I would go with potc it has more toys and cool features even though the rules aren't the greatest on the game but it has more stuff than star wars. But, if it was star wars premium I would have voted for it because it has the hyperloop and the death star.

POTC
SMVE
AFMR
SW Pro

Potc on top because that is your original question, the SMVE and AFMR are better games but the cost difference is more than between the SW pro and the POTC

POTC is pretty rinse/repeat on the strategy but will take you some time to ever get to four winds multiball

You could differentiate using flow or stop/go to make the choice.

The ship toy is one of the best toys ever on any game.

PotC is a solid game and a guest favorite. Haven't played SW so I can't compare, but can say that PotC isn't leaving my home anytime soon.

You can get Pirates for $4000 if you are patient. It's more like 9-10 years old. One of the best pins for the rest of the family. I vote Pirates.

Honestly, and I may be a little
Biased here but I'll give my 2 cents. I truly feel pirates is one of the most underrated games out there.i capsule play it all day long. The sounds never get old, the music is awesome, and it has some of the best toys of any game... I mean basically it has 3... the ship, the chest, and the spinning disk. I have played Star Wars, major let down. I could see enjoying it here and there, but as an every day home use game would get boring fast. Get a pirates, guarantee you will not get tired of it and you'll have $ left over for fun mods

My vote is SW. I've owned Potc and it's a very good game, but I get more of a rush (and anger) from playing star wars.

I have both (although I have the SWLE), and I'd say get SW pro. POTC is a great game with great toys, but the music, callouts, and light show--as well as gameplay--don't hold a candle to SW.

There you go. POTC it is! (always do the opposite of this guy)

Love me some Pirates, have owned mine since new, still trying to defeat Davy Jones.

AFM and SM are both great too, have not played SW.

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TL;DR

You've been waiting to do that back to me for a while

In my opinion, JJP competes in a different space than these pins. JJP pins target the ~$8k+ premium market, whereas these Stern's are more in the $4k-$5k range.

So the question of will it be better, that is subjective and depends on if you like JJP pins. I think they do great work, so I would think it would be a fun one to play. But no one knows for sure, and everyone will have a different opinion.

Will it affect price. I doubt it. Through pinball history, there are many examples of games that have common themes, whether it be movie sequels (Terminators for example), follow-up titles (Attack from Mars, Revenge from Mars for example), or just the same theme again (Simpsons for example). Usually the playability and overall "perceived value" is what matters. PotC is a well respected game, and both pros & newbies love the gameplay. That's not always common in a game. Not to mention, as others have stated before, it has arguably the best playfield toy in the ship, and packs several other toys into the game in addition.

All that said, I don't think it will affect the Stern PotC at all, so I'll go with neutral. It would be a positive for pinball in my view, but most of these machines stand on their own in terms of value.

My .02.

I agree with this. That said, if you LOVE the potc franchise, I would wait to see jjp4. If it's potc, and I'm confident it is, then it's going to be on another level than Stern's. It basically comes down to cost at that point. It's going to be quite a bit more, but IMO it's worth it if it's a hit jjp game.

While it could be awesome it also could be a big headache for Jack. He was not happy the way his hands were tied on The Hobbit when it came to things like the ball interacting with Smaug. Wait until he deals with Disney on this franchise. Dennis Nordman talked about the pain on an old TOP podcast.

Just to be clear: It's Taxman that is the bane of my existence and who I try to ignore. Not you.

I owned a gorgeous HUO POTC a few years ago, and I own a SW Premium now. POTC is highly underrated IMO, but I'd still give Star Wars the nod. It's a flow monster and a total rush, plus it's got a great light show, outstanding sound/music, video clips, and code that will only get better (and the code is already pretty darn good as-is).

No matter which game you pick, you win. It's a good dilemma to have...

POTC is a very different game from SW.

I am a big fan of the POTC pin, and it's great in home use. Deep code and long game times, especially if you are a good player. Good theme integration, great toys, lots to see and do, and humorous callouts. Reminds me of journey style pins like LOTR, etc. It's more of a stop and go game. I agree it's a visitor favorite too.

SW is fast and hard with short game times, and lots happening, especially when the game opens up. I love this style of play; it reminds me of TWD-level difficulty, but a different type of game (less toys, more flow, different designers and different coders). Lots of flow and no time to relax. Looks deep and great, and it has lots of strategy baked into it.

Both styles of pin play have their fans, and its nice to have some variety if building a home collection.

I don't see a JJP POTC pin affecting Stern's POTC and wouldn't have either affect any decision I make. They will naturally be different. And the price point will be very different. I am very interested in a JJP POTC pin and will see where that goes.

I would choose a pin primarily based on the style of play I'm looking to get. And these two are quite different.

GL.

Loved POTC when I bought it new first run and really kinda miss it. It is a great game for an intermediate player who is really looking to get into the depth of rulesets. Not crazy deep or over complicated to figure out and goals are hard enough but achievable. Those who don't like it on here I would venture to guess hit harder games wiz modes quite frequently so the tasks within Pirates seem either easy or like chopping wood. With 10 years on this now, you could argue it has stood the test of time and outside of TSPP and AC DC, is the highest selling modern stern that didn't get a vault edition.

It's one of only two games I have been to the wiz mode and AFM being the other, so I kinda have a soft spot for it. So I am biased. Would have like to see Dennis and Dwight do more games together. The code is complete and it's was the last Stern to have a full featured games at a reasonable price.

After the Kiss mess and the WoF mess the price increases and reduction in quality on every game was the last straw. I won't buy new STERNs anymore and I have very little desire to even play them. I would go POTC.

Too long; didn't read.

I didn't know it either the first time he said it to me.

Taxman's actually a great guy and I consider him a good friend (pretty sure he doesn't feel the same way about me).

I just try to ignore the fact that he doesn't read anything longer than a letter in the Penthouse Forum, which was all the reading he did as a child.