If you have the right wife, there shouldn't be a decision to make. She may keep you in-check at times but, to say the collection has to go or else....well then your married to the wrong woman.

My way or my way not married yet but I found a girl that will put up with it she's a keeper.

My wife and my kids ARE my life. I didn't realize how great both could be until I had both. Are there times where I just need to be by myself? Absolutely-who doesn't. But honestly, with the right wife (why would you have a wrong wife?), I am a lucky man.

Material things, pinball included, are just that....

If I had to choose nothing or her though it'd be her I don't need all those things its just fun if you got the money.

If you are wanting to spend more time with your pinball collection than a woman, you either married the WRONG woman or you have serious issues.

I would think the answer should be the wife every time. Sure there's the love thing, but getting a divorce and having to sell or give half your collection over, that be just nasty.

I have a great wife. No contest.

My wife & I get along great... When I'm in the basement & she's upstairs.

A lot of those stories are from guys that use their wives as convenient excuses. Marriage is definitely give and take, but there is something to be said for having a little balance in your life.

My fiance doesn't complain about my pinball hobby. She is interested in her things and I am interested in mine. Heck she even comes to a few shows a year with me.

My wife is awesome. She bought me two NIB pins. She keeps me grounded, which is good, and is my best friend. I'm the the luckiest man in the world. No contest.

Then you're doing it wrong. The woman should always be making more money than you and working constantly so I can deal with my pins with some piece & quite

Not a tough decision at all. I would take my wife over pinball machines and have already drawn a line at 4 machines to keep her happy, but would sell them all if that was what it took. I would also take my cats over pinball machines without a second thought.
However, I don't think I should have to choose any of those things against each other within reasonable limits. So, for me a reasonable limit is 1 wife, 2 cats and 4 pinball machines (if my WOZECLE ever gets here).

I find it difficult to understand how this is even a question... Games are just objects, your spouse and loved ones are not. I'd sell all my pins, vids, and console stuff at a moments notice to ensure my wife and my daughter had food on the table and a roof over their heads.

Things can always be re-bought.

Because she has at least some sense of control and does not have the whole basement consumed with pinball machines.

Yeah I don't really get it either. If my hobby was interfering with my family life then it would be time to dial it back or give it up. My wife doesn't really get into my pins or vids YET but she also has no problem with them. We are in the process of buying a new house and while looking she specifically looked for places with full basements and large garages that I can use for my stuff. August was our 10 year anniversary and I passed on a Metallica and Star Trek Pro for a new ring for her. By the time I am in the new house I should be ready to pickup a ST Pro and maybe next year will be a Met Pro. Like others have said, they are only "things".

If your willing to make your wife or kids sacrifice for a bunch of games then your priorities are pretty messed up.

Is this a serious question or an attempt at humor, Odin ?

Edit: I see you posted your last reply at the same time I did. Anyhow, ya, I value my wife more than pinball machines, even if she might make me compromise how much I spend. It sounds like you had poor balance in your situation.

Just sounds like the wrong woman more than anything. Luckily, you were afforded the quality time with your daughter, you certainly can't replace that.

I would burn my pin collection then piss on it to put the fire out to save my marriage. Seriously.

My wife is great she loves pinball but not quite as much as me. If you've got the right woman she will support you in whatever hobby you have. here is a video of her playing shadow at 8 months pregnant.

http://s1208.photobucket.com/user/Trident1977/media/shadow/MyMovie_zpsd4ca8443.mp4.html?sort=3&o=0

I'd give up my pinball machines in the blink of an eye. My wife is awesome

Family is everything. On my death bed I want my wife and son (plus whatever children I have down the line) at my bedside, My F-14 tomcat while great would not be much comfort then.

A happy marriage is full of compromise. My wife thinks three machines is enough, you know what that's fine. Plus its open for discussion down the road. The same way I can tell her buying 500$ worth of dresses a week is a no go. Its called compromise.

Also, My Taxi will not change my diaper when I am old an incontinent.

Wife, I love pinball but, it's secondary to my life.

That happens too, that when compromise just wont work. You can work at a marriage but it needs to be equal from both sides. I am sure you did your best in that situation and sometimes there are just irreconcilable differences.

Not too just keep piling on, I should have kept all of my thoughts to one post, but my wife loves that this is my hobby and would never tell me to get rid of all of my machines. I would bet good money that the people that talk trash about their spouses and how they don't support the hobby have MUCH bigger issues than just the pinball, and that just turns into a boiling point. Its more likely that the wife feels ignored in general and they accuse pinball of it, when if the husband just paid some attention and complimented them and actually LISTENED to them for five minutes they would care less about pinball. I bet those guys get home from work and run right down to the basement without saying hello or how was your day. Pinball is not the problem there, its communication.

Same with money, if you buy your wife a stupid stuffed teddy bear with a heart for her birthday and then turn around and bring home a new MET the next day, of course she is going to be pissed. I would be pissed if my wife's hobby was collecting jewelry and she game me a 40$ pinball life gift certificate and then showed me her new diamond ring. Give and take people.

My wife...that's why I only have one. I'd like to have more, but she points out that unless we get rid of her stuff, we don't have space for them...

My marriage.....ive seen other dudes wives and how they treat them....no thanks.

Wife for sure. She's my best friend, and like the guy above, I'll take my wife over the others I've seen out there.

I had a feeling that this is where you were coming from. There are some women like this - you can be a great provider and seemingly do everything to make them happy...but nothing is good enough. I had an experience like this with my ex who I thought I was going to marry. That being said, pinball wasn't part of the problem...she was actually totally cool with that lol. On the other hand there are men who only pour their hearts into their work & hobbies while ignoring their wife & family. Women are justified in being hurt in that scenario.

My girlfriend isn't that into pinball, but she respects that it's something I like and she'd never "demand" anything from me that would result in taking happiness away from me. I also know that if I were to get married & have kids, I wouldn't put "stuff" ahead of them. I have 20-something pins now...I would have ZERO problem whittling that down to 5...2...hell, 1 - if it were necessary for space, finances, etc. At some point stuff is just stuff. I know guys with wives/families & 30-50 pins ...they NEVER play their games. It's just stuff...a collection...I'm not a collector just to collect. If I had a ton of games but couldn't play them due to life's other obligations...SEE YA PINS (except a few hehe)

My wife .... Cheaper to keep her ....

Just kidding. Family first, all other things a distant second.

My brother had pretty much the same thing Odin almost word for word. Don't know how he feels about the whole situation but from an outside point of view if I were him I would feel as you do.

Bottom line is this: you can't devote all your time, space in your house, and income and expect your family to tolerate you, who has no time, money or space left over for them.

It's all a tradeoff... for example, if you buy a new pin and want to spend the weekend working on it, it's a good idea to devote the following weekend to the family. Kids are perhaps the biggest benefit to marriage, and, really in a classic gaming hobby isn't one of the goals to pass on the enthusiasm to the next generation?

In other words, choosing is only required if both parties are unwilling to compromise, and if that's the case the marriage is probably dead, for other reasons.

Actually I've got 41. She couldn't care any less about pinball though. Never plays any of the games. She's never given me a hard time over any of my collecting habits. She says she knows I work hard and need hobbies and work distractions. At least she knows about my habits and they don't stray beyond our own roof. I've been collecting for years, but she's never questioned me once about how much pinball costs. I recently had full disclosure with her about how much the games are worth now. Wasn't keeping it from her, but she just never asked. We recently sent our oldest daughter off to college and have had to pay extensive medical bills for a knee surgery and physical therapy for her prior to going. I wanted my wife to know how much money I could come up with within a week if I needed to sell a couple of games. She couldn't believe it. I have some CQ games that have tripled in value in less than a decade. It turns out that it was a better investment than stocks or 401k's. She didn't mind the games before because they made me happy and gave me something to do. However, I think she now has more appreciation for those machines. She understands now that I could sell 4 of my top games and pay 4 years of tuition if I needed to. This is also a comforting thing to know since I have another kid starting college in a couple of years. When she found out the market value of my collection, she immediately began to worry if it was covered by insurance. Who knows, she might even start to play them eventually. After all, the only reason I bought TOM was because I thought maybe she'd play the "pretty" game. That didn't work, but maybe the WOZ with video and pretty lights will.

Like others have said, I can't really imagine a situation where I would actually have to choose. My wife is one of the most relaxed women you'll find. She "puts up" with me, how could she not be.

If some lunatic bust into my house and said "I burn your pins or your wife" I'll help him pour the gas on the pins and flick the lighter myself. There's no decision to be made. .

what wolf said.

Let's just say if something happens I'll still have the machines

My fiancé does not like me using pinside much. Have been selling games off for space reasons and a small financial cushion for things like diamond rings ect.

Would sell every game in my collection if I needed to for her or anyone in my family.But she has never once said sell my pinball collection, she did say it was crazy that I had 12 machines and knows they are ridiculously expensive but can be sold as well. When I had four games in my dining room it was overkill and was too many games for me to play weekly.

Sex or pinball, well pinball is good but not that good so yeah wive over pinball and kids over pinball too , which I hope will come soon.

I've got it good and my wife both enjoys playing pinball and doesn't mind when a new one comes in.....as long as one is going out
She just heard me on the phone over the weekend talking to "JJ" and said "Uh oh whenever I hear that JJ guys name I know something is coming in, what do you have planned and which one is leaving so I can get some more time on it before it's gone."

We only have space for 7 and both agree that's the limit, and if she told me to sell them all for a down on a new home, I would totally do it....well, I would have to keep one!
So, to answer the question I value my marriage and wife more than anything in the world.

Every now and then I read a thread title and think to myself, "ARE YOU F'ING KIDDING ME?"

This is one of them.

Get back to work on that Indiana Jones