Quoted from Rob_G:

If they can dodge a wrench, they can play pinball....
Rob

Quoted from ForceFlow:

I think it's probably more likely to be a short attention span .

Quoted from poppapin:

EM's were/are much simpler...

Quoted from bdw85:

If they're making that complaint about modern games I can see where they are coming from. Pinballs these days are WAY more complicated than they were when I was growing up... It's hard to compare the mid-80s solid states that I grew up with and the Sterns we have nowadays.

Quoted from EricHadley:

Shoot the flashing shots. Simple

Quoted from FlippyD:

Here's a thought, and I mean this in all positivity, let's work on connecting with the youth and our kids instead of whining about how they see the world and interact with it differently than us.
I've seen it all with modern kids and pins: From having zero interest, to kicking ass in competitions. My favorite anecdote was a nephew who could crush a game while also watching Roblox videos on an iPad he put on the glass. It was like witnessing human evolution, his brain has more Mhz!

Quoted from Puffdanny:

From my observation on location pushing the start button is to difficult for a majority of kids which I don't understand because they have no problem starting the video games.

Quoted from SantaEatsCheese:

Edit to ad: In other words, kids won't care about or even really remember playing pinball at uncle Jimmy's house... but if you play with them, encourage them, and make it a social activity they will sure remember playing pinball WITH uncle Jimmy.

Quoted from clearstar:

To be honset, Stern might have a stroke of genius with Insider Connect, bringing the younger crowd along. They can give them "brownie points" for every little thing they do on the machine.

Quoted from Rarehero:

Pinball was a "3 ball & Game Over" game, which inspired first generation of video games that had "3 lives & Game Over". The concept of 3 lives & Game Over isn't something kids today understand. Their games are generally never ending non-death type of experiences...or even if there is death, you can continue. Just the very concept of trying to accomplish a bunch of things in a finite game like pinball is completely foreign to them.

Quoted from PBFan:

Based upon my experience with my own family/friends there are a few reasons that pinball doesn’t resonate as much with them:
1. Not familiar in any way with the nostalgia of an arcade. No immediate draw.
2. They don’t immediately see the objective? Simply to score points - lame (in their opinion).
The objective is not apparent. The rules are not easily transparent.
Shoot the flashing arrows doesn’t really have much appeal if you don’t understand why?
Think about the most successful apps - easily identifiable objectives with quick paced levels.
3. Even if they slightly understand the modes I overhear them say stuff like “that’s it, 6k and you got 13 modes. My $5 app gives me 1000+ levels .”
4. They have so many easy and mobile entertainment choices in their hand now (YouTube, streaming, apps, tv, TikTok, instagram, etc). Difficult for a 200lb piece of fixed furniture to compete with that. Not impossible but challenging for sure.
5. My son’s best friend (15) said “Why would they put the start-button there? Who designed this?”
6. The ball is stuck, now what do I do? I have to take the glass off and do what? Walk away thinking that was stupid.
I do think Stern did a smart thing with their “Connect” system as the idea of collecting virtual trophies, etc is captivating for the newer/younger audience. While it has some appeal for me, I think the ability to use your phone and track progress/trophies is going to help captivate a younger audience.
So I don’t think they are too complicated, I just don’t think pins present themselves as having an immediate appeal by having simple entertaining objectives to draw in an unfamiliar audience.

Quoted from FrankJ:

Being too complicated is simply an excuse.

Quoted from Anony:

I own an Iron Maiden machine and despite it having some of the best callouts and relatively clear objectives people still ask all the time what they're supposed to be doing.

Quoted from pcprogrammer:

Anyone ever have adults just walk by their pins without even looking at them... like they aren't even there? I always find that odd. These things are so visually stunning, at least to me they are.

Quoted from LTG:

It's nothing to do about being too complicated.
It's not what they are into.
Every generation is different. When I was a kid it was toy trains and dolls. Kids that grew up in the video game fad era wanted game rooms in their home as they got older and got a house.
Kids today they are playing on their phones.
Are you into what they are doing ?
Sharing is learning and it's a two way street. Spend time with them in their interests and yours. You'll be glad you did.
LTG : )

Quoted from electricsquirrel:

…...Our music is so awesome! everyone should love it. Pinball is awesome everyone should love it.
That's not the way it is.
E

Quoted from rx3:

When I was a kid, I had no idea there were rules and certain shots to hit. I'd just pump quarters into it and enjoy all the action. Maybe, because you mentioned they had to hit certain shots to get certain rewards, it took the fun out of it?

Quoted from Kkoss24:

My kids just wailed away for about a year (11/12) now they are 12/13 and we go over at least one objective before starting a game .IMDN is our house favorite also .Actually everyone that plays here has that as they’re favorite .

Quoted from NC_Pin:

I fully agree. I squad up with my daughter, my nephews, and their friends. It is great fun. There is a lot to be said for trying to spend time with your kids on things they enjoy.
I loved it when my dad played Intellivision with me when I was a kid. In terms of fortnite, it can be hard to learn (and you will *NOT* master it) but I have found that every kid I have played with has been super patient in teaching me. In return, most of those same kids have listened to me and learned to appreciate pinball.

Quoted from NC_Pin:

Intellision rocked. Even after we had a Nintendo my buddies and I would occasionally go back any play Intellision ( we loved “Utopia”) they also had the 1st person dungeon crawler “Dungeons and Dragons: Tower of Doom” which was like a decades ahead of its time for a console.

Quoted from Blackwolf:

This is a really interesting thread, coming as someone who was raised on computers, starting with an Intellivision (I'm the other kid that had one!) and a Commodore 64. I never left the video game space, though - I still play lots of them today and have been a video game podcaster for a super long time, which means I spend a lot of time around people who play video games or are involved with the video game industry, most of them elder Millennials or Gen X.

Quoted from PoMC:

Leave the kids alone already. They don't want to play our pinball machines.
And that is fine! Let them do their own things that you won't understand.

Quoted from frolic:

I've experienced this more times than I can count. People are blown away by the machines and afraid to play them. It's almost like a recoil when you suggest they try it.
I don't know the answers here, and maybe there isn't any.

Quoted from Rarehero:

All Dwight games. I consider myself a “pinball person” who picks up on all the A/V cues, rules & nuance….I have no idea what’s going on in Dwight’s recent games. I got to “Winter is Coming” in GOT…absolutely no idea how I did it. I kept the shots flowing until it just happened.
Then again, GOT is Eskaybee ’s favorite…he knows the rules inside & out, so - just like video games & movies, there are different types of pinball & you can’t please everyone.

Quoted from jawjaw:

Same here. I just plunge and try to figure out things as I play. That's pinball. While I agree that it would be nice for games to be a little easy to understand, I don't want games to be dumbed down to novice level. The attraction to deep, complex code is that there is always something to learn and explore for months or even years. Not much fun when you beat the game and see all the modes on the first day of ownership.

Quoted from ChesterWhite:

51 year old gamer here with 3 kids (2 under the age of 18). I've been playing video games and pinball since the late 70s and still own and play the new console games. I've been dragging my kids to arcades and Pinball Expo since 2003... even before they could walk. They're pinball and video game literate and love it all (and are shockingly good at it all as well).
I think one of the other big challenges about arcade locations for pinballs and kids is simple: redemption games. Most arcades that are "family friendly" that have pins also have redemption games. Games that charge a buck or two per swipe... and you get one chance. That's it. Game over. So sorry. Swipe again to play.
So there a lot of kids who walk up to the big scary pinball machine, swipe the card, play and quickly drain the first ball... then walk away thinking their game is done. And also... they didn't get any tickets or stuffed animals (like all the other machines give out). So they got one swipe, they didn't know what happened, they didn't get tickets... not a wonderful experience for them. Not saying that's for all kids... but I've been too many family arcades where the are pins with the 2nd ball cued up and ready to go with no one to play them. And it's not the kids fault either... it's how every other machine in the place works and has taught them how things work.
In a lot to these cases, the parents of the kids are also young enough that THEY don't know much about pinball machines either... because many of them grew up in the redemption game era of arcades; not the 70s and 80s "3 lives for a quarter" generation of arcades that many of us did. So... it's up to us as educated pinball players to try and help teach these kids/parents about pinball. If I see a kid walk away from game not finished, I politely as possible point out to them (or their parents) that they still have a few balls left to play. If I put up a free game or two on machine, I'll offer it to anyone around me who looks like a pinball noob. And if people don't think I'm being a creeper... I'll give out suggestions as needed.
Also, we just need to be kinder to these kids in general around pinballs. I see how kids are sometimes treated around pinball machines by adults in locations and even at Expo. Some people are kind and helpful with them... other adults are rude or ignore them. These are the future pinball players/purchasers ! Treat them well, educated them and get them interested ! Don't shun them or treat them poorly... or they will develop negative associations with the games.
I do agree that it couldn't hurt to have some sort of selectable kid mode or easier difficulty settings for locations where there are younger players... something that makes it less frustrating for someone walking up to a machine for the first time... possible the first time in their life. But that's up the manufactures and operators to make that happen. In the mean time, we as owners/players need to help out...

Quoted from Mr_Outlane:

I recommend an early solid state pin like my Sorcerer, or a Meteor etc. Simple rules and self explanatory from the simple apron cards instructions. These games are fun and more affordable.

Quoted from Rarehero:

I think those games would be perfect for you - AND you'd understand what's going on. They're really intuitive and don't really have any brain-breaking math-chess rules.

Quoted from iloveplywood:

P.S. Rocket league is awesome!

Quoted from nighttaco:In all fairness I don't understand ALL the rules to all of my games either....

Quoted from SirMachismo:

Boardgames are way too complicated for this adult. My kids keep asking me to play Villaninous, Ticket to Ride, King of New York, and other types of complicated board games. When did the rules become 50 page novels? What happened to Monopoly, Clue, Operation, Battleship, or even Risk? My kids seem to have every advantage memorized, when exactly to play specific cards, and the best strategies. I don't even know what character to pick! For f*@k sake, i just want to win once during family game night, just once. At least i have pinball...for now.

Quoted from Dent00:

Enter pinball and it is still the same.
People at my house say that I take "too long" to play a ball, and the ball never .

Quoted from herg:

Kids playing my games, most of them lose interest pretty quickly. Maybe one in ten, you can't drag away, though. That sounds about like the same reaction I get from adults.