Ah the “I don’t get it” post.

Not everything is for everybody, and that’s ok. Don’t understand the point of asking people to convince you otherwise.

For me, it’s a fun game with fun shots and excellent rules. And I have a passing fancy with iron maiden’s art and music. The 4 flipper multi directional action is a nice change from most newer games.

That’s probably what others will say. Does that make you suddenly like Maiden?

The four flipper multi direction vibe is a nice change from other new games, and the modes are all distinct and well thought out and a nice change from the usual “shoot flashing arrow” deal.

Pop placement and the satisfying shot through them is cool too.

That lower spinner shot to.

Lots to appreciate in the game.

Or not. Not every game is for every person.

It's like TZ in a regular cabinet at least that's what it resembles to me. Without the stop and go action that people generally dislike TZ for... all of that is replaced with orbits and ramps which make it a faster more flow type game. That was the draw for me.

Shots, rules, and art. If you don't like any of these things on maiden than I doubt a bunch of people on the Internet will change your mind.

Can't believe I never thought of that. This explains why TZ and IMDN are my favorite games. Thanks.

As for why I like Maiden: it is the incredible layout. Every shot is different, fun and remarkably challenging. Honestly, I cannot envision this ever leaving my collection.

Try it again and enjoy the vibe.

Keith Elwin. He infused his ideas that he’s been working on for years and years.

It's challenging but fair. Not a lot of cheap drains in it but will punish you if you miss your shots. Lots of things to do and ways to approach them.

One thing that makes the game great for me is the spectacular call outs. If you are playing in an arcade or bar chances are you won't hear most of them.
At home I have turned up the volume for just the call outs and lowered the music just a tad. Then on top of that I have a headphone jack installed and the game is amazing. This game really benefits from being able to hear the two characters laugh at you and tell you what to shoot for.
And oh yea, the rules are so deep you will be learning the game for months.

It’s different than many many modern and even older pins because of...

^^ This

...rules, code, polish is so well thought out and the call outs (script) are some of the best in pinball and fit so well with the theme. It has great flow and is very deep with lots of diverse objectives. If that’s not your thing, then I’m not sure what is...maybe a bash toy in the middle you shoot a million times that’s interactive?

Nothing.

This is what I thought for a long while, I think the build up and "hype" of the game made people expect that it will change their lives. It's just a pinball machine. But it does have a lot of fresh ideas, and very creative shots / rules / modes. That's it. I was "meh" until I bought it. It's a great game!

everything but the theme / music.
i love the game, hate the music. The play field layout, shots, call outs, rules, lights and voices are all great IMO.

It's a fantastic game, both to play on your own or competing with friends or in a league/tourney.

Why? The layout and rules. There's depth and breadth and balance to this game.
Depth = the nuance of what you can do in each mode and over the course of all the modes, and interaction factors of your mode success that then influences the scoring and unlocking of other features. The Depth here on interaction factors are crazy good. Do I want to qualify/start my mode now, or wait until I'm one shot away from a MB so I can stack the MB onto the mode? The pressure it creates on claiming a Soul Shard (earned by skillful play in each mode) that's on a short timer/hurry-up, with knowledge that it unlocks a Tomb Treasure and dramatically increases my potential scoring in the Wizard mode.

Breadth = at any given time, you have the option of shooting for modes, or two major multiballs, or aggregate # shots to all the shots to qualify a mini-wizard mode and ratchet up a Power Jackpot that can be grown geometrically if you don't cash it in (but you lose it all if you drain before claiming it), or qualifying/starting playfield X, or shooting for Loop Jackpots (while increasing your risk of outlane drains), or going for Combos and Deathblows particularly if you've just claimed an advance Tomb Treasure that makes them worth 5x for remainder of ball, or trying to earn REVIVE outlane drain saves.
Plus, it's got a mode that's all about ripping lit spinners -- one of my favorite things to do in all of pinball.

Balance: Any single mode or multiball can either be crap scoring or ridiculously huge scoring based on how you perform, including the mini-wizard modes.

Layout: the two upper flippers present unique and challenging shots that the player has the option of using them, or letting the ball come back down to main flippers, depending on the player's risk/reward decisions.

I appreciate the mocking/humor and energy in the callouts, too.

I'm not a fan of Iron Maiden's music or the theme, but this pin is fantastic.

BINGO!!!! I love Maiden, but all I see is a mashup rip off of 90's williams games put together. I have played it a bunch and its a good game and doesn't shoot anything like TZ, but dame those flippers are exactly set up like TZ right down to holding the flipper up to make a tight shot more open. Its also got a little Congo pop bumper vibe going on also, and surprise, surprise its been said that the Volcano shot on Congo is one of Elwins all time favorite shots in pinball.

Congo was not the first machine to have a ramp shot through the pops, FYI. All machines borrow design ideas.

For me its the flow and speed that the relatively-open playfield provides. Sure there are tough shots that encourage you to slow down and play very controlled but when the speed builds up in multiball or when racking up the loop jackpot it is the most fun I have ever had playing pinball. When you get Hallowed be thy name combined with Trooper multiball and you have to hit loops on the upper flippers while still hitting the ramps and orbits with the lower flippers the adrenaline rush is amazing. The fabulous rules keep me coming back for more.

And hitting the loops and getting huge jackpots is addictive and so satisfying.

The kids use the Youtubes it truley is your friend.

http://tiltforums.com/c/game-specific/rulesheet-wikis

one of many examples.

If you don’t get it, it’s not worth trying to explain it. It’s one of the greatest flowing pins of all time, matched with one of the greatest bands of all time. My friend, this is why this hobby is so great, we are all so different and so aren’t the pins we love.

DIng Ding Ding

You never know....some people EVEN own a Goldball, craaaazy world out there

I like it for the same reasons I like Judge Dredd. I don't care what music is playing any more than I do when I'm playing JD.

I have six stern games Iron maiden is definitely my favorite of them lots of great shots on there and again the fourth flipper and challenging shots make it a favorite If a person likes kiss then they should like Aerosmith since it is the same game just re-purposed. I was tired of the same old bash something in the Middle of the game. I have the LE version and it has been the most reliable Stern in my Collection.

one of the greatest flowing pins of all time. very original, like nothing else Stern has put out (that's becoming harder and harder to find) and because it gives you lots of great music tracks to listen to while you play pinball (using pinball browser that is)

This! Scoring balance is probably the best in pinball history. There are a dozen ways to blow it up. I recently played Maiden with some of the best players in the world at IL state finals, and no two people approached it the same way. As opposed to like, pretty much every other game in the room, where they laser focused on the one best exploitable strategy.

That said, if it’s not for you, play something else.

Then you’re not interested in learning. Some of these newer games take lots and lots of practice and also reviewing hours and hours of gameplay and tutorials to become an expert and see all the game has to offer.

I wouldn’t force trying to like it. You either want to put the time in to learn the game, or you don’t.

Luckily for you, Stern published a backstage pass (rulesheet) before the game was even released. Shouldn't take more than 15-20 minutes to read: https://sternpinball.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/IM-Backstage-Pass-Rules.pdf

The flow and the scoring

If you like Maiden, that's also a bonus.

the loops and combos up top are really satisfying. the rules are complex but not too confusing. stacking a multiball, 3x pf multiplier, a mode, loop jackpots, etc together feels good.

you dont have to like everything. I'm not a fan of the other IRON stern game and people go "ZOMGOSH WUT" when i say it i think its just meh.

More in-depth and up to date rulesheet can be found here: http://tiltforums.com/t/iron-maiden-pinball-rulesheet-wip/3787

Played it the other day. Wasn’t a fan

Love Deadpool though.

Watch Elwin play the best Trooper Multiball I've ever seen streamed. This pin is fun, frenetic, and exciting -- especially when you've got 3x playfield running and hitting your shots in Trooper (or any other mode/multiball for that matter). https://www.twitch.tv/videos/366481820?t=05h09m40s

I love my IMDN for all the reasons already mentioned. You'll always find people that won't like certain pins, even any of the top 10 (or 20). You name it, there will be someone that doesn't care for it. Its cool, we are all individuals.

I love that you can blow up any mode or multi-ball for huge points. I also like that there are various stages and a lot of depth for multi-balls such as Trooper. The deeper you get, the more intense it gets! When you really blow it up it's a lot of fun.

Power Jackpot is a great feature as well, it's like the Song Jackpot on ACDC on steroids. I put up this Jackpot a couple of nights ago!

PowerJackpot (resized).jpg

IMG_20180601_170858 (resized).jpg

Thinking JM here. Josh's first ball was *bananas*

White shots give you E-D-D-I-E letters. Once you've spelled EDDIE, the yellow insert up near the center shot will light up to let you know your modes are ready. Shoot up there to start a mode.

In any mode, shoot lit shots. If the mode is a multiball, you'll get an add a ball the first time you hit the purple mystery shot in the lower left.

Spelling M-U-M-M-Y (the upper captive ball) will light a lock (up the middle on the pro, left ramp on Premium/LE). Lock your ball. Spell it a second time, and then your next captive ball will start mummy multiball. Hit all lit yellow shots for an add-a-ball and a new ball saver.

Trooper Multiball is through the drop targets. Keep knocking them down until your locks are lit (green arrows on right orbit and inner left orbit). Then lock 3 balls to start multiball. Hit the lit shots. Add-a-ball is first shot up the middle when the insert is doing a multicolor swirl.

Is that enough for now, or do you want more?

Awesome flow and challenging modes. Playing Maiden is like getting a tutorial from Elwin himself. It is fast, fun, addictive, and epic. It will make you a better player.

I've loved that layout since it was Archer. I think what separates it from other Stern games are the combo possibilities it created by having those extra flippers. They each feed nicely to upper orbits, which can be repeated or interrupted by a vertical post. It actually reminds me a lot of a better flowing Twilight Zone. Instead of feeding the camera and piano, which stop the flow on Twilight Zone, those shots feed loops on Iron Maiden.

I created "Game Guides" for many pinball games.

They are intended to be a faster way to learn...
--- an interactive shot map - makes it easy to see what to do
--- formatted to work well on a cell phone (use while playing)

Here's the ones for Iron Maiden:

- PRO: http://pinballzoo.com/Games/GameTips?id=901
- Premium: http://pinballzoo.com/Games/GameTips?id=918

Thanks for posting.
Enjoyed reading that.
So many skill shots need to be added though.

Love games with 3 or 4 flippers. I wish Stern would make at least a 3 flipper game now and then. Iron Maiden clicked for me right away even though I really don't like the theme. Love all the shots, loops, and how a lot of things were close to the start button as Dwight says. I think it's the best Stern game in a long while. If it doesn't click for you then play a game that does. A lot of other popular games like WOZ and TWD don't click for me.

Stern has a few multi-flipper games

Off the top of my head (not counting LE games like GOT, ACDC, and AERO that add flippers)

The Beatles
Elvis
Star Trek
Spider-Man
Family Guy
TSPP
TRON
X-Men
WPT
Ripleys