Quoted from DaveH:Judge Dredd. Ugh, just thinking about that game makes me dry heave. I went to look at a Rollergames, but the playfield was too blown out and I didn't want to invest the time. However, he also had a Judge Dredd, and I ended up flinging it in my truck. What a mistake. I got it home and cured a few issues so it was fully playable, and I was going to give it a full shop job... but I decided to play it for a while first. I was a bit surprised how much I didn't like it. But I put that down to the fact that I was looking at it, and it was going to be a pretty involved shop job. But then as I played it more, I realized it wasn't the fact that it needed a full shop job, I hated the shots. I hated not being able to see the ball well, I hated the rules, I hated the inlanes, I hated everything about the game.
Two weeks later, I hated pinball. I hated having them in my house. I wanted to quit the hobby by just owning this turd. That night, the ad went up. I put it up for the same price I paid, and sounded desperate to get rid of the load. Someone offered me $400 bucks less than I paid for it, and it was gone the next afternoon. It is the only pinball machine I've owned that I hated like that. Within an hour of it being gone I was happily playing pinball in my house again, and all was good with the world. I've played a few different copies of Dredd since then... and hated it each time. I can't look at that playfield without thinking a sledgehammer and a deep hole is the only fix for it.
I only partially regret buying it. I did learn that it is a lot better to come back with an empty truck than a pinball machine you are not 100% on board with buying. And I also learned JD was the worst pinball machine ever made and every copy should be tossed in the bin.
Dave H. Thank you. One of the best posts I have ever read on Pinside. And I am a fan of JD! Well done! john