I've never seen an HUO game that looks that rough. I don't see how it can possibly be HUO with that cabinet.

People say that all the time, but that's not true in my experience. I've seen dozens of HUO games of various vintage (dating back to EMs) and I've NEVER seen an HUO game with a cabinet that rough. I'm trying to imagine the circumstances in home use that would result in that kind of cabinet wear.

You wanna field that one? They just dragged it around the backyard for fun? Had kids parties where they chalked up the cabinet? A family dog that liked to climb up on a shelf next to the game and rub his ass on the side of the head for 10 years?

Not seeing it dude. We aren't talking about a dirty playfield or cracked plastics. Exactly how would one "properly maintain" a cabinet in Home Use so it doesn't look like it was location for 10 years? Because that's exactly what that cabinet looks like. Probably because it was on location for 10 years.

If it means very little, why are we arguing about it?

As I said, I've seen plenty of HUO games, and not just late model Sterns. You can say whatever you want but this game is not HUO, and anybody who isn't just trying to blow our minds with "HUO means nothing!" would admit that. This is clearly a location game, unless the "home" it lived in was a barn, or a bar. The lockdown part of the cabinet looks like every location game I've ever seen - where's that HUO shine? Beyond that there is rust everywhere. Under the glass, even the APRON has a scuff, and the instruction cards are filthy (come on, HUO games owned by the GP never even get their glass removed, ever).

I think I've made my case plain. Might be interesting to know why - looking at those pictures - somebody might think the game IS actually HUO? It has a nice playfield, and there doesn't appear to be wear at the coin slots. You can say that for most of the 15 games I own though, and none of them are HUO.

So you believe this game to be HUO, based solely on the foggy memories of a general public non-hobbyist seller who claims they bought it "new" 30 years ago for $1800? I'm pretty sure that's not even the right price for a NIB game in 1988. Doesn't that sound like $1,000 too low? If this story is even true they probably bought it from a distributor who told them it was "new" when it had been on route for several years at least.

I agree with you guys that "HUO doesn't mean pristine." This is not exactly an earth-shattering statement.

But beyond that, why are you all convinced this game is HUO? It looks like shit, and the seller's story doesn't really add up. $1800?!

So what do you guys say? THIS PARTICULAR GAME. You really think it's HUO?

This is probably exactly what happened.

And hey in case anybody is interested, here's is what an ACTUAL 30+ year old HUO game looks like. You'll note that it looks like it was only kept in a private home (look at the shiny lockdown bar receiver).

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/whats-a-1-owner-huo-bally-space-invaders-worth

Yeah, because slobs in shitholes buy a lot of NIB pinball machines.

For all of this nonsense about "HUO being meaningless!" I've never seen an ugly HUO game. I've never seen pictures of an ugly HUO game.

All we got to go on in basing this theory is a bunch of pinside anecdotes, and I think we know what those are worth.

LOL @ "HUO is crap."

Fake HUO maybe. But an actual home use vintage game is a thing of beauty.

That's because they are all HUO just like this one!

The flippers definitely have a fuse.

Beyond that I'd check for a connector issue and course carefully inspect the wiring at the coils and flipper switches.