No Flame, dying to play both.
Great time in pinball right now, so many choices.
Thats why I picked up a WOZECLE today. So stoked!

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Oktoberfest very fun pin . I like it !

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Only one upper flipper?

Played Oktoberfest last night. Me and my wife can’t get past the repetitive music and art and animations. It plays decent but should not be $7400 for what you get. Wonka SE is better in every measure.

Seriously? I agree with you that Wonka did not live up to the hype but cmon now - Octoberfest poor animations, art and music alone is enough to give you an idea of why. Couple that with the undeniable smooth lawlor gameplay and jjp quality and features and it's a no brainer NOW that standard jjp is the same price

You're talking AAA vs the big leagues with the same price point and I personally like the way Octoberfest is laid out and shoots with the exception of that right flipper and the apparent left ramp that doesn't hit as expected.....

Oh by the way,he’s not trying to troll here.lol

I like what I see on Wonka. Not blown away

I’m excited to get my $7k delivered Ocktoberfest

did you mention the very steep near impossible left ramp on as a feature on Oktoberfest.

I think I can say, without playing - that Wonka will be smoother and a better shooter

7k delivered is a sweet price. Hmmmmm remind me again, when are those animations getting fixed? Maybe I need to revisit this game haha

That ramp shop has been tweaked to fix that issue

Hopefully I’ll have mine next week

I played Octoberfest at TPF and I found that to be better than any other new game at that show IMO.

I agree with the OP that at least in terms of reveal info (Wonka) Octoberfest prob a better bang for your buck for the price.

Wonka seems like a great shooter (awesome geometry) but very underwhelmed by the mechs/gimmicks. Wonka seems like a back to basics pin (like how Stern did with Iron Man - great game, but no crazy wow factor stuff). This is the first JJP game that to me, is MISSING "crazy wow factor" stuff. Every other JJP pin had cool shit, this game doesn't seem to have that. Again, underwhelmed.

He may not have provided "facts" for his subjective taste but he has one major leg up on you, he's played both! Have you played either one?

I enjoyed ACNC much more than Oktoberfest at TPF. I also find it odd how a game with diverters and magnets everywhere is "back to basics". I think people need to play them all and pick the one they enjoy the most but I find it fascinating people are trying to start a talking point that Wonka is missing mechs.

Played Oktoberfest at TPF and it was cool. Really dig the theme more than I thought I would.

Need to play Wonka to see how I really feel about it. Way over hyped for what it is. The lower price and SHITTY art package is ridiculous. No new features I see that have not been done before....yeah the camera but not a game feature I can PLAY. That’s the game changer I am looking for and it still has not evolved from ANY manufacturer.

Well Delt, I only need to see the beer getting filled up on the screen to satisfy me.

The rest is gravy

Wonka shoots better too. I like the playfield on Oktoberfest but there are some aspects that feel clunky or not well planned. My wife played one game of Oktoberfest and was like meh not for her.

ACNC was working great today. It was cool. Not my cup of tea but some of the shots were very smooth. Others were a bit off. Upper PF was neat and loved the ball lock.

You can fill a game with mechs and stuff and toys. But if they aren’t cohesive, thought out, or well implemented, then what’s the point? Food for thought.

I'm keeping out of the subjective part of this discussion, because 1) I am part of the Oktoberfest design team so it's not fair for me to take sides, and 2) I haven't played Wonka yet. However, I have a few factual clarifications about Oktoberfest...

There's also an 8th standup target, full-size, in that bank, labeled as "?".

4 Duck Targets, actually. (Next to scoop, between right ramp/right orbit, next to the bar, and in the pop bumper cluster.)

Oktoberfest also has a captive ball that can sense different strengths of shots, and a drop target protecting a VUK.

I'll also point out that Oktoberfest's Beer Barrel has locks that can be stolen across players and, optionally (by adjustment) across games.

Oktoberfest also comes with a real backglass, and art blades.

If you're talking about the ramp leading to the roller coaster lock, I can confidently say -- having had an Oktoberfest in my house for two months -- that not only is that ramp quite possible, it can actually be back-handed. It might be that the game you played wasn't set up quite right, or that the flipper coils had heated up after a ton of play at a show. (We will be exploring tweaks to how we drive the flippers to minimize the latter concern.)

Well sadly I don't have any technical coil counts or specs comparisons but after a day playing WW and Octoberfest I gave JJP a check for a new WW. We simply enjoyed every element of WW from animation to game play and it was fun. The animations even though not complete looked like something Disney would have put out and the art was spot on top to bottom. Did it have more wire, coils, or switches? Don't know as we were just having fun playing it which is all I consider in a pinball investment. Don't see that either game was bad just a different choice which is a good thing to see in the pinball market. Just happens that WW was much more fun all around.

Wonka is so much better than Oktoberfest that this whole thread is just plain silly. Seriously, this thread should just be drained. I feel dumber for even commenting TBT. May god have mercy on you soul.

this thread is difficult for me because i cant decide which is better, chocolate or beer?!!!

Wonka’s code is way too early , it has potential but in its current state it is not very good . Last night at MGC the wonkas were completely open ,no one playing them and there was still lines to play the 3 Oktoberfest games .

That’s surprising. It was the opposite Friday and Saturday at least during the day.

At midnight I could have walked up to any of the five wonkas and played them . There was still lines at Oktoberfest at that point.

That is because Oktoberfest is an extremely long playing game.

Wonka has nice shots, but the thing I didn't like was the feel. JJP games have this weird feel to them, it's hard to describe it. The flippers feel very different. I've never been able to get over it. The theme also does zero for me. We stood in line at the after show for Octoberfest, the GF loves it. There is definitely a lot going on.

This is true Good point , but the fact is people were still waiting to play them.

I played Octoberfest yesterday at a retailer location. Played 5 or 6 games.
There is a LOT to like and appreciate. Game was pretty smooth and that steep left ramp I made it 80% of the tries.. Had two balls locked up top but never got the corkscrew multi ball started.

Haven't seen or played Wonka yet but I had a choice, most likely would prefer Oktoberfest over the basic Wonka. I just not a WW movie fan..

And I own Houdini, WOZECLE and DialedIN LE...If one of those three had to go first, it would be Houdini.

Do I like Oktoberfest more than Houdini? Can't make that call yet.

Will I be buying an Oktoberfest or WW? Probably not...

Maybe in the used realm one day...

Played at a show today Alice cooper, Wonka le and Oktoberfest.

Oktoberfest is a fun pin for sure but the two ramps are difficult to shoot and the music, call outs and animations are not that good. But for a second Pin a great job done but man, hire someone to do proper animations and call outs.

Wonka is much easier to shoot for sure. Mix of WOZ and DI. Animations are great although the clip use till now didn’t overrun me ...

Alice was a pleasant surprise and by far the best pin from Spooky to date. It finally looks good and shoots good (like a stern )

At the end of the day it is all about how important is a theme for you and the music and call out. Playfield wise they are all great although I see Alice as place three here. The difficult ramps cause Oktoberfest to get second place. Art and looks and display goes to Wonka.

Overall package Wonka would take the price home with me.

However, I also played Munsters LE. Man, what a beautiful pin and the lower playfield is fun to shoot. Theme wise this also better clicks with me as Wonka.

Difficult choice

Lucky enough at current pricing (Alice and Oktoberfest and Wonka are like 9Kusd over here and MunsterLE 11Kusd) I don’t need to stress as they are beyond my pay grade

I have not played Wonka but have one on order . I can honestly say the more I play Oktoberfest the more I enjoy it . Forget the music and focus on the code . There is a lot in this pin to do and it keeps me coming back .
I am glad I bought it . Loved Houdini but with this one I think American Pinball keeps improving .
Did someone say there was a ramp adjustment coming from American Pinball ?
I can hit the Keg lock but it is not easy even with flipper power up . The corkscrew ramp is also steep . I think the way the corkscrew multiball starts is brilliant watching the balls loop around. For the money a great buy . IMO

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Being someone who is also torn on these two, I played them both at MGC last weekend. Wonka's flippers were under powered for sure. I asked about this and they said it's normal for a beta/prototype. So I was underwhelmed at the game play. Flow was good and the art/lightshow were amazing (almost Houdini like IMO). The call outs were a bit repetitive, but not being able to progress well due to the flippers being weak, and being beta code I think it's going to be expected. On the Oktoberfest side, I love this theme...I want to love and buy both games, but can only make one a reality. Here is my concern on Oktoberfest, every machine had an issue of some sort. While I was in line, all three had some minor issue and play had to be stopped while someone serviced them. All very minor issues, and a lot of that is due to quick setup and people beating the hell out of the machines (do you really need to slap the cabinet on every shot?!?!). But I am concerned on the quality control from American Pinball. Feature wise, I was impressed with both. Four flippers vs three, gobstopper with a trap door, bartender with barrel bash and it opens. A lot to compare. I think the story of Wonka and most JJP pins make them different than Sterns and others out there. But bang for buck with flippers, ramps, spinners and a magna save I think the value is in Oktoberfest. Both need refinement in code and a true setup side by side to review further. My two cent novel. Cheers!

Yeah, maybe, but does Oktoberfest have "Kid Multiball"?

I put up this score on Oktoberfest at MGC . I am really liking this game .

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I have not played either one yet but after watching countless videos of game play Oktoberfest is by far a superior game and at least they aren't adding some different powdercoat, shaker motor, and invisaglass then charging another $5000 for it Just my opinion though please don't moderate me again for disagreeing against JJP

So start a thread about it....

I played both... and if you played both you would understand the quality build of Wonka versus Oktoberfest. You would understand the mess that is the artwork, the slow game play, the underwhelming animations, the uninteresting tent modes, and yeah you can keep the 3 ball lock roller coaster. There is no part of Oktoberfest that makes you super excited, and wants you to come back for more. And this is coming from a guy who was so excited about Oktoberfest. I mean I was all in. But after playing it for the first time at MGC. I was crushed. I really got bored after my 7th game. I really really wanted to like it.

Wonka has the 27" screen, the 7" Wonka vision screen. The pretty Rad 3 ball mech lock Wonkavator which stays locked even after your game ends. The Secret machine that works like a charm and is fun to shoot versus that damn barrel in Fest. You get unbelievable Pat Lawlor flow versus the clunky Oktoberfest. 7 magnets, 4 flippers, very beautiful animations (that isn't even finished yet), new smaller LEDs that look great all lit up. It is an absolute blast to play.

It truly isn't even a contest. I am sorry you get nothing! You lose! Good day sir!

So it's Oktoberfest for you too then eh?! Prost!

Ha ha ha ha... Hey I am selling a pin that was originally going to fund Oktoberfest... but now that is going towards a Wonka. I am happy with the decision. I hope you guys are happy with Oktoberfest. By no means is it a bad game. I just liked Wonka better. It is better than the Pro edition of Black Knight SOR.

I haven't played Wonka or Octoberfest yet but clearly BKSoR, which I also haven't played, is the better game.

That's correct. In fact it's the definition of stupidity when you create a thread called this game is better than that game and your basis is that you haven't played either?

Wow.

Yeah Balcer has more balls than Lawlor between the 2. He really pushed the envelope on Oktoberfest and wasn't afraid to try something entirly new even though it is taking time to make adjustments to the ramps. Wonka looks cool but is the same layout as judge dredd and the "gobstopper"mech looks sort of gimmicky. Granted I havnt played that one but would have been just as happy with drop targets that drop and reveal a hole behind it. The beer barrel seems more interesting to shoot for than the simple Wonkavater. Oktoberfest wont win any awards for art but probably game design.