I have a question for club members. I do not own a WNBJM even though I always kind of wanted to (when Stern released these I was a little gun shy based on the price coupled with the fact I had never played one).

If I manage to find one used at this point, I'm kind of curious about the wood finish for the cabinet and backbox. Every photo I've seen of the Stern model is always always a gray cabinet with dark wood backbox. But in this unboxing video, the color scheme is completely reversed. (Check out at the 45 minute mark.)

Personally, I think I would prefer one like in the video - dark wood cabinet/gray backbox. Was this a limited edition or something? I can't find any info about this one.

So do any owners have the wood finish on the cabinet and backbox reversed? Because that video is the only time I've seen a Stern model look like that. Curiously, that one was on loan from Stern so I have no idea what happened to it once it was shipped back.

Looks like I just joined the club! Anyone know what the wood pieces are for in the second photo? Were these in case I wanted to attach legs to the front of the cabinet? If I'm using the crate, are leg protectors supposed to be exposed in the back like on mine?

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My WNBJM that arrived today is all set up and I have a couple of questions for fellow club members.

1. Does anyone know where I can go to get more details on the different difficulty levels for the game?
2. Is it normal for the power supply's fan to be loud? I suppose I don't notice while playing, but man is it noticeable when the machine is powered on and waiting for the next game. If you take the backglass off, it sounds like a 747 getting ready for takeoff.

Right - but was wondering what was the difference between Sweet/Sassy/Stern.

Also curious about some other things I noticed while rummaging around in the menu...

I noticed in the feature adjustments where I can install bell #1/#2/#3; is this to install an actual physical bell? I noticed earlier there was a discussion in this thread about installing bells, but the game already has bell sounds built in - so, forgive my ignorance - can anyone enlighten me on what is the difference? (Real bells sound better?)

Also, I noticed the default setting for the rollover lanes is for your progress to carryover from ball to ball. For a true EM experience, would this normally happen? I'm thinking about setting this so the lanes reset after your ball drains but would be interested in other opinions on what they like.

True, but one of the first things I did was turn off ball save. That just seemed like blasphemy on this machine.

And thank you jfesler for the very insightful topic you posted about the chimes.

Curious if there is a way to.configure this in the menu. Or do I first need to install real bells/chimes to experience this?

I had some other questions too after having fun with this game the past few days...

I swear there are times I make the skillshot and I'm awarded with one or more rollover lanes in addition to 200 points, but it doesn't always happen. So the machine could be trying to make me think I'm crazy, but is there some kind of logic on what the reward is for the skillshot? (This is with the latest 1.52 code btw.)

Maybe this is a flaw in the rules, but I actually think it would be to my advantage to NOT hit the gobble hole once I have all four rollover lanes lit. (Although I do like hearing it's"thumpin' time". )

I asked this earlier, but does anyone know the difference between the Sweet/Sassy/Stern difficulty settings?

For everyone with the watermelon shooter rod (the one that's the full melon) - this might sound like I'm making a dumb joke, but should the knob feel sticky or should it be smooth to the touch like any other shooter knob? I have one of these and it almost feels like the palm of my hand should be green after touching it. I'm thinking about reapplying the paint job or buying another one.

My thinking is while the machine was wrapped in a furniture blanket in a hot delivery truck, it somehow absorbed the clear coat off the knob. (The knob was actually covered in the fuzz from the blanket when it first arrived.) I cleaned it up and have had it for a couple of months now, but it always felt weird to me so I just wanted to be sure it wasn't supposed to be like that. My advice to anyone shipping this pin with a watermelon shooter - wrap the knob in a plastic bag to protect it. (EDIT: Oh boy. Reading that out loud sure sounds bad.)

Yes, as I reread my advice "wrap the knob in plastic to protect it" - I imagined Mr. Furley walking in just as he hears Jack and Chrissy saying this from the bedroom and then he starts to freak out.

I posted a couple of weeks ago about a messed up watermelon shooter rod. I decided "screw it" and ordered a replacement. First, I think the replacement is better, but it's also a little odd in a different way. The photo below shows the new one and it seems to have a weird issue similar to the one NorCalRealtor posted on the first page of this thread. It feels smooth except for that strange spot with all the tiny dimples. (Right there you can't feel any kind of clear coat - but at least it's not sticky like my other one!)

So my question now is, should I quit while I'm ahead? (Does everyone's kind of look like this at the base?) Or do I have a high probability of getting an even better one that's smooth all over if I try to exchange this?

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Thanks for sharing PinsideMike. (And maybe I should look into enhancing my TOTAN with a Melony as well. )

I ordered mine from Game Room Guys. Went back on their site and it shows "this item is no longer available." Looks like I might've bought the last one, so my chances are diminishing that I'm going to be able to replace this with a better one.

Yeah after reflecting on it some more I was coming to the same conclusion as well. My machines bring out the worst in my OCD and what I pay for them always makes me want to keep them immaculate, which gets a little maddening.

I'm thinking as long as I apply some clear coat to the rough spot no one will ever even know there's an imperfection. Would anyone have a recommendation on what product I should use to apply a coat?

Very nice!

Playing it last night I kind of had an epiphany. I can't say it's the greatest game ever (not with a straight face at least), but man is it one of the most fun tables I've ever played. I imagine anyone unfamiliar with it would think I'm joking until they tried it firsthand.

Anyways - I'm suddenly noticing something that I realize is kind of a silly problem. Whenever my ball travels back down the shooter lane, once it hits the plunger tip it ricochets up and hits the glass with a loud "THWACK!!!!!" which scared the bejeezus out of me the first time. I have the playfield properly pitched at 4 degrees. Does anyone else's ball behave like this?

Thanks. The problem seems to have gone away now that I've pulled the rubber tip a few millimeters off the shooter rod. Funny how that makes all the difference in the world.

Are the beer cans still sold anywhere?

I need to replace the battery but can't get to my backbox right now. The manual says to use a CR232. Can I assume someone meant to type CR2032?

I've heard the number 300 tossed around.

I had a question about something that happened tonight. My game is set to award an extra ball at 3,000 points. Played two games in a row where this didn't happen so I thought I would investigate the settings. Then I noticed the little DMD screen was unplugged (which I suppose has happened before). Plugged in the screen, had to reboot the game, and then I could confirm my extra ball settings hadn't changed. Next I experimented with racking up 3,000 points and got the extra ball as expected. I really don't see how that would make any difference, but does the DMD need to be plugged in for this to work?

Shoot - then based on the thread stats, only a third of all owners haven't participated in this thread!