Pinball is a very diverse hobby: buying, repairing, restoring, playing, modding, discussing, selling and then... buying something new! All the while you meet lots of fun people: I love the diversity of pinheads around the world

But my #1 reason why pinball rocks: The ball is wild!

Cool thread, stickied!

What keeps me in the hobby is the road is endless. It is a hobby that you really can't even scratch the surface, there are so many games that have been manufactured and continue to be manufactured that you will never get bored and lose interest. When someone gets tired of a title they can sell, trade and buy a new one. Another thing I will add is you can change the way a game plays in the features and options menu in a game. You could literally make a game play hundreds of different ways and really avoid getting bored too quickly. I find this interesting because many people never change settings and play the game the way they received it when they purchased it. This turns into what I call the baseball card traders-people who swap games out really quickly and are always searching for something better.

Another thing that keeps my interest is Pinball machines are functional and fashionable. Pinball is art that is functional. To me that gives me satisfaction and appreciation. I will also add that pinball machines hold their value for the most part and bring enjoyment for little to zero money lost. Not many hobbies out there where you can enjoy all aspects and not lose your ass when you go to sell.

I just sold my top of the line Harley Davidson Electra Glide, I paid $25,000 and had to give it away for $15,500 (2 years/2400 miles)- I was not happy, and learned a lesson from it. I can now say been there, done that.

Also I must add for me, Pinside is a big reason why I'm so big into the hobby. Met a lot of local people who are also into pinball through Pinside. Plus talk to countless others who I'll never meet but we like the same things.

I started small before Pinside, but may have drifted out of the hobby and certainly would not be as big into pinball were it not for Pinside and the community.

What keeps me in the hobby is when they release new pins! Keep it up! Limited edition!

The two major aspects of pinball for me are the people, as others have said, and the engineering aspects.

I love playing pinball with my friends!!

What keeps me in is my love for the game and what the next pin might be. Since a kid I couldn't keep my little fingerprints all over em. When shopping with my parents as a kid in the 70s you were always reminded not to lean on the glass displays. Pinball glass was the 1st glass I was allowed to touch without reprimand. When I started I used to love to swap in titles all the time but as the years go by the collection starts to become all of your favorites.

If it wasn't for all of you here at Pinside I probably would have left already from frustration. It's great putting faces to names at shows and making friends. It's a fantastic feeling when you get her up and running again but sometimes things just don't make sense and you need someones help. Thank you all for your help and entertainment in between.

Several times in my life I thought I would get out of the hobby, but then a new game was announced that I got interested in, or I learned a new skill, or made a new friend, or realized that I like fixing as much as playing. For all these things, I credit pinside.

As others have said: (1) people, (2) people, (3) people.

In my line of work I interact with lots of different people. I have come to find that I like the type of people pinball attracts the most. Pinball people are who I want to be around when I have free time. I love going to shows. I love going to tournaments. I love talking pinball with others.

As for playing, I love playing pinball. I could play every day for a couple hours a day and be happy, but I need someone to play with to have the most fun. I was very lucky in that my wife got super into pinball quick right when we started dating (she had never played a game of pinball before we were dating). PavBall actually was the main driver behind a couple of our machine purchases, which is awesome.

The themes that are coming out with new machines today are awesome. It seems like every six months there is a dream theme of some kind coming out. It's really incredible.

For me also Pinside itself is a big part of my enjoyment of the hobby. I've been a moderator here for a long time now. Y'all of course don't see it but the mod team debates (pinball and non-pinball) topics all the time behind the scenes about basically everything...and it's fun (usually).

1) electrical & mechanical aspect. chasing trons, making games work again. Tinkering on the games.
2) art; they look nice, cabinets might be the same dimensions, but each game looks unique.
3) play. Competing is fun, just flipping is fun.
4) people, I've met lots of crazy characters, on the hunt, in competition, at shows etc.
5) coin-op for some reason I'm attracted to coin/bill operated machines.

as said already by few, simply because i always had fun while playing pinball, from when i was 14/15 to now (50 years old)

the love of pinball !!!!!!! simple answer !

The adventure of it all!
The hunt, find and score!
Fixing a problem, then it works!
But yes, the people and friends ive meet are incredible.
And to top it off, my first non pin coin op purchase yesterday!

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I love the artwork, and the genius that went into the design of the game. I like mechanical things- I dont like video games_ I love to tinker and fix things up. If there is nothing to fix on a game, I might lose interest for a while...but I always come back because I Love the Rush of playing a good game!!!!

Exactly. The thrill of turning that switch on & seeing that long dead pinball machine come back to life after the hours & hours (& hours) of rebuilding it. Just had the pleasure yesterday - my $100 Seawitch worked almost flawlessly after 4~5 months of work.

So many things come to mind. A few of the top for me are:

1. Time with my kids. My youngest like to repair, play and compete.

2. The social part of making new friends and getting together to play, repair or compete.

3. The complex machinery of the games offers a wide array of "do it yourself" work at all skill levels. From changing rubbers all thxway to board repair and playfield swaps.

4. Discovering new games that I haven't played. Learning the rules to get better scoring.

So many things come to mind. A few of the top for me are:

1. Time with my kids. My youngest like to repair, play and compete.

2. The social part of making new friends and getting together to play, repair or compete.

3. The complex machinery of the games offers a wide array of "do it yourself" work at all skill levels. From changing rubbers all thxway to board repair and playfield swaps.

4. Discovering new games that I haven't played. Learning the rules to get better scoring.

Pinball is a great escape. You can get lost in the world underneath the glass which makes for an awesome stress reliever from work.

Unfortunately, there aren't many people in my area so its usually just me enjoying my pins.

Ditto

A bigger part than you may know....I only had 2 machines when you kept me from burning my TZ, and helped me dive deeper in repairland. That was a turning point for me...once I " beat it" and got it back to life, I was hooked....

I stay in the hobby so I will continue to read Pinside to see all of the unique usernames such as UltraPeepi.

Few thoughts:

1) As mentioned before in this thread, every machine is truly a work of art. Non pinball friends are always amazed when I show them underneath the playfield

2) No matter how much you play, no body is ever a perfect player. I have played 1000s of games of TAF. I have some good scores, but I still shoot games of 30 million.

3) Pinball brings people together. All my friends, and 4 year old daughter, love playing. Me and my father in law spend a lot of time tinkering with switches, adding mods, etc...

It's something I've never been able to "explain" to someone that hasn't experienced it. It happened at a young age, it's like imprinting. I have permanent memories, sights, sounds and smells from the arcades in the 60s. Maybe it was the ozone from all those switches and relays clicking. I will forever remember rows of pins, bowlers and skill games. The 80s shot the moon. I could draw a diagram of the games and their position in my local arcade. Close my eyes and I hear the sounds of the video attract modes. I still feel that inner thrill when I play. It will never go away. Now grown older, and sold most all of my pins, it hasn't changed. The thrill of the arcade will never die until I do.

A little over two years ago pinball was not even a thought nowhere in my mind.
Pinball came completely by accident to me.

About three years ago, because of my age (health), work, money and time, I had given up my hobby in dirt track stock car racing (but I still have all my gear, parts, trailer and a couple of race cars).
A couple of years ago I ran across someone who had a really nice looking F-14 Tomcat that had been sitting in their garage since 1998.
I told them that I remembered playing that machine as a youngster. they told me that it didn't work and that I should load it up and take it home with me.
Not knowing if $500 was too much for it or was a good deal, I took my chances and paid them the 500 they were asking.
I had it working that same evening and have bought 20 other pins since then....Don't hate me for saying this, but I don't really get that much out of playing pinball (I get enough play working on them).
Like others have said, they are pieces of art and I love that about them...and the gratification of getting them working and fixing them up.
I have come to realize that collecting pinball machines is an addiction, and the addiction is REAL!
Out of the few pins I have, so far, the F-14 is the most I have ever paid for one.
....Anyway, I guess you could say pinball is my new hobby and it's the "ART" that keeps me coming back for more.

Edit: And I might add, EM's do bring back childhood memories that I've never forgotten....the sounds of the chimes, bells and score reels

Thx for starting the thread.

I think it’s fairly easy to see how people get drawn into pinball; but I think this summarizes (for me) how it is able to have staying power as a long term hobby.

Get burned out on refurbishing? Play some pinball. Getting frustrated playing? Show your machine(s) some love. Tired of polishing? Go to a show, or barcade, meet some people, see something new. And always keep an eye out for the next machine to buy or trade.

Also, I’d be amazed if there weren’t health benefits to all of the aspects in this hobby.

Pinball is no longer a hobby for me, kind of miss those days.

Well put!

Wrong thread:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/why-do-people-leave-the-hobby

The girls...

Oh sorry wrong forum.

I love the challenge- fixing, playing, hunting for the next pin.

I like the hunt, the art, playing them. It's the people that keep me in it though. When I get burnt out and want to throw in the towel it's the friends I've made through the hobby that keep it interesting.

That and there is always that guy just starting out that comes to buy a machine and freaks out a little when he sees my humble game room. "Whoa, where did you find this stuff?!" You kind of forget how special it can be until you see it again with a fresh perspective.

I bought my first machine because there was no pinball machine on location within 20 miles of my house that actually worked 100%.

That, and the ability to play 24/7 any time I want at literally a moment's notice, is what keeps me owning machines.

My wife and I loved pinball way before kids and bought a pin right after marriage. It is a hobby that we both share a passion for. Kids put a hold on that. Now that the kids are older, we revived that hobby passion. At first it was the thrill of the hunt, fixing them, and tasteful modding that people enjoy. As we acquired them, we enjoyed playing them more and having our own mini-arcade and decorating our arcade room (still on-going). With all of the great NIB pins currently out there, the hunt has turned into "Where can we play that new pin? Is that the next one we want?" And save, save, ... try to save for our latest favorite. We started going to pinball expos and shows to try these new pins. We have met some great people - some we recognize from one show to the next and have some laughs with them. There are some great people here on Pinside that inspire us (even though my daughter says that you enable us). LOL

Escaping the rat race, stress, and distracting us from thoughts of work or the worry of the day has always been the side benefit that helps to feed the addiction to the hobby. So our pinball life adventure keeps morphing into more involvement into this underground hobby.

Truly though it is sharing this fun with my wife. That really makes this great!

This & this!!

Damn, I saw that thread before this one and replied to the topic in the other, so I'll copy and paste here:

I think this is a really good point. And, something else I find interesting, the people who I have known in the hobby the longest are people who tend to not post here much.

I don't mean that as any way a knock on Pinside in any way, but I think that it some ways this comes on because those people who have been around for a long time really know a lot of how things work and what things do, and a site like Pinside tends to regurgitate a lot of the same information. I mean, I haven't been posting lately or reading lately, and when I stop by the majority of threads are things that I have already talked about often before. And, there is this weird thing where often I find that if myself or others that have been around for a long time write a reply about something, our responses will often be dismissed more because we don't post as much.

Or, as some people know I love, because I "only own 2 games."

I think to really stay *in* the hobby, you need to find a local support group and a few people who are really your collecting "mentors" if you will. Ones that will talk with you honestly about what they think of a game, what a game price should be, will pass on deals to you when they find them and aren't interested and who you do the same back to. When you get that, it feels like a community.

Just because of what Pinside is, you've got a TON of people and there is no easy way to do that. If I tomorrow wanted to sell a game and posted it, if it was $1000 under the going rate, people would hop on it to flip it or whatever. And of course they would, it's the internet, why not?

But, even in the last few years, I have had people who knew I was looking for certain games find one and text or call me to say hey, I'm here and they have this game you mentioned you want, it's this price, do you want it? I had a friend relatively recently sell me a BSD for what most people would say was a STUPID good price because he told me I'd have first crack at it at that same price about six years ago when he got it, and he came through with his word. When (I suppose if, as I LOVE that game) I go to sell it, I would pass it on to a friend first for about the same price before listing it here or whatever for way more.

Having that sort of personal relationship is what keeps me in it. I still love to think and share pinball, and I do still come here when I can and enjoy it since I ignore most of the weird stuff, but I think that is what is hard to cultivate if you don't start it somewhere else first.

For the love of the game and great childhood memories #TripleAction B60WizWorld

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For the love of the game and great childhood memories #TripleAction B60WizWorld

As I play more pinball:
my girlfriend/fiancé, Russian immigrant Veronika plays more pinball too. She was completely new to pinball.

The memories that will keep her in pinball are the memories we are creating now.

That said I love watching her play she freaks out, trying to stay alive...

I think her favorite game is attack from Mars.

Pinball is once again Creating the unmistakeable unshakeable attraction now. In me and her...

I only play pinball because it attracts all the ladies. Most of the time it was hard to even see the pinball machines in the arcade because of the crowds of girls around them.

It's all about nostalgia for me, but in a way with all the cool mods out there there like the ultimate legos...if you can soldier lol

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What should keep us in the hobby is that it helps you live long and stay young!

Happy Birthday Wayne Neyens (turning 99 I believe) and the great Steve Kordek (prematurely left us at 100).

Play Pinball and Prosper!!

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Being able to connect new entrants to the market with the machine they remember from onsite and seeing them play it again for the first time in twenty plus years.

Priceless, and it beats playing the merry go round market equivalent of musical chairs with the same long term domestic buyers any day of the week.

First and foremost is the cool pinheads I have met. Most of them are very creative, smart and usually successful in one or more areas of their lives.
What keeps me going is the new friends ive made being in this hobby. And creating new custom mods. Like this one:

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People.

The friends I have made keep me in the hobby. --- So many good people, so many good times...

Who else will listen and engage in all of the topics of pinball (machines, events, places, art, sounds, software, pre-order ....).

My outside friends' eyes will glaze over when I start a pinball discussion.

For me

#1) it is playing. And I have to think that most that are on this topic that has to be what keeps you in the hobby.
After that it’s all bonuses. (Just like pinball)
The hunt
Getting a game going again.
The people
Tournaments
Talking pinball
Expo’s
Hunting pinball in the wild
That feeling you get when you fire up a game that takes you back to your youth for me it Williams systems 6 and 7 those sounds take me back to some good times/ memories
And on and on and but all of those take me back to #1 lets play some pinball….

Several things keep me in: The hunt...how cool is it to crawl around a warehouse to find a Fathom sitting under 18 years of dust. Or getting a text from a total stranger asking if you are interested in a pinball machine. The people...most people that I have met are fantastic; they are willing to share information and help with issues. League nights are great! Repairs...how cool is it to take a 35 year old machine and bring it back to life? The gameplay...no two games are the same. You can have 5 of the same titles lined up side by side, and none of them play the same. It is fun to learn strategies, and then try to recover when you mess up. The machines...options, options, options. It is great to play a game of Dipsy Doodle, and jump over to Medieval Madness. You can find a machine that works your nudging skills, and then jump on one that should have handlebars for you to hold on to because the action is so fast. As I think about it, there aren't many things that I don't like about this hobby.

honestly, it's being able to come onto a website like pinside, find a thread about a machine I own, post an oddball or advanced newb question, and getting at least 1-2 responses within a day offering real advice on how to fix something. I stay away from posting in a lot of the "popular" threads and the drama that comes with them. Game specific and tech specific threads have an outpouring of knowledge from people. I considering buying NIB but, I realized I wouldn't get to actually talk to anyone about how to fix something...

pinball is fun

I believe pinball was popular in a time where certain generations grew up playing it as our way of having some fun. Computer game consoles started entering the market but I never really got the same enjoyment out of playing them as I did with pinball. Now many of the same generations can afford, to some degree, a pinball machine in their home. It started as a hobby but now is a sickness. I may need to build on to my home to support my passion. Pinball is a part of my past that I can relive each and every day. It is a part of my past that still makes me feel like a kid.

Are you my doppelgänger??? So true and right there w ya!!!