Joined the club today. Looking forward to diving deep into the code! My first JJP. It really stands far apart from my other pins in a good way. Beautiful pin!

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I just installed a shaker in my WW SE and for some reason can’t find the shaker settings in the menu. Can someone please point me to where it is at? I must be blind... Thanks in advance.

Thanks Lloyd. When I first looked at the Coil Settings a warning came up that said do not change unless you are having a problem so I backed right out. Haha. Thanks again.

I’m sure you’ve read a lot of complaints about the music, but I don’t have any issues with it whatsoever. I can think of other pins with music that would get old much faster. BKSoR quickly comes to mind and I say that as a fan of all types of music, including metal music. If you have doubts, pull up a stream and listen for yourself. Wonka is a fantastic pin. The fact that it got overhyped at the outset, in my opinion, unfairly tainted many people’s opinions.

I guess if you are that concerned about the music in the Wonka pin, then maybe it’s not the best choice for you. There a lot of great pins out there right now. I’m sure one of them fits your profile musically. Go with that and reduce the stress in your life.

Maybe consider Dialed In. It’s another JJP Pat Lawlor.

Not sure if you have any pins yet, but for the price of a POTC you could get two really good pins. POTC is a big pin to start a collection with, especially if you don’t have any experience with working on/tweaking pins.

Not sure if my seven pins counts as a larger collection, but Wonka gets played the most, even more than EHoH. For me personally, I’d say it’s an even split between EHoH and Wonka. I really like Wonka a lot. I think it gets some unfair criticism due to the crazy hype at release.

Speaking of updated code, any rumors about any updates? Except for minor fixes, I’m assuming it’s done, done.

The explanation at that link is really really helpful. Is there “players guide” anywhere that explains the rest of the pin rules as clearly? Of course, I have the flowchart which is helpful.

I can’t agree more. I’ve played all of the JJP pins (except GNR), but after owning Wonka I have greater respect for the entire JJP lineup. All pins are fun - Stern, Spooky, etc. - but I really think JJP pins outclass them all. There is just a plus+ factor with all the JJP pins. Put it this way, if I could only own pins from one manufacturer, I’d take the JJP pins. I know they cost more than other pins, but in their case you do get what you pay for. My next pin will be another JJP pin. So, again, I am very impressed with Wonka and believe it is underrated and unfairly dismissed by many in the pin community.

As a general statement, I don’t really disagree with your opinion of how JJP pins play compared Stern pins. I love Stern pins. However, if I was forced to pick only one company from which I could have three pins, I’d take JJP over Stern.

Check with LTG about adjusting the brightness for the topper. I could be completely wrong, but I thought it could be adjusted.

I stand corrected!! Thanks for the clarification!

So how are people managing the various modes to maximize score values? For example, if the 5x playfield mode is ready to be activated are you saving the mode and not shooting the Wonkavision to activate the mode until you have a multiball ready to go? Just curious to hear about people’s strategies. My high score is about $3.5M without me doing anything intentional other than trying to activate modes and getting some multi balls going in no particular order. I think it’s time I start playing with more intention, so I’m curious to hear about what others are doing.

I agree. I never even thought of it as being too bright.

I agree that it is non linear which is unique, but I guess that makes you choose between trying to obtain tickets and maximizing score. It seems like those two go hand in hand.

By the way, love Wonka. I play it more than any of my other pins.

Think of it this way and I respect everyone’s opinion, but only one person that I’ve seen has complained about the topper being too bright. Again, I’m sure it is too bright for him, but I don’t think most people even give it a second thought.

I can’t agree more. If you are budget conscious at all, the SE is the way to go with Wonka. You a really aren’t losing out on much other than aesthetics. I have an SE and love it. I play it more than my EHoH Premium.

I’m an OSU grad, so from one Buckeye to another are you sure that’s not Scarlet?!

I agree with @crile1. Wonka is an awesome pin, but although the theme is family friendly the play is not. It’s a really tough pin and the shots aren’t always obvious for a casual player. For context, I have an EHoH. I turned it on today and basically flipped the pin - cleared the house, got to the mini wizard modes, got to the wizard mode, etc. It was a good game but not all that uncommon. Compare that to Wonka where the most tickets I’ve got is 2 of 5. To be honest, I think getting all 5 tickets is damn near impossible. Anyway, one of the rules of thumb for buying pins is not to buy them for kids or family. Kids get bored and move on, etc. So, get what you like because you are the one that will end up playing it.

I’d say - Yes. SW is a Ritchie pin, so it plays really fast. Wonka is more of a flow pin, which I think can lead to longer ball times. However, with Wonka, you have to watch the ball coming out of the pop bumpers for the SDTM drain where there is really nothing you can do to save it. I know other people have complained about it and I think it is a valid complaint. It can be unfair and frustrating.

Here’s a recent Dialed In vs Wonka vs Iron Maiden thread. Take a read through it and you should get the feedback you are looking for:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/wonka-vs-maiden-vs-dialed-in-

I think the right ramp is tricky to hit. There isn’t much margin for error in terms of where the ball needs to be on the flipper. At times, it gives me fits and other times it doesn’t. Just one of those things.

Congrats! That’s a really solid score. How long was your game?