Just over one week ago! Swords of Fury - turned up a 5 minute drive from my house. Local collector and pinsider, couldn’t be happier with how it went down. Loving the game as well, the family and friends (and me!) are having a blast playing it, and I’m having fun trying to learn how to best maintain it. Already ordered some new bulbs and parts to put my mark on it. The plan is to get it a partner in the Spring, just figuring out what DMD or newer pin would compliment it in a 2-machine collection.

February 15, 2004 when I bought my Twilight Zone.

feb 09 I bought a evel Knievel for $500 then December I bought a black knight for $800. Led's weren't really a thing yet.

12/2014 Pinbot for $1800. If I ever sell it, which is hard to imagine, I know I will get at least as much back in my pocket. What a world.

My first game was Bally Night Rider EM, $350. Not sure exact date, Feb. 2009? I was still in elementary school, my crazy dad got me into this hobby!

October 20, 2012. Bought Tee’d Off in great shape for $2,000.

Solar City 1979

First game was the Harlem Globetrotters that I bought at a garage sale site unseen for $200 working on August 10th 1996. Second game was on November 20th the same year for $50. Aaaa.....the good old days!! Total games purchased to date is 652.

John

Space Station purchased in 1999

Got my MMPM in June '09. Bought it on eBay. Had no idea what I was doing. Paid a little too much, but nothing crazy. Game was in great shape. I got lucky

I believe it was spring 1997 when I bought a road kings and still have the exact game. Next game was whirlwind then funhouse. Still have them too. And the avalanche of games ensued from there. lol
Best decisions I ever made.

I was able to get a couple of games free in the early to late 70’s. Wizard! and Dodge City. Both in poor shape with Dodge City found next to a dumpster.

First purchase was in 2001 on Ebay. Wizard! The seller offered free shipping and brought it down from Atlanta. Stuffed it into his Honda Accord and removed one of the back doors because machine wouldn’t fit. Nonetheless, cabinet got scratched up.

December 18, 1988 purchased a Bally Flip Flop for 200 through a Trading Post ad. Sold to my brother-in-law and he still has it. I am on Flip Flop #4 now.

March, 2002 bought a Tommy on eBay for $2200 (a little high back then but included shipping and was in nice shape). I still own it!

Winter 2002 in France, I bought an STTNG for 400€ during the great pinball depression where cafes replaced all their games with tables.

January 2017, Williams Little Chief.

On game #52 since then.

little chief (resized).jpg

1982 $100 EM

Time Line and Hot Hand projects from the96stang on 8/17/15. ~80 more since...

Mid Oct 1993
WMS Laser Cue

This seems to be a trend. When I bought SOF the guy chuckled and said “welcome to the addiction”. The friend who initially got me into this laughed rather loud when I said I only wanted to buy one. I’m starting to see what they they were talking about . Now my brother has been asking pinball related questions, but not like he’s interested he says, more just asking you know...

This is some serious middle-aged crack you people have discovered. Ticks off all the boxes...nostalgia, too much fun, geekiness, wrench-turning, an excuse to knock back some beers and play(!) with friends and family, something me and my son can work on together, and the possibility of electrocution. Good times!!

I bought Hook either Sept 11 or 18th, 1999 at an auction for 700.

Dracula by Stern. 1984 November. I just turned 15 years old. Just reacquired 2 years ago as Big Al stored it for me for 30 years.
Almost done with the restore.

15752353721137417505440473753083 (resized).jpg

15752354123594548997080963737974 (resized).jpg

Indiana Jones on 10-23-16 for $5000. Overall it worked well but had several problems Here and there that needed repairs. Which is actually what I wanted as was looking for new hobby. Just recently got every single small thing corrected (with lots of mods of course!). Now what do I do.....?

Don’t remember the exact date, but 2005. Back to the Future, $300.

Late summer 1997. Funhouse for $800.

9-7-1996: A working Cyclone for $600 from an arcade auction at the Indianan State Fair Grounds.

Cyclone; May 5, 2006. $900ish. Still have it.

Holy crap look at this guy!!! We have a 1 pin man for OVER 3 years!!! How is that possible?!?

My first pin purchase!
Drop-A-Card from ejacques
2016-11-19 for $200 it worked and we played it in the back of Radioshack.
My store was one of the last to be closed and my boss thought it was pretty awesome to have a pinball machine in the back room lol

Now I’m on pin ~20 or so have most of them still. Probably 80% are projects

October 18, 2018. World Cup Soccer for $2700. Wanted to see if I've have as much fun playing pinball at home as I'd had at Crabtowne, and find out if I could sell a machine for what I had into it. I could never justify $10,000 worth of toys in the basement... but I can justify having $10,000 worth of liquid assets I can enjoy in the basement. Played the crap out of WCS until I got multiple World Cup victories in a single game. Have bought and sold a dozen in the past year, learning much in the process and having a ton of fun. I've played every day since I got my first pin. 10/10 would do again. TSPP and/or Twilight Zone is next!

How is this possible? Fireball II July of 2018, fast forward to present day, 4 early Bally SS with more to come!

Royal Rumble 1300 September 2003.
Free delivery.lol. Sold it 2018 and a lot of
arcades and dove in hard.

First game purchase for me was a Gottlieb "2001" in 2004. I paid $50 for it at a yard sale. For me, that was a LOT of money back then. I was 14 then, and I mowed lawns for money. The game was broken when I bought it, stumbled on Clay's guides, repaired it in my garage, and the rest was history.

Still have the game in my collection. I don't think I could ever part with it. Too sentimental.

August 4th 2015. It was a Ripley’s and I wasn’t sure if it would fit in the basement of my new house. It did, and so did the 39 others I’ve had in and out ever since. Best impulse purchase ever!

06/17/2011 Space Shuttle, 500 bucks. Beat up playfield and flaky GI, but excellent backglass and it played great.

*edit* averaging 5.8 games per year into my condo....going down the last few years, as the first 3-4 were probably over 10/year

November 1977 - Buckaroo for $30

November 1999 Black Pyramid bought at an auction for $350.

Black Knight, 1989 - $100 (needed repair)

August 1986. Wms Gulfstream EM when a local operator was cleaning out his warehouse.

Spring of 2000. Bought a working but blows a fuse Gorgar for $150.

July 2014. $100 Dipsy Doodle.

Fall of 1983, uncle game me flash that needed some work

Summer 2001 Williams HS paid $900 got it home lifted head glass promptly fell out an shattered. Add $200 for new glass from TNT amusements....

Received a data east SW as a gift for Christmas in 2003. Bought a JP shortly after that because those were the two games I played as a kid. But my addiction really started in 2008 for my 30th birthday when I got a NIB stern IJ4. I didn’t even know you could buy new games or what they were like. Now I have all kinds of crazy games and pinball is probably behind the other entertainment items I have in dollars spend.

First, bought an Eight Ball Deluxe LE in November of 1984 (with money we received from our wedding). Still have the same machine (and same wife).

Next, bought a WhiteWater in November of 1996 (still have that machine too).

Finally, bought a Mousin' Around in May of 2004 (and yes, still have it, but thinking of selling it to get a MM remake).

So, only bought 3 machines in 35 years, and never sold one...guess I've managed to keep the addiction in check.