Found 6 ratings (with comment) on this game

I received my SD BSE in February of 2024. I’ve been waiting a little over a year for the Mystery Machine art package and I wasn’t disappointed. I have to admit, the black metal flake powder coat looks amazing! It looks superb on the habbit trails as well. The color changing speaker grills are a nice touch too! I’m happy to say we currently do not have any issues out of the box to report.
First impressions of the gameplay I’m loving it. There are so many options to choose from. You can start a case, you can tryout a character mode, go to the upper playfield for Captain Cutler multi ball, catch the green ghoul, etc. You can totally get immersed into the theme with this one. We are very happy with our SD.

Most of the games you will see are the Collector's edition because of the value/how it looks. However gameplay is the same on all three versions, and this game has a lot going for it from both the software (which has undergone multi updates and continues to be updated), and the unique playfield - a standard body playfield in a wide body cabinet. This allows for five ramps which represent the five Scooby Doo gang members. This is a great pin in a home environment. You can play as each of the characters, each with their own attributes. Based on the 1969 original classic with the original villains. This pin keeps getting better and better.

Pretty cool game, kept me wanting to try again and get better at my control with the upper playfield flipper thing. Great colors and art. Spooky did a great job. Not something I have to own because theme doesn't push any buttons but I did grow up watching the cartoons.

Scooby Doo the pinball game. Why hasn't this been done before?

The Pros:
A widebody fan layout. I am not usually a fan of this, but this one works. The drop target walls on the left have not been seen since Bally's Vector. And this version is done better than the version we saw 40 years ago. The upper playfield is fun to shoot and the amount to do on this game should keep most people happy for a very long time. Shooting the game is a blast and the game does not suffer from 11 x 1-1/2 inch shots like most fan layouts do. The upper playfield is fun and the many multiballs available to the player mean that there is always pinball excitement right around the corner. The modes are varied and while some are more complex than others, the utilization of the entire playfield is appreciated (as are some of the hints given to the player along the way). Character selection is varied and interesting. How do you like to play? OK, play that way...

The Cons:
The software needs polish. There are ball traps on the lower playfield (behind the drops) and the game does not "find" the ball easily. Spooky games feel like they are made out of cheap pinball life parts, because they are. 5 characters that have different gameplay properties that can only be chosen once during a game (I can hear the tournament players grinding their teeth already...) means that going first means you get to pick first and the first most valuable scooby team member for your game. I am sure a tournament setting can be put into this software, if it isn't already. An ability to set up a game that lets more than one person pick Velma, Scooby, Shaggy, Daphne or Fred, will make a difference.

The Takeaway:
Scooby Doo FINALLY has a pinball game. I am not usually big on themes, but this one is fun for everyone and perfect for the Spooky pinball brand. This is their best internally designed game so far. I still really like TNA, but that is such a different game that I will give this design team kudos as the comparison is apples and oranges as far as pinball is concerned. Travelling to Benton, WI to pick up my lady's CE in a few weeks... she HAD to have it! I am a lucky man who has a woman in his life who loves me and buys NIB pinball games!

Update v.1:
This game is fun. Shooting it is accessible on the lower playfield as a fan layout and the upper playfield has 9 shots on it with the awesome boomerang diverter / left flipper. The lighting guides the eye and mind of the player around quite nicely. The modes are varied in selection and progression throughout the design. In the meantime, the villain modes and the multiball rules are in the game. This game is playable and enjoyable.

The software is still incomplete. The character lanes to light and then collect/start the player modes from the hole on the let are not in yet. The wizard mode for starting / completing the villains isn't implemented yet. That means the final wizard mode is not in the game either. The good news is that software updates are being implemented for technically functionality and score balancing. This is already happening to make sure the game is functioning as it should and to also prevent the upper playfield all day long tournament strategy. (MYSTERY PROGRAMMER... will you please adjust the scores on the Medieval Madness castle!). The callouts and the audio package is full of fun. I have seen people laugh out loud when some of the scripted quotes are spoken, I will say that the balance between the music, effects, quotes and player queues is not quite flushed out. At low general volumes, I have experienced very loud quotes with very quiet music when the master volume is down low. Will probably be fixed in later updates.

This is all good. Multiple production cycle juggling. Every manufacturer seems to be doing this as well. In some ways, this is frustrating as a consumer. In other ways this seems to be industry standard. In other ways this great! Software updates didn't happen until Keith Johnson just had to make his games right. Is it everything that everyone wants all at once? No. But it is happening and the pinball world is better for it. This game still has some physical shot/ play clunkyness. And the designs of the operating systems boards / lighting tech are in development. Just like every other pinball company out there.

Scooby fans love this game. There is enough in this design as it stands to keep most people entertained. I look forward to seeing how this ruleset is implemented and polished. Is it the most skillful pinball game created, nope. But it is Spooky's most ambitious and likely most successful (internal) game design.

Update v.2:
It’s pinside had a reliability rating for pinball games, I’d give it a big zero. Instead I gave ones to lastability and fun. Because owning a spooky pinball game has been more of a pain in the buttocks and therefore... NO FUN. Today, spooky pinball games will be at the bottom quality of the modem pinball game producers. This has been the case in the past, it is today and my good Will has been burnt out in hopes of their decision making process in the future. I’ve had to do more physical adjustments and modifications on this game than any other game I’ve ever owned, ever. Ball traps and happy trails. All traps near entrances to the subway. Ball traps on the ramp to the upper playfield, all traps to the few kids in the game. Ball traps underneath the flippers coming out from the other playfield. ball traps on habittrails. Ball traps near entrances to the subway. Ball traps on the ramp to the upper playfield, ball traps to review case in the game. Ball traps underneath the flippers coming out from the upper playfield. Who tested this game? Quality Control? Hello?

It’s bad.

Bad enough that I don’t think I will ever buy another spooky pinball game, ever. Cancel my fan club subscription, because I keep having issues with this game. I replace the number of boards on this game, and I’ve had to deal with lackluster support. This game was made earlier this year, and I’ve had to work on it more than any other game in my collection just to keep it working as it should. I also made the mistake of taking this game to a tournament. Right before The tournaments started, new code came out. I installed the code and unfortunately, the game performed poorly. Poorly enough that it got taken out of the tournament due to reliability issues. The game couldn’t keep track of players or both counts. No I don’t know if this is a hardware, or a software issue. But this game out right embarrassed me in front of my people. The thing I heard the most over this weekend was “Oh Spooky...” and it’s not like people haven’t been seen this already. For years. I want spook you to do better. But they’re not. And they’ve had 10 years to do better. I know this isn’t easy, and I also know a lot of people that complain about Jersey Jack games. Or they just won’t play them all because they don’t feel like Stern games.

If I have a real criticism of their build, and you could see this for early Jersey Jack as well. Especially Wizard of Oz. The games are meant to be assembled. Their builds were not meant to be taken apart again and serviced. Who, as a designer in their right mind... Builds a pinball game that can’t be serviced? I’m somewhat familiar with pinball technology, and I can’t imagine what it must be like for an owner who absolutely adores the Scooby Doo theme, that doesn’t know how to wrench a pinball game, to get one of these machines and have it go down with such frequency. Is it just me? Or is there a manual online? I see coil and switch charts, but no manual. No game adjustment info. Is there a .pdf? There are no schematics. Is the business plan smoke and replace, or is it just planned obsolescence. Really. Did I miss something?

Now here’s a real rub. I would’ve bought the game if it was up to me. But my lady is a super Scooby Doo fan. I got it for her. So I feel for the people who buy spooky games that love pinball and end up with poor quality of construction, reliability and an accessibility for maintenance. My patience has ended. Until real changes are made it spooky, I will never buy one of the pinball games again. And if I could, I’d sell this one ASAP.

So here’s to Marky Markety Mark the Veepee of Marketing at Spooky. You did your job well. You put lipstick on a pig and took the kissy-kissy all the way to the sale. Aaaaaaaaaaaaand your job is done. NEXT!!!

Or maybe I’d just buy a boat, cuz i know it’s a money pit and I already have an anchor.

Got some games on at Pinball Gallery just outside Philly and... It's not for me, but it might be for you. The game is actually very beautiful in person. I was surprised by how much better it looked in person than online. The upper level is built much higher up than in other multi level games I've played like Black Knight. The art is beautiful. The sound is good. The gameplay... was easy. Like... super easy. I think this would make a great first pin for someone, but even a mediocre player is going to have long ball times. The upper flipper bookshelf diverter is a really neat trick. Overall from Spooky, I'd rank this as their best game not designed by Danesi.

I was really looking forward to playing this game because of the theme, but thought it would be years before I ever came across one in a public location. Fortunately an arcade within driving distance got one so I made the trip to check it out.

My initial reaction after several games played is--well, it's a pinball machine and it's fun. Not really much more than that. I was hoping for some sort of "wow" factor that made me want to keep plugging quarters into it and I didn't get that. Is it a good game? Yes. Would I play it again? Yes. Did I like it any better than any of the other games that have been released in the past few years? No.

The upper playfield with the bookcase flipper is a nice touch, and I like the idea of being a different member of the Scooby gang that has different objectives when you play as say, Daphne as opposed to Shaggy.

My biggest issue with the game play is that the upper playfield blocks the view of the lower playfield, so you have to hit the ball into lanes where you can't see where it's going. It's hard to know what to shoot at when you can't see where anything goes.

I can't really make any helpful comments on the code as I never got far enough in the few games I played to explore that.