Stern Star Trek has been trouble free and I have 3 out. GOT pro, GB Pro. Most newer Stern games and WPC games do well. Put DBVs on them. Good luck

WOZ, Hobbit

Iron man and Game of Thrones has treated me well

Medieval madness pulled in over $700 in the first 2 weeks I put mmr on location. Addams family is always a great earner. Star Trek pro also does really well. Any game that you can shoot the middle and get big points will do good on location. Getting an attack from Mars this week so that should also crush it.

Paragon has always been a big draw

The more they cost the more they make usually. If it isn't a classic or a well known themed game they usually don't do very great.

I'd start with 3-4 games and go from there.

Any game with a color DMD ... Perhaps a Family Guy!

Sounds like a good start to me. My most requested game is always Addams family.

Bally Partyzone was one of the best bar earning pins I originally bought when I got started operating,Later on south park was a winner,Probably the metallica pro has done the best for me as far as newer sterns so far,Recently bought spiderman vault and very happy with it also.

Good to hear. That will be my next game for route!

EVERY location is DIFFERENT. Some pins will stink in one location and kill in others.

You will have to figure out your own location, player base to start, players you can bring in, and they games that are needed to make it work in your specific situation.

In general terms.

4 games at minimum
TAF is a MUST as once overhauled it is a solid game and continually loved by all.

Of the new Sterns I would say TWD > GoT > ST > MET. TWD has the most staying power of them IME and has been pretty solid. The others have all had various issues and dont have much long term lastibility.

FullThrottle has been the lowest maintenance new machine on route, period! A few small tweaks and then just rock solid. It also earns above average, but more importantly has been consistent over time.

Woz or Hobbit are a great choice also and earn well.

I personally find of the new machines, Sterns tend to be the cheapest, break the most often, but also have great service during the initial period and have been great with replacing fried node boards, blown parts, etc... Still no resolution for ghosting pfs, but hopefully that eventually comes.

Good luck and let us know where you open a place so we can all come visit if we are in the area.

Some people will try and say WOZ is too unreliable but I certainly disagree, it's been my most played game, and yeah there's been a few minor things but no major issues at all.

Super Mario Mushroom World is also an excellent earner with absolutely no issues.

NBA Fastbreak is another great earner, supposedly these are prone to breakage, but mine hasn't been bad at all.

What is the typical split (owner/location)?

what is prone to breakage on NBAFB?

Sounds like OP is opening his own bar? which is the way to go. If you can get 100% and are already making the money on beer/food then that is the way to go.

the real money is always in the beer!

Pinball rarely actually makes money. You can pay for upkeep, insurance, game fees, and if you are lucky have a little left over to pay down a loan on a new game for the route.

All joking aside... RESPECT! Good luck with your venture ....

I see you're in NC. Is this going to be on the coast in NC somewhere? I'll also point out the obvious that beach locations can very seasonal.

We recently opened a pinball diner, seat 44 and I put 6 pins here. Right now we have Hobbit , GB premium, STTNG, Fish Tales, Funhouse, Whirlwind.

Over the course of the 6 weeks, Fish Tales has been consistently the top earner. WOZ was next but it's been down with a bad castle door, and was replaced by STTNG, which is now my number 2 earner (Funhouse is a close 3rd). WOZ is coming back this week, and Whirlwind will move back home.

I feel the 50 cent to 1 dollar a play gap is hard to overcome for people. Right now Hobbit, WoZ, and GB are $1 per play or $2 for 3. While everything else is .50.

Good luck!

I'm going to echo what Hilton said, every location is different. I have two locations, one is a family oriented pizza restaurant, the other is a bar and grill. What is popular at one is not necessarily popular at the other. You'll have to learn what your customers want, it will be different than what anyone here suggests.

That being said, here's what has been popular for me:

Both locations:
Iron Man - this has been extremely popular at both locations. Hands down my best earning game over all.
Addams Family - Doesn't earn the most, but is consistent and people want to play it
Theatre of Magic - Just a great theme that appeals to many
Medieval Madness - Does pretty good. Priced at $1 play which lowered its earnings at the pizza place because kids don't want to pay $1. Does fine in the bar at $1/play.
Doctor Who
Funhouse

Pizza restaurant:
DE Star Wars
Jurassic Park
World Cup Soccer
Ghostbusters - Has done VERY good
Batman Dark Knight - popular with kids

Bar:
Metallica - Has done much better than I imagined
Flash Gordon - priced at 25 cents/play

What has not done well is non-DMD games priced at 50 cents/play, especially if you have DMD games also priced at 50 cents/play. The exception to this is Funhouse. It earns well next to DMD games. Examples of non-DMD games that have NOT earned well:
Whirlwind
Earthshaker
Fathom
Space Station
These games would probably have earned me more money if they were priced at 25 cents/play. The next non-DMD game I'm putting in is Grand Lizard, it will be priced at 25 cents.

I always keep one game priced at 25 cents/play. This is VERY popular. It is usually an older solid state such as Tri Zone, Firepower, Flash Gordon, or an EM. I'll often earn as much with the quarter game as a higher priced game because kids will drop a quarter time and time again but are hesitant to put 75 cents in a game. The 25 cent game also attracts casual players that are intimidated by complex and complicated looking games. You could make an argument that I'd earn more by having a higher priced game in this spot, but my data backs up the fact that a 25 cent game will usually out earn an non-DMD game priced at 50 cents. And they sometimes out earn a 50 cent DMD game.

This just looks like the top 40 machines in pinsides top 100 list. Look at the top 40 machines and pick the ones that fit your location and clientele the best.

If you are not at a 75% or higher split, you are probably going to lose money.

Make sure to include Walking Dead Pro in the first buy. It is a tank and earns extremely well consistently.

If I were you I'd buy IM, TWD Pro, ST Pro and Met Pro for the first 4. If you're open to the cost of Premiums, GB Premium, GOT Premium, ACDC Premium and SMVE are excellent choices as well.

A few cheaper pins that do well are South Park, Jurassic Park and Star Wars (Sega or DE).

and this is prime example how every location is different. If you were to put only 4 newer Sterns in one of our locations, you would have just blown way more money than you needed to in order to earn the same amount if you had bought more wisely.

By and large Sterns have issues and will require more maintenance on route than a classic B/W B listers that have been gone through and bullet proofed. Those B/W listers are 1/2 to 1/3 the price and will earn just as well or better than 80% of all Stern games. The classics also seem to have way more lasting power than 80% of all Stern games.

IME, any new game does well for the first few months and then the trajectory is something you should think about.

Most new Sterns DROP quickly and never come back up. There are a few exceptions and they have all been mentioned. TWD, ST, MET, etc... The popular ones here tend to be popular with regular folks also. Keep in mind they still cost you double what a classic B/W does.

I am yet to see an example of 2 classics (that cost 5k total) not doing better than 1 new Stern (that cost 5k for the 1).

At one of Stangbat's locations, where I visit as often and observe what and how people play while I eat, I hear non pinheads say that they have come to the location specifically because of TAF. They're often in pairs, play a couple of games of TAF and then play another game or two of the other games (usually IM or Met. They would play GOT when it was in). So, TAF's 'earnings' actually get spread into the other games a little bit.

I've learned that at one of the local colleges, there was an Addams in either the student union or the dorms for a long time. That seems to be the draw; nostalgia for that particular game. "Oh man, I used to play this game all night. / "I remember one time I got a high score." If you can somehow learn if your clientele have a similar attachment to an older game, that seems that it would be a wise purchase.

Good idea on having all your pins in location. I have 13 pins in one spot. Gb is my top earner. With met 2nd St 3rd and twd coming in last for new sterns. I just picked up a taf a couple weeks ago and that's next to go in. Good luck on your new venture.

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Get a stable line up and then rotate 1-2 every 3-4 months.

Another thing I'll add is my comments on bill acceptors. People often flatly state that they greatly increase earnings. I find this isn't always the case. The amount of use depends on the location. At the pizza restaurant they don't get used because much of the play is from kids. Kids just won't stick a dollar bill in a pin. They'll drop quarters all day, but putting a dollar in a game is not on their radar. I'm considering not even bothering with them for games in here.

At the bar, people use the acceptors. Not a ton, but much more than at the pizza joint. I'm pretty sure it is simply because there are more adults and they recognize the price break they get on the 75 cent and $1 games, so they stick in a couple bucks.

Rotating is key to keeping high profits!

Coin machine is so much better than a dbv. Changer should be within 10 ft of games.

Bonus that quarters are so much easier to deal with than bills. Get a scale that weighs in quarters and super easy.

I would suggest both Bill acceptors and a change machine. You need to be able to get more eyes every possible way. At one of my location there are a few older guys who will not use the bill acceptors but will go use the change machines. There are also people who want to shove a five in and not put $5 worth of quarters in to play a few games with buddies. Just do everything you possibly can to get the money. You can go wrong if you have every possible option. Higher up front cost but worth it in the long run.

Pay range is also an option. It has been terrible for me but others have had very good luck

Assuming you may have heard of and already listened to the Coinbox Podcast? They have good insight and like others have said, things are different wherever you go. I do know from personal experience that a selfie league can increase earnings on machines you include in league so it's a good way to push the not-so-popular titles for earnings

The biggest trend I have seen over 8 years is if the owner of the location likes pinball your pins will make more money and will be taken care of better than someone who doesn't care...

I'm in my mid-thirties with three younger kids and go to Pizza West about once a month. I spend $30 on dinner and $20 on pins. I specifically go to play top rated pins like TAM, GB, AFM, and MM as they rotate through. While there, I play every game.. including the older ones. I will play 3-4x as much on one or two pins but every machine gets some love. World Cup Soccer is a favorite of my wife and kids. It is loud, cheerful, and energetic. I am not a soccer fan and do not care for the dog theme but the machine is fun.

Stangbat keeps the pins clean and well working. It is impressive considering the greasy pizza and kid friendly environment. There are other pizza joints in the KC area with pins that have broken rubbers, dirty playing fields, greasy glass, and so on. Even though the pizza is better at other places, Pizza West gets my repeat business because of clean, fun, pins. The rotation of pins is great too -- my family gets to play pins that we otherwise would not have access to.

I'm not sure what the cost is to implement, but as a consumer I must share that cash is obsolete. It is annoying to have to go to the bank or ATM to get cash or quarters. Anymore, I pay for everything with a debt card or paypal. If electronic pay is practical for operators, I bet it would enable more players and return more earnings. Getting cash is not an issue when going to an arcade but many a random pin has been ignored at restaurants due to lack of cash on hand.

I am In a soccer centre bar that allows kids and transformers pro is my best earner.... better than AC/DC.... all my games are $1 /play for DMD and $0.50 for non DMD.... sorcerer and baby pacman are two second earners

The plastic basketball hoop. Just based on when I was considering one a few months ago. It's one really long piece and replacing it is like $150+.

Seems like a cheaper idea for games on location would be oddball cheesy themes from the 80's or 90's where you could just replace the old boards with Rottendog/Xpin type boards. My non-pinhead family is just as drawn to playing Rescue 911 or Hardbody at a bar that also has Cirqus Voltaire or Attack From Mars.