I would definitely go play it. I own a WOZ 75th Ruby Red and we love it. It plays differently than other machines and that is good or bad depending on your preference. It also is a more expensive game so make sure it is a price you are willing to pay. The good news is that the gameplay is exactly the same regardless of which cosmetic version you buy.

Earlier games did have some board issues but I hear they were good about fixing them.

WOZ games tend to be around the $8000 range. Many are home use only since they are expensive.

If it were me I'd just pay the extra $1,500 and buy a new one off the line. These will have the newest boards, the ones they've used from the Hobbit going forward.

You want to make sure it has the 2.0 light boards, these are on machines produced on or after 12/15/2016. Check under the playfield, look for the green light boards, they should say "V 2.0" on it like this:

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I missed out on a real nice 75th RR in Denver it was loaded and from a High End Collector . I do not like fixing pinball and WOZ most likely will be out of warranty . I call JJP and had a 30 minute talk with the head of JJP Tech support . He advised my ( although still a crap shot on a older WOZ ) That the only way to go is WOZ 75th RR 2.0 . There are some WOZ 2.0 HUO in Denver I tried to talk the owner I just bought my KISS LE from in selling his to me no go. Frank at JJP told me if you don not get the 75th WOZ RR 2.0 with a new power supply and monitor and totally redesigned chip for the light boards I was making a mistake that the 2.0 is the way to go. Good luck I hope that helps .

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WOZ is a fantastic home game because of the deep ruleset. Highly recommended.

That said — the board issues on early games are real. look for a newer one or bite the bullet and buy new in box.

I have not had any major issues with the 7v buffered boards. Those were the last used before going to the 2.0 system.

The very first boards (5v unbuffered) did unfortunately have issues.

No matter what, WOZ is such an awesome game.

LOVE my Wozle, and its great for a family and as part of a small or large collection IMO.

Make sure its a 2.0 system, people will say they never had a problem or only ever replaced one light board. That was at their house, your house isnt a grantee of the same conditions.

Make sure the game has 2.0 boards and no errors. Very complicated game, they squeezed so much into it, I wouldn't make it my first game. The monkey mechanism is so close to the back of the cabinet, be careful sliding it back in. I love the game, but I'm also a stoner, which helps highlight the game for me. What a light show!

Light boards, light boards, light boards. If they're the unbuffered 5v or 7v ones you're looking at $500-700+ to replace them all out of warranty, and you WILL eventually have to replace them all.

If people are nervous about the earlier WOZ models, maybe he can pick one of those machines up on the cheap (budgeting in $700 for the boards if and when they fail)? Or is it a huge PITA to obtain/swap them?

I hear avoid the green LE, go for a ruby red or standard, the LEs had lots of playfield wear (the whole sticker cover up stuff) and lightboards too of course on them as well.

Super happy with my Ruby Red. The attention to detail in the code is crazy, there are tons of modes, and it's difficult enough that it does not get boring (while difficult, it doesn't make you angry like Ghost Busters can).

If you replace them all in one go it's not too bad. The only three that are a huge pain are the ones under the castle mini-playfield.

Still, if I had it to do again, I'd probably get a RR 2.0 to be done with the headaches.

JJP is working on a conversion kit for the 2.0 upgrade for the older machines. Price is unknown at this point (at least as of last week) either way, I personally would not buy a WoZ that didn't have the 2.0 system in it.

I don’t know, aren’t new 2.0 games like 9500? You can get a used rr or ecle between 7-8k. I wouldn’t hold out. Find one you like at a good price and buy it. It’s an amazing game.

If you get it get the PINstadium lighting for it.

Standards are $8500

Get it. It's a wonderful machine. It's the game that got me into this hobby, and Pinside hasn't forgiven Jersey Jack since.

How much is a used standard? 6.5k?

I have a couple people at $7500 for mine. I doubt you'll find a 2.0 system for $6500, they haven't even been out a year yet for WoZ. That's over a $2000 loss plus shipping

I don’t agree. I haven’t had an issue with my 7v boards since the day I got it. That’s YEARS (3 or 4?) without a problem. Sure, maybe way down the road I might have to replace some, but I can say that about my TH 2.0 light boards too.

False. There was like two or three early, heavily routed machines with specifically Balder pf problems. Most early games used Mirco pfs and they are solid.

Of course. They want to sell you a new game!

I have an early standard WOZ and a new 2.0 RR WOZ. It is my favorite game and is really fantastic. It is hard to get sick of in a home environment. I had one issue with a single light board in my older standard version but it had more to do with the placement of the board as the connector came loose as it was bumped when the play field was lifted and then it would become loose again at times while I was playing. It made every LED downstream from it (a lot of them as it was #6) go "crazy" flashing. Despite me not being the first owner and it being past warranty, JJP sent me a new board #6 and I have had zero issues for about a year and a half now and it even spent a few months on route. It appears to me that the light board issues were a bit overblown. However, if you can afford the extra one to two grand, I'd get a new one, preferably the RR.

Once they go, they all start going. I was rock solid for a couple years, then almost a year of replacing boards as one after another failed. Even after replacing everything, 5 of the replacement 7v buffered are out now. They do fail, and once it starts, it's a hassle.

I've been watching lately, there is an ECLE in Texas for 7k. A RR in west Virginia for 6.5k. An ECLE just sold in Wisconsin for 7.2k.

You can probably find show special standards for pretty cheap too, I wouldn't pay anything over 7k for a HUO standard personally.

It'll come down to how much the warranty is worth to you. In some ways, the savings of buying an older light board model is still more than buying a full new set.

Yup... mine is a green ECLE with a Mirco playfield and 7v buffered boards and I’m sure its not the only one.

Non routed machine lots of wear from the woz thread - Ive also seen a few others up in canada like this as well.

I guess the tip is to check if its a mirco playfield or not.

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That’s no bueno.

I bought the WOZ RR edition in West Virginia, picking it up in a couple of weeks. I believe it has the 7.5 boards. Build date is 10/01/14

Congrats on a great purchase, you won't regret it!

I have a Ruby Red. I picked it up on an impulse buy and I'm very happy that I did. It's game that has TONS to experience, but it's something you can approach simply. There are very clear objectives to chase down that will get you deep into the game, and once you're good at that stuff, there are a ton of little things you can focus on to enrich the experience.

Melt the Witch is a fantastic mini wizard mode and a good challenge to get to. Just doing that is more than a lot of other pinball machines offer. It's crazy to think that there is so much more beyond that still left to see. The game is just packed with content.

Just know that you're going to have to take some time with it to understand what's going on. In the first few dozen plays, you might feel a little overwhelmed, but as you learn what is triggering the basic modes, it all starts to piece together and makes for a great game.

Woz is fantastic. Absolutely a masterpiece.

I’m like Pimp. 4 yrs now. Not a single light board issue. A few other items that were easy fixes

Would you really pay $9k for a Woz RR versus an original Wozecle for $6500?

I like the direct print cabs. Gorgeous. RR doesn’t have them

I believe all RRWOZ have 7.5v boards or the new 2.0 system. The last ~25% of the ECLE version has 7.5v boards too. I believe that date is +/- a month of my ECLE (which was one of the last off the line).

That’s a little scary, but I’m not too worried. I’ll be worried when more than one fails. I’m not sure why they would all start going at once...doesn’t make sense unless the environment they are in at the time is the cause (I’ve heard dry winter is bad due to more static possibilities).

I’m not sure what the exact cutoff was but I’ve got the 7.5 boards and production date was late Oct of 2013

They changed boards during that month

Ah, yeah mine is 2013 too I think.

Edit: Nope, mine is end of Aug 2014.

I owned a original ECLE and sold it after having a few light board problems, and then the newer buffer replacement boards failing. I now own a RR 2.0 system and love it... absolutely no issues or worries. I would buy a half working RR 2.0 system any day knowing fixing anything on WOZ is easy, support is top notch, and light boards are a non-issue. The older WOZ games often had castle door issues which required pulling the upper play field to fix - I believe they changed the motor shaft designs on newer games to resolve that. The direct print cabinet was awesome on the ecle, but the new rad cals look better imho. Buy a new or used RR WOZ 2.0 - you will love it!

Is the Flying Monkey an issue on the RR 2.0?
Does it frequently need to be adjusted?

You don’t have to have a 2.0 board set to have a rock solid game. That’s utterly ridiculous. Find s game with buffeted boards and you’ll be fine.

Depends on condition and what the standard has on it. Shaker? Back Alley walls and twister? Witch mod? Could be worth more.

Good lord, just get one. You will never regret it.

Mine was nib since March or April - it got squeaky a month ago and some grease on the screw stopped that - also the last few weeks I’ve noticed a few times the ball not get grabbed so I’ve been watching it - when the monkey works the magnet “snaps” it hard to the monkey and raises it. When it hasn’t grabbed and raised the ball it seems the monkey never engaged it,and it just rolls off the playfield magnet, so I’m guessing it’s due for an adjustment....

Me too.

I think it's cause my favorite shot is that I500 straight up the middle. Maybe so.

If that were true, why did JJP spend so much to develop this new WOZ system?

The Flying Monkey feature never worked at PAGG 4 years ago! Thats why I bought a ST/PRe! Sorry to hear folks are still having trouble with that feature!

Thats a common thing? I was fixing games at our local show and it kept getting stuck in the middle - both limit switches at either end registered fine in the switch matrix so I didnt know what else to look for - figured it was software related.

So 2.0 fixes that?