Some of them are cool /Some are lame. Fills out the room and creates a cool vibe. Would never pay a crazy amount for one, but if it adds a little wow factor I’m in.

I enjoy having something new to dust. Especially since they are so easy to get to. ( leaf blower is good for this )

I do wonder with CCR's interactive topper, if that will start a new wave of toppers where you get to do stuff on them.

LTG : )

I do think since I moved the CGC games to the front row in my arcade, it is a nice attraction when you walk in and see the light show.

LTG : )

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I’ve always pictured topper people as

I don't buy them, but I see why other people do: they fill the dead space between the top of the game and ceiling. Pinball heads are out from the wall even if the rear legs are against the baseboard, making artwork on the wall behind the head look a little awkward. Toppers fill the space nicely. Also, once someone has a couple, their remaining games look naked without them.

Topless can look good also.

i like the blinky pretty lights

You don't have to spend big money, this light kit from pinballmodz was $99. Adds so much to the look of the game

Not a fan. The only game with a topper that I have is white water because it came with it.

Is it integrated into the game?

Seems like it's a $99 piece of plastic with blinking lights.

I think much of it is related to the 'artistic' side of pinball. Pinball has always been largely about the art, and it is just another aspect/extension of that. While I'm not huge on toppers overall, I find them to be much more useful and eye popping than worrying about cabinet art in a lineup of tightly packed side by side games. For me though it is mostly about the lights. I love flashing lights and colors.

No, not integrated, it has several modes to choose from,

The new CCR topper is interactive and interesting.

Even though all SIC users have Goat Mania now, the JP topper is still cool. For those who don't know, if you don't have the topper (but do have SIC), then you get to Goat Mania with a super supply drop or something. But if you do have the topper, then the letters track your progress toward the topper, and it carries over from game to game. Each paddock progresses you one letter (or something).

And AIQ also has a topper mode with a randomized name, I don't know the full story there.

There have been a lot of good toppers recently
For instance:
Black Knight: Sword of Rage
JJP Pirates of the Caribbean pirate ship in a bottle looks cool, I'd have to see it in person
TMNT
Stranger Things
Halloween

I never understood toppers. The Black Knight topper is cool… but not $2000 cool

I was a little tempted to get the LZ topper but I got over it pretty quick

I love em, and once you have them on your collection if you're missing one or two it looks off. It's just aesthetics, and they're pretty.

Toppers made more sense when the title of the game wasn't on the translite, like Whitewater & Addams...but sometimes an "interactive character" is cool, like Dr. Who's moving Dalek or Fish Tales flopping fish. BK:SOR's seems really cool. Otherwise, I can live without them. However, with Stern now including extra modes and stuff with them...I'll probably be tempted at some point to spend $1000 on a friggin' piece of plastic.

To each their own for sure, I think they're a waste of space and money, but if you have that wolfman hanging over the playfield from monster bash or the massive creature topper, I won't even play your game, just hideous.
B

Man I used to hate toppers. Now for some goofy reason, I’m enjoying toppers plus some of them are interactive with game play or adds additional modes.
So what the heck, why not!

It was at least $450 cool though, and that was the original MSRP

The official Stern and CGC ones look nice. Nearly all of the generic 3rd party ones that you can buy from laserific, pinballpro, modfather etc look terrible. The worst is those cheap Chinese hologram ones that guy was selling for like a 5x markup acting like it was his original idea.

It does seem like that, but it's actually a $199 piece of plastic with $119 in blinking lights added.

Mikey likes toppers. Mikey wants more toppers for everyone!

Integrated to gameplay, it's an addition. BKSOR and AFMr toppers were game changers I think.

For games were the originals had the Topper like Last Action Hero, Fish Tales, and Pinbot, the topper is part of the machine as far as I'm concerned. The topper for AFMrLE is interactive and jumps. It's really neat and gives something special and unique to that trip. I like the interactive topper by Rick and Morty has.

I have only bought 1 aftermarket topper I liked, and it was the $40 win a prize at Chucky Cheese topper. It is a cool blast from the past for me and reminds me of happy times. I think some of the interactive toppers like the BLack Knight one that are really interactive are neat, but not 3 times MSRP second hand neat.

I have thought about making my own toppers for long term keepers. I'd like to put together a big Star Trek Enterprise 1701-D model for my ST:TNG with red alert lights that are hooked to the Borg ship lights and an LCARS background. I'll get around to it.

In short, it is more pinball decoration for your room. I have backglasses mounted above most of my machines so toppers are not dealbreakers.

In short... because I like it.

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Unique in this case.

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Its not gaga. When you have a topper on one machine, the OCD amongst us need them on all.

Correction…yep it is gaga.

Can’t stand them, blows my mind how much people spend on them. Each to there own I guess

Not in my case, I firmly fall into the camp of "it has to do something" and preferably come from the factory that way.

The only pins I have with toppers are Last Action Hero (police lights), Lethal Weapon 3 (police lamp) Secret Service (more police lights!) and Laser War (prototype sound activated display)

Jurassic Park is missing one and have no desire to replace, it says "Jurassic Park" big whoop.

I only have the Black Knight SoR topper (I got at regular price pre-craziness). I have rows of arcade marquees along the top of the walls in the game room so the toppers will block those from view. Plus all of that topper money goes towards another game

never gave a shit about toppers and still don't. A couple are really nice and I have 2 or 3, but overall don't give a crap.

I hate my topper fetish. Honestly, I bought one....and all the rest of my machines looked naked after.....so now I've working on getting one for each.

I made the mistake of getting a topper and now I think a pin looks incomplete without one. At the end of the day, they look great. However, it’s a slippery slope…so beware.

I personally don't have one. I feel that I play the playfield and the topper has (usually) nothing to do with the actual game play. I will not pay extra for any topper. If the game includes one (like Addams Family or Fish Tales) that is fine. I will not pay to add one to a game that did not originally come with the game when new.

Well said! I really think it's a look thing. Doesn't seem to be complete without it although most do nothing other than flash and look pretty. My only naked one now is Godzilla but I think we will be waiting on that one a while!

Whirlwind's was always the best topper as it would cool ya down in a hot and stuffy arcade. Otherwise not into them. The R2D2 one came on my Star Wars, and it's neat, but it's also "whatever." If it was missing one day I probably wouldn't notice.

If I ever did spend the money on a R2D2 topper, I would probably put it on my Star Trek just to watch people freak out when they come over.

Yes it’s true. It’s mine ...

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I bought one of these from PBR when they were available.

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This is where it all started
And now we know whom to blame
Just kidding. Lol

I buy toppers just because it annoys other people so much they have to start threads about it.

Say what you want, but my Black Knight Sword of Rage topper gets MORE comments than all of the pins put together. When it starts rolling it's head or laughing at you, people just freak out cause there's an animatronic right there, NOT under glass moving and doing stuff.

Best Money Spent Ever......

(Head banging along with the soundtrack after a game is over, awesome stuff)

Hit or miss for me, Some just seem natural like the Bell on Fire!
The Aces High topper looks sweet, but crazy cash.
I honestly like seeing the "personal" toppers/ touches added individually instead of the market ones. Each their own.

I have this same topper on all my games...

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I don't care who you are, that's some funny shit.

There is a Credence Clearwater Revival game out?
cool

i love my stranger things topper because the infinity mirror is so 80's but tbh i don't look at it while i'm playing at all