Stranger Things, but I would go with the Premium/LE.

2011, 2017 & 2019, years when Tron, GoG and Sth were made, respectively. So we're not really comparing the same things just based on newer games having new tricks up their sleeves. But each game definitely has something unique to offer.

I would mention PRO in your poll choices since you want to compare PROs, for example, myself I wouldn't pick Sth PRO to be in my collection unless it's at least a Premium..

Edited: I mean, who would change their vote if they were told they can only have the PRO version?

I agree with you.

Ironically a Tron pro would cost pretty much the same as a Stranger Things premium.

I think it would be a mistake to trade Tron for Stranger Things. I think I can be objective because I own STH, and while I don’t own Tron I’ve played it a lot. You had the dream team on Tron: Borg and Sheats. While I think STH and Guardians are good, Tron just shoots better. I’m not real familiar with Tron’s rules, but I’ve always enjoyed playing it.

I sold Guardians after 6 months because it started to feel repetitive, and the Rocket shot pissed me off. I’m not getting that same feeling from STH, probably because it has a lot more modes, and I connect to the theme more. But objectively I’d have to say GOTG and STH are equals, just pick the one that you connect to more.

After putting a new TWD next to my MET, I’m seriously thinking of looking for a Tron so that I have the Borg/Sheats trifecta. Both games are like crack to me. I never feel like I’m “grinding it out” with either of them.

IMHO the Pro version of STH is great. Same layout, 99% same rules, and with the UV kit you’ll never miss the projector (the LCD shows the same videos). TK lock is freaking amazing, but not worth the difference. Again, all in my opinion. Which is what you asked for.

Stranger things all day

Guardians of galaxy love it

Swampfire and I from what I recall have had this talk about STH. I loved the showed but the pin did nothing for me well except let me down. I wanted to love it but ended up buying AIQ instead and love that pin.

I'm currently renting GOTG and it's been a sheer blast to play. I enjoy it more than JP2. I'd say it's right behind TWD in my favorites to play. AIQ being first.

Lol so with all that blah blah blah GOTG

I own a loaded Tron Pro and it's bolted to the floor.

My opinions here - I've played all games, myself would pick Sth over GoG. Again, only if it's a premium - you need those projections, they add so much to the immersion. That and the UV kit.

About having a game in a collection, do you see Tron in the wild that much? It's because they live happily in some homes! The music, the theme, the fact Tron is one of those heavily modded games out there. Anyone that plays it, it's instant fun! Not a difficult game to shoot, very satisfying shots. If they were to vault this, I'd be lined up already, and I would keep the original one.

My picks would be Tron, Sth (premium) then GoG (premium) in that order.

Ha don't judge me but yes JP2. I enjoy playing JP2 but I don't long to play it like I do AIQ. I'm not a massive fan of the Avenger Movies so I don't get why I love the pin so much. JP2 I think is a solid pin and I really enjoy the franchise/brand.

GOTG music really gets me going. I enjoy all the shots, the different ways you can attack the pin, and all the different shots.

Tron, of course. Tron lasted 7 years in my house. I played it thousands of times, and loved it all.

I’ve had opportunities to bring in Guardians, but never wanted to do it. I visit it at a friends house, and play it at other places once in a while, and it never really does it for me. Strange because I love the movies, but the game leaves me cold.

I find Stranger Things to be a bit uninspired. I don’t mean to be harsh, I mean the game is fine. But do I want to drop the cash for one! Not really.

Yes, I’m a bit harsh on games sometimes. A game needs something special to make me want to buy it. I never know what that hook will be. Sometimes it’s the callouts, or the shots, or the humor. But every game that comes into the house has to be fun for me. That’s the thing I don’t compromise on.

I currently own a Gotg pro and Sth premium and played Tron and did enjoy it. Sth gets played more then Gotg by a long shot. In fact all that come over to play pinball gravitate towards Sth making it my most played machine. So Sth for the win..

Oh wait I gota revote if it's pro..Stranger not great on pro the demigorgan doesn't even move on the pro

Seriously man? The demogorgan vibrating is what does it for you? lol

The STH vs. GOTG decision is all about mood, not theme. To me they are both great themes, but I like darker pins like BSD. My favorite color is brown or dried blood red (I love TWD for that reason alone). Layout-wise I think GOTG and STH are equals, but I love the left orbit that feeds the right ramp on STH, and the skill it takes to manage the drop target bank. It’s like a friendlier version of the Rocket shot.

One thing that GOTG does better than STH is the first mini-wizard. Cherry Bomb is the most fun you can have in pinball, next to a 6-ball multiball in Aerosmith (very similar). Your reward for finishing 4 modes in STH is the most laid-back multiball ever. It’s not for everyone.

BUT. STH has like 3X more modes than GOTG. It will probably last longer for me, for that reason alone. That, and burning the evil out of Will. Burning Will never gets old.

Small part is the theme. Large part is ramp lowering and shooting the pinball into the demogorgen mouth to kill it. It’s kinda like playing skeeball which has been around for decades and never gets old. Non pinball players don’t care about code, modes and rules. They just want to kill the demogorgen and get very excited when they do..

Had Tron for a few months - Wanted to love it, only 'liked it' and quickly found myself bored with it. The ruleset felt shallow, every game very much felt the same.

Only played GOTG a couple times on site so hard to comment. A friend had it - sold it very quickly.

Stranger Things I am absolutely having a blast with I have Pro with UV Kit and Shaker. I once again have friends calling me up desperate to come play it again ....a while since that happened. This thing has massive appeal to non pinheads also but provides a great challenge for more seasoned players. Have played a friends LE ...the projector is cool to a point but I really don't think I'm missing much except large expanses of ugly white decals on the ramps

No joke it makes that shot great and I love the demigorgan modes, it's one of those things you don't miss till it's gone! I'll give you a football analogy. If your throwing a ball to a 4th grader you better be on the money but if you're throwing to Megatron you have a margin of error. You don't hafta be Arron Rodgers then and I feel if you got the Premium you don't hafta be Elwin! The shaking makes the demigorgan a wide receiver

The last demogorgon mode is basically cherry bomb. Cant Stop This has the unlimited 60 second ball save, collect jackpots on all shots, then the ramp raises and lowers requiring a shot to the mouth just like cherry bomb.

I've played the premium and never even noticed the shaking demogorgon. My pro is adjusted well and the demogorgon moves quite a bit based on nudges and stuff. Not somethin I miss on the pro at all. Now the first time the ball stuck to the backboard on the premium I was impressed.

I think the shaking demo actually makes it a little easier to hit the hole. That's what I've found anyway.

if the machine is adjusted properly there should be little to no difference. The premium I was playing was much harder to hit the demo than my machine.

Could just be luck of the draw...or all in my head.

As to the OP's topic: I just got rid of Tron after a few years of ownership. It's a pretty shallow game and not really that difficult. It was fun but got stale and has since gone to another happy home to find some love. My STh is still getting played to death (when I'm not playing Zeppelin). Great game. GOTG shouldn't even be in the same discussion as the other two games, IMO.

Why surprised? Stranger Things is more recent, Netflix series is still active (Season 4 coming), Tron is currently a thing of the past.

Many recent members have never played it, yet, it's still solid and obviously has kept its value and then some. I'm actually surprised it's taking in that many votes!

Two great games in any lineup, IMO.

Typical negative Pinside BS herd mentality

No doubt, the code updates had a huge impact with Sth.

Tron's LE value skyrocketed recently, has it became some sort of 'prestige' game. Tron PRO followed with some price increase.

What RobT said, Tron PRO is 8 years apart from Sth Premium, yet it's pretty much the same value. I would say a highly moded Tron PRO may even fetch higher. Playing wise, not the same experience at all. I have fun when playing Tron, I'm just sailing along listening to the music. I'm way more intense playing Sth, animations are great, music and sounds are real immersive.

So glad to see Stranger Things finally getting some recognition for the awesome game that it is. Tron and GOTG are both really good games, but Stranger Things blows them both out of the water in my opinion.

Tron’s the only theme that appeals to me personally, so I’d choose that.

Tron is pretty, but I sold an LE not long after I got it. I just couldn’t hit the upper flipper shot and get anywhere.

GOTG has great music thanks to Cleland. It’s fun, but, repetitive. Sold as well.

Currently, I have ST Prem and I am very happy with it. No game is forever.

My current vote is ST.

GoTG is a poor reskin of Metallica. Tron is good but expensive and a bit dated. ST is a good retheme of AFM with more to do and is underrated.

The Gameplay is sloppy. the game UI is a terrible photoshop job with cut scenes (look at the mode selection screen and the poor job they did cutting the characters out. Most of the animation is text and looks like it was done in Microsoft word (You cant say they were figuring the new design because B66 is a way better looking game with their UI.) The shots are worse than metallica. Its a good operator game but its on the bottom of the list as far as spike games.

And Metallica was a reskin of Iron Man, which itself was a reskin of Austin Powers…John Borg loves that particular layout.

I’m Tron 100% in this particular race, though all three of these games would be great in a home collection.

And every pinball machine with a European bottom is a reskin of a reskin. You missed my point. GoTG is a good IP. The trash game ui combined with a somehow worse shot flow than the face that it was a lazy reskin is the issue.

For all the outrage the pinball community made over stranger “fan layout” things. The flow is decent and there is decent gameplay. Stranger things is a very underrated game. We keep it next to our AFM at the arcade but I’d much rather play ST than AFM because it’s a better package.

Tron is a great game but it’s too pricey compared to ST and GotG.

Also, despite me not liking GoTG for its issues I’d still own one because of the IP. In a home environment it’s an absolute trash game compared to others.

We get it, you don’t like it.

STh launched with no code and a ton of mechanical issues. GotG launched with blinking light code. Community feedback usually happens for a reason and poor initial reception takes a long time to turn around, if ever.

Both are good now and I like GotG much more than MET because I don’t want to chop that wood even though MET has the superior display and call outs. The UI sucks except the shot counter, good thing I don’t play the screen.

Yea, Tron has turned into a true collector’s game. At this stage it’s clear there will be no remake any time soon (Stern can’t keep up with demand on their current games), so the price will keep climbing on Tron. Honestly, the same thing will happen with ST as well…

They might never run STh Prem again.

This is what I've heard. Just the pros

This whole thread is about asking everyone their opinions. I have had a GoTG in my posession for a while as well as own a ST pro and have played plenty of tron.

If you like GoTG then great. Just dont kid yourself that the game is unpolished next to the other two.

ST pro with the UV kit is beautiful. I have seen a buddies with the pin stadium version and its a joke compared to the stern kit. ST can still be purchased in the 5K range which makes it a good bargin. Im sure the UV kit though is expensive since they went out of stock. I purchased my ST pro in February NIB with a NIB UV kit and love it. I just bought a Led Zeppelin premium to put next to our GnR SE so we can do a side by side comparison.

I've heard this as well, and that is very unfortuante news if true...there is demand for them. Well, if Iron Madien and BM66 made it back on the line in 2021, perhaps STH will make it back on the line in 2023 or whenver the new season comes out. Demand will be off the chart for them now that the game is so respected, of course they have decided the projector was too problematic to put in the machines...maybe it is a practicle reason they are not making them that we do not know about.

Yeah, it’s just not on the schedule. If the demand is high enough never say never. At that point a Premium may cost $8499 though.