which is worth less than a buck two twenty five...LOL!) it has a pretty cool, fast and furious "wizard" mode. It's an affordable table, really nice metal ramps, a backbox incorporated shooting goal; and I think it's a ton of fun to play. Might be a good option for the first one Whatever you decide, enjoy!

We are all bonkers too. Remember, the only guy who is happy every day is the village idiot.

It has gotten to a point where on vacation with my wife and son, I found a pin and couldn't get it in the car with a car seat. Nearly had to leave the FAM behind for a pinball! 3 hours and many many swears later, the family got to join me and my purchase for an uncomfortable road trip home where I was the only happy one! One turns to ten quick. Be ready. They are like lays potato chips. Can't have just one!

Have you checked out any of the newer games like Metallica, AC/DC, Star Trek, Mustang? They are more expensive but you can usually find them used. They are very deep rules wise with great sound effects and songs. One of these would probably keep your interest for years because they have so much going for them on all levels. If you have the money that is. But if you only have plans for one why not go all out.

I still have my first, and it won't leave on my watch.

If you're looking for relatively modern (DMD / dot matrix display) pins (stuff from '92-present), the $1800-2500 price range is a real sweet spot! In that range, there are a ton of great games; the top few I can think of are Fish Tales, Getaway, Shadow, Congo (maybe a little more expensive,) World Cup Soccer. There are also some good Data East DMD games available under $2k.

Unless moving games in and out of your place is abject misery, I say start with what you can find a good price on nearby, get a fellow pinhead to look at it with you. Pinsiders are generally a nice bunch; if you post that you're going to look at your first game, someone here may be willing to join you.

Also, play everything you can on location. Check the map on here and on pinballrebel.com - the maps aren't always up to date, though.

I owned my first pin (purchased nib) for 18 months before I decided to buy a second. The 3rd came about a year after that. Those first two pins were very deep ruleset pins (LOTR lord of the rings & FGY family guy). It wasn't until I got into more shallow rules type pins that the shitstorm hit and I found myself on the buy/sell/trade train every few months. There's something to be said about deep pins in a small lineup of pins. I highly recommend you start off with a pin with a deep ruleset if you want longevity from it.

Maybe you need to take your own advice and get down around 8 to 12 pins?

I agree that a game with a very tough to achieve wizard mode should be your goal. that's one of the best ways for a pin to stay interesting in a home environment. Basically, 90s DMD games or newer Sterns. Older games are certainly fun -- I would love to get some older games into my collection -- but if you're looking for depth of ruleset in terms of number of modes and things to do, the newer stuff is what you're after.

Another recommendation I have is try to find one that's in very very good mechanical shape. If I were you, I would not jump into the hobby with a "project" pin. That's not to say working on them isn't fun, but it's probably a better idea to get your feet wet on a game that only needs occasional minor maintenance (and they ALL do!!), rather than something in need of immediate board work and rewiring and stuff. never, ever believe someone if they tell you "it probably just needs a fuse..." or similar stories about how easy it will be to fix the broken game they're selling.

So anyway, given those factors, you're probably looking at an investment of at least $2500 for some of the "lesser" DMD titles. Get up to the $4k range and you can start looking at some of the fancier, more coveted games like Twilight Zone, Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Addams Family, etc.

Everyone else is right -- these things do have a tendency to multiply! Welcome to the hobby, though, and welcome to Pinside!