(Topic ID: 336739)

What’s the sweet spot for number of pins in a collection?

By Caponicus

10 months ago


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  • 79 posts
  • 66 Pinsiders participating
  • Latest reply 10 months ago by PrinzFred
  • Topic is favorited by 1 Pinsider

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    Topic poll

    “What’s the sweet spot for number of pins in a collection?”

    • 2 3 votes
      1%
    • 3 9 votes
      4%
    • 4 16 votes
      7%
    • 5 25 votes
      10%
    • 6 24 votes
      10%
    • 7-10 71 votes
      30%
    • >10 92 votes
      38%

    (240 votes)

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    There are 79 posts in this topic. You are on page 2 of 2.
    #51 10 months ago

    I was most happy when I had one. I (and my kids) played it all the time. Since then, I have rationalized countless versions of how many is just enough. I have the space and means for about a dozen now. It’s great, but I rarely play all of them. One good game, play the heck out of it and then try something new. That’s probably best.

    #52 10 months ago

    I'm at around 17 usually. Wish I could drop down to 10. I've tried but always seem to fail.

    I also have to many ww kayaks, and mtn bikes. Which begs the question. Do you collect other things in such numbers?

    I need someone to call and get clean house involved and have a yard sale. Admitting you have a problem is the first step. Haha

    #53 10 months ago
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    #54 10 months ago

    Of course this depends on space available and the spouse/family factor.
    IMO the most interesting collections are those that span the entire history
    of development. From 1931 to the present. Including non-main stream
    pins like bingos, one-ball and some verging on arcade machines.
    How many? 52 here, about 32 set up and playing at any one time.
    But no rug rats and a wife that (sort of) tolerates this hobby.

    #55 10 months ago
    Quoted from Caponicus:

    How many pins before the marginal return doesn’t pay off? Put another way, what is the max number of pins to own while keeping engaged with each one? There are always limitations like financial constraints, space, or effort. But at an emotional level where is the sweet spot?

    I mean, how much do you play? How many eras are you into? My sweet spot is 16-17. That’s cause I like to have 3-4 for all different eras, and I like all companies.

    I also have parties and tournaments all throughout the year.

    If you’re not regularly playing them, not really any point to have more than a few id say.

    #56 10 months ago

    As many that I can fit in my house while still having a a house I can walk around in

    #57 10 months ago

    If you arnt crawling under a machine to get somewhere else you probably have room for another pin!

    #59 10 months ago

    This is the correct answer!

    Quoted from ray-dude:

    The ideal number of pins in a collection is one more than you currently have

    Quoted from ray-dude:

    The ideal number of pins in a collection is one more than you currently have

    #60 10 months ago
    Quoted from F__U:I'm at around 17 usually. Wish I could drop down to 10. I've tried but always seem to fail.
    I also have to many ww kayaks, and mtn bikes. Which begs the question. Do you collect other things in such numbers?
    I need someone to call and get clean house involved and have a yard sale. Admitting you have a problem is the first step. Haha

    I was on either the right or wrong track. Started downsizing and didn’t purchase a game for over 5 years and then “Boom”, purchased 4 this year!

    #61 10 months ago

    I have the space in my arcade for probably about 25 or so pins. But I choose to limit my pin collection to one particular wall in which 7 pins fit very nicely. So my permanent collection is always a max of 7. All the other spaces are taken up with arcade games, claw machine, slot machine, juke box... This way I can keep all my pins up and running and clean at all times. Everything in my arcade works at all times. If something breaks it gets fixed asap as I can't enjoy playing anything else with a broken game in there. So 7 pins is what I find to be a manageable amount of pins to keep working and clean at all times. Now my workshop usually has a game or 2 (usually EMs as I love working on them) that I will fix and sell and throw that money in my pin account. So...the answer is 7.

    #62 10 months ago

    To me this is like asking "how big of a TV is too big" or "how much $ is too much" or "how big of a....." nevermind.

    The answer is "more".

    #63 10 months ago

    When someone asks me how many pins I have, I say "Depends on who you ask. The wife says too many, I say not enough".

    #64 10 months ago

    It's like having fish in a fish tank... the more room you have (and money) the more it will grow.

    It also depends on how fast you want to cycle them.. if you plan on keeping them all then there is no upper limit. If you are cool trading out a game every few months then you could probably get by with 2 or 3.

    #65 10 months ago

    At max I had something over 40 games. Realizing I have games that I haven't played in months, and in general I didn't have time enough to keep them all in mint condition, I downsized the collection to 16.

    Now the games are in better shape, and I was able to move to a smaller gameroom with about half the rent. Do I regret selling the games? Sure, sometimes. But then I have the best ones left.

    #66 10 months ago

    I have 11 and theres possibly room for one more if I squeeze them tighter. I dont play them all regularly like I did when I had 5 or so. But I love looking at them all. Ill not play one for a few months and then get obsessed with it again.

    For me right now its around 11-12 but i could certainly live with 5 someday.

    #67 10 months ago

    Its really whatever your comfortable with, space, money and other factors. Myself, even i know that i have to many and still looking for more. Do i play them all, no way, it would be hard to personally give them the attention that they need. But i open my place to the public occasionally, and the more people that i can make have big smiles on their face, the better. Im currently adding on to my warehouse and seeing the end of it very soon, and its all to make the experience for others better. Ill be able to add another 30-50 games, but now that other is more room, im going to add a few other things that people enjoy like a skeeball, a pair of drivers. My son is 12 (other kids are out of the house) and i want him to invite his friends to play often, but not just the friends, the entire family of the friends. I dont do this for advertisement or to try to make sales either. I get a ton of joy seeing the smiles that im able to help create.

    We have had 80 people over before on a given night, with the space doubled, we can accomodate more. I only do it once every month or two, and hoping to increase that. Also, considering hosting tournaments occasionally to. If your ever in central illinois, just drop me a message, if i have nothing going on, ill open up. Otherwise, pay attention to out facebook page for our occasional open houses

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    #68 10 months ago

    It's a little difficult to answer the OP's question honestly. The question that I am inclined to answer (and the one that some have likely actually answered) is: how many machines would I like to have?

    However, the OP is asking: what is the "sweet spot?"

    For me, I don't know yet. I'm not the only one who uses the pins regularly. My children and grandchildren also play so, currently with 13 (and a SD CE on order), I don't think that I have hit that sweet spot yet (meaning, I haven't hit the sweet spot for my extended family, as I'm not the only one playing). I have certainly found that more machines does mean fixing more issues (my grandson found 3 new issues today, all on different pins) but it also means more variety for more people. My instinct tells me 30 would be the sweet spot in our setting, considering my extended family. Though, I'm not sure that I want to invest the time in maintaining all of them (which could potentially lower the number of pins that qualifies as "the sweet spot").

    Now, how many do I want? As many as I can afford and find space for (even if I can't play them all every night). Perhaps, as the collection grows and the work to maintain them all increases proportionately, I might change my mind. So, for me and my family, I haven't hit that "sweet spot" just yet. It's a great question, though.

    #69 10 months ago

    Thank you all for sharing. Interesting how varied some of the numbers are even with thoughtful responses.
    It is human nature that the joy gained from each additional acquisition diminishes. But it’s cool to see how many ways there are to maintain and share that joy. Also refreshing for those of you who admitted being happy after shrinking your collection.
    I like the concept of churning games to keep the “new to me” feeling and also enjoy the thrill of the hunt. I am restricted by space more than anything else and will probably not know where my own sweet spot is for quite some time, if ever. But one can dream. And live vicariously.

    #70 10 months ago

    My current number seems correct…till I get the next one! Current line up:
    1 Em (you have to play EMs often)
    1 Data East
    2 Segas
    3 Modern Sterns (One more stern on the way later this year)
    I find that I can only really be good at 4 pins at a time and when I switch to one that I haven’t played in awhile I suck again! No pin goes more than a week without being played. And the kids have their favorite that they stick to. So 7 is a wonderful sweet spot, but I also only have space for one more pin before I encroach on other parts of the house. Oh, I also only have two circuits in the pinball area down stairs. 4 pins, the home theater, and a mame cabinet on one circuit. 2 pins, a record player, receiver, and overhead lights on the other. Truth, the Em is in the formal living room because it matches the room beautifully. 8 is is the magic number, but only because I can’t have 9.

    #71 10 months ago

    I think 20-25 pins would be the perfect size collection with various manufacturers for variety. I have pins that have not been played in some time but I still love them and am unable to let them go yet. I have gotten to the point where I have been there done that and my list of machines I want to own has shrunk(only a few left on wishlist).
    Purchasing a virtual pinball machine with tons of tables last year I think helped me curb my appetite. I also collect arcade machines and I am finally reaching the point of having everything I ever wanted(having MAME has helped not having too many dedicated). Get a virtual pinball and arcade with MAME and you will be surprised how it fills your cup.

    #72 10 months ago

    Half of my dozen or so machines are “collectibles” that I love and intend to keep indefinitely but only play occasionally. The others are played regularly, could be easily replaced, and typically turnover every 6-18 months. Imagine most people with large collections are only actively playing a handful at any point in time; typically the newest adds.

    #73 10 months ago
    Quoted from luckymoey:

    Imagine most people with large collections are only actively playing a handful at any point in time; typically the newest adds.

    Yes the honeymoon stage is real-play Godzilla everyday while I have not played WOF in over a year(still love it).

    #74 10 months ago

    The only correct answer:

    "To Infinity, and beyond!!!'

    Actually, it depends upon how much you can afford in a couple of ways.

    How much can you afford in purchase of the machines

    How much can you afford in storage/presentation space for the machines

    How much can you afford in maintenance/upkeep of the machines

    In a commercial setting, I have a friend who services a pinball bar. About thirty machines. He spends all day Wednesday every week doing service on the machines. Then he returns on Friday with the parts he needed on Wednesday and spends half a day to a full day Friday finishing up. Twelve to Sixteen hours of weekly skilled labor to keep about thirty machines in good repair when put in front of the public.

    Before I sell a used machine it takes me 20-40 hours of labor to properly service it, before I put it on my showroom floor.

    On my showroom, it seems that for every six months a machine stays plugged in for people to come and play it before they buy, I'll spend a couple of hours. Gottliebs will need re-bulbing every year, there will be burned out bulbs on every pinball that uses them, minor mechanical problems, even if the number of plays is very low. This would probably be less in a home collection that is only plugged in rarely, but it's still something to consider.

    I knew a collector in St. Louis who had a goal of collecting every Wurlitzer Jukebox model ever produced. He got them (as far as I know, all of them!), and all of them were working. After five or six years, he was pretty unhappy. Every time he went to play his jukeboxes there was some machine out of order, and the constant effort to keep the machines in tip-top condition had caused all the fun to drain away from his collection.

    I can assure you that it takes a heck of a skilled pinball technician to keep a large collection of pinballs in perfect operating condition. Hugh Hefner was a pinball enthusiast, and he spoke many times about the close relationship he had with his pinball technician. Whoever does the service on your extensive collection of pinballs is going to be spending enough time with you to become family.

    So, it comes down to affording how much money and time in your life you are going to spend on this hobby.

    If I won the Billion dollar lottery, I'd probably have a truly substantial collection of machines. Short of that, I'd need to see what I can afford in all the ways I'd need to afford for my collection.

    #75 10 months ago

    Wrote about this a few weeks ago

    Item #2 in this blog post …

    https://thepinballloft.com/2023/03/27/twelve/

    #76 10 months ago
    Quoted from PinRetail:

    Actually, it depends upon how much you can afford in a couple of ways.

    How much can you afford in purchase of the machines

    How much can you afford in storage/presentation space for the machines

    How much can you afford in maintenance/upkeep of the machines

    Quoted from PinRetail:

    If I won the Billion dollar lottery, I'd probably have a truly substantial collection of machines. Short of that, I'd need to see what I can afford in all the ways I'd need to afford for my collection.

    Well said, and I agree with all of this.

    #77 10 months ago

    I have a lot, 15 but room for 3-4 more (max). I could go months without turning on a specific pin, but my pins don't get old as they would if I only had 2-3 and just played them over and over.

    #79 10 months ago

    I think as many as you can fit and afford. When I designed my basement I had 2 pins and boxes on my plans for 4. Fast forward to 10 years and I've had as many as 20 (max that can fit). I thought about starting to put them in the dining room and bedrooms, but my friends said perspective GFs might find that weird . . . I want to downsize to a house that can fit more pins and has a bigger garage and shop . . . Or perhaps get a shop / garage that I can add more

    There are 79 posts in this topic. You are on page 2 of 2.

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