Ive owned avengers premium and stranger things LE. I think the projector/uv is a real nice addition with ST if possible. Both are just great. Avengers had more interesting shots but i didnt love the complicated code. Also aiq has monster outlanes!

Really cant go wrong.

Have you played both Stranger Things pro and Avengers pro? I would try to get some games on each to see what you like best. It depends on what theme you and your family will enjoy most. I would not buy one until you you spend some time on them

very different games... stranger things all day for me. Aiq is fun but the rule set is way more tournament style. I’d pick Jp over Aiq personally if you like that style.

I have a stranger things pro (with uv kit)at my local brewery- it’s been the best earning pin I’ve ever put on route. My wife really enjoyed it when I had it at home for a few weeks. Avengers is a fun game too, bright and colorful along with a great layout- rules can be confusing for casual fans.

where are you located at? I have both Stranger Things and Avengers pro's in stock, so if you make a decision, Id be happy to try to help you out. And if your local, i can make it easy by just trading in your used game

Troy
decatur Illinois

Avengers if it’s mostly just you and your 1 son playing. Avengers has a deep rule set that you’ll enjoy more and more over time.

Stranger Things is very blah to me and the least of Brian Eddys games by a large margin. If your daughter likes the show that’s a bonus and it is much easier to understand to the casual player, but it gets old fast.

Maybe wait a few days and see what the mandalorian looks like

Both are good but I play Stranger Things more than I play AIQ

If it matters, Stranger Things has great flow and is mostly easy to shoot. It’s more beginner-friendly, IMO. Not sure how anyone could call it “blah”. It has the best light show by far, once you install the UV kit. I went to a location to try one, and it was constantly in play. Very fun game.

If you prefer a deep story based ruleset I say Stranger Things, for points / tournament style play Avengers.

Personally I would go with a Stranger Things Pro and the UV light kit. Stranger Things Pro actually has a few things that move on it versus Avengers Pro that has very little. Stranger Things has the drop target bank, moving ramp and Demogorgon toy, all interact with the ball. With Avengers Pro you will get 3 drop targets and that's really it for toys. 3 drop targets for around $6k? Pass. Also the callouts on Avengers are terrible ("It's time to go binary"!) whereas Stranger Things has full assets from the first two seasons of the show + custom callouts by one of the actors.

In my opinion Stranger Things is the best pro for the money that Stern has put out in years, probably since Star Trek.

I like Trek pro more than these in pro versions but agree - Stranger things and that UV kit is a must add to budget if you go pro.

I'd go aiq. Stranger things pro big drop off vs premium. No projector. Needs uv kit

Aiq pro has one heck of a light show, deep game, great shots.

I have a STh pro and an A:IQ premium. Love them both. AIQ is so unique, both in layout and code. It's also fairly complicated and some would say doesn't have quite the theme integration that it could. STh is derivative of other games (particularly AFM), with a fairly standard layout and more simple (though still plenty to do) code. The theme integration is amazing and really captures the spookier/atmospheric part of the show in a way few other games can do. It really sucks you in, and the UV kit brings it over the top.

I would consider AIQ prem one of my top 5 games, with STh just BARELY below that. However, if I had to compare both at the pro level, it would be much more close, and I think STh might pull ahead a bit. AIQ is a true game changer at the premium level, where STh is really just eye candy (though very cool and unique eye candy).

Both are awesome, can't go wrong games. AIQ is overall better regarded, but Stranger Things seems to slowly be gaining momentum as more people discover it. To me it is very underrated, simply because it got lost in the shuffle of a very stacked year of new releases. Play both before buying if you can. If truly torn, I would pick the theme that speaks to you most. Good luck!

One thing to keep in mind is that ST is quite similar to stranger things. Both fairly standard fan layouts with a center bash toy guarded by drop targets. Both games have been described as modern takes on AFM. AIQ would provide a totally different experience than your Star Trek and while the theme integration is meh the deep rules and things to accomplish should fit great in a one game collection. In a one game collection I would definitely go AIQ over stranger things (especially coming off Star Trek).

If you have the opportunity, definitely play both games on location. Before I decided that STH would be my next new Stern, I played a lot of AIQ, EHOH, IMDN and AFM. In the end, STH was the one game I kept wanting to go back to. I made a trip back the next Saturday and did it all over again.

It’s a very personal decision, with theme, layout, rules and art all playing a part. So don’t cheat yourself by relying on Pinside opinions or even gameplay videos. It’s worth driving a few hours to play everything, if you can.

AIQ pro over Stranger things pro.

Stranger is much more fun with the premium

Aiq has a good light show?

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Don’t listen to the Pro skeptics on Stranger Things. It’s plenty of fun without the projector, the TK lock and a few other bells and whistles. And it’s of the few pros with the exact same layout as the LE (minus the TK lock).

You're going to get a lot of votes in both directions. I own AFMr and thought about selling it for Stranger things. Family and I went and played St and we all disliked it a lot. IMO AFM is far more exciting.

Then there was AIQ next to it. We couldn't stop playing it. We loved AIQ to the point we ordered a premium.

We really wanted to love Stranger things she nce we love the show but it was just a massive let down.

Good luck I'd suggest you put some serious play time on both. Just to prove I'm weird and different I don't care for Jurrasic Park at all but love TMNT. LOL

ok, you got me on that one. i think aiq looks pretty cool with the all different colors and all. i would agree the ultraviolet is nice on ST. i've seen it on the premium.

What was a let down? Layout, rules, art or sound?

We played the premium. Loved the projector. The art and graphics were exactly what we expected and no problem there.

I think what really didn't click was the audio/sound. Unless they had something turned off it was very full and boring. If someone like Cleland does a sound mod for this I bet it would be exciting.

I'll say this maybe my problem was I had this expectation that it would be better than AFM and for me it wasn't close. (That just my opinion and doesn't mean crap).

I found EHOH far more entertaining to play than Stranger things. I'd say that's more in the realm of AFM & Stranger things.

I really enjoyed AIQ. With all that being said I wouldn't say no to owning Stranger things but it's far down on my list of pins to own.

I sincerely appreciate your opinion. I had the opposite experience with AFM and EHOH, but that’s pinball - it’s very subjective what’s fun and what isn’t. An arcade or barcade probably isn’t the best place to experience any game’s audio. I honestly went in kind of blind (or deaf) on Stranger Things because the volume was way too low, and there were snot-nosed kids playing the free shooter game next to me (and leaning on the pin!). I took a chance, and was really happy with the stock music, but Cleland really did take it to another level. I’m working on the callouts in the game, so you’d likely have multiple custom audio tracks to choose from. I don’t know the fan base for the other games, but I can tell you that the STH club is pretty much starry-eyed in love with the game.

That's awesome I didn't know there was a Cleland mix for it and more coming. I think that would be amazing to try.

I agree that's what makes Pinball interesting is the different opinions. TMNT has mixed reviews, but I love it. Jurrasic Park is loved but I didn't care for it. I think my favorite pin is TWD.

I have EHOH on order and not sure if I'm in love with it enough. AFM is fun until MM and I'm like why do I have AFM?

I couldn't agree more on the STH threads they are die hard in love. ( Nothing wrong with that but maybe a titch jaded lol )

OP sorry for hijacking your thread. The good thing is you can get one and if you don't like it in 3-6 months you can swap it out for the other.

I absolutely loved my JP for 2 years, and I think it’s a great one for everyone to have at some point. I just wasn’t worthy - I never got to a single wizard or mini-wizard mode. But it’s a genius game.

Stranger things pro all day. Just bought the last NIB a distributor had and cant wait until Friday when it arrives. I dont understand the hate towards this game bc if you like deep story mode based games this is the best one in YEARS.