Next time you're in New Orleans, let me know - you can check out my collection.

The problem is that you cite reasons for hating the game as the troll and the theme. You saw all this prior to pitting in a bunch of money. What did you expect? The theme to change to chuck Norris when you pressed start? Then you incorrectly state that the troll "is just an inanimate object" when it moves.

Theres a great chance that the game was not working very well (even though you say it was). You cannot possibly know after playing only your first game if things worked as they should. If certain things aren't working, the game adjusts the rules so it can be played. This may result in a game that appears to work but is less fun. Most games do this. A Johnny mnemonic with the hand disabled is a great example. A person playing this the first time would not know it was not working and would think the hand was a dumb "inanimate object" that did nothing but took up space.

Then you go on to say how you were done after one game. This is where I determined you were not capable of judging the game. No one can properly judge a pin after one game. Almost everyone hates Twilight Zone the first time they play it. This game did so poorly on route that ops couldn't get rid of it fast enough. Now it's #1 on ipdb and #2 here on pinside. Why? Because people played it more and realized there was a lot to offer, an interesting ruleset etc. I'm not saying RCT is another TZ, but it does have three ramps, 4 flippers, and a lot of Lawlor feel. There is simply no way you can have really given it a fair shake after just one game.

It's fine that the game didn't draw you in. It's probably not a good match for you. You obviously hate the theme to begin with. But the game is definitely not "the worst".

Its not the best, but certainly not the worst...

Thats left for .......bom bom bom...TRS !

That game SUCKS !

It's a pinball game,
based on a fictional Rollercoaster Theme Park,
meant to draw in pinball player's of all ages (Lawlor's specialty imo),
with carnival games,
a very colorful PF,
fun modes, etc.
The game is not steered towards grown "macho pinball players".

How does it make you "depressed"?
You're weird.

We had one in the showroom for a while and I had the chance to play it. The theme was interesting and fun enough. Very cool wireframes representing the rollercoaster’s. It had a few odd shots at the top of the playfield from what I remember. Those shots reminded me of Lawlor's other Stern attempts, Ripley’s and Monopoly of the time. We also had those in the shop and remembered playing them. I loved those themes also but could never make a lot of the upper shots on those either to open up other modes and such. Maybe this is my reason for not really enjoying RCT. It never made me feel like I had to come back and play it afterwards. Nothing bad per say about the game but nothing catchy either.

That's weird that he doesn't consider Funhouse to fall into that category. I'm not contradicting you, just stating that i consider that a horror(?)/amusement park themed pin.

RCT doesn't have the best layout and could have used some changes in the Scrambled Eggs/Northwest corner of the game, but it really a great example of a game being hampered by a lackluster and uninspired ruleset.

This is the truth; I would not mind seeing a visionary PROC a maligned game like RCT and actually making it awesome.

Seems like less work to me than designing a custom pin from scratch, with the added benefit of being able to share your work easier.

Hmm... does anybody have a cheap RCT for sale in the Vancouver / Victoria / Seattle area? Then all I would need is to find hundreds of hours of time...

Heh, I have thought of the same thing!

My idea would have been to build theme parks. Maybe have 6 inserts -- ala MM castles -- representing each one. The names could be drawn directly from the scenarios in RCT2. Each theme park required different assortment of hits on various shots to complete. (ie, you need 3 roller coasters, 3 food stands, etc)

Each completed theme park would give a reward, so maybe the first one lit a hurry up, 2nd one start a multiball, etc. Adding more to a theme park before collecting makes it pay out better and the accumulation of theme parks makes for a better wizard mode, sort of like how better MBs in Demo Man accumulate to a better final payout.

On top of this, would be various modes, rewarded by guest accumulation (switch hits), based around RCT concepts (park maintenance, ride malfunctions, guests, etc) that could to provide rewards such as shot multipliers, add to bonus, EB, etc.

Someday...

110% agree here. You need to play a few games to like a pin. If you like a pin simply because of a cool shot then 1) you are my wife and 2) get some lower cost system 11's with cool shots and shallower rules.

But seriously, I have played games on route a time or two and been like "bleh. Then when I go to markmon's house and see the same game I know I need to give it a shot. I play it 3-5 times or more as needed and usually end up liking it more. It may not become my favorite, but I do like it more as I better understand the rules and accomplish some of the wizard modes etc

Love this game, and I love that little troll!!! Trolls were popular when I was like 11 years old. I had several! Always like those little buggers. Themes are all subjective. So is the fun factor. For example, to me, Attack from Mars has really lame gameplay with a really lame theme. The Soprano's is a really fun game with a really lame theme. However, my wife and I both having played countless hours of Rollercoaster Tycoons 1&2 on the PC, and both loving trolls when we were kids, this is a really fun game with a really great theme. You may say I'm nuts for not liking AFM, but I can't imagine how you can't love RCT.

The wife and I are really hoping that we can find one we can afford to make this our first pinball machine. We play it all the time at a local place.

Yes. The layout is decent, the rules are awful.

Rocket is fun to hit.

If you are playing for points, the best strategy is to time out most of the modes. Probably all of them except power ride. And timing out modes sucks.
And then after you play tycoon, you lose all of your guests??!? That is a terrible rule.

Wow, then you are missing the WHOLE point of Wizard mode if you time out your modes...

You play each mode to it's FULLEST, to get as many guests as possible.
Then when you actually reach WM, you're Jackpots can be quite high (as they are COMPLETELY dependent on the # of guests you have achieved during your game).

I understand that the WM jackpots are valued according to the number of guests. But the risk/reward for most of the modes just does not add up. Maybe playing super dunk is worth it, and if you are feeling frisky you might go after the million in dancing digits.

But really, PR, mb and the WM is where the points are at. And its not too hard to get to the WM, so just time the modes out and get to the WM multiple times.

When I think about RCT, I think about playing the Sharpes and others in the playoffs @ the Kalamazoo tournament.
We were timing everything out except for PR.

Definitely a less than optimal tournament game. A time-out fest that rates up there with NF.

I guess I would find it boring as well, if all I did was time out modes instead of play them to the fullest.
Any game would get stale like that.

I seem to remember reading a gameroom magazine interview with Pat Lawlor in which he said he delivered the whitewood and the basic rules layout, and then Stern kicked his group to the curb to finish the game in-house and that was their cost saving MO for a few years when games were never "complete" (RCT, Monopoly, Wheel of Fortune).
RCT feels like a VERY incomplete game to me, and is missing all the Lawlor nuances in the code that you just know he would have meant to be there. I mean, is there a more worthless upper flipper looping shot in pinball? The modes are horribly uninspiring except for power ride and toss your cookies.

The framework was there for an awesome game, but was never completed.

As for our RCT, my wife was a troll fan when we were kids. We went through her collection of Trolls, and she picked one out to put in place of the stock troll. The new troll is bigger, and has a tongue that he spits out at you when you squeeze him. His tongue was broke though, so it just sticks out and flops around now - a neat effect. She also made a pair of swim trunks for him so he wouldn't be naked.

Once installed, we got a really neat surprise. Due to his added height, his head will thump the glass in varying strengths during his movement. The sound/feel is similar to a shaker motor. It adds a neat dimension to gameplay so I left it alone.

For the price, it can't be beat.