Found 158 ratings (with comment) on this game

Gorgeous looking game. Also very fun to play!

Played a couple of times at The Pinball Office in the UK.

Beautiful-looking pin, but the gameplay feels weirdly average. It plays like I’ve experienced everything on the game before on another pinball machine, but Houdini wraps it up in a nicer modern package.

The Houdini I played was in a free play line-up with a Spooky pin, an Oktoberfest and a couple of JJPs and, after the initial couple of plays, I had no desire to play again.

Underrated game. Has a reputation for tight shots and drains. For home use, it can be tuned to avoid these types of issues. Deep ruleset, with fantastic lighting. Trunk catapult very cool. Tons of modes. A great pinball.

Rare game that I think gets beat up because not many people have played it after the updates. Great build quality, great theme integration and rule set. Very deep and fun game.

A great challenging game it can be tough but so addictive n the toys n gimmicks are great.

Owned for about 4 years now.
Absolutely a beautiful machine.
Can be tough to play but when you get on a roll it can really flow.

I recently purchased this game.

It is *DIFFICULT* and I love it.
The shots are tough, but rewarding. I am still experiencing new events as I grow as a player.
That said, the challenge isn't for everyone.

Some people will knock the animations, but I see them as a throwback to a simpler style that tries to blend new technology with an older, classic feeling.

The sounds and music are great.
The film modes are interesting and try to tie in the shot objectives with the film.
Modes stack, so there can be 5 or 6 things going on at once.
Interesting ball save modes.
Interactive LEDs are color coded to show you which objective can be achieved from that shot.

The monitor in the back glass fits perfectly in the theme, as does the mini API Grand monitor on the playfield.

The game is extremely well lit, which is great as there is much to see.

The game is amazing. It's theme may not be for everyone compared to pop culture and music licenses that are so common.

Fantastic game.
The shots are tight but fun.
I think it is one of the reasons I always want to play one more game.
The trunk shot made my jaw drop the first time I saw it and still makes me smile every time.
I find the dry sense of humour very funny.
Hearing Bazinga or Booyah when you hit a jackpot during multiball is hilarious.
The modes are varied and very deep.
I keep discovering new things each session.
Can’t see this one leaving the game room.

Quite possibly One of my top 5 favorite pins that have been released in the last 5 years. The shots are tight and challenging, very rewarding when you can hit the ramp consecutive times or the inside loop on command. The inside loop and milk can loop can definitely ruin your day, but I really enjoy this game. The game modes, multiballs, video challenges, so much to love about this game. Great art and light show. I've played about 100 games on it now and it hasn't lost a beat for me. Highly recommended

Love the steampunk theme of this game. Common feedback is that the shots are too narrow, but I still love it. Many mods available, on the list to own one some day.

Great build quality and toys and shots are fantastic. Pretty surprised how low its rated but could be because there's not many around to play. I think it needs to be in a home setting to really understand and get into the deep rules. Yes shots are kinda tight but I dont think as tight as everyone says, for a home setting I think thats better anyway.

I enjoyed all of the shots on this machine, but found myself feeling that another magic-themed table was tired. …But then was, like, “This table’s FUN!” So, yeah. Pretty cool table.

Kind of average gameplay. Looks great. I'll play it again when I see it on location, wouldn't buy one for home though.

Beautiful, but fairly slow. Felt sluggish, although I wanted to see what happens next.

Bought one of these and was quite surprised how good and fun it was, yes it has tight shots but enjoy the modes and the skill needed to complete these.
They have added some nice touches like the locks and chains, cool idea with the stage and to be quite honest the trunk shot is a amazing idea and how accurate this is!

I think this pin is a hidden gem and what a great first title by AP can’t go wrong plus I got magic glass, shaker motor and art blades with this for no extra cost!

Win win

Great use of the mini-screen on the playfield (much better than Star Wars) and fun to play.

Recently got this game. Never had a American pinball, but decided it was time to try with the 2021 release of Houdini. I have several premium sterns in the top ten and with 2021 game code complete Houdini hangs in with the best of them. The game plays well and is good quality. I feel that objective is good and theme is very cool. People always complain that it’s a shooters game and shots are too tight. It’s no different than my Jurassic park as far as shots being tight. I enjoy playing it and out of collection of 12 games it keeps bringing me back again and again. Hope people give it a chance because I believe it should be in the top 30. Great flow and nice shots. Not to tight but challenging. Give it a try, I heard that a possible newer game code may come out by October or November. Game kicks ass

I can understand the low ratings for this pin for those who may have played it on location a time or two. The lock shot is very tight and the rules can be hard to understand. But the game is such a great experience and must be played more than just a few times. Huge orbits with a right hand spinner is a treat to rip over and over, and reminds me of some of the older EM pins. Houdini plays like a widebody with so many different shots to hit, and is extremely well balanced with great flow and laser precision shots too. I give myself an air high five every time I hit the trunk lock. Watching the catapult launch the ball up the entire playfield into the trunk never gets old, and is truly a sight to behold.

Houdini is one of those pins that the more you play, the better it gets. I cannot recommend this enough.

*Update* I just can't get enough of this game. Each mode feels like a different game and are very creative. I still play this game regularly and couldn't imagine parting with it.

Easily one of the best looking and loaded up machines. I really enjoy shooting this game and find the theme to be spot on in all aspects. I am no wizard by any means but the shots are not overly tough and have some challenges(this is a good thing for lastability) but extremely rewarding and never frustrating to me. Great use of magnets and amazing catapults in this game. The most underrated pinball I have ever played or owned. A diamond in the rough

This game get's a lot of things right. First off, it looks great all lit up. The attention to detail in the art and lighting is fantastic. The rules and modes are also very good. The layout is original and there are a lot of neat shots jammed in there. This is also probably its lone flaw: too many shots and not enough space. The shots are very tight but do not typically drain if you miss them. It's a difficult shooter but not a quick drain game either. It has a slower pace than Stern games which is nice change of pace. This machine is really not like any other machine out there and is a great looking, original game (just with tight shots).

considered buying Houdini for a while and finally pulled the trigger a couple of weeks ago.

Very glad I did!
As mentioned many time this is not an easy shooter and would be painful if on location and was eating up all your coins... This is not an easy game to master and ball control is required if you want a decent score. (Tight shots the require much practice).
I am a fan of American Pinball games as the build quality is (IMO) second to none. (I have a Oktoberfest as well an has been faultless).
I feel owning and mastering Houdini will make any pinball play a better skilled player.

I love this game. Some of the shots are difficult but it keeps you coming back. The catapult amazes me every time.

Game had many power issues and a board,switch,micrositch,code first 2 months played ok with glitches then it sat for 4months waiting for American to get parts and solutions

Nice game. Accuracy with the theme is just perfect. Narrow shoots arn’t so difficult with back flip shoots. Very deep rules and start and stop gameplay. A pinball for increase your technicals skills.
I’ve add this One in my collection to have different kind of games and don’t regret anything !

This is a game that I initially did not like very much. I drank the Kool-aide that the shots were too tight. But Houdini kept drawing me towards it. I found myself always spending a lot of time on it at shows or on location. I watched some videos and learned the rules. Then finally, I took the plunge and made a trade. Wow! What a great decision.

Theme: OK, I'm not a big Houdini or magic fan. I enjoy watching magicians, but really a magic-themed game never appealed to me. However, I really appreciate how the team decided to go all in regarding this theme. The game encompasses Houdini's best known tricks, his famous jail escapes, his fascination with the occult, and even his film career. Honestly, I had no idea about much of this stuff, but the game is like a living documentary.

Gameplay: Man this game is fun! On my first game once I set it up, I started Séance multiball and trunk multiball. Modes are easy to start. There are super smooth orbits and ramp shots. The spinner is fantastic. The key lane and alley shots are a bit tighter and the inner loop/trunk shot is an easy backhand or a challenge from the left flipper. But boy is that left flipper shot smooth and satisfying. The milk can is easy to repeat off the tip of the right flipper, but still a challenge if trying to make it on the fly. Hitting the shots makes the game flow. Miss a shot and recovery is pretty likely.

Code: Boy is this where the game shines. Super deep and varied. Lots of modes between films and tricks. Fun jail escape hurry ups. Nice combo challenges are available. Multiballs are fun to start and can be stacked. Modes are very unique and this game has best shaker integration of any game I've ever experienced. The game shakes every time the elephant takes a step towards the crate giving you a physical countdown to the end of the mode.

Toys and gimmicks: The game has a 2 foot catapult shot. 'nuff said. Plus the stage, plus magnets, plus chains and locks, and plus a second shorter catapult. This game is loaded.

Lighting: very good and varied. Nice and bright GI compared to other current games

Music/callouts/animations: I can get where this is criticized. I didn't like the appearance of the animations when I would play at shows and locations. But it is serviceable and I appreciate it more at home. I really like the music and enjoy how it progressively gets more intense with each ball. Callouts are fun and let you know what to do.

Build: Game is solid. I would rate it just beneath JJP in terms of how solid it feels...and the weight. Definitely can't toss it around like a Stern. I really like how they incorporated the lcd into the backglass.

Conclusion: I'm in the honeymoon, but this game won me over slowly over time and I can't stop playing it. Don't let the comments about the shots throw you off. By your second game you will be hitting them consistently, if not on your first. And a miss usually hits something else that keeps your progression going. I never thought that I would say Houdini would be bolted to the floor, but it might just be.

Edit after 3 months: game is now out of my collection. Bottom line, it got old quick. Shots are tight, but make-able...but this creates most no flow. It is a stop and go game. The callout voices just got on my nerves. Especially after starting modes over and over again. I loved the quirky humor, but the voice actors were just bad. Like a bad audio book or podcast. The catapult was fun at first, but really doesn't add to the gameplay. This is one of those games that is best to play on location or at a show every once in a while, but at home was just a bore.