Data East

Tales from the Crypt

Pinside Rating

This game received 369 approved Pinsider ratings and currently rates 7.986 _/10

7.986

Top 100 ranking

This game ranks #87 in the Pinside Pinball Top 100.

Score breakdown

Score breakdown in the 4 main categories:

Game Design: 8.039

Artwork: 8.04

Sounds/Music: 7.318

Other Aspects: 8.226

Pinside staff rating

This is how we, the very knowledgeable (wink wink) Pinside.com staff & moderators rate this game. 7 of us have rated this game.

7.561

Your Rating?

You need to be logged in before you can rate pinball machines. No account yet? Registering only takes a sec!

Found 217 ratings (with comment) on this game

There are 217 ratings (that include a comment) on this game.
Currently showing results page 9 of 9.

List options

Ratings sort order

Type of ratings to show in list

Owner status of review

Exclude flagged ratings

Keyword or username search

8.584/10

13 years ago

JOA

JoachimR

Pinside member

Geel

13y 68,550 126 284

This is my favourite DE game, great layout and a lot of good chalanging modes. You do need to tweek the flippers to perfection if you want to nail both ramps on a regular basis. The only thing negative about this one is the criptkeepers cackling, but i can get over it since the rest is perfect

JoachimR edited previous rating on July 25, 2016.

8.172/10

13 years ago

BMS

Betelgeuse

Pinside member

13y 129K 3,645 72

One of DE's top games along with 'Guns N Roses' and 'Jurassic Park'. There is a fairly deep mode based ruleset. The ramps are some of the best in pinball. The dots are good and the music is awesome. There is a lot of excitement in this game with the shaker motor and amazing flasher display. I think this game mostly suffers in the art department, and the cackling can grate on some people. I am currently on my second TFTC. The first one went on a trade after 3 years in the game room. I missed it enough to pick up another one in a bulk buy and it's not going anywhere anytime soon. You can remove a lot of the cackling by disabling the switches at the ramp entrance. I just took out one of the switch screws and changed the angle. The switch hits are only worth 25k and it takes out all the repetitive cackling!

Betelgeuse edited previous rating on January 09, 2012.

9.466/10

13 years ago

JDH

juleshoddy

Inactive member

Guildford

15y 17,400 47 1 8

Just got the game working very nicely. It still needs a thorough clean and a few tweaks but I'm already very impressed with this! There's plenty of shots to go for, and there's loads of fun modes to complete. The game has a great flow and nothing slows gameplay down too much - something i like it my pinballs. I personally like the sound bytes in this game, including the fairly repetitive mad cackles and screams. To me, it adds to the madness of the machine. The DMD animations are brilliant and they've managed to squeeze some sort of sequence for nearly everything you do! The lightings very good too, although this game can go flasher crazy in some modes. I've owned a scared stiff and although i loved the artwork there just wasn't enough to do. If you're looking for a decent horror themed game, this one will hold your attention far longer than SS ever will! Lets go chopping!!

juleshoddy has owned this game in the past.

9.324/10

14 years ago

HPY

Santeh

Inactive member

14y 47,650 989 30

I was surprised to purchase a horror themed pin as I am not usually a fan of this genera, including movies etc.. However, I remember Tales from the Crypt from when I was young and how it gave me goosebumps. This aspect, plus other having said that it has some great shots and play along with the fact that I do not necessarily have a Data East aversion, allowed me to decide to go for it. And, to be honest, I have not regretted my decision. Nice job, Data East!

Santeh edited previous rating on April 29, 2011.

4.629/10

14 years ago

EDY

maxhead

Inactive member

Winterthur

14y 28,150 15 51 21

I hate Horror Themes except from Addams Family.. not my Table..

6.731/10

14 years ago

???

tiltking

Inactive member

Unknown

15y 9,750 17 43

ok not all that great

8.420/10

14 years ago

JMG

drbond

Inactive member

14y 62,400 1,473 7 85

A great game, and runner-up for Data East's best pin (the title belongs to designer John Borg's own GnR). Fans of the series (as well as horror fans in general), owe it themselves to check out this pin. The translite and playfield artwork are gloriously faithful to the comic series' artstyle. Playfield is well laid out offering fast gameplay, good flow, solid ruleset, and a great 6-ball multiball (all with DE's shaker motor). One of the more fun DE skill shots, while using the game's custom door-knocker auto plunger. Fun take on the TV show's theme song, and some awesome antagonistic quotes from the actual Crypt Keeper ("Chop of the morning to ya!"). The dot matrix animations are fantastic, but are a bit gory for the youngsters (adjusted with "Reduced Realism" setting). Sadly, this game is often underrated because it's a Data East. Don't let the DE label fool you! TFTC is a great game, and can be found for an affordable price. Excellent choice for seasoned pinheads, or new pinball collectors.

drbond edited previous rating on July 15, 2013.

9.084/10

14 years ago

DMR

Muscle_cars_only

Inactive member

Lynchburg, VA

14y 18,900 225 13 15

TFTC is a very overlooked and underrated machine. I ended up w/one while making a bulk purchase of pins @ a warehouse. Machine looked spotless and he offered it up cheap so I took it too. I absolutely love this pin, It's got it all ! ! ! ! Never the same game,fast,Great for the experienced players- the levels keep you in the game( when your not trying to keep 6 balls going ), I've never got tired of it and I've had it for 13 years now.It's one of the few along with TAXI & High Speed that have never made my game room rotation.

Muscle_cars_only currently owns this game.

8.270/10

14 years ago

???

Hawkeyepin

Inactive member

Des Moines, IA

14y 41,650 776 41

I've been looking for this machine to buy for some time and finally got a chance to play a beat up version at a local auction about 3 weeks ago here in Des Moines. I scored 399mil. I couldn't believe it and proceeded to chalk my name up on the pin at the end of the game. I think TFTC plays extremely smoothly and I didn't find any bad drainer targets. What I think this game could use is a drop in the toys from the very top of the playfield to something more mid range. Your eyes are so focused on the ball at that angle that a lot of the DMD animations are missed...and they are REALLY cool. I loved the feel of the game and the effects. It's darker to be sure but "warm in the crypt". I hope to pick one up soon and probably will add some LED's to lighten the playfield up.

8.480/10

14 years ago

WLC

Pinhead76

Pinside member

Needville, TX

15y 40,150 188 47

Now that I own this game and play it daily, I have to adjust my rating. I absolutely love it. I initially bought it on a whim and was considering selling it before i even unloaded it. But after replacing some bulbs, cleaning the inserts and playfield, this thing is a BLAST to play! I'm sure I may trade it for some other pin in the future, but not any time soon.

EDIT: OK, so as usually the case, I needed money so I sold it. Now I miss it.....

Pinhead76 edited previous rating on August 14, 2017.
Pinhead76 has this game on the wishlist.

6.878/10

14 years ago

ACE

Laser-Beam

Pinside member

Venice, CA

14y 36,900 8 1 47

Data East did a great job with this pinnie. Creepy artwork all over and a nice, open playfield for good ball speed. A highly sort after machine - very collectable.

Laser-Beam edited previous rating on November 17, 2013.

6.529/10

14 years ago

BAR

TheBaro

Inactive member

Brescia

15y 18,250 18 22

This was my first pin..a quite fun game..the artwork it's not my favourite (the design it's too confused), very good the 180Â° ramp quite difficult to get, the music is quite good..
Data East was a step less than the Williams/Bally model..it's clear...

TheBaro has owned this game in the past.

9.718/10

14 years ago

???

supersammy

Inactive member

Unknown

14y 3,500 1 2 10

I recently purchased TFTC, I had been playing it at an arcade for a year. it has an excellent theme and is challenging. I have played most of the P.B. machines ahead of this on the top 100 list and TFTC is underated at 37!!!!! THIS IS DATA EASTS BEST P.B. MACHINE.5/19/2009. I will write back in 6 to 9 months to update on its durability.... Peace--Out !!!!! Well i've had T.F.T.C. for over a year now. I really enjoy playing it...I've had to replace the DMD and powerboard. Also a ribbon cable and some minor playfield repairs. I would love to buy a high end resto of this pin if it exists...This pin is a keeper...love it..Now to find a Scared stiff in VG to EXC. condition...Peace out..............................

supersammy edited previous rating on June 20, 2010.
supersammy currently owns this game.

9.301/10

15 years ago

???

dglover4569

Inactive member

Baileys Crossroads, VA

15y 18,400 67 1 23

I love this game! One of Data East's best efforts. Some of the dot matrix images are a bit graphic for the little ones, but quite entertaining for adult players. There is nothing cooler than undressing the mummy in the Frightmare mode! Too funny:)

dglover4569 has owned this game in the past.

9.108/10

15 years ago

YAY

jitneystand1

Pinside member

Valley, NE

15y 95,850 1,536 16 40 1

Data Easts finest effort. Mode based pin along the lines of Addams Family, not quite as universally appealing though. If you don't find the Cryptkeeper annoying you are going to love this one.

jitneystand1 edited previous rating on July 14, 2020.
jitneystand1 has owned this game in the past.

8.704/10

17 years ago

EMO

emo

Inactive member

Nailsea

17y 53,650 1,277 2 251

A good original game, with nice shots and an original rule set. The only thing I would change is the automatic lighting of multi-ball on ball three but I appreciate that it is there for novice players. This game has lots of depth and a great wizard mode that is tough to get to!

emo edited previous rating on September 29, 2011.
emo has owned this game in the past.

6.211/10

19 years ago

JCS

jeffspinballpalace

JeffSPinballPalace

20y 242K 19,063 556

Well thought out pin with fun abounding everywhere. Starting with the right ramp loop and continuing with horrifically fun sound throughout.

jeffspinballpalace edited previous rating on January 22, 2017.

Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

There are 217 ratings (that include a comment) on this game. Currently showing results page 9 of 9.

You too can add your own comment by rating this game! Click here to rate this game!

Over the years

Visualizing this game's rating and rank over the years

Hey there! Welcome to Pinside!

Donate to Pinside

Great to see you're enjoying Pinside! Did you know Pinside is able to run without any 3rd-party banners or ads, thanks to the support from our visitors? Please consider a donation to Pinside and get anext to your username to show for it! Or better yet, subscribe to Pinside+!