When you get to the point where you have and are playing EMs more than the modern machines, you will get better. Practice makes perfect!

And just like my daughter told me, when the scoring and goals are written on the playfield like most EMs, it is easier for her to understand. So she is better at them than DMDs that take time to understand.

Not at all! I'm going to pick up another EM in half an hour.

Timing....

Modern pinball machines have flippers and mechanisms that respond instantly. EMs are much slower so your timing is off. You are used to the flipper reacting at a certain speed and you are used to the ball moving at a certain speed. Change these things and you have to adjust.

The other thing that can affect you is the different flipper bat shape on older machines. I know that old classic Bally machines with the big rounded end flippers get me all the time!

Your nudging skills are off. It kills me when operators put strict tilt allowances on EM's. They are supposed to be nudged more!

Your not bad , EMs are difficult . That's why I love them .

Your not bad, but lets face it, your wife just plays EM's better than you do, come to think of it, she probably plays better than I do as well.

Humm.......that's a bit worrisome.............................

Ken

That's your answer right there.

Because you just aren't that good!
Real pinball players play real pinball from a bygone era one ball, that's all!
In later DMD machines have you ever said how did I get that? this is tongue in cheek of course.

the flippers are a little further apart

She's used to working with small flippers...

Ya have to have one wife joke if a wife is mentioned in the post.
Them's the rules

I am on board with this statement. I am awful at nudging. I get away with on my solid state pins most of the time and most of the people I play with are novice anyway. However, I gave my dad an old Gottlieb Pioneer and he beats the crap out of me on it. He used to play EMs all the time back in his younger days and he is a nudging champ. I find myself going stdm more often than not.

If you think you're bad with three inch flippers, get yourself a two inch flipper game.

That will really humble you.

+1 about the nudging more with older machines, need to, and the feel for the nudging is different too. a friend commented I look like I'm trying to pound her from behind, theres some hip action force put into some hard nudging a machine weighing twice what I do. slam that baby and tilt it a few times to see what you can get away with then dont be shy after, you'll figure it out pretty quick when/where nudges avoid outlanes and SDTM's. I'm not pelvic pounding the coin door, my arms are near straight and shoving hard from the shoulders, right left or both, to impose some influence! its going to take some time to get a feel for any machine, for me it can start with cussing and name calling then graduate to "there ya go", "good baby", "lets do that again".. maybe my friends comment is right? sometimes it takes some effort to get her eyeballs (score reels) rolling up in their sockets and ringing some bells, win two credits, "nice knockers!" lol. watch your wife play, is she more aggressive with the biotch physically?

OK, anyone remember parsec??? atari's first tv game. Well, I could never get the hang of it, because when you moved the joystick, or fired, you had to go eat lunch and come back before the D@mn thing responded. It really sucked!
I also cannot get the hang of the new pins, they are too fast.
Now, lets line up on an EM pin, and that's where i kick butt! I can feel whats about to happen, and adjust for it.
So, I think it is how we are wired. Some can move laterally, and adjust to just about anything, and the rest of us, well...
We hit our niche and stay there. Happily, too, I might add.
Beer, Ya'll!

My experience has been that it's all pinball. And why some SS people feel there is a difference in an EM is hard to explain. I think it's all in their head.

I believe the concept that an EM is simpler which in turn levels the playing field for less experienced players is very observant.

I developed my pinball skills in the 70's on EM games. A drop catch is a drop catch and applies to any game, EM with 2" flippers, EM with 3", or SS with 3". A bounce pass is a bounce pass. etc....

To me the bounce/personality variants combined with rule simplicity of an EM playfield are a more manageable number of permutations, compared to those on a late model game, that is easier to capture making it easier to concentrate on flipper and play skills over figuring out and setting up the big point shots.

Once a good SS player figures out an EM game he/she will do well on it.

Yeah, and get one with a little space between them. And a gobble hole or two.

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Gobble holes...who came up with that idea anyway???

A machine has to have its defense.

What's the difference if it's gobble holes or outlanes?

I'm trying to figure out who came up with the idea to get rid of them.

Ha! Yeah, really.

The idea of intentionally sacrificing a ball to a gobble hole, even to earn big scores or specials, goes against every fiber of my being, my every pinball instinct to keep the ball in play at all cost.

Well, I understand where you're coming from but that mindset won't serve you well on this era game. In my experience ball times are extremely short on the gobble hole games I've played. If you have an opportunity to cash in on it's exit you take it.

Or to put it another way, be thankful the gobble hole is lit for special or big points when the ball drops in there. Same thing goes on any outlane.

One of my favorite things to do on a game... is nudge or shake the machine to make saves and keep the ball alive.

So what you are saying isn't lost to me, I try to avoid gobble holes myself most of the time. Even when they are worth a game, to me this is the same as an outlane special... better than draining without nothing but still a drain.

But now when gobble holes are worth multiple games, then I am hoping to get in to collect. I think the gobble hole can be worth up to 8 replays on Ace High for instance. So yes, absolutely 'am' trying to get in there!

Even the best players can suck some times. I consider myself pretty good and win my share of matches. But my first four balls on this game were so bad last night, the machine decided I didn't deserve a fifth ball and skipped right over it. Thought I had that fixed.

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If you don't get the top kickout hole you've got a lot of work ahead of you.

I didn't even get the gobble holes on that one. It was ding ding SDTM four times in a row from what I remember. Bob wins again! But today is another day.

Bad EM player? Ha, join the club bubby

It's starting....

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Remember what Ricky Bobby says;

.............................................Especially on a 2 Player game....................................................

Ken

Doh.

She is a fickle beast. I may have to re-work the ball count unit one more time. It is the first time it happened in several days. It was one of the early multiplayer games wasn't it?

I know it wasn't the first Williams multi-player but it was fairly early on.

It is a multiplayer I am very happy to have no matter how it acts up. I've got the ultimate set of tools. I can fix it.

Nope, no skips tonight.

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