I LOVE TOM

Looks like you want to buy ToM.

I have a TOM, I wish I had a TAF, and I know little about the other two. Are other players a factor in your decision? I find TOM is an all-around enjoyed game. Girls in particular choose TOM over my other pins. It's pretty easy to figure out too.

TAF>MM>TZ>TOM

Personally, I'd take Twilight Zone. I think it's a pretty awesome game with a lot going on. I currently onw TZ and TAF. I've played TOM (not that impressed) and have played MM (I'd love to have one someday but not at the price they currently command).

So, based on that, I'd pick TZ.

Dave

Agreed.

TOM is fun to play, but can get old quick when you own it. Did not have the staying power for me. Lasted the least amount of time in my collection. Would pick MM then TAF then TZ over TOM.

All great pins to own someday

I'd go with Twilight Zone, as long as you don't mind tweaking and potentially repairing complicated mechanisms. It's just quirky and fun and no one strategy dominates. Lots of variety with flipper angle, sling and kickout adjustments, and different rubbers. Great all-around package.

Medieval Madness has a great theme and an awesome "easy to learn, difficult to master" setup. It's always satisfying to set up a big madness multiball stack.

Addams family is fun, but not as good as TZ or MM. The "avoid the second multiball lock at all costs" when you're trying to tour the mansion is frustrating, and not in a good way, at least for me. Timing out the magnet also gets old fast.

Theater of Magic is avoidable. The Pinball Arcade version is misleading due to the near impossibility of live catching and cradling, but in the real world it gets old pretty quick. Time out any mode you manage to start on accident and loop the left orbit all day. Half a bajillion orbits and a grand champ score later... meh. The audio also gets kind of unbearable after a while.

Buy theater of magic!

TOM never gets boring? Have you played it enough? I've owned it for several years and it's the JPop game that gets boring the fastest.

Which of these games have you put 50+ plays on? If there are some you have not played at least 50 games on, take them off your list, because you have not played them enough to make and informed decision.

#1 Addams Family
#2 Theatre of Magic
#3 Twilight Zone

But remember, we are all attacked to different machines for different reasons.
I wouldn't dismiss any of those titles because they are all great classic pins.
Even though I put Addams Family on top, if a Twilight Zone in nice shape came up locally for the right money, that would be my #1.

You left out Monster Bash.........great game

I'm not sure if you have a seller for each sitting in the wings, but assuming you did have access to all 4 right now, which are considered harder to find? TOM and MM? Which are easier/more available? TZ and TAF? All things considered, if you'd be happy with either, and if you have access to all right now, I would get the one that would probably be hardest to find/acquire in future.

So TOM or MM, and with MMr, TOM sounds like best choice?

Nice choice to have, luck!

I'd go Addams.

If you don't have a lot of experience with optos/troubleshooting, you might get frustrated with Theatre of Magic at the beginning with trunk issues. When you go to check out the games, look at the ring on top of the board underneath the trunk, if it's not aluminum (silver), you'll want to upgrade that.

You can get self-adjusting opto boards for the outlanes, so you won't have to troubleshoot once you get it going. I picked one up this summer on the lower end, shopped it out, blinged it up, waxed it, and it's a blast & fast. I don't see it leaving anytime soon, and I only have room for three pins.

When people come over to play, it's ALWAYS on Theatre of Magic, they play a game of Lord of the Rings and then move back to ToM every time. Part of what's fun to me at this point in pinball is sharing, and ToM is a newbie-friendly game. Something to think about.

TZ or TAF! TOM is very repetitious and overrated. MM is good but expensive and not woth the 8k plus price point. You can grab TZ and TAF for 5-6k all day and then mod the hell out of them. Good luck!

TOM, TAF, TZ, and MM are all very, very good pins. I would replace MM with AFM and that would be my dream collection. I have really good memories of TZ and TAF. I probably prefer TZ but a little concerned about the packed playfield when it comes to maintenance. TAF has an amazing layout and fun gameplay but I'm not a huge fan of the theme or music. I have only played TOM a few times but really like it. I don't think it would get boring at all. It looks gorgeous, plays fun, and has plenty of shots. If it does get old, it will not be hard to sell it - same for any of these pins.

I'd go: TZ, MM, TOM and then not far behind TAF. All are very good though.
~Steveo

MM for ~$2500? What? That game must be completely trashed. Reproduction on the horizon or not, that's dirt cheap.

TOM

TZ
Addams
far behind: MM
Not even on the radar screen: Tom

If you REALLY like JPop, consider the less expensive and much more playable WCS '94.

I probably say MM . But that is the one out of your list I have never owned. For you I think TOM is a good choice . I like JPOP games . And The spirit ring shot (Right Ramp ) never gets old. If it is rare it Poland then you could if so inclined possibly sell easier down the road. I personally have a mid sized collection with a lot of variety . I bought my first Theatre of magic in 1997 . Sold it in 2002. Bought it back again at double the price in 2007 . Still own it. Great pinball to convert to LED's .

100_0112.JPG

You are kidding. With the cost of MM you could buy 4 DMD pins...
Assuming MM = 6000 euros. I would buy
Stargate : 1300
WCS94: 1100
Dr Who : 1200
WPT: 2000
total: 5600, give or take a few hundreds. Add an EM if you can.

You can't go wrong with anything on your list but my personal favorit would be Twilight Zone. I just love how deep the pin is and I praticaly learn of something new every time I play it.

OP stated previously that the MM he has a line on is 2300 euros. Seems like a steal, even if there are multiple things wrong with it.

yes, but virtual pinball (tho not the same) is close enough, to give you an understanding of the rules and the gameplay. Enough to be counted as playing the machine. TOM looks great and has probably the best looking cabinet in pinball. But i'd be careful. It gets old real fast and not that eventful to play in a short period of time. I owned TOM for 3 or 4 years, TAF for 7. TZ for 10. I'd still take TZ over any of them with a close second to TAF. If you own either TAF or TZ you really don't need to own the other one in a small collection, because they play and feel so much alike. Rules are almost the same.

Rules are simple. Mode based game. Light the mode start item. Start the mode. Play the mode out, start another. Play all the modes= ending of the game. JP is the poor mans TAF. I find it just as fun. Same with Tommy.

I have all 4 and have had them all for over 10 years now. All games are absolutely mint and play perfect. Here's how I would rate them although it was hard to pick between MM & TZ.

Medieval Madness
Twilight Zone
The Addams Family
Theatre of Magic

I believe just about everyone that stops by to play would rate them close to the same

After reading several posts by the OP, I would recommend buying whichever of the games is in the very best shape. He said he likes them all and they are all about the same price where he is in Poland (which apparently means they are all much cheaper there than here). But he also noted that games there are not well maintained and frequently have visible damage. So I think he should choose based on condition.

Maybe, but not me. Several people I know have both TZ and TAF (they seem to be standard games in a lot of people's pin collections). TZ was a must-own for me and I 've had mine for almost twenty years. I've played TAF many times but don't really like it (mainly the theme and the music) and have never even considered owning one. MM is a terrific game, but I have AFM (which I like more) and I never thought I needed MM because the two are so similar. A friend prefers TOTAN to ToM while I prefer ToM to TOTAN, so he has a mint TOTAN and I hunted down a proto ToM for my collection.

Wow, 100% with everything you said after that.

Tz has been my most reliable pin and Addams and tom have just as many things that can break . Ive put 3k games on my tz and its still the one I play the most just didn't get bored of it but tom I believe I would get bored of fast which y I haven't owned it yet but I do want to own a Addams very soon.