Stern

Iron Man

Pinside Rating

This game received 510 approved Pinsider ratings and currently rates 8.098 _/10

8.098

Top 100 ranking

This game ranks 2nd in the game group "Iron Man". The group itself ranks #52 in the Pinside Pinball Top 100.

Score breakdown

Score breakdown in the 4 main categories:

Game Design: 8.156

Artwork: 7.661

Sounds/Music: 7.849

Other Aspects: 8.32

Pinside staff rating

This is how we, the very knowledgeable (wink wink) Pinside.com staff & moderators rate this game. 8 of us have rated this game.

8.446

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This title is part of group: "Iron Man"

Iron Man Classic

Iron Man

Iron Man
(Pro Vault Edition)

Found 312 ratings (with comment) on this game

There are 312 ratings (that include a comment) on this game.
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9.260/10

12 days ago

DRD

DrDrain

Pinside member

9y 42,900 57 159

Iron Man is one of the most challenging games I know of. And it actually happens to be one of the first pinball machines I've ever played. I remember being so frustrated with this game around ten years ago.

The game has one of John Borg's best layouts, the shots are very satisfying to make and it truly feels like battling the villains. The Iron Monger is the highlight of the game and always fun to hit. The ramps are a lot of fun as well. Sometimes the Monger can be a bit annoying but when you enable the option to only raise him through the center spinner I find that the issue is resolved pretty well. Speaking of the center spinner shot, it is actually my favorite shot in the game.

The gamecode is not that innovative at first sight but it is pretty good for what is essentially a "bash-pin". For the average player there are plenty of multiballs within the game. I don't know why but I've always loved the Whiplash multiball. The advanced players will have a pretty hard challenge with this game too. Achieving Do or Die multiball is pretty difficult but it was an obligation to play for me as somebody who loves Lyman Sheats' gamecodes.

The playfield artwork is mediocre just like the movie scenes they used as animations. At least you can see what they're trying to depict. But the backglass and cabinet are looking quite good in my opinion. The entire game reflects the Iron Man theme pretty well.

For me this game is very replayable because of the difficulty of the gameplay itself. I tend to get bored with the most games that majorly have "safe shots", this game requires you to make dangerous shots and I love it for it. But I get other players that are just frustrated by this, they won't like this game. In order to play this machine accordingly you'll need live catches and pretty good overall ball controll.

All in all, this is a very difficult game with a good layout, nice rules for all groups of players and a very good depiction of the Iron Man theme. But it is definetely not a game for players that look for long ball times.

2 Pinsiders starred this!

8.976/10

20 days ago

SHF

Rumtastic

Pinside member

Unknown

9y 26,650 7 8 59

Iron Man is in my opinion an underrated game.

It has a great layout with interesting shots, it has flow, it has a great game code that is deep enough to keep the expert player interested (e.g. Do-or-Die Multi Ball), it has a great bash toy (Monger) and it has good sound. Only the playfield is sub par as it is from the photoshop area of Stern. It still is not awful like other games of that time period.

What I especially like about this game are the short ball times. You always have to focus on your game and always try to keep the ball under control as otherwise it will drain you relentlessly. This game will make you a better pinball player.

I recommend to change the game rules so that the Monger only raises when you do the middle shot. This feels so much better and I think this was the original idea. Usually I never change any game rules.

I pretty much enjoy playing this game every time as it is very challenging. For me this is the best game of John Borg and is one of the best games of the SAM area.

Rumtastic currently owns this game.

2 Pinsiders starred this!

9.119/10

43 days ago

JKE

Waffles

Pinside+ Frequent

Oshawa, ON

1y 23,400 21 7

Fun, brutal game.

Biggest Pitfall is that iron monger is so easy to pop up that It feels like ignoring the spinners until the right moment is the name of the game.

Animations are muddy.
Call outs are great, speed and flow of the game is amazing.

I hear Jarvis too much because I tilt too hard, but it's a nice touch.

Replay and one more game value on this is extremely high. Not the best for novices

4.873/10

3 months ago

JKE

Kingofpain

Pinside apprentice

London

<1y 7,000 10

Did not enjoy this pin at all, boring gameplay that gets old quick

2 Pinsiders flagged this.

7.520/10

3 months ago

WHB

Rudedog1961

Pinside+ Frequent

<1y 41,150 4 45 1

Difficult game to learn

4.496/10

3 months ago

CAM

DeputyDrain

Pinside member

Saint Paul, MN

<1y 31,250 138

Really boring pin, does not do anything novel or interesting with the theme and art package.

Moves pretty fast, seems to be clear on how to progress, but I can’t stand playing it for long enough to find more.

DeputyDrain edited previous rating on January 18, 2024.

7.798/10

11 months ago

DIA

mrossman5

Pinside+ Frequent

Warren, PA

6y 197K 3,172 7 253

Brutally fast and fun machine. Great on location, but I'm not sure it would last in my basement. Not a huge fan of the rules.

8.332/10

1 year ago

FAB

foxyshilo

Pinside member

10y 32,400 2 2 28

Game has a limited ruleset and after several games can become very repetitive quickly. I also found the game to be very dark and could benefit from aftermarket lighting.

foxyshilo edited previous rating on April 11, 2023.

6.575/10

1 year ago

???

mezzin

Inactive member

Unknown

17y 28,400 9 1 7

It is a good redition of iron man the pinball game but it just a bit repetitive. You can make great shots and everything works wel but it is no fun achter a few plays any more. Love the theme but the ruleset is just not for me.

9.540/10

1 year ago

AWP

rapidflipper

Pinside member

Mooresville, NC

3y 41,300 153 2 23

This game plays like a true Iron Man battle. Fast, powerful, and with style! I just rebuilt the flippers, and it shoots like a dream. Ramps are really fun to combo, and the rules require you to shoot nearly everything on the playfield (something I really like). Sound and music are also worthy of praise, with great theme integration and tunes that immerse you into the game. Add a shaker and subwoofer to this game, and it's next level fun.

rapidflipper has owned this game in the past.

5.101/10

1 year ago

???

Flippinthebird

Pinside apprentice

Green Bay, WI

2y 8,150 1 3 7

I've given this one quite a few opportunities to change my first impression, but I find this game to be pretty vanilla and not deserving of the top 100. The only gimmick that I enjoyed was Obadiah Stane rising out of the playing field. This game honestly feels like a faster ol' golden age pin with a couple $5 action figures on it. Stern has some good machines; however, sometimes they just spit something out with almost zero creativity like this one.

4 Pinsiders flagged this.

7.783/10

1 year ago

VEE

Veemonroe

Pinside member

London

2y 55,550 205 7 176

Played at Pinball Republic and the newly-opened Medway Pinball Club.

I've been recommended this pin by several different people as it scratches a similar itch to Fish Tales. It is a fast and furious pin, which is reassuringly difficult. Shooting Whiplash is exciting and War Monger is also satisfying fun.

The problem, for me, with this pin is the terrible graphic design. The artwork looks like it was designed in MS Paint and the toys on the playfield have that cheap plastic look like they came in a kid's cracker. The whole thing is aesthetically terrible and not something I'd want in my front room (where I keep my pins). Superficial, I know, but the artwork on some early 2000 Stern pins is worse than on the much-derided 1980s Premier Gottliebs (I quite like the Premier Gottlieb art).

7.220/10

1 year ago

MAT

mpdpvdpin

Pinside member

Providence, RI

6y 95,050 4,420 7 96 1

It’s fast it’s hard it’s a great tournament game but other than that, no thanks. I’d never consider owning this in a collection of under 15 games but I’m also not a big marvel guy. I also wish that these Marvel pins had artwork from the bronze era. Would have been so much cooler across the board. Instead we get this crummy photoshop Hollywood bore fest art package. I’ve seen candy wrappers with better graphic design.

8.900/10

1 year ago

ET

skiman

Pinside member

Sandy, UT

5y 27,400 20 17

I had an iron man with some cool mods and a shaker motor and I enjoyed it a lot, but it's too hard and too fast. It did keep you coming back for more, but was a little annoying. I was tempted to make it easier by altering settings, but I thought that would just be cheating and weaken my game so I traded it instead.

4.970/10

2 years ago

KRY

kryss63

Pinside member

Clermont-ferrand

2y 31,900 140 5 7

I'm not a Marvel fan.
Really easy to obtain the Multiball and to earn a free play.

2 Pinsiders flagged this.

8.587/10

2 years ago

COM

Cmartin1235

Pinside member

Kansas City, KS

6y 57,550 731 8 8

My wife’s favorite. Not allowed to sell.

Cmartin1235 currently owns this game.

8.635/10

2 years ago

BJD

roffels

Pinside member

Minneapolis, MN

10y 85,300 1,992 3 20

A solid shooter, and what I first cut my teeth into when first playing pinball on location. The rules are easy to understand. This game isn't deep, the difficulty comes in the speed and brutality of the layout - my favorite kind of pinball. It keeps me coming back again, and again.

Pros:
Speed
Easy to understand rules
Buttery smooth ramps
Leaves you wanting to play one more game

Cons:
Artwork is workman-like, but works well enough

roffels edited previous rating on October 20, 2021.
roffels has this game on the wishlist.

5.698/10

2 years ago

OHM

OhmEye

Pinside+ Frequent

Corning, NY

4y 31,400 119 2 11

I just don't connect with this pin and think it's overrated. I'm a fan of the movies and the MCU but the layout just doesn't fit me. The Iron Monger is a boring bash toy and the layout just doesn't have any flow to me with clunky shots. The audio and lightshow is fairly unremarkable to me. I can see why this theme would do well on location but it's not a pin I would own at home.

8.038/10

2 years ago

NAT

Medieval_Gofers

Pinside member

Ipswich

13y 73,400 208 3 79

This game is so freaking brutal which is why I hate it on location (it beats my arse) but LOVE it at shows when I have no money to lose. As a huge fan of the MCU the theme is spot on for me and the sheer difficulty of the game is what keeps me coming back.

5.077/10

2 years ago

AOK

NetherFredo

Pinside apprentice

Cushing, MN

3y 35,400 7 9 92

Pretty standard Stern superhero game. Nothing makes it stand out. Clear ramps wear to less than transparent. Back glass might be it’s only highlight.

NetherFredo edited previous rating on June 13, 2021.

7.872/10

3 years ago

???

curban

Pinside+ Frequent

Seven Valleys, PA

5y 83,800 1,073 38 16

I bought an Iron Man based on theme (big fan) and Pinside ratings. I didn’t have any chance to play it before the day I picked it up in a trade.

I am underwhelmed. I don’t really have any major complaints, but nothing really seems to stand out for me. Nothing.

Pros: iron monger is a cool bash toy...but that’s all it is, game flow and speed make gameplay intense, some cool aftermarket sound packages are readily available, the “one ball game” rule set makes this unique (At least to my collection).

Cons: Nothing specific other than no real “wow factor”, playfield seems a bit too “open”, not too much to shoot at.

I guess pinball is often a matter of personal taste. This is a good machine, but I just don’t understand the rabid following it seems to have. Maybe part of my disappointment is due to all the hype.

Review Update: After I decided to list my iron Man for sale, I decided to get in a few more plays before it left the rotation. I will say this for the game...it has one heckuva 'just one more game' draw to it. I can't put my finger on why exactly...but I often find myself playing game after game after game on this one. I updated my rating slightly in accordance.

curban edited previous rating on October 07, 2020.
curban has owned this game in the past.

5.624/10

3 years ago

ECW

Ecw0930

Pinside member

Fredericksburg, VA

4y 69,550 1,016 2 113

Wow this game is hard. And that makes it not fun. Again, I was pumped to play it. But, it's so damn hard it just isn't fun to play. Wow it sucked. Maybe if you sit on it and really get into it. But in a public lineup, arcade style ... I'll NEVER go to this machine. Nope.

5 Pinsiders flagged this.

8.256/10

3 years ago

TKM

Daditude

Pinside Moderator

Rockwall, TX

5y 266K 10,113 23 271 1

Fun game but tough (which I love).

Fine tune your nudging skills or you will have short ball times.

Daditude edited previous rating on September 05, 2020.

9.536/10

4 years ago

???

most71

Pinside member

Lenna

10y 31,000 8 51

amazing pinball

most71 currently owns this game.

8.600/10

4 years ago

GPD

greg92867

Pinside member

4y 24,150 8 19

Enjoy playing this pin. Magnet effects make play unpredictable, but also interesting. I wouldn't own it because there are other pins that I enjoy more, but definitely a good game.

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