I think that your reviews may be twenty years late....

STTNG is indeed a great game, and if you need training wheels, there are lane extenders to make the outlanes less brutal.

Go Bears!!

Nudge up when ball at top of slings to help save drains...

You'll learn to be smart with your shots and avoid trying to hit standup targets or anything that creates any side to side action as the slings are deadly. Once you get the ramp shots down and the left orbit to side ramp (Delta) shots down the game becomes a lot more enjoyable. Always pick the "Advance Warp factor" option at ball launch and get the extra ball after Warp Factor 8.

I think as an overall package STTNG is the best game ever made. It's the game that's been in my collection the longest and will likely be the last to leave. It's a game that requires great shot accuracy and controlled playing and will make other games seem easy the more you play it.

To get the flow the game has to offer, you'll need to have some strong flippers. I would recommend the upgraded prototype ones from Pinball Life, it really made a big diffence in mine. Once you start nailing the delta ramp combos, you'll see why its a keeper.

the picard maneuver is so satisfying once you get consistent at it. This game's got great flow if you make shots. playing borg multiball in a darkened room is pretty awesome, too. so disorienting with the borg ship firing at you, those flashers in your face.

Why would you do that? It goes from starting at Warp 4 to starting at Warp 2 after you have hit Warp 9. It isn't hard to get a single warp to get to Warp 2, no need to waste the skill shot on it. Get your extra ball and use light locks, since it lights and awards lock which is two shots to achieve in the game as opposed to start mission and a Warp 2 which are single shots. Borg multiball can be worth a ton of points, especially if you do it multiple times and hit the 3 cannon jackpots in a row at the start. Plus, if you do light lock 3 times, it will award light holodeck on the third time which is another artifact and 159 million if you do it the right away. And don't dumb the game down with stronger flippers and outlane extenders. You have it at home, you don't have to pay for each game individually. Just play it and practice on it, it will make you a better player. Plus, you always have the buy in option if you want to continue a game you were doing well on.

To me, the geometric structure (quadrilateral versus triangle) of the slings causes nudging to be less effective than most pins; the tops of the slings are slanted towards the in/outlanes rather than come to a point as in most pins. This makes for an extremely difficult game with wide open outlanes. Try the extenders if it makes you enjoy the game more (http://www.pinbits.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=13_36&products_id=306).

The side drains definitely get easier as you get better on the game. You learn to keep your shots up the middle, where they need to be most of the time anyway.

For guests and noobs, they will struggle, but as I've owned the game a while, I get better and better on it and drain less.

+1

STTNG is a game that punishes you for flailing about. You must learn to keep the ball under control if you want to get really good at the game.

I agree that you need strong flippers, but I much prefer the game with the regular coils. The prototype coils completely change the way the game plays, and not in a good way, IMHO.

Actually I have a pretty good nudge-timing on STTNG that works well, especially on the right side. If you nudge right as the ball hits the top corner of the sling, it'll get a good bounce off the rubber and then bounce off the lower yellow stand up target rather than getting sucked right down the outlane.

There is a lot of real-estate on that playfield and I feel one of the reasons folks bash it for being clunky is that without the flippers having some punch, it does not traverse the loop or ramps fast enough and can leave that impression. For me, it sped the game up and gave it the flow I was looking for, it allowed me to get the delta combo more frequently and warp up more. Is it cheating? Perhaps but, I don't care about that, it makes the game a blast to play for me, and yes my game has great flow.

When I first saw the game I loved the way it looked (big Star Trek fan) I really wanted to like the game but didn't. I didn't know the rules. Really didn't get too far and didn't enjoy it. So I originally passed on buying it. After learning the rules playing a bit more I really began to see how good the game was (and bought one). My other game, TAF can be played by anyone without knowing the rules and get far enough to have it be fun.

Let me re-phrase. Always start off a game with "Advance to Warp Factor 4" and get the extra ball right off the bat by hitting the 4 Warp shots. Once Warp Factor 8 (Extra Ball) is achieved it is no longer a viable start option. On subsequent balls I always pick "Light Lock" or light Holodeck and work towards Borg Multi-ball like Les said.

Nah, Spidey's much easier to keep the ball in play. Normal sling shapes!

I've had my sttng for about eight months now. I must say I love it and hate at the same time. Sometimes on the same ball. It is a very tough pin but when I have a great game it is the most satisfying pin I have. I tried the lane extenders but always felt like I was cheating. I actual found them not to be worth the change. With the extenders, once the ball gets to the outside of the extender it's a sure drain. With the original lanes, there is a chance that the ball will bounce inside. I really didn't see any difference in my scores with the extenders. I will also say, the borg multi ball is one of the coolest multi balls in pinball. The ball firing out of the borg ship is pretty exciting.

Now that I have AC/DC, the outlanes seem friendly on STTNG. It is pretty easy to avoid the outlanes here by choosing your shots wisely.

I have had my STTNG for 16yrs and I love it as much as the first day I got it. The drains can be frustrating but once you control your shots a lot better you will enjoy it even more.

it is a game that requires discipline, and punishes random shooting around. it punishes inaccurate shooting too, but really it is a great game for teaching a wild player to choose their shots more thoughtfully.

It was my first pin. I love it. Not leaving my collection. I highly recommend it.

Once you master the shots and layout, it is a long lasting great pin to play.

I agree with all the positive statements, absolutely love my STTNG! Just today my heart nearly skipped a beat when i lost my third ball before i could start final frontier! Tough pin but extremely rewarding, having a lot of fun everytime i play!

god i have lost my final ball so many times with Final Frontier lit. ugh i am cursed!

I've been offered SWE1 + $2000 for my nice STTNG.

Opinions on this potential trade?

I hate SWE1. Price wise, ehhhh. I suppose SWE1 is a $2K-ish game, but I found it stupid easy. A nice DE Star Wars I would actually consider that trade.

Never.

Don't accept SWE1 as a trade for ANYTHING lol

Why didn't your Borg ship award the locked balls for multi ball? It just kept kicking them out. Does your diverter not work?

Uh... I don't know! Don't remember frankly. This video is a bit old & the machine is long gone. Will review the vid when I get time. It has over 3500 views & this is the first mention of a malfunction. You obviously know STTNG rules & play very well?!? Time marker when it didn't work properly please?

The game is just plain awesomeness, I will likely be buried with mine.

*edit* Was already addressed.

Just say no.

Of all 6 of the sttng I've had through here , some are just way more brutal than others in the way of outlane drains. If its annoying you , get the extended outlanes from pinbits. I've had games that need this desperately and others that don't. (Mine turned out to need them). It won't eliminate outlane drains but it helps a little and may turn the frustration into fun.

i watched through the first borg multiball and final frontier and it appeared to be working properly.

14:20, you chose warp factor 4.. the light is lit for lock ball on the delta ramp, you made it into the borg ship. Instead of it awarding you a locked ball, it kicked it out. 15:25 same.

Putting white slingshot rubbers into that game will increase bounce and probably make the problem a ton worse. My suggestion:
1) put in the extended outlanes
2) fiddle with the kickback setting difficulty. At very easy its always on. Maybe move it one step easier from default.

You want the game to be hard but not frustrating.
Then another strategy you might try is using warp 4 for your skill shot and going for the warp 8 extra ball ASAP.

Lockdown bar is adjusted via the two screws on the lockdown assembly.

that's working as intended. it won't lock a ball on launch unless you actually choose "light lock" -- even if lock is already lit. works the same way on mine in the basement and on The Pinball Arcade app.

I guess I didn't make that clear enough. Even though he chose warp factor (which I know doesn't lock balls) when the ball came down the right loop and her made the delta shot, "lock ball" was lit, but was never rewarded, it just shot out of the Borg ship. Watch the video again. I can't believe I'm the only one who noticed this.

The only time the ball should shoot out I the Borg ship is during a multiball.

I wouldn't switch the rubber, I think it's a bit much, but more bounce on STTNG makes it easier. Your only play in that area is to bounce the ball out completely. The top of the slingshot is angled in, but the kickback targets above it are angled out.

Your best play is to nudge forward when the ball hits the top of the sling, bounce off the kickback targets and then back into the middle.

I just picked one up, shopped it out, and now that it plays much faster, it's actually easier manly because it's easier to bounce the ball out of that area. I'm killing my high scores from when the game was slow. This is also due to the ball sailing around the orbit making the gamma ramp easier.

My 2 cents.

oh, up the delta ramp! yeah you are right. i only watched the launch when you cited it. but yeah -- the delta ramp's lock is lit and he makes the shot but the borg ship shoots it out. that is weird.

Yeah I just watched it and CASTHOF is right. It should not be shooting out of the borg ship. I always thought they should have made the borg ship more interactive like that rather than only during multiball. He must have had a ball locked in the ship and the diverter wasn't working so it was kicking out the first....or it was just not locking it and kept kicking it out. Either way it was not working properly.