Bram Stoker's Dracula
Williams, 1993
Flash Gordon
Bally, 1981
Ghostbusters (LE)
Stern, 2016
Ghostbusters (Premium)
Stern, 2016
Iron Man
Stern, 2010
Paragon
Bally, 1979
Shadow, The
Bally, 1994
Star Wars (LE)
Stern, 2017I thought It would be fun to hear what everyone thinks is the most difficult pinball. I know it is subjective entirely.
Part of the reason is because I am finding the most difficult pins are the ones that help my brain the most. I had a stroke and three brain surgeries.
So, I say bram stokers Dracula. And a follow up for iron man. Might be a tie for me...
Quoted from BigAl56:Any game from the small flipper era.
I can't remember which game at golden state pin, but it had the smaller flippers. It drove my fiancée Veronika nuts.
Flash Gordon. Yup and the black hole it used to frustrate me then I just embraced the darn hole. I used to avoid it. I stink anyways, I go for the fun.
I personally hate my Stern Star Wars for this. Can't make a shot worth a crap. Still haven't blown up the Death Star. Very confusing game. Dialed in is second in my book.
Quoted from Oneangrymo:I personally hate my Stern Star Wars for this. Can't make a shot worth a crap. Still haven't blown up the Death Star. Very confusing game. Dialed in is second in my book.
Wow both harder than your twd? That's pretty interesting. I kind of want 1 tough game at home and was thinking star wars but it does seem to frustrate a lot of people
I played TNA at GSPF for the first time last weekend and it really humbled me.
How about Haunted House. 8 flippers with 3 playfields and one of those is facing the opposite direction.
Agree with Black Hole and Flash Gordon but gotta go with Data East Simpsons. The gaping entrances to the outlanes are just ruthless.
Quoted from Mad_Dog_Coin_Op:How about Haunted House. 8 flippers with 3 playfields and one of those is facing the opposite direction.
I really wanted to like that game, but i don't care for the flippers in the upper playfield that face the opposite direction., plus i don't see what's so haunted about it besides the theme.
BSD and Fish Tales are the toughest DMD's in my opinion. The toughest early SS I ever played was ironically Pinball by Stern. Outlanes like vacuums. The shortest ball times and cheapest drains happen on those 2 inch flipper games. If the tilt is tight or you aren't an excellent nudger forget it, games like North Star and Central Park will eat you alive.
Flash Gordon, hands down.
Iron Man gets honorable mention. It has the simplicity & ass-kicking spirit of an early 80s Bally. I've owned the game over a year & have only cracked the leader board twice. It is not from a lack of effort. Once I broke 100M points. I believe I floated around the house for several minutes afterward.
I don't think BSD is that hard though. Not painful kick-to-the-balls hard. You can score on it if you know what you're doing & making your shots. It doesn't punish you as badly as other games for playing poorly. The hard part is getting multiple multiballs running at once for those huge jackpot scores. That's where the rush lies. I managed to get the Grandchamp score at GSPF last weekend, something like 460M. I was pretty proud of that 
You can also start throwing TNA into these conversations as well. It's a ball buster for sure, especially if you take away the ball save timer. Downright cruel!
Quoted from Robertstone0407:Houdini
I second this. It wasn't even a love hate after a while, just pure hate
Ghost bust(er)smyballs
in the bar Where i play sometimes.
But every once in a while, when its full moon an the star's line up and gravity is on my side it makes me feel happy and good, but then next game I hate it.
Who you gonna call?
Quoted from PinballTilt:I second this. It wasn't even a love hate after a while, just pure hate
I’ll third this!
I have my good days and bad days with Buck Rogers, some days I will kick its ass but others it pays me right back, Cyclone comes in a close second! I will have to agree with most here on the sentiment regarding Flash Gordon though, it has always kicked my ass yet when given the chance I will always go back for more!
Dialed In and trying to get your Simm card on that ball before losing it. I know you can change setting to carry it over to your next ball but my scores vary so much depending on getting Simm cards.
Quoted from HoakyPoaky:Flash Gordon, hands down.
Iron Man gets honorable mention. It has the simplicity & ass-kicking spirit of an early 80s Bally. I've owned the game over a year & have only cracked the leader board twice. It is not from a lack of effort. Once I broke 100M points. I believe I floated around the house for several minutes afterward.
I don't think BSD is that hard though. Not painful kick-to-the-balls hard. You can score on it if you know what you're doing & making your shots. It doesn't punish you as badly as other games for playing poorly. The hard part is getting multiple multiballs running at once for those huge jackpot scores. That's where the rush lies. I managed to get the Grandchamp score at GSPF last weekend, something like 460M. I was pretty proud of that
You can also start throwing TNA into these conversations as well. It's a ball buster for sure, especially if you take away the ball save timer. Downright cruel!
Mine punishes me for every brick and bad decision I make. A BSD lightening flippers, outlanes open, a fairly tight tilt is one of the most difficult games I've ever played. Ymmv
I think we're going to need to define terms or we're going to start seeing lotr popping up. I usually think of ball time when thinking of difficulty. That's why DI doesn't strike me as a super difficult pin. Now it has some tough shots that may cause frustration, but ball time seems average at worst (at least in my experience).
Quoted from Luppin:I own both for several years: TS harder than BSD. Both fantastic, but TS better.
FG always mentioned among the thoughest, in fact even harder, but stupid/random hard. It does not depend on you, its just randomly kicking you. This is why I think TS way superior, because very hard but fair.
Disagree totally. I've heard this before too.
FG is not stupid random hard. It requires skill & focus to be successful. If you miss your shots, you will be severely punished. If you make your shots, you will still be punished. You are constantly riding a thin line between limited control & total chaos.
You must use your skill to get the ball under control whenever possible. If you're the "flailing" type of player just slapping the ball around, prepare for quick death & severe humiliation. You're trying to light your targets (which also move at the drops), increase the multipliers, rip the lit spinners, and activate the bonus scoring (for 15 precious seconds).....all while you're failing at avoiding the pops, trying to keep the damn ball on the upper playfield, and get it back under control at all times. The basic premise is hard as hell.
Not only is the playfield layout a challenge, but the other ass-kicking factor is the difficulty settings. If you think it's hard now, try playing with the switches to the highest difficulty. FG is all about taking a beating & overcoming adversity, so I'm not a fan of making it any easier. Man up & set it to 3 ball. No lit target carryovers, you have to start your progress from scratch on every ball. No rewards for reaching replay scores. Only one extra ball earnable per game. The game will force you to become a better player.
Get the playfield multiplier to 5x, light both spinners & the targets & start the bonus scoring timer. Rinse & repeat. Easier said than done. You have to nudge. You have to make your shots, then get the ball back under control for the next shot. Then mentally prepare yourself for beatdown after beatdown. When you accomplish something & have a great ball, you'll take great satisfaction. If you have 3 great balls in a single game, you'll remember it forever.
FG is hard, life is not easy & that's the way I like it.
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