Swampfire, it was my first two also! Funny !

Great thread Swampfire.
I am a paint guy, no electronics education, just pretty good with general mechanical skills and don't mind taking something apart to see how its made. I loved pinball and grew up with an EM in my house. At age 26 ,shortly after buying my home, I bought my first pinball, 1987 Space Station. When I played it during purchase I thought it worked great, but once home it had a few issues. The pinball community helped me through my issues and i felt really great after I fixed it. If you lurk here, you see the wonderful folks that are wiling to help you simply because they love pinball and want to keep it alive, and love helping people. I often wonder if pinball will die when my age folks ( 50-60) are gone . its important to me to know guys in their 20's and 30's will keep this hobby alive.
About your first game, I suggest a mid to low priced solid state game, $1200-$1600, others will have a different opinion- no flaming please . Get inside it and see how they are made, tinker with it, take stuff apart and do a light shop job on it. Get it 100% working if not already, who cares if you have to spend $200 on a new board ( or repair fee) because you cant solder well enough yet to handle board repair. Hell, I cant do tight solder work on a board, hasn't hindered me , I've been in the hobby since 1993.

Buy a game in the $1200-$1500 range and figure out what era of games you like, what type of game you like, and educate yourself on repair. I can honestly say I have never lost money on a game ( only sold 3 though over the years), but I keep them for a long time, best investment I've ever made. I could brag about what I paid for a FH or WH20, but I poke around in the scrap pile for something needing some TLC, well .. a bit more than just TLC
I'm going to disagree with starting off with an EM, in my opinion from a guy who can barely read a schematic like me with no electronics education, solid state is much easier to repair and keep going. I have read many beginner books on electronics and soldering years ago, just for basic knowledge. Once I get my games working 100%, in home use they seem to last forever. I actually get excited when someone says" ___ is not working right, or has a bulb out"
Also, I'm not rich, and was scraping by the first few years in my new home when I bought my first game. I saved all of my $1 bills, put them in a jar. Once I had $800 I would start looking for something to buy. The more I bought, the better the deals I would find,due to becoming more educated. It took me 10 years to have a collection of 6 games, including the EM my Dad left me when he retired and moved to FL. There is no race here! Some folks have every new pin, some scrape for a years to buy a low to mid tier game to fix up.
Just find you one local, get it home, read what not to do in regards to cleaning, and begin enjoying pinball. Very satisfying hobby, and you will meet wonderful people that are willing to type for hours on their computer just to help you through a simple switch fix.

If I can leave you with two more words of encouragement: 1) start planning where you are going to put a large collection, they will multiply quickly. 2) if your married, get your spouse involved in picking them out, much easier to get funding if they enjoy playing them and understand its an " investment", and not high priced man toys I got lucky yesterday when my wife saw a 2013 Star Trek and said , "that's a pretty game".
JP

I am brand new to the "owners" club, but have wanted a pinball machine since I was a little girl. I began researching machines about 8 months before we purchased and quickly became overwhelmed with the opinions, best games, good deals, etc. I knew that I might only get 1 machine and needed something that my husband and 11 year old son would enjoy. I didn't get a "cheap" deal but the machine I bought was from a well known local company and it had been shopped and clear coated.

My WhoDunnit game is perfect for our family and we have had very minimal issues allowing us to tiptoe into the fixing parts. The problem is that now I spend a lot of time searching for a great deal and dreaming of my next pin. Unfortunately, the husband and kid now have machines that they want.

Pinside has been a great resource and very helpful in getting me addicted.

I did the exact opposite of what this thread suggests. I fell in love with WOZ after one game, and it was my first NIB purchase. Since then, I've found myself working my way backward through pinball history, slowly learning to appreciate the simplicity and ingenuity of earlier games, and restoring them to their former glory--which, in turn, teaches me just about everything I could ever want to know about servicing a game.

The nice part about doing it my way is that you start with the expensive shit, and then the hobby gets cheaper as you go.

I love that era of Williams but prefer short flipper games. But I will keep my eye out for one as gay is one theme I am yet to add to my collection.

There seems to be quite a few deals on CL in the Chicago area if you're not too picky on age or theme. I love trying something different that no one is talking about. There are a few newer games I would love to have someday but I'm in no hurry. When you're in a hurry is when you overpay.

Sweet. Ill take the nice one

Let me know when i should plan a trip out.

Probably the same weekend I flip the trusses on my new game room. 34' trusses are a pain to flip.

Surely a crane will be used.

been there and done that! no fun but still fun if you know what I am saying

I am a big Phish (the band) guy so once they announce their summer tour, maybe I can plan a combined trip to see a show or 2 in your area and stop on through.