The gameplay of Predator will exclude itself.

TNA.

Alien.

The Big Lebowski

There are so few pins that meet these criteria (RZ, AMH, TNA, ACNC, TBL, FT, Alien, P3, Thunderbirds, Oktoberfest, Houdini, Mafia, more?) that you should just have a poll. I'd vote ACNC.

I really like this thread - good idea.

Clear winner. In fact, it's better than any stern, JJP or CGC as well.

Well you know what it is.

I voted for Americas Most Haunted. Launched Spooky Pinball. Gave rise to the boutique market.

LTG : )

Houdini for me, better than PM or ToM easily!

This is the only "Best of" poll Spooky might actually have a chance at winning...

I would loved the opportunity to really play Aliens or TBL. My vote is for TNA

I really do love alien. I hope there is some way that it can be made again so others can enjoy it. We are working hard to get these units reliable to share with the community. Coming soon.

TNA! Accept no substitutes.

I feel that not enough people have played Alien or TBL for this poll to show an accurate census.

I never played TBL so that's valid. I've played plenty of Alien which moved it right to the bottom to the list.
I mean not Houdini bottom, but low

TBL all the way I played many games at Expo it rocks! TNA is cool but its not on the same level.

As a former owner of TBL, it's nothing special. It's a looker for sure, but game play is lame. You're not missing anything.

I've also got decent time in on Alien. I like that game lots. Hopefully it can find it's way to production.

The Big Lebowski would be running away with this if it wasn't so damn rare.

It is the best game that "nobody" has played.

AMH is a great game. The fact that it’s the first game Spooky made is even more amazing.

I’ve played most of the games on that list, and AHM stands above all ...

- Humour
- shots (left orbit is one of the smoothest shots in pinball)
- ghosts
- humour
- ghosts
- jump ramps
- hellevator
- ghosts
- humour
- rules - hit that “simple but deep” mark perfectly

Just a good fun game.

Go buy one.

rd

I know the code is not complete but the shots and layout on TBL is pure fun and mini play field underneath works well. Not a fan of the Munsters lower play-field as would rather have more on the main play field which Maiden was missing.

Lebowski is so rad.

Houdini is an incredible title w/ a challenging unique layout, excellent rules & fantastic artwork. This machine is solid in every category as AP has produced a definite winner. Overall, Houdini is a very unique pin that goes outside the box. This title shine in the unconventional category & is a well needed change that offers the pinball community an alternative. Houdini for the win!

TBL hands down. Great toy with the rug, the lower playfield actually using in the pinball for bowling, the car bash toy on the upper pf. Excellent use of the LCD screen and also a nicer form factor for the LCD screen as well. Not just a monitor crammed into a back glass. Absolute shame that more of these were not made.

Surprised ACNC isn't doing better, given that it's met all its industry quotas. Favourite to win based on community history though would be TNA.

Only played it once is the best when it comes to gameplay, lights, sounds, and theme integration. TNA is close but just don't care for the retro gameplay. Alien was way more fun with more shots, ramps, and four flippers. Oktoberfest and ACNC sound like pretty solid games but haven't had the chance to play them yet. I played TBL a couple of times but was not as impressed as I thought I would be with gameplay.

It's an interesting poll, but God damn is that a pile of garbage.

I went directly with what I would consider buying as the bar.

So TNA or acnc. Both are spooky.

Maybe I am a little biased on spooky. But the product stands on it own and that is the bottom line.

Another good question: Who has played every one of these games?
I still haven’t come across WOOLY, Nemo, Dominoes and Mafia. I’ve been lucky to play at least a game or two on the rest.

Close! I've played everything but Captain Nemo.

Four votes so far for Thunderturds? Ha, well I guess we know that Mike from Homepin has four different Pinside accounts.

Shouldn't P3 be split up into Lexy Lightspeed, Cannon Lagoon and Cosmic Cart Racing? They are three different games in the past 10 years.

Now you've done it...up to 5!

I feel that it also falls into the category of "many haven't played it."

It is a great game

Alien.. No contest. Even with stern and jjp.

AMH was my vote also.

I played TBL but really want to try Nemo.

Great poll, I picked Houdini for being unique and challenging, yet rewarding with many tight shots. Only demerits it received were because the game’s cartoon mascot was accused of assaulting a cartoon women on another pinball machine. The monkey was later acquitted when proven he had been at Oktoberfest on business, officially it was monkey business

TBL pinball is a beautiful mirage, but with under 100 made, it really wasn’t ever produced. Plus 3/4 of TBL’s I’ve played have had issues and code needs major polishing. Alien is the best pin listed when working, but it is prone to frequent downtime and was dropped. TNA is out of contention until the scoop is redesigned to fix the high rejection rate. ACNC is still actively in the running, check back in six months after future code updates and the rest of the pins mentioned are merely good pins.

Easy answer.

Alien or TBL.
Both are stunning games.

-mof

Of the ones I've played a descent amount of, my picks would be:

1. TBL
2. ACNC
3. AMH

A handful of choices rise to the top and the rest can be flushed into a sea of mediocre pins and drained from our consciousness. Most contenders receiving 10% of the vote should be of little surprise. There is something about trying to order five things that seems kinda natural, whereas the poll captures everyone’s #1 pick from 16. Once shortlisted, I think it appropriate to rank those. From bestest to best I’d say:

Houdini
Alien
TBL
ACNC
TNA

16025CBC-9DF7-4B0B-A782-67BC5182481C (resized).jpeg

Do you remember reading about or weighing in on whether boutique manufacturers are causing competition for Stern and also whether they are causing JJP or CGC heartburn? Well, maybe the soft data can tell us something. This is the interesting part ... unceremoniously dumping of tea leaves onto a wooden floor and sweeping of them into an orderly pile.

Evidently we have had five pins in past ten years which have been judged and selected by enthusiasts to be the best pinball machines made excluding the Big3 Stern/JJP/CGC. If these games were truly standouts and if they checked all the boxes, sales might be a good place to look deeper. Listed for each are manufacturer, game, sales and manufacturer status.

American Pinball - Houdini - ceased production and retired game after shipping 1,000 games. Company currently producing OF and working on others.

Heighway Pinball - Alien - ceased production and retired games after shipping 180 games. Company was dissolved after bankruptcy.

Dutch Pinball - TBL - ceased production after shipping 50 games and nearing end of a court case with contract manufacturer. Company has been technically insolvent for years and running on fumes.

Spooky Pinball - TNA - ceased production after shipping 800 games. May be vaulted after current pin and Company is going strong making 1,200 games a year.

Spooky - ACNC - in production and shiping #200 /1500. Company is going strong.

A great "reality" post......

I've only played AlienLE and TBL out of these, so my vote barely counts. Alien was way more fun and appealing to me than TBL, and unfortunate more couldn't have gotten out along w the company achieving legitimacy, furthering the development. Amazing game......none of the others interest me much....

Are these boutiques causing any harm to Big3 Manufacturers? Spooky may have had the only direct impact.

AP had 1 pin in the past few years that sold 1k games. Nothing of theirs since has come close. Expect them to sell 500 games per year and to remain unnoticed. Zero impact.

HP had 1 pin in the past few years that sold less than 200 games and company is gone. Most manufacturers never heard of or have played an Alien. Zero impact.

DP had 1 pin in the past five years and less than 100 games were made. Zero impact.

Spooky has had 2 pins make the cut in four years and they have been building 1,200+ games per year lately. Minimum impact and measurable, definitely greater than zero. Spooky built a fully functioning factory from scratch and then scaled it bigger.

So tally things up ... Nobody but Spooky has put pressure on the big 3 and they did it by delivering games - one day at a time. Not by talking smack or making big promises, actions rather than words. Currently projected to produce 1,500 games @ $6.5k, Spooky is directing $10M away from Stern this year. That number is sufficiently large to grab Stern’s attention and force them to close the gap in features. Spooky and others probably caused Stern to move to lcd 10 years sooner than desired. ALL OTHER boutiques have added little more to the landscape than noise. Boutiques do not threaten the current market, thinking otherwise is foolhearty. Disclaimer - keep an eye on Spooky as the underdog and possible spoiler.

correct.....now, if a boutique Predator gets made (note "boutique", not "scam") I'll be looking hard (hell, I don't care who makes it...I think Stern or JJP could kill this one, and still a very desirable title (?)