Stern
Munsters (Premium) Pinside Rating
This game received 177 approved Pinsider ratings and currently rates 7.891 /10
Munsters (Premium)
Top 100 ranking
This game ranks 1st in the game group "Munsters". The group itself ranks #103 in the Pinside Pinball Top 100.
Score breakdown
Score breakdown in the 4 main categories:
Game Design: 7.659
Artwork: 8.523
Sounds/Music: 7.621
Other Aspects: 7.75
Pinside staff rating
This is how we, the very knowledgeable (wink wink) Pinside.com staff & moderators rate this game. 3 of us have rated this game.
This title is part of group: "Munsters"
Found 85 ratings (with comment) on this game
There are 85 ratings (that include a comment) on this game.
Currently showing results page 1 of 4.
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6.962/10
30 days ago
Batavia, IL
Munster's Premium B&W is beautiful to look at, but unfortunately it gets old very quickly. The shots were kind of cheesy and it did not feel like there was a ton of variety. Layer this in with the fact that some of the callouts get annoying as well and this led to the Munster's quickly moving on from my overall line-up. If you have a huge collection and the money, it is awesome to look at and the B&W artwork is truly awesome, but beyond that, it is a pass.
7.352/10
88 days ago
I played The Munsters Premium on location and it was in decent shape. I felt like the left ramp shot was really difficult to hit for somebody new to the game. The right ramp felt easier to hit, but it was a bit too short and comes back pretty quickly. The mini playfield felt kind of like a gimmick, although it is my first experience having played on one and maybe I would feel that way about all of them. Overall, I enjoyed playing it on location, but it really didn't feel memorable. Also, I didn't grow up watching The Munsters, so I don't have a nostalgic connection to the theme, which appears to have been done very well. I did like the use of magnet with the up the center shot.
7.373/10
3 months ago
The black and white seems great in execution but ends up looking very bland, especially during a lot of time spend on this machine. I have a tough time with this machine, though it seems pretty straightforward, but side drains were very hungry on the one I played. I think the gimmicks are very interesting, I did not play the bottom playfield more than once during a session, but not hard to activate and kind of neat. It feels pretty cheap, like some sort of child's plastic toy but is pretty cool and has separate flippers to control. I just couldn't find any sort of interesting flow on my time with it and left feeling very unsatisfied.
Gisborne
8.724/10
7 months ago
My thoughts on this machine leave me conflicted. Overall, I am always drawn to this machine. The sounds and lower mini playfield keep me coming back. The layout is a bit stale, and no shots really feel "rewarding". I will still keep coming back, but just sparingly!
7.308/10
7 months ago
London
Played at Pinfest 2023.
I somehow expected this to be an easy pin like Cactus Canyon, but - for some reason - I couldn’t get a game going on the alternating ramps. There was something slightly odd about the geometry on the shots.
I did get to Grandpa’s basement, which had the weirdest design decision in history. Not only was the lower playfield tiny (so the ball was almost pin sized), but it inexplicably used a second set of flippers. Like, why? Has any other pin in history used a second set of flippers for the lower playfield (don’t answer that)? Either way, it fell dramatically short of Black Hole from 1980, which also has a lower playfield and which I also played at the venue for the first time.
Either way, I found the experience of playing this solidly ‘meh’. Nice artwork and LCD video clips though. The art package reminds me, oddly, of Stern’s Elvira House of Horrors.
Happy to revise my rating if I play another somewhere else and it goes better, although I suspect - given it was apparently inspired by Monster Bash - it will always remain ‘meh’ to me.
I somehow expected this to be an easy pin like Cactus Canyon, but - for some reason - I couldn’t get a game going on the alternating ramps. There was something slightly odd about the geometry on the shots.
I did get to Grandpa’s basement, which had the weirdest design decision in history. Not only was the lower playfield tiny (so the ball was almost pin sized), but it inexplicably used a second set of flippers. Like, why? Has any other pin in history used a second set of flippers for the lower playfield (don’t answer that)? Either way, it fell dramatically short of Black Hole from 1980, which also has a lower playfield and which I also played at the venue for the first time.
Either way, I found the experience of playing this solidly ‘meh’. Nice artwork and LCD video clips though. The art package reminds me, oddly, of Stern’s Elvira House of Horrors.
Happy to revise my rating if I play another somewhere else and it goes better, although I suspect - given it was apparently inspired by Monster Bash - it will always remain ‘meh’ to me.
Nsw
9.017/10
1 year ago
This game is super addicting. Getting Munster Madness 1 time will leave you wanting to just keep playing to get it again. This may be just the one I played but almost every missed shot leads to draining down the center way too frequently. Herman bash leads to center and outlane drain way too frequently as well. Slingshots also shoot to outlanes 75% of the time. Grandpa scoop is way too shallow and the ball does not stay in making it incredibly frustrating as it is a main shot and is a shot needed to collect extraball and Munster Madness. When spot comes up from under the stairs, bashing him is almost always a guarantee to drain in an outlane or down the center. The guy that voices Paul Lind did an amazing job. It's just too bad everything he says is super annoying and way too frequent. When Marilyn says "get my aunt Lily" It sounds like Lily for some reason. The animations of Lily on the screen are horrendous and look nothing like her. Eddie should have had more to do with this machine. I don;t understand how Spot has a bigger roll in this game when he was the pet of Eddie's yet Eddie doesn't have his own area in this game only an orbit.
9.621/10
1 year ago
I think this is one of the best games for inexperienced players. Very few unfair drains. I am not a fan of the mini-pinball basement and think the Pro is actually the better machine.
9.676/10
1 year ago
The Munsters is beautiful and the B & W Franchi artwork is a standout in my collection. The Munsters theme is is great and I love the lower playfield. Such a different game and fun to play. When I have visitors this game always gets the most play. Now that the code has been updated the game is now a good home game for the good player.
7.816/10
1 year ago
Really like this game, the presentation and art package is just one of the best. The animations and UI though could have been better and seems a bit rough in spots, especially any CG usage is just "oof". It's a solid shooter, those ramps are butter smooth, and I just love a good bash toy so Herman shot is always satisfying. On the Pre/LE models, I even dig that stupid little Grandpa's basement mini pinball game, even if it feels like a toy and super gimmicky, it's just a fun little thing.
Santo André
8.740/10
1 year ago
To start, I was worried about the feedback on code but willing to take the risk and try for myself by procuring it into the collection.
Have had the opportunity to play many rulesets as deep as WOZ / BM66 + simple as AFM / TNA and fortunate enough to complete the games / final wizard modes just to give you some perspective when evaluating.
Though I would say layout / feel is similar to many BW90’s machines such as MB (sitting in the top 10) I would say the code depth significantly exceeds them.
Majority of the modes could not be stacked (excluding a few) in comparison to newer games but the build up of jackpots / multipliers and constant use of the zap button (pulling your hands off the flippers) is an extremely innovative and diverse approach to gameplay that I am enjoying.
What’s more interesting is my machine sits beside a BM66 and lock bar button use is the complete opposite which really plays a mind trick when playing both.
Lower PF felt a bit like a gimmick at 1st but eventually grew on me and I really enjoy it now…. Again another diverse element executed well and not a feature in any other pin in my collection.
Art package, theme, sound, lighting, and animations all good as well. I did select to add stadium lighting to which it really helped make the B&W PF art “pop”.
Overall, great pin for a 5-10 pin collection no doubt if you are looking for a good mix. Shots are nice and open with orbits being a pleasure to shoot for. Kitty shot to keep multipliers going can get fun as well. Family and anyone stopping by tend to gravitate to this pin.
Shall try to update in a few months on lastability but a relaxing pin to decompress after a long day.
Update #1
Going 1 year+ and I’m pleasantly surprised with how pretty / interesting this game looked. I purchased thinking the lastability would be limited.
With that said, this will be a very hard game to let go. When I roll up to my collection that currently sits at 15-20 pins this one is usually my go to.
Fun game to flip on for a quick game and longer journeys are just as exciting throughout duration of gameplay.
I’ve been to Munster Madness 4 and GC sits at 1.6 Billion in standard settings. Ironically, it still feels like I’m working my way through parts of code I’m still learning to maximize scoring value (specific to each character / mode).
IMO, it’s the perfect mix for a non-pinhead to walk up to and flip to get to Munster Madness… and for a player a game you can continue to develop / learn the deeper you get into the specifics of gameplay.
No ball save is a killer and a nice traditional / nostalgic touch to the older machines (in default setting). Has made for some quick games.
Kudos to the development team!
Have had the opportunity to play many rulesets as deep as WOZ / BM66 + simple as AFM / TNA and fortunate enough to complete the games / final wizard modes just to give you some perspective when evaluating.
Though I would say layout / feel is similar to many BW90’s machines such as MB (sitting in the top 10) I would say the code depth significantly exceeds them.
Majority of the modes could not be stacked (excluding a few) in comparison to newer games but the build up of jackpots / multipliers and constant use of the zap button (pulling your hands off the flippers) is an extremely innovative and diverse approach to gameplay that I am enjoying.
What’s more interesting is my machine sits beside a BM66 and lock bar button use is the complete opposite which really plays a mind trick when playing both.
Lower PF felt a bit like a gimmick at 1st but eventually grew on me and I really enjoy it now…. Again another diverse element executed well and not a feature in any other pin in my collection.
Art package, theme, sound, lighting, and animations all good as well. I did select to add stadium lighting to which it really helped make the B&W PF art “pop”.
Overall, great pin for a 5-10 pin collection no doubt if you are looking for a good mix. Shots are nice and open with orbits being a pleasure to shoot for. Kitty shot to keep multipliers going can get fun as well. Family and anyone stopping by tend to gravitate to this pin.
Shall try to update in a few months on lastability but a relaxing pin to decompress after a long day.
Update #1
Going 1 year+ and I’m pleasantly surprised with how pretty / interesting this game looked. I purchased thinking the lastability would be limited.
With that said, this will be a very hard game to let go. When I roll up to my collection that currently sits at 15-20 pins this one is usually my go to.
Fun game to flip on for a quick game and longer journeys are just as exciting throughout duration of gameplay.
I’ve been to Munster Madness 4 and GC sits at 1.6 Billion in standard settings. Ironically, it still feels like I’m working my way through parts of code I’m still learning to maximize scoring value (specific to each character / mode).
IMO, it’s the perfect mix for a non-pinhead to walk up to and flip to get to Munster Madness… and for a player a game you can continue to develop / learn the deeper you get into the specifics of gameplay.
No ball save is a killer and a nice traditional / nostalgic touch to the older machines (in default setting). Has made for some quick games.
Kudos to the development team!
10.000/10
2 years ago
Super fast pace, and a best to play. The black and white is the best looking out of the three.
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