Twilight Zone
Addams Family
Funhouse
Ripley's
Dialed In
Quoted from Diospinball:I like Rollercoster Tycoon. Won't lie. The theme is very meh to me. As I've never played the game. But, I do like some of the callouts and animations. And I love all the ramps.
But, I guess its the code where this game fails. Its too easy to manipulate to get big points and so tourney players hate it. But, since I play for fun. I've always enjoyed shooting a few games of this when I see one at an expo.
Agree. My choices were shot layout based. Rules are lacking and I have made it to park tycoon twice in a game playing all modes through. Would love to see this with a new rule set and Rudy face talking rather than troll bobbling.
Quoted from Agent_Hero:Only 3 out of 41 posts mention Nascar/Grand Prix. It's basically Gofers without the wonky rules and trick shot. I think the modes are pretty fun and the shots are smooth.
You probably have to be into the theme, which I'm sure many here are not.
I found it to be a fun, flowey game with decent rules, and represented the theme very well.
Quoted from CLEllison:I'm also surprised to see almost everyone lists Funhouse and not just that but apparently they like it more than TAF?! And yet TAF has always been an (A) list game and Funhouse always...
Quoted from usandthem:The Addams Family...No longer would there be alpha-numeric display...People underrate it perhaps ...
1. I must have missed when TAF invented the DMD
2. That's all fine and well, the title isn't what is the most important or historically significant. Although I've always liked plenty of other Lawlors over TAF
Quoted from o-din:You probably have to be into the theme, which I'm sure many here are not.
Actually it's more simple than that, you have to NOT be a theme whore and give games a chance, which true, many here are not.
Peple don't want to give it a chance becasue it's Nascar, yet it makes fun of nascar, and half the people here are hayseeds so it's always confused me.
Almost as confusing as someone saying it's like NGG.
Quoted from TheLaw:Peple don't want to give it a chance becasue it's Nascar, yet it makes fin of nascar, and half the popele here are hayseeds so it's always confused me.
I believe it is the $2000-$2500 price tag that has deterred many.
Bonzai Run and Whirlwind the best two games he has ever designed as far as I’m concerned. I could list 3 more games he designed to make a top five but not going to do that because these are the top 2 everything else is too distant to be on the same list .
1. Banzai Run
2. Dialed In
3. Road Show
4. Whirlwind
5. Twilight Zone
The top two are quite easy for me. I do find it very difficult to fill the lower three spots. I mean, how can Addams Family not be in it? And still, there it is.
Quoted from TheLaw:1. I must have missed when TAF invented the DMD
2. That's all fine and well, the title isn't what is the most important or historically significant. Although I've always liked plenty of other Lawlors over TAFActually it's more simple than that, you have to NOT be a theme whore and give games a chance, which true, many here are not.
Peple don't want to give it a chance becasue it's Nascar, yet it makes fun of nascar, and half the people here are hayseeds so it's always confused me.Almost as confusing as someone saying it's like NGG.
You're right. TAF wasn't the first game with a DMD. There were a couple of titles before TAF with DMD's that were mostly forgettable.
We are all just listing permutations of his games as there isn't a bad one in the bunch. Pat's games break the bell curve in terms of quality.
With that, I'll toss out my list
And honestly, each of those games could move +/- 2 positions --- Except DI which clearly is #1 IMHO.
... Altan
Quoted from usandthem:You're right. TAF wasn't the first game with a DMD. There were a couple of titles before TAF with DMD's that were mostly forgettable.
Yep, little games that no one played like T2.
Quoted from usandthem:You're right. TAF wasn't the first game with a DMD. There were a couple of titles before TAF with DMD's that were mostly forgettable.
Slugfest , GIlliagans island , and yes T2
Slugfest being a pitch n bat not included
1. Whirlwind. Own one. Been my favorite since I was a kid
2. Addams Family. Want one someday. Played it a ton as a kid
3. Twilight zone
4. Banzai Run.
5. Earthshaker
Quoted from whitey:T2 forgettable? I know operators that made the same or more off T2 on location. Great movie Great Game
Same for Gilligan's Island, great TV show, great game
big Pat Lawlor fan here, my top 5 Lawlor games:
1- Twilight Zone
2- FunHouse
3- The Addams Family
4- Whirlwind
5- Road Show
I own a few pins at home including TZ and FunHouse and those two actually are my #1 and #2 All-time.
I owned a Dialed In for a while and did not like it at all...couldn't wait to get rid of it.
Adams
Whirlwind
Funhouse
Dialed in
Banzai
His games tend to live or die by the software since the playfields are all so similar. Some good layouts (road show, Rollercoaster) ruined by bad software.
Its really hard to compare 80's/90's games to the modern versions (DI, Wonka)....game code is far more complex these days. Not sure if thats a good or bad thing? Theres something about a game with great layout, and simple rules that isn't easy to beat. Some of the code on these modern games has gotten overly complex.
Twilight zone
Dialed in
Road show
Addams family
?
Somehow I really dislike funhouse no matter how much I try to like it. So its far outside of top 5 for me.
1. Dialed In
2. Willy Wonka
3. JJP Pat Lawlor Title
4. JJP Pat Lawlor Title
5. JJP Pat Lawlor Title
LTG : )
1)TAF was my first pin (and only bought so far). Ten years in and I still love it!
2)Dialed In. Thought there was no way I’d enjoy a game with a cellphone in it, but I am addicted and very close to purchasing one.
3) WW. Man, I didn’t get this game at first. Love the movie since I was a child but first games were chaotic and incomprehensible to me. But the more time I’ve put in, the more I love. Am moving to a new home next month, where I have room for some pins, and can’t decide between DI or WW.
4) Funhouse. Have been addicted since the first game I shot on it over a decade ago. Rudy creeps me out, but I love that plastic weirdo.
5) WW. Played my first game on it last month, and honestly didn’t realize I was being hit with a fan, thought I was under an AC vent. Best game to play on a hot summer day!!
Thank you, Pat Lawlor!
If we went by era. I'd go with :
1. The Addams Family
2. Funhouse
3. Twilight Zone
4. Safecracker
5. No Good Gofers
LTG : )
Twilight zone, dialed in, road show, rbion, and whirlwind.
Owned a family guy. Loved the theme, but the layout is so boring and uninspired. That's a game where the theme carries the game.
1. Whirlwind. Excellent, challenging layout. Great rules with a cool interpretation of a cool theme (moving the storm across the map) and a difficult and satisfying side ramp. Phenomenal music, callouts, and sound design that create a great sense of tension. Fan feels good.
2. No Good Gofers. Potentially mundane theme made exciting with a good sense of humor and some of Vince Pontarelli's finest guitar work. Another great ruleset/theme integration combo with you actually playing a round of golf. Nailing a hole in one is damn cool, and so is the super deep explosion sound that accompanies jackpots. Buzz and Bud are clever toys that combine MM's trolls with ramp and scoop shots.
3. Willy Wonka. Brilliant layout with super smooth left and right ramps, and lots of fun gimmicks like the Gobstopper, Wonkavator, and the magnet that pulls the ball off the left ramp. Strong rules with modes that are very fun to stack. Absolutely chaotic lightshow. Good interpretation of a long overdue theme, and bonus points for actually incorporating Wonka's deranged boat poem.
4. Earthshaker. Unique kinetic action like the captive ball, eject that feeds the side flipper, and the cool spiral skill shot. The integration of the San Andreas fault is genius. Most of the stuff that makes Whirlwind great was first used here.
5. Banzai Run. A gimmick, but a fun one. Vertical playfield is difficult, and the cliff jump is great fun. Defeating the King is nerve-wracking. All four of Brian Schmidt's System 11 games feature quite possibly the four greatest main themes in pinball.
Wonka is likely higher than Gofers, but I still haven't played it enough to say so certainly.
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