Zero

There isn't a chance I would pay $1 per game for an EM. If there were other options there I probably wouldn't even pay $.25 per game unless all I had was some loose change burning a hole in my pocket.

Who even has dollar coins??

No.

Bingo! That right there would be your real problem!

The United States has been making them again since the Susan B Anthony coin starting in 1979, followed by the Sacagawea in 2000 and variations thru today.

Now who actually stocks them for use is a different matter.

LTG : )

Maybe one or two games... if it was set for replay... and the replay levels weren't too bad... and it was set for 5 balls... and match was enabled... and it was a good single player or a really good multiplayer. I ain't paying no buck to play three balls on a Bally 'Circus'.

Nope, I'm open to Stern and Spooky too. I've enjoyed Star Wars, JP and RM.

I wouldn't play an old EM for free. Dull as dishwater, the lot of 'em.

Don't hold back... tell us how you really feel

Get a Grand Prix. Everyone remembers it.

I have a problem paying a dollar for modern day pins.

Maybe if it was a centigrade37 so I can see what all the God damn hype is about

Never in a million years.

I mean, EM games can go buy pretty quick. Really quick. Some balls you won’t even touch. People will put up with that for $.25. They’ll walk after one game of that crap for a buck.

Not a chance.

Just a note from the field ...

I had 3 pins in a brewery ...

DE guns and Roses (3 balls)
Radical (3 balls)
Wizard (5 balls)

All at $1 (New Zealand) a play.

The Wizard was usually the biggest earner.

So ... people will play them. If they are a good game, playing nice and fast, set up sweetly.

5 balls (rather than 3) is a good value proposition for some people.

(I do appreciate that NZ is a different market to the USA)

rd

No. I'd go 50 cent a game tops. If I have a good time odds are I'll play another. My local place has a mix from new games all the way done to ems. No way I'm paying $1 to play Drop A Card when there is something like a Deadpool for a dollar across the room. They do 50 cents for early SS like Gorgar and the couple of EMs they have and I'm fine with that

What does PHOF charge for the EM's?

I was there last year. It's was 25 cents

Some countries don't have dollar bills. Or pennies even. Crazy times.

You should add a poll.

Same as Wizards World (131 pins) in my neck of the woods. EM: 25 cents, The 90's: 50 cents, newer $1 (currently set on 5 ball for now)

Id be most comfortable at .50 a play. Mayyybe 3 for $2???

The Wizard when I dropped it off to the brewery.

Cool photo, if I do say so myself.

rd

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Absolutely yes! ... if it is a game I would be interested in playing. Most of my machines are Wedgeheads. If I considered what I paid for some of the machines along with the upgrades and divided by the number of games I played, I would think it is way more than $1/game.

There are some interesting EMs I was never able to play, and to get the check them out for $5- $15.... sure.

However, I am not the general public. For the general public, no way would I imagine many would pay $1/game on an "old" machine with small flippers that do not offer the bells and whistles of the modern games.

Well, they may have the bells...

I’d pay $1, but….

I want to see fresh rubber, full flipper kit and properly adjusted flippers, pop bumpers slingshots etc. not something pulled out of a warehouse with a coat of wax and call it a day.

A reasonably obtainable replay. 5 balls per game on short flipper bat games.

OP, I’d look at this as a labor of love and a gift to the hobby, as opposed to making your $25 back, ya know?

I would skip the licenses entirely. You’re putting a few games into your establishment that isn’t an arcade. Just set up some nice games and charge what you want to charge.

No

It all depends on the target audience. I’ll play almost any game on location once. If it’s clean and maintained, I’ll play more. Beyond $0.50, you may have trouble attracting younger people to play an EM.

If I put a pin in a non arcade location today, I would definitely use something digital like Payrange. Young people don’t carry cash or think in cash as much as us old farts.

I may be falsely assuming an EM couldn’t use that technology.

https://www.payrange.com/

Nope!

Psychology is a funny thing - as pointed out, we dropped the equivalent of $1 game as kids and never thought twice. And granted EM's don't have the deep ruleset of modern pins, but a good EM can challenge your skills as just as much.

Appreciating them for what they are and knowing what goes into maintaining them (owning one myself), I think the $1 is justified, but my concern stepping up to play an unfamiliar EM would be - does it really work right? Even if it looks in good shape, EM's can be finicky in their old age and I might hesitate to drop a buck into an unknown machine.

But 50c - sure.

.50c per play/3 for $1 ??

Comes down to cost for entertainment time. New games play longer than em’s. Do 3 games of an EM give you approx the same game time as a single ply on a modern game?

Yet another reason why we should ditch the penny.

What kind of location is this? Arcade or an unrelated business where you just want a couple games. If its just a couple games in a waiting room or similar, you won't make enough regardless. You may as well have it be reasonable so people actually play them.

For the replay guys that are commenting... most casual people don't even know what replays and matches are. Those are the people where you make your money. The experienced pinballers who park on a machine and exploit the games and rack up replays on a quarter are always the ones that complain when something doesn't work and wonder why its not fixed. News flash... Parts and labor are more than a few quarters.

That said I would never put an em out for $1. The ball times are already so short. Just do 2/$1 or 3/$1 or even 4/$1. You could even set them to 3 ball. Then at least you are making a $1 at a time.

Don’t take legal advice from anyone but your attorney!

The Milford city ordinances say you need licenses if you have more than three.
https://ecode360.com/14522790
“ Every operator shall obtain a license from the Police Department, approved by the Superintendent of Police, for each music vending machine and/or mechanical amusement device in excess of three in number in operation in his place of business.”

No

Shane

I would pass myself on standard em play for 1$

50c I would likely not pass up.

says non EM guy. Surprising.

I always have to remind myself on Pinside that being an EM guy, I'm in the minority. It often shocks and saddens me a little at the general disregard for these pieces of history. To me they are functional pieces of playable art but seen by many as old and unwanted trash. The constant comments of you couldn't pay me to play one or I want to convert this one to digital using my Raspberry Pi are frustrating.

So true.

Still not paying $1

Yeah better safe than sorry, but no way in hell they’d come a calling unless someone reported you. And if it’s really $25 a year and that’s it, just do it.

Like others have said, this will be a labor of love no matter what is charged to play them.

You're asking a bunch of old farts who remember when things were cheap. If your clientele is young, price it high. Sounds counterintuitive since they typically have less money, but they will spend it.

I won't pay 8 bucks for "cheap" beer at a concert because I remember when it was 2 bucks. If you're 21, beer just costs 8 bucks. Someday they'll scoff at a $20 plastic cup of Budweiser.

They have to be preserved since they'll never make EM's again because it would be cost prohibitive to do so with parts and labor. If they tried they'd have to charge more than what NIB's are selling for now. If you look inside the bottom of an EM that's basically simple technology crammed into a $20 circuit board nowadays. I actually dismissed woodrails in my collection but a friend of mine who is a huge pinball historian talked me into keeping and restoring a GTB Knock Out and WMS Fairway. I'll find a nice corner of the house to present some woodrails after all.

But what will I do all day since I dont have to adjust 43 relays?!