So, this weekend, my buddy and I went down to the local arcade/go cart/funhouse. We intended on playing some arcade games, hitting up the mini golf, and racing some go-carts. Instead, we ended up playing Indiana Jones Pinball (by Stern) for about 4 hours. It had to be one of my most favorite times in an arcade, ever.
So, I have a finished basement, with a bar, poker table, and I'm slowly turning it into my "man cave". I'm dead set on getting this machine sometime this year. Does anyone have any tips or experiences to share about buying Pinball Machines...or arcade machines in general? Where to go? Things to check for, or be wary of?
Also...what's your favorite pinball machine?
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http://www.bossyman15.com/gallery/sjcc/Jurassic%20Park%20pinball.JPG
I modeled a pinball machine awhile ago and had this page in my references:
http://www.thepinballblog.com/2009/05/top-10-pinball-machines.html
Some guys top ten list, Judge Dredd machine would be cool to have
oh, and:
Bill Paxton Pinball!
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRZJgPCNDY0&feature=player_embedded[/ame]
more on topic: adams family pinball. best. pinball. machine. ever.
http://www.ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=20
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsnzDXXSURU[/ame]
bride of pinbot
gilligans island
funhouse
- Twilight Zone (I second skayne on it being awesome)
- Corvette
- Star Trek: The Next Generation
We bought all three from a business friend. He bought them in huge numbers (when we bought these three, he had at least fifty in his shop) from failed arcades in Germany.
Two big things to pay attention to are any electrical issues and the quality of the playing field. Often, a dirty field is just due to neglect by the owner, where a good and thorough cleaning can make them look as good as new.
As for the electronics, first off make sure it comes with a manual. Secondly, when being presented it by the seller, have them go to the diagnostic mode to show that there's no errors or issues.
For picking out a system, the more things it has going on the better. Each of our three machines has multi-tiered "missions" built into the gameplay, and different parts of the field play off one another for challenges. On Corvette, on your last ball, you can get balls 'locked' into an engine which, if you get three caught, unlocks a multiball mode.
Geezus, be sure to hit me up in IRC, I can try and answer any more questions you've got.
Hence the quotes in "man cave"...besides...what's wrong with having super hero masturbatory fantasies?
Addams Family and The Twilight Zone are both epicly awesome pinball games.
There's a local shop here, run by a guy who has been selling/repairing pinball machines for the past 30 years in this area. I came across his shop on a random adventure one day. He also sells mace. 0.o Anyhow, I'll hit him up for some additional help.
Thanks for all the replies. I'll hit you up sometime this week flaagan.
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ByKyvpw4lM[/ame]
what more could u possibly want in addition to arny congratulating ur hits
Basement, gameroom, playroom... dungeon and plain old cave. Yes. "Man cave". No.
"Man Cave" just sounds like a "mangina".
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJaqAaVhAsg[/ame]
Also, anyone interested in pinball check this out: http://www.gethome.no/jpsalas/ . There is an amazing community creating tables for Visual Pinball at http://www.vpforums.org/ .
http://www.nwpinballshow.com/
for the low price of 50 bucks for a weekend pass, or 20 buck fri/sat 15 bucks sun, you can play any of over 200 pinball machines all set to free play. there will be arcade machines there as well, most of this stuff will be for sale and there are going to be tournaments too. sounds like a good time waiting to happen.