LOL at the next to last choice.

XM is my first NIB, but when I get a new title I will often put it on 5 ball play. NEVER with the glass off!

I've yet to buy a NIB pin, but I voted anyway. I like discovering pins that I never remember playing, I suppose thats what it would be like for me with a NIB one that I didn't know the rules on either.

Just got LOTR 3 weeks ago, set everything to xtra-easy or easy. My 5 year old is scoring 75MM, so will probably bump up the settings some as I learn it.

If I am going to play a pin at a friends house that I have never played before I will watch a PAPA or Bowen Kerins vid if they exist to learn the rules/ strategy. Otherwise in my own home, the most common answer 3 ball glass on learn as you go.

I usually set and level. Then play...then call friends over to play if I am confident it played ok (level) and no silly little things like switches are failing.

Cool new thread idea by the way!

Good thread.

I play the pin to ensure it works before I buy it...after I get it home I break it down, clean it, buy fun mods and LED's, install them and put it back together (usually with some curse words). Then I play them for a little and sell or trade them out....except for BSD

Glass on, 3 ball

3 ball, glass on. Suffer....

If you run through the game by hand all you're doing is shortening the lifespan.
Play it like you had to in the arcade, that's what it was designed for.

Why would you cheat yourself out of reaching each goal? That’s like buying a readymade puzzle.

Glass on, 3 ball.. Took me over 7 years to finally *complete* the Final Battle on my Shadow but it was one of the most rewarding experiences ever

Glass on, 3 ball. I figure it out as I go. I prefer the system 11 era, easier rule set and best bang for the buck. Got an ES a few months ago and took me until last week to get the high score.

Of course, if you buy it from someone who has crazy skills, you can always reset the scores

If it's a newer game (TSPP,SM), same method and never get to wizard mode. That's why they are gone, to much effort. Still have LOTR, but once again, I will never see Valinor.

Bill

Most of the fun for me is discovering new things in a game so I don't watch the Bowen tutorials. If I want to see something happen I need to play well enough. I do like breaking down gameplay to play the game more efficiently and I think it is a reason I get to wizard modes pretty quickly in games.

Glass on, 3 balls. Maybe change some settings to an easier level. Set all existing high scores to zero. Invite some friends to give them the chance to become grand champion... at least for a while.

Glass on, 5 ball as practice. Once I "get it" I will switch back to 3 ball.

Something tells me TZ will be 5 ball for a while. HS2 is on 3 ball.

I really need to get better at slapping, because TZ is a SDTM beast!