Quoted from SantaEatsCheese:

So I will go with 3 favorite machine’s I’ve had in my collection as I’ve gone through more than a dozen pin in my 2ish years in the hobby but only have 3 right now.
1. DE Jurassic Park/Whirlwind: I am listing both as Jurassic Park is a complete ripoff layoutwise of Whirlwind. I wanted a Jurassic Park as my starter pin but couldn’t find one at the time. Once I finally got one, it was amazing. The dinosaur eats the freaking ball… I’d rate that combined with the Shaker motor as tied with destroying a ship in Attack From Mars as the best shot in pinball. It’s fun to mod. There is a built in shaker. My kids loved it. There was just enough challenge in it for me when I got it that it made me come back game after game after game. After getting more into pinball, I learned that the pin was a complete ripoff of Whirlwind. Seriously, look at the layouts side to side. I got a Whirlwind and I absolutely love it. I cannot get the hang of that 3rd flipper jackpot shot and it keeps me pressing start. I love the diversity of shots in the game. I really like the TILT graphics add in packages. I added some lighting and put color changing lights in the back to simulate lighting. I bought both games without ever having played one and would highly recommend both.
2. Stern Star Trek/ Star Trek TNG. Same theme by the same designer… same game. Stern Star Trek is the one game I got rid of too early. I let it go in a trade as a way of getting DE Jurassic Park. Holy crap this game is fast. The theme is perfect for my family as my wife and I are huge Star Trek fans. I love the sound, and this game is just intense. I put new rubbers on mine and the shots are one after another after another. I really like the innovative shot behind the right flipper, and the loop going through the backbox behind the ship. I will get one again some day. Star Trek TNG is the original Steve Ritchie Star Trek. I love this pin for the rules, the theme, the sound, and the fact that my wife loves and plays it even without me around for her love of Star Trek. I wanted one as my first pin but was talked out of it due to the mechanical complexity of it (I’ve had good luck with mine). They got the entire cast to do callouts. The 3rd flipper shot is challenging… The freaking borg ship launches the ball at you at the start of multiball! The art on the cabinet is fantastic and this is my current “edge of lineup” machine.
3. Attack From Mars. Such a fun game. I got one from work a few years ago and loved it every minute I had it. I love the humor, I love the ship with the shaker, I love the light show. I really like that there are objectives for newbies (destroy the ship) and for experts (rule the universe). There are many multiballs without them being overwhelming. Strobe multiball is great. I love the diversity of shots. It is an all in all fun game. I never ruled the universe but always came coming back for more.
After all that and the original question... Whirlwind. I'm actually trading out my Champion Pub for a couple of System 11s (Taxi and High Speed) and some cash because I'm having more fun with this than anything else. Something can have everything on paper like the Hobbit (Art, sound, full motion video, animatronic talking toys), but if the game doesn't shoot well it's not the same.
Whirlwind![quoted image]