posting within a minute ! ....

Within that two year break this is what's happened relating to your collection:

Lord of the Rings - And so it begins.....
Scared Stiff... Elvira came back for more haunts right as you went on hiatus from pinball
Judge Dredd: Sylvester Stallone finished filming Expendables 4 no longer interested in being part of his own franchise
Star Trek: The Next Generation... Capt. Picard Is BACK on the air... and Kirk actually went to "space"
Shadow, The - Alec Baldwin still mad about people taking his parking spots & is a real "boss baby"
Twilight Zone - We are all living it during these two years.
White Water - This will be the norm with current climate change.
The Simpsons Pinball Party - Still amazingly on the air, Hank azaria first announced he was stepping down from voicing Apu in January 2020

Took a 7 year break from pinball, sold all my machines when I had kids. Now the kids are in school (grade 2 and 3) and I’ve gotten back into the hobby. Missed it too much. Wish I had kept some of my older machines though, especially seeing the premium some of my previous pins (Tron and LOTR LE for example) are now commanding.

I took a break from pinball competition in 2016. Fully intended on getting back to it in February 2020 but the world had different plans...

I shook up my meager home collection instead, which was also in limbo and barely touched.

Couple of years - my other “big” hobby is playing music. I was still married to my first wife about 15 years ago and started jamming with some buddies. It wasn’t exactly my type of music but it was fun and we got a lot done. Eventually that petered out as I started to lose interest around the same time it became more of an argument every time I’d go (typically it was a Friday-to-Sunday thing, kind of a lot). Eventually it wasn’t worth the hassle.

Well, I’ve been married to my 2nd wife for 11 years now, and back in a band full time, working on our 2nd release now. I think that was also a 7 year break

Kinda thinking about getting out of pinball right now too, just have so much else going on. The kid is 12 and getting into a lot of new stuff.

Similarly this has happened with myself. I have played only a few games for less than 10 minutes at a time. The games are not in the way or cluttering up any spaces, so it is easy to let them remain in place.

I routed my entire collection for about 2 1/2 years. Missed the games at home, but enjoyed the pocket change they provided on route, have a different appreciation for pinball as a whole afterward and am no longer OCD and so picky about games.

Kinda tempted to route again, but theres already a ton of stellar locations around me.

I am of the opinion that if you are not playing your games, it is time to let them go and either trade them for something else, or move them on to someone else who will enjoy them in the hobby.

As to long breaks from hobbies, I took a big break from my aquarium hobby when I joined the Marine Corps. Fish don't do well on their own when you disappear to the middle east for 6 months at a time. Even after picking it back up, I tend to go with one type of setup for a few years and then trade/switch it out for something else. In the past decade I have gone from freshwater shrimp, to planted tank, to African Cichlid tank, to saltwater reef. This was done responsibly where more fish/plants/coral were traded to, sold to, or given to fellow hobbyists than went into the tank (fish/coral/plants reproduce). After a while, hobbies can get stale, and switching things out can make a huge difference.

If you are tired of your pin but still want to have pinballs in your house, put them up for trade. Someone will show up at your house, deposit a brand new (pin) to you in your basement, and leave with a pin you weren't using anyways.

Sometimes it's not having what you want, but wanting what you've got.

I collected pins from 2000-2009. Sold everything when I got divorced. Also I was doing repairs for a lot of people at the time and it turned the hobby into a second job which sucked the fun out of it and the life out of me.

Got back in the hobby in 2019 with my then gf - got a STTNG as we are trekkies and I figured it would be a nice way to introduce her to pins. Once she "got it" she was hooked. At first she'd even argue with me that it was impossible to actually aim for things. She honestly thought there was nothing else to pinball other than "don't let the ball drain".

She has since moved in (a year ago). We have a 6-game lineup which is fine. Would I like having 60? sure... But this way we actually play all our games every day. She is getting to be a really good player. It's fun to watch the improvement. Also this time around I have a bit more available cash so the games are new/newer. Way less maintenance... I've been asked already to do repairs for others but for now I am not really pushing that. Once I retire and have more spare time I may get into it more.

I tend to go all in with hobbies. After selling all my games in 2009 I went all in to RC Airplanes and helicopters with my oldest son. Had over a dozen airplanes and half a dozen helos. Big enclosed trailer. When he left I sold everything and went into dirt biking with my youngest son. When he left I sold his bike and bought the STTNG. I still have my bike and gear but haven't been out in 2 years. I suppose I could trade it for a pinball lol but no room unless it sits in the garage where the bike is. I do have a Fathom Mermaid edition on order but don't expect that before spring 2022.