Just my experience, but Spooky games (R&M and Halloween) will need adjustments out of the gate to play well. The TNA that I've played though was flawless, but again low BOM so a much more simple game. Overall, playing a Spooky game is sounds/feels less dampened than a Stern. A Stern just feels heavier to me.

Also, Spooky uses 3D printed parts vs custom molded and unique parts you'd see in a Stern. Not that it's bad, don't get me wrong on that. They're just doing what they do for a smaller/boutique company vs a mass production company like Stern. I wouldn't expect them to make moulds for small run gamesm But I wouldn't go as far to say they make a much higher quality game. I think they do a great job for quality and features at their price point to be a very competitive manufacturer when going up against the goliaths.

I will say, Spooky playfields are a lot better than any Stern playfield I've seen recently both from quality of surface and strength of clear coat. Their customer service is amazing and if you call for help and troubleshooting you'll actually be in contact with an employee who will go above and beyond to help you out. Something that takes a bit more leg work with a Stern first hand until you work a direct contact.

That being said, I'd expect it to be in the standard price that we saw Halloween. I don't see this pulling a JJP and being 10k+ out the gate for cost of entry. Spooky is great on price points and offering upgrade paths for cosmetic appearance while maintaining gameplay without cutting features. I've held off getting a used model once the rumors for a second run were confirmed, this is a grail game for me and was my gateway drug into the obsession.

In a way, I'd hope to keep new machine costs down is to go down the original IP and art/music route, or at least push more out. Some of my favorite games and music are original ideas. I doubt it would happen, but I'd get a chuckle of a modern day Gottlieb knock off so we can get Golden Wings Mustang.

I would say it's not a low part count on BoM when I think about it. It's that it utilizes low complexity (i.e. off the shelf) parts that won't be impossible to find or service. That's what I think when I say "low BoM". You have a budget to fit in that BoM. Give someone like JD a BoM budget for Jurassic park home VS JP premium and you learn to get creative with less complex/expensive parts but still make a fun game.

I don't need some $1000 bash toy all the time, sometimes I just want some targets, slings and a drop targets with a plain old scoop that could do the same thing.

Heavier as a sense of sound and construction, not weight. Just my observation. All pinball are mechanical machines and break. I'm not going about saying one is better than the other because each machine is apples and oranges as far as complexity and manufacturing.

So happy about that and the sharing of code updates between runs. There was that TNA mod that put the game in a standard cabinet to put some power lines. Just looked so empty as a single level playfield.

Would the clear drop targets and neon plastic protectors be standard or an option? I thought I remembered reading at least the drop targets would be clear. But those two mods look perfect on the game.

I've bought games that I paid asking price for and they kept the sale price private. Private doesn't mean people are buying them for thousands less. Adding sale prices just boosts average prices. You use it as a buyer to try and get a lower price, but anyone in their right mind looks at the archive of the last dozen or so games to actually judge price vs condition.

This has been my grail game, it's never going to leave my collection. Yeah, I'm bummed I got into pinball after this game was already out of production. IMO, I wish it was 8k and what I was expecting based on standard spooky games being $7k. This is more a "collector's edition" when you look at it, it's got a lot more solenoids vs having some bash toys and cosmetic stuff. But used games were 8k+ and this is NIB. It's about the max I was willing to go for a NIB.

With only 250 these will get made pretty quick I assume? So I don't have to wait long.

As long as they make #250 with it being paid in full, that's their selling goal. Sure, everyone wants to sell out instantly or in ~4 hours like Halloween/Ultraman did. But this game is more of a niche at the higher end of a price point. It wouldn't have surprised me either way if this sold out in 4 hours or doesn't sell out and takes a week-month to sell out.

I'd be down for a 2.0 code mode. I've got Bride of Pinbot with the 2.0 kit and it's nice to change things up with a different ruleset and it's great to be able to swap between 1.0 and 2.0 games. Honestly, with the Halloween and Ultraman, granted the playfields don't match, but it would be nice to be able to swap between the code.

Was it just a 2-ball MB or was it some other form of lock/release with the scoop? I figure the only other way to physical lock would be either storing it in the scoop at the end of the traditional lock, or storing it in the reactor/mystery scoop, but I feel the latter can easily get jammed with a second ball like most scoops.

A 2.0 game code that's swappable would be amazing. Maybe take scrapped ideas to add to the 1.0 code like this multiball and put it in there? Maybe have 2.0 be a sort of "evil" version where you're the bad guys prepping the reactors that you destroy in 1.0? You're basically refining the fuel and building up 9 reactors while fighting off attackers.

That has me thinking of if there was some amazing way that you could tie it in to have online head-to-head multiplayer where each person is racing to build or destroy reactors. So effectively you can add/delete progress and score from another players, could be local head to head with 1v1 or 2v2.

Wasn't the cassette included with the sale of the original?

Ah, I just know my buddy has the cassette sitting in the coin box of his game. So I take it was just a thing for sale on pinball life like his A System of Parts tape?

Honestly, I see this more as a TNA (collector's edition) just based on matching spooky CE price and getting all the bells and whistles + black powdercoat. Name the old TNA (standard) and the new one TNA (collector's edition). It's unfortunate the TNA2.0 kind of stuck with the re-run. It is the "same game" but it's a different trim level, there's small construction differences and backbox is different. It's like saying the CGC re-makes don't deserve their own.

Now, the whole perceived value is a thing for the market to decide.

Butter cabinet is an option to the original run and trim level. This is a separate run and trim. As much as it's "the same" it's still different. There are also internal changes from connectors and wiring, backbox that someone had mentioned. Some of these mods weren't official spooky mods either. It's worthy of a note to put which revision you have. I'm getting a re-run and would rather it be put in as a re-run. I won't own an original TNA, and the run being several years after the fact is more a reason to differentiate. I don't get why it's such a big deal to put two categories. It's not like some fragmentation of the pinball community over OG TNA and TNA re-run.

I could care less about value. The game is being bolted to the floor and never leaving my collection.

I'm in single digits and haven't heard anything. Have some patience. I'm sure Spooky wanted to get the ball rolling prior to Ultraman/Halloween finishing up. I saw the FAQ it was about a month to start production. I'm expecting mid October based on nothing is on time these days with anyone, not just Spooky.

#5 reporting in. Ran out of room with the rest of the games, so she's got her own corner for now.

PXL_20221021_003808168 (resized).jpg

TNA album, A System if Parts album, and a couple bonus songs.

I guess this is more of a code question to Scott. On the Danesi lock, I've had a bunch of shots for lock 1 go in, you hear the pressure release noise, but the second drop target wasn't fast enough to lock the ball. Since the ball isn't captured, the game doesn't give you credit for lock 1. Is that intended?

But as far as the mech, I'm not sure if this is something specific on my lock 1 or just how it will occasionally function. I've had a lock 2 situation where the drop wouldn't go back up fast enough and I'd have 2 balls in lock 2 area. This has only happened a handful or so times in 60 plays, so I'm guessing it's just a thing on rocket shots?

They're supposed to be hot glued, all of mine were. But didn't stop at least two ribbon cables from coming loose, killing sections of lights on the playfield. I pulled off a bunch of weak glue globs and did redid them and haven't had issues.

As for the game ratting itself apart, turn the shaker motor from normal to low. Something like this is more why I like shaker motors in theory, but feel they are rarely justified in a game. Or there at the very least shouldn't be any non-locking ribbon cables. But it's a bummer because I do feel the motor going apeshit when the reactor is overloaded and detonating does fit the theme for a shaker motor.

My game was shaking so much (and a couple leaf springs tight) the slingshots would randomly fire, even when a shooter lane eject happens. While my slings were sensitive, my stand up targets need some adjustments. I seem to need to hit them super hard, which makes the RAD targets annoying to hit for reactor detonation.

But with all that, I still have an issue with a dead segment on my reactor display I need to call Spooky about. It will display 88 in attract mode, but the segment 3 in test and gameplay when individually addressed, won't work. Chased all cables and checked for solder bridges on the board and found nothing wrong. Swapped the two cables and the segment would light on the other number, so it's a fault on the display board and nothing on the cables.

Another adjustment was on the one way gates up top. They needed to go a bit lower, because if I'd make a right loop, the ball would bounce back out of the top.

Yep, friction fit. And they will slide off if they weren't hot glued well to stop them.

I'll have to pay attention next time on the 3rd target dropping, I assume that's the one nearest the scoop? But I'm CE#5 so these are factory flipper power when shipped and steel balls.

The missed lock aside, there's also the issue of it not being counted. I'll hear the lock noise (does not say ball 1 locked), the ball gets whipped back out and the second drop target goes up but the lock is empty. So the game brain farts because it doesn't sense a ball with the optical sensor and doesn't count that as a lock, drops the 2nd target and I'm back to needing to re-lock the first lock.

Had the same issue. 1/8“ sticking out of one side so the lockdown bar would hit the glass. The cabinet needs to be precisely square to fit the glass. Lift up the front left or right corner or a back left or right corner and you'll see the cabinet square back up. And the glass go flush.

I had to mess with leveling the playfield a bunch to get it so the legs were not torquing the cabinet out of square. So start leveling to the cabinet and then work adjusting the playfield. Check other spots where the playfield can be leveled like the lock down bar hooks. I was able to just hit mine with a BFH to allow them to seat better on the lockdown latch. But you could shim them where they mount to the playfield.

I wouldn't expect them to sit around after hours for pickups or deliveries. I wouldn't expect anyone to do that.

It's probably not that expensive to get a 2 hour delivery anyway, I'd take that for not needing to a) take time off work b) driving 4 hours round trip + load time for the game and anything else like renting a trailer if you're going to just take the pallet as is c) insures the game will get to your house.

Because if you pick up the game yourself and get in a car accident, that's on your hands now.

I had the possiblity of being in the area, but I was a week early so it didn't work out so I just got it shipped anyway. But I would have needed to drive 2 hours out of the way, unpack the game to load it into my truck and drive half a day home in an uncovered bed. I'll take that delivery fee anytime over doing that.