Go and play as many machines as you can
Find out what games YOU enjoy playing

there is no point buying games for other people

2 new Sterns/JJP
2 90's era Bally/Williams
2 System 11s
2 Bally 81 alums

Trade out as needed, but keep the variety. Personally, I wouldn't rule out pre-80s machines but that's just me.

Dang, that's depressing dude.

But, he's mostly right. I've taken out games my brother likes, to get in one I'd like better. He's only here a few times a year. I'm here every day.

I do have a WCS94 that I'll probably keep forever at this point, because my wife really likes it. She's here every day too, and it's her money that bought it as much as it's mine..

I don't know if you are looking to buy 8 pins at once, but I have found whenever I get more than one pin at a time, or multiple pins within a short period of time it is somewhat overwhelming.

If I space out purchases I seem to enjoy each pin more.

Looks like a budget on average of $6,250 per pin would get most titles.

No theory on buying, but this is what I'd get:

Lord of the Rings deep)
Attack from Mars (simple smooth fun fast)
Funhouse (iconic, quirky)
Addams Family (brilliant design)
Spider-Man (fast, superhero theme)
White Water (quick players game)
Scared Stiff (need something with a chick!)
Monster Bash (great theme everyone seems to like)

I agree with the advice of playing as many games as you can.

Go to the Silverball Museum, PHOF, the shows (Allentown, Texas, Expo). Play every game there.

You'll find what you like and really want.

I wouldn't rule out EMs. Lots of adults like them better than other games (simple straight forward goals and non-annoying sounds).

Hope that helps.

Personally, I'd do a Williams/Bally progression by iconic games that evolved the hobby.
Plus it's a progressive lineup of systems (from system 6 to Pin 2000).

-Gorgar
-Black Knight
-Space Shuttle
-Pinbot
-Funhouse
-Addams Family
-Medieval Maddness
-Revenge From Mars

play em all, buy what you like!

You can structure a collection many ways. By era, theme, designer, and manufacturer.

two BBB side by side and you can put a fork in it.

Really.......?

that is it
MY perfect games room will be different to everybody else's games room
I would not want only NIB Sterns, nor would I want the top ten B/W titles

At the moment my perfect games room would consist of titles from 1977-1982

Go to a show and play every game you see, or get on Pinball arcade or VP and play them out for rules at least. That said, if I were to pick 8 games, with a balanced collection in mind, I would get:

Pick one or more for each slot.
1. MM(r), AFM - Bash the center game
2. LOTR, TSPP, FGUY - Deep Stern
3. IJ, STTNG, TWZ - DMD Widebody
4. SS, MB, TOTAN - Showy "Easy" DMD
5. HS2, HS, T2, BK2K, BK - Richie
6. WW, AF, FH, NGG - Lawlor
7. P*B, Sorc, Taxi, Gorgar, Space Shuttle, F-14, SoF - Older WMS
8. Paragon, Medusa, Centaur, Flash Gordon, Xenon, Fathom - Older Bally
9. BSD, WH2O, Banzai Run, FT, LAH, TFTC, Star Wars, CFTBL, - Wild Card

With 50k I would have more than 8.

Buy what will be appreciated the most (by you and by others.) For the most part, that means what will get the most play, though there are some games like Bad Cats that are as easy to appreciate as art as for how they play.

That sounds unreasonably sane. I'm the same way, and I absolutely think about how I can build the best lineup of games given my space and budget constraints.