This might help...

A lot of fun. Extensive vocabulary. Cool to win a magic token and start the next game with it and be in a different mode.

I miss mine.

LTG : )

Unique. Very unique. And fun! Definitely enjoyed mine a lot. More than I thought I would.

It's also a real crowd pleaser with non-pinheads, one of the best pins I've ever owned in that regard. Once a non-pinhead gets that magic token rolling down the glass at them, they are totally hooked!

It definitely plays different than your typical fan layout pin, and it isn't necessarily for everyone, but I don't have many negative things to say about it.

it's fun at first. But then you can easily rape the living shit out of it over and over and over. Play for hours on one credit. Great if you have a lot of other pins, and have that space where a full size just won't fit. But don't overpay as it doesn't have longterm play over the years.

That was a great video. I can agree with everything the guy said. The game is different and a lot of challenging, lucky, unique fun!! I can only wish they make standard size reproduction tokens one day soon.

I also wish I had seen the video before I bought my Safecracker on-line. I would have made sure I had the full amount of tokens (Standard size not the international size) and the topper (now unavailable). Dagnabit!! West Chicago.....won't go there again.

Good game for one with little flow and little flippers. Fills a small area in the house a larger pinball cant quite fit, which is always a hit with the wife.....

I think you may have skills beyond those of mere homo sapien. Admittedly I'm an average player at best but my game lengths are no longer than any other 3-ball game. I've had a few players over who I'd consider pretty good (better than me, certainly) and I haven't witnessed any game times like you're describing. Potentially yours had a switch error or odd settings?

did it on 3 different games, one was in a tournament. You can play that game forever once you know the one shot worth getting.

Well share it with me!!

shoot the left spinner, add time on the clock. Kickup shoots it to the top. Middle lane gets 95% of the action so make sure it's always unlit. Let the ball fill up that triple bank up there several times to keep adding up the clock. repeat. Unlimited time.

hmm on mine the time bonus for hitting the spinning wheel is trivial. And lighting all 3 lanes for just the 5 minute bonus isn't that great of a strategy in my experience. Maybe there's difference in the rom versions?

don't know, the 3 I played all played the same in the rules. With fresh rubber and clean playfield, that ball will stay up in the pops a bunch of time, and in that time, hit the center cup about 40 times. That's a hell of a lot of 5 min. I can surpass my ball times on SC more than I can on LOTR. and i'm a half assed player.

Your experience is interesting. Tomorrow I'll have to do some testing!

My spinner doesn't advance the time more than 15 minutes per hit and then with game settings, you can adjust the difficulty. As a result the games on my machine are probably shorter than the game times on my other machines. Mine is set up so that you don't break into the vault except for about once every ten games.

I've been so close to pulling the trigger on one, but always back away. I love 90s Lawlor, and this is so interesting, but I don't think the depth is there long term, and I have heard it gets somewhat repetitive.

Still, I'm always close to buying one every chance I have.

Neo, I cannot wait to have you over again so you can back up all your big talk with actual play on my machine.

I've had 3. I can't say I miss it, but I did enjoy it. In terms of it being "easy," I am a high-B, low-A division player, probably better than my WPPR ranking would indicate, since I don't have time to play in more than a couple of events per year. I'm not sure what Neo's strategy would really accomplish in terms of points. It's a hard game, IMHO. It has legs in a large collection. In a collection of fewer than 10, I would pass.

He is the ONLY one that I have ever heard make those types of claims regarding SC.

The long-term interest in this game is relative to the size of your collection. Strangely enough, many years ago when I started collecting, my first games were a 2 game package of Safecracker and Scared Stiff. Unconventional start for sure! That was over 10 years ago and I still have both games. That said, SC would get old in a really small collection.

So, to the OP that has only 3 games, I would imagine that SC might not be the best choice. However, there is no other game like SC on so many levels. If you have a larger collection where you can go away from games for a while and then come back to them with renewed enthusiasm, this is where SC shines. It is a really cool game, and a great experience for new / inexperienced players (guests love it). It also has plenty to do for the owner, you just need the ability to break it up with returns to "normal" pinball. I'd hate to think about being without mine.

It's a fun and unique game, which makes it a nice change of pace pinball machine. It's not worth getting if you have a small collection, but in a larger collection it's awesome. I find that non-pinball people like it a lot too once they understand the rules (that's key).

I have a nice clearcoated one that I'd like to keep but I don't think it's in the cards. Hate to see it go because even though I had two recently (this and another that I already sold), I probably won't find another nice one for years.

To the OP,

SC is one of my absolute favorite games. It's super unique, super fun, and actually has some very deep and intricate rules once you understand them. I don't know if SC would be the best choice if you only have space for a few pins, but the game would be a great addition to any medium/large size collection.

I'll vouch for that. Pinlawyer has kicked my ass more than once at Expo Brawl ...

The only thing I can think of is if you keep hitting it in the bank scoop, you will eventually get "Disable Computer", which essentially gives you more time. I still don't see how this would possibly allow you to play for "hours on one credit", but even if it did, it's not as if you would really be accomplishing anything other than playing long.

ok I played a bit, focusing on just the spinner/armored truck and lanes. It did not go well One game started well and I managed to quickly build up a bunch of time bonuses so the clock was maxed out (dunno if you can have more time than the clock shows). One thing about hitting the lanes a bunch is you pretty much can't avoid entering the bank through the roof. So if you don't have donuts, dog treat, disabled alarms, etc, you might be in a bind -- which is exactly what happened to me. After getting kicked out of the board game I quickly found myself in Sudden Death mode. Not sure if the timer goes faster when the board game ends but sure seems that way.

I think I do better focusing on the goals and trying to collect the bonuses to improve the board game progress. I watched a few youtube videos but they didn't do anything special. We need some competitive tournament players to weigh in on the spinner/lanes strategy

Also I had a game where I rolled 6 times and they were all 1's or 2's I need the bank teller to award extra rolls or something

The clock starts to go faster and faster the longer you play. At some point, you simply can't replenish the minutes fast enough. At least this is how it is on my machine. I suppose it's possible that there are settings which could potentially make the game way easier. I've never fiddled around with any of them, since I'm still trying to take down some of the high scores that came on the game when I bought it.

Very hard game, and very fun.
I agree with the short ball times, not the long ones. I never even got freaking close to the Pat Lawlor default score.

Awesome game, it was a pleasure to have owned one.

This nice one took a while to sell 9 months ago--ask was ultimately reduced to $5,750:

http://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/fs-safe-cracker

Play it and decide. I did and had to have one.

Man, I can't believe that was 9 months ago already!

I think a few posters before me said it very well. SC is a unique pin and draws in non-pinheads like Hemi to an LED bulb. The token element is brilliant to reward players and then used to unlock a new game. Terrific in a larger collection, small one may have better choices. Looks great too - one of the family favorites.