If I had space for one more game and $10k budget I would buy one of those: ST Pro / TWD Pro or Prem / Mustang Boss / Ghostbusters and spend the rest on 1) the NIB opening party 2) vacations/WE with The Wife.

LL by P3 is an amazing and great game, an excellent addition to any pinball collection.
But given the following:
*just getting into the hobby
*only having room for a single machine
*spending 10K
*wanting to hit a home run out of the gate

I keep coming back to the fact that all brand new, undelivered but great sounding titles are a risky proposition until they have been out in the wild for a while and have nearly final version code.

Right now, probably a Woz because my wife likes it, but I wish we knew what Alien was going to look like and play like. Even with the subpar playfield artwork that's been shown, it still has incredible potential.

I second this. Oh what, I have a Hobbit.

If reliability is an issue, then I'd go with ACDC PREM, TRON, or GBLE (though we don't know its reliability). But these list of pins are brutal player games.

If this is not for me and for a new pinhead with limited skills, I'd go MM, MB, or MET LE (if he likes the music)

Monsterbash. It's not the hardest game but god damn I love that silly theme.

I get the question and certainly appreciate the varied answers. I've had a lot of pins come and go over 6 years now. NIB, high end restored, players games, and projects. It's still hard to find a game with more overall package than Medieval Madness. I would say get an MMR. It's got great flow, humor, challenges for the skilled player, and the adult language can be turned off. It's just all around fun!

Your friend has a great problem!

Woz.

With 10K I would buy a very clean Joust Pinball or a mint Varkon.

Never would I spend 10k on a pin. I'd take 3k and expand the space to accommodate more pins and then use the remaining 7k to get 3, maybe 4 pins, in the 2k-3k range. I've yet to find one single pin that is so satisfying you don't need anything else.

I think this thread needs a poll! I vote Hobbit or WOZ RR.

HEP Hardbody!
Oh wait, that was Centerflank's and or, O-Din's answer...
My bad.
HEP Future Spa!
You would have enough money to get the proto art done for both BG+PF to boot AND have custom sounds/speech/music/lighting if you wanted it...
Maybe some etherial tracks from Stereolab for the music?

I wish I had a 10k budget when I was getting my first pin

If you truly only have room for one pin and that's what you're looking to spend then it would easily be any of the top A list machines. TZ, MM, AFM, or MB would be at the top if your trying to spend 10k in one go around. TH, WOZ, and some of the newer sterns might suffice as well.

I honestly would get the best pins for the money and work out that combination with a 10k budget... I'm always on the side of more pin is better until you've owned everything that you've ever wanted to play.

At that point you decide what your keepers are and go get them...

So he loves your MMr, that's why he wants a pin but not an MMr because you have one ...

AFMr, he likes the MM layout, he likes the AFMr layout

Funny you mention this game. I actually got to play this for the first time in the local arcade the other day... it just kind of popped up and from what I understand its a fairly rare game to find in the wild less that 700-800 made.

The art work is a trip and probably one of the coolest psychedelic machines ever made... love that time snail ha!

The game was tough as old boots... I think it was actually subtracting points for hitting the horseshoe loop the wrong way... very interesting game.

If I was limited to one pin, it would definitely be LOTR.

Get him on a STLE

solar fire

Collapse? Nope. Slow down of sales across the board? Possibly sooner than later...
There are new buyers for used and new games daily, when it could slow down is totally TBD.
"Insanity"? I do not know what that means as it's pretty damn vague of a term...
Price/Quality is all totally relative. At the moment there is still a maintainable market for new and used games.

Back to the original topic?
I don't know of a game that to me is worth $10k.
I like decent "deals". Like many others I'd get a few for that $$,$$$.$$

Since he already has the ability to play your machines, I might suggest a TZ or TAF. Then again, I see you've given TAF a 1 of 10. Personally, I've yet to play any machine I'd rank lower then a 4, and TAF is quite a ways from the worst machines I've played. Oh well, to each their own. I guess stick with TZ.

If it has to be a new game for someone that is fairly new to pinball SMVE would be a great pick. Lots of shots, toys, and not overly hard. If he wanted and older restored game AFM or MB would be my picks for a single game line up.

I see two ways to go. If he wants the pin mainly to enjoy playing it himself, then attending that upcoming show should get him valuable exposure to a lot of pins to find one he really likes.

But if getting a pin for his office is mainly for show to impress visitors, then WoZ is a great choice, despite him not being overall impressed with it. It may the perfect pin as a show piece to impress non-pinball friends and business acquaintances.

multimorphic...you get 5 games for that price and huge discount on new future games

pasted_image_(resized).png

I don't think there is a single game I would not get tired of if I had to limit my collection to one pin. I'd have to swap it out eventually for something new.

Last year I bought the following classic Bally games for less than $10K...

Eight Ball Deluxe $1,800
Paragon $1,200
Fathom $2,500
Playboy $1,000
Flash Gordon $1,500
Space Invaders $1,200

Just saying...

Rob Bell
Robsgameroom.com

Wizard of Oz,or Full Throttle

Can this still be bought?

TronLE if you like speed and simple rules but very addictive.
LOTR LE if you like adventure games and has deep rule set.
TWDLe if you love the series and are a decent player.
TAF (restored) if you like the classics, this one is timeless.

It really depends on your taste but all these machines have completed code which is key if his collection is small. Heck they're all great!

I believe so. Cointaker is who you need to call. They may have stopped taking orders until they ship out all the preorders though.

With your games and history my list would be TZ, AFM, GB, or SMVE.

My vote right now would be TRON LE, TRON just keeps pulling me back in for another game...

Looks like we had a similar year!

Paragon $1150 (after adding a bgresto glass)
Medusa $1900
Skateball $900

DE Star Wars with autographed translite

Seeing your games and that what he has access to will influence his decision helps. GB is tempting, it's really fun. I tend to lean towards humor or music over dark and serious. TZ is an amazing game and for a long time was a perfect compliment to an MM. It is everything MM isn't p, but in a good way. To me, the modern re-incarnation of TZ is WOZ. Purely on theme, TZ beats WOZ for me. As amazing as all of the the 90s Bally Williams games are, the Sterns of the last 4 to 5 years are just as good. There is no denying that Stern has been literally nailing it lately. Does he like, humor, Sci-Fi, music etc? Thesecare good questions for him to ask. At some point, he should just take the plunge!

MM

Hopefully - I need to see what I can fit. Fathom, Embryon, Skateball, Medusa and Congo are coming for sure. I was planning to bring my CPR Black Knight, but I bet people would enjoy Time Fantasy more.

Yikes, spending 10k on a pin? if one game would command it, I think it's woz. I would diversify and get two or three for a 10k budget.

FULL THROTTLE or ALIEN

Metallica Premium or LE. Buy a nice Taxi with whatever is leftover.

GBLE, METLE, STLE or maybe TBL.