Yep for most theme is very important .... most of the bang for buck pins are great players but the theme is y they sell for half of other pins.

BSD, FT, and TS are probably my three favorite machines I've ever owned. BSD and FT are both simple but challenging and TS is much more complex. The other machine that comes to mind is JP. For under $3,000 you're getting a game with a the best (or close to it) toy in pinball, shaker motor, lots of modes, fun wizard mode, plus a great theme. The other way you could go would be to go even cheaper and look at your cheaper System 11s. You could probably find both Taxi and PinBot for $3,000 total. That's not a bad bang for your buck.

Depends on your definition of Value!
Personally when i think of "value" i equate it to buying more pins for the same amount of $$

STTNG imo is great value for all the features you get, but its closer to $3500

DW, NF, BSD, and WCS all great value DMD titles under $3k

Or you can always go the solid state route and get a bunch of titles under $2k.

Just a great game at ( nowaday) an amazing price...2 scoops, 3 kick outs, intricate diverted ramp system, and flows for days...great art....soccer is certainly a polarizing sport in the US, but if compared to other " sports" themed machines, not even close...( NBA fast break, NASCAR, etc. no way)....

Great thread HEL... thanks for starting. But if everyone keeps taking about FT this way, it won't be much of a value for long. Which is just fine with me!!

Think I saw a post about one somewhere in the club thread.....

Yes there are a few

I'll just throw Stargate out there. Don't have much experience with different games, but for $1800 I've had a blast with it!

It is actually #96. At least for now.

Unfortunately that list is of games that are all pre-1990.

I've been thinking about letting go of my MMR towards a FT/BSD/WCS type of combo.

Definitely possible ... if u had a original mm id be interested in doing something bc your close by . Only reason is bc im over capacity lol

The ugly chic starring at me every time I look down at the flipper does it for me.

And there's a lot of fluff in there. I like the $900 Skateball.

The Shadow is the only pin I will never regret selling.

Shadow was that game that stood out and filled space between others. But I always got a fuzzy feeling when I walked into an establishment that had it.

BSD and TS. Mine will never go. Better than A games. I do not care about how many feature, toys, tricks are stuffed in a game. What counts is playability. Set BSD up properly, as you wish: its the most adrenaline pumping game ever, I own it for few years and its still fresh as day one. Huge changes with different steepness angles (mine just shy of 6 degrees, I much better prefer than the regular 6.5), just set it as you prefer. TS is also a really amazing game, with unbeatable lastability: just tweak some standard adjustments, especially lenghten the modes duration, and the game is among the best of the best. The Aurich translite beautifully solves the Alec Baldwin problem.
Those are the most played games in my collection. I personally love both themes, especially BSD, but the gameplay itself is really terrific on both machines.
Talking about value for money, a mention of honour for JM: fix the spinner problem with a slow rotating spinner and this game makes it to the top 10.

Yea ive had bsd the longest of any pin since ive been in the hobby for many reasons. I got a killer deal on it and its in really really nice condition. I just love the gameplay , theme, mist mb feature. Some best sounds and music in pinball imo. The animations are really goid and with the color dmd installed now its just thst much better. Only real flaws are it can be a finicky pin and difficult to keep working 100 percent. Another is it needs a few tweaks to fix some annoyoying bugs in the code but overall its solid and a blast to play. It holds it own against my much more expensive pins like. Mb, afm, met, tz, ss, twd, acdc,cftbl.

Here the enhanced rules for TS:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/the-shadow-luppin-rules

Well, it's an original MMR.

When I read this thread I thought it was suggesting that these games listed should be worth more. Now I realize the question is does the gameplay value match the price compared to other titles on the Top 100 list? Interesting.

I looked through the top 100 and while I agree that the $3k 90s B/W games are a good value, it's the correct value. Condition ways so heavily on a lot of those games because they're 20 years old. Extremely nice ones are above $3k, beat up versions are below.

The two games on the list that stuck out to me for value were Stargate and Batman Forever. These are towards the bottom of the Top 100 but they are routinely found around $2k. The B/W snobs will stick their noses up at anything made by another manufacturer and that keeps their prices low. Sega/DE sometimes have a few more issues but Gottliebs are particularly solid in construction.

word

I'd say Getaway is an amazing pinball machine that can be purchased at a great value. Word to the wise though these machines took a beating in the arcades back in the day so some of them might be in rough shape. But bang for buck this is one of the best pins especially if you love a fast machine.

Does Pinball Wizard have a BSD? That's only an hour and a half away from you. (I would kill to have a place like Pinball Wizard an hour and a half away.)

Love TS even though it is a butt kicker. I used to dislike BSD because of the theme. I still don't like the theme but it's great fun to play.

For me, it's hard to ignore the value of a modern Stern pro. You can sometimes find the better games in the low $4000 range. Not cheap but cheaper than a lot of the popular B/W pins. The value is that there is little that needs to be done to them, deep code, and better reliability for the most part. You can sink a lot of money into a B/W fixing issues, new parts, leds, etc.

I have read that thread about arcades.

There was also a thread about PW shutting down but last I read the owners came on the thread and said it wasn't happening. They were in negotiations to extend the lease but had no intention of shutting down. I haven't read the thread in awhile so maybe things have changed.

Getaway

And another good thing about Getaway is that playfields are going to be remade early 2017. Plus plastics and playfield parts are all available along with new decals so if you do find a beater at the right price you can restore it to like new condition.

I just picked up a tftc. How has that not been in this discussion. Crazy value in features

Did not read the thread because I wanted to answer on my own first and not be influenced by others answers, but I came up with MET Pro, Whirlwind and Judge Dread.

MET Pro is a solid top 10 game and can be delivered for $5000ish for a brand new pin. No spending time and money hunting or traveling for this one and this adds to the value you get from it.

Whirlwind is and JD are solid top 50 games for $2200-$2500ish. You can't go wrong with a top 50 player in this price range.

Not in the Top 100 (that's another topic), but definitely one of the best value pins is Baywatch.

Agree.
My Whirlwind is a player for sure and it's played more than others by guests.
Thankfully they comment more about the gameplay and beer than flashing toys, modes, or ratings.

BSD and TS as already mentioned. I won't be selling mine, ever. Some others that come to mind are Stargate, Demo Man, BOP, WCS, Tommy, No Fear. I wouldn't pass on any of them if I came across a deal. I also miss my Austin Powers and Sopranos, funny as hell those two games

Seriously how is no one mentioning tales from the crypt?

Its ok but you can get bsd, ts, rs ww, fh , ngg and many others for around same price which are much better imo...

NGG is best bang for buck right now. WH20 used to be, Took a long long time for the World to wake up there

shadow, baywatch, judge dredd, and demo man all are best bang for the buck pins.

The Shadow gets crazy amounts of love on here. it's a very nice game and a very fair price, but I don't think i'd quite call it an A-list pin. just my opinion, of course.

Fish Tales really turns me off for some reason. I think partly it's the cramped playfield due to the boat and fishing rod thing ... although also the theme is a bummer for me because i remember fishing with my grandpa and it was utterly gross. impaling worms with your bare hands. doing literally nothing for hours on end. and then, if you are LUCKY, you get to stab a fish and watch it slowly suffocate to death with a hook in its lip or stomach, and then you get to take a knife and cut off all its scales, which are sticky and get everywhere, and then you get to separate its guts from the part you're supposed to eat. oh, and watch out for bones. it turns out fish have approximately fourteen trillion tiny bones, and if you're not great at gutting the thing, you get to choke on them.

where's that get fun?

sorry, back on topic.

BSD is a great game and a good value.

according to some on here, STTNG is a $2500 game, so by their judgement that would make STTNG the best value at #14. (of course, i think these people are on crack. decent ones usually go for around $4000)

Whirlwind and Getaway are both rated pretty high, in the 40s, and they're far cheaper than most of the games brought up so far.

I've always thought Black Hole is an absolute steal at around $1300. you get a game with a ton of features -- 3 ball multiball, inverted lower playfield, speech, infinity backglass with a spinning vortex thing, and a game that's somewhat historically significant (first game to successfully charge 50 cents, first game with an inverted lower playfield, and a very early example of both speech and modern multiball). it's hard to make the "best value" argument, though, because it's also criminally underrated in the Pinside ratings. (currently ranked #110)

NGG. Always love trying to put up a new high score. Trying to hit jackpots and super jp's get's the blood pumpin.

There where a ton of FT and HS2 made and there always at least a couple for sale at any given in Australia. To me these two generally go for the $2500(allowing for converting to AUSTRALIAN dollars) in really nice condition. So do the wide body JD and DM. WCS tend to be really beat up, I think most of the ones that get reimported from Europe have had a rough life in bars over there, the theme is probally a lot more popular in soccer crazed Europe then Australia, America or other parts of the world.

Here my take on all the ones mentioned so far.

- FT probally my top pick. It's just a fun game that doesn't take itself seriously. Great art package, good shots and clear two path strategy to big points. Probally suits a collection with at least 3 or more other tables. The layout has a lot of close shots which can put off some players but makes a really fresh and unique experience to many other games.

- HS2 haven't spent a lot of time on the table. It's fast and the charger is a cool toy. I think theme would probally be a deciding factor for a lot of people. That being said, you getting Steve Ritchie game for a great price.

-BSD starting to climb in price locally. Almost all top players mention this game at one stage or another during interviews or podcasts as a great table to build skills, so that might have a factor. All in all a great game and one that I'm looking to add when the right one comes along. Not a Grail pin but a nice table for any collection. It can get reptative shooting castle ramp over and over for loops and locks. However the three tiers of multiball and more adult theme out way any minor issues.

TS- seriously considered making this my next must have table a few years back. However the feedback on maintence seems justified. Almost everyone that has come up for sale always has issues. I just see a money pit waiting to happen.

- JD and DM I don't think I could give a fair call on either tables as for some reason wide body games just don't work for me. Even TZ had to go from my collection. I think it's just a personal taste. However both get a lot of praise.

- DW bought and sold a really nice example of this table with in 3 months of owning. I usually hold on to games for years. However once the novelty of the time expander wore off and I had the shots dialled, there just didn't seem enough going on. However I could see it being a great game for the right person, it feels super solid. Theme is probably the best of all the budget games mentioned and is well implemented.

-WCS like DW this game came and went quickly. To be fair it was a little beat up and bought at a great price. However after playing for a month or so I couldn't see the value in investing money to bring it up to standard. The art and theme just didn't work for me, however it was more the progression of the rules that turned me off in the end. It feels really linear. Also the right ramp is an extremely dangerous shot when it rejects. So you end up avoiding a lot of the rhs of the table.

-RS I have owned this game for a number of years and it's a few years to many. It getting traded to a friend this month, so I have been trying to put on some games before it goes. However it's just not grabbing my attention. Yes there's a lot to do but the scoring is unbalanced. Maybe it's just my dislike for wide body tables comming through again. Mostly kept it around for when young family members come to visit as they love the talking heads. Won't be sorry to see it go. It's not a bad game, just feels so lackluster compared to pats other offerings.

Personally for now I'm looking towards system 11's as bang for back options. I'm liking games with quicker ball times and more focused on scoring strategies then lots of modes etc.. As I try to improve my tournament skills. Plus they just have a charm about them.

Only one I can think of that missing from the suggestions is RFM at least in Australia this table is easily in the same price range of others mentioned. This is the table my roadshow is getting traded for. Can understand it not being everyone's cup of tea and for me it only really a replacement for the same purpose Roadshow served I.e great game for youngsters and non pinball friends to enjoy. However it's still a game I can have a lot of fun playing, particularly if it's lit properly. Plus the build quality on P2K is superb.

For me TS and BSD. Mine, both, will stay here forever, beautiful machines. I would not let them go even for crazy money, they are too good and always keep fresh, which is the most important thing in my opinion. I had TS for over an year and didn't have any issue. It does not look like requiring more maintenance or special care than any other machine of that era.

I love HS2 and FT but they are not very deep. Neither has many modes and you end up doing the same thing over and over. Not a bad thing because they are fun but can get old in a very small collection.

I500 is also a pretty fun pin for the money. They are kind of rare but prices seem to be similar to TS.