need advice - over 10 years out of the hobby

[specfire]

Update on my search. Thank you to all for your advice, it was VERY helpful. Special thank you to Scott (Warlock) who invited me to Bluff's in order to learn more and perhaps buy a pin and has also given me a great deal of guidance via PM. I haven't made it to Bluff's yet, but will sometime in the next few months. In the mean time, I bought a pin from a video game collector about an hour North of Toronto who had a nice collection of system 11 games for sale.

In that process, I have learned that I don't really know what I like. I thought I knew what I liked, but when playing the pins before I selected one, I realized that the Pin I thought I really wanted and would really like, I didn't like, and the Pin I thought I would hate, I loved. Weird. Scott specifically warned me about this, thank you Scott.

My main pinball playing time was during the early 80's. I love Firepower, even though it just killed me back then almost every game. I didn't actually play pinball during the system 11 era, but I did spend a ton of time on Taxi in the early 90's when DMD's were getting popular (but I didn't like them.)

I was planning to buy Jokerz! but ended up buying Big Guns which I had never seen or played before. (He did have a nice Pinbot that I couldn't afford, but at least I confirmed I still love that title.)

I really didn't care for Jokerz!, the gameplay, theme, or music, yet, it had everything I expected to like. A classic layout, with a spinner, pops, lots of drops targets, ramp, and timed shots.

I thought I liked:

Pop bumpers
Drop Targets
Spinners
Ramps
Flow
Timed shots

I thought I didn't like:

symmetric playfields (I've played a lot of Fire! and don't really care for that game. I thought it was the symmetric playfield.)
Lack of ramps, spinners, or pop bumpers
Stop and go
Split playfields
DMD

Big Guns is missing pops, spinners, and ramps. It also has a symmetric as well as a split playfield (though single level). Despite this, I loved it. It is just a whole lot of fun. Also, my kids are having a great time playing as well. Despite the speed of Big Guns, it has saves on both outlanes as well as a raised centre post, so it is quite forgiving to new players (my family.) The sounds on Big Guns are surprising to me, there are a lot of sounds that appear in other games including Swords of Fury. Another thing I felt was similar to Swords of Fury are the drop targets on Big Guns vs the mini-playfield on SoF. I have played a bit of SoF and enjoyed the mini-playfield, but I love the upper playfield on Big Guns much more. The drops on Big Guns with hidden target and horseshoe is awesome. Finally, the cannons shooting the ball into the habitrails is just awesome to watch.

In the end, I purchased Big Guns with LEDs, everything working, and a very smooth playfield for $3.1k. The only issue is the cabinet is a bit rough. I hope when the time comes, I will be able to get my money back out of it. I do suspect that if I trade for another, I will likely stay on System 11.

Thanks again for everyone's advice and thanks again to Scott for taking the time to help me. I'm looking forward to visiting Bluff's now more than ever.

[HPR Pinball]

I recently looked the progress in virtual pinballs and it's very impressive, no doubt it's the way for me in the future for pinball fun at a reasonnable price.

Here's a small example:
https://youtu.be/L72VZdF3Ibc

Pins with "pup packs" crazy nice !
https://youtu.be/vfgPrgyTH1s

Pins with beautiful mods:
https://youtu.be/ZctGP5xlX04

[HPR Pinball]

I recently looked the progress in virtual pinballs and it's very impressive, no doubt it's the way for me in the future for pinball fun at a reasonnable price.

Here's a small example:
https://youtu.be/L72VZdF3Ibc

Pins with "pup packs" crazy nice !
https://youtu.be/vfgPrgyTH1s

Pins with beautiful mods:
https://youtu.be/ZctGP5xlX04

[specfire]

I thought I would give a quick update. I'm still enjoying Big Guns, though I will probably look to trade/sell/swap for another pin in the Winter or Spring (or sooner if something came up). I really only have room for one pin, so I need to be prepared to sell/trade. My wife wouldn't support a second pin anyway.

I am thinking of Cyclone, a classic single ball game that I really like and my wife enjoyed when she had a chance to play one. I think my family and guests will really enjoy it as well. There is lots to shoot for with a good variety of scoring options, and it is more inviting to guests. Regarding Big Guns and most other pins, I have noticed that everyone enjoys the anticipation of multiball but then curses it when they get it because it becomes just a button mashing endeavor. I enjoy multiball but my ball control is quite poor during multiball to the point that, if I get a multiball jackpot, it feels more like luck than skill. I think Cyclone, as a classic single ball game, will be well received by my family and guests.

Anyway, thanks again for everyone's advice and help. If anyone knows of a Cyclone that might become available, I would be very interested.

[HPR Pinball]

For a single pinball room i recommend highly High Speed. It will be a sucess with friends and familly 100% for a long time.

[Playr_Juan]

the above is good advice. Good titles are easy to sell too.

[specfire]

It seems I'm slow to pay proper attention This thread has a lot of similar advice, I should probably listen. I will look for a High Speed. It has been a long time since I played that title and it wasn't in very good shape when I did. I never cared for Python's artwork on the backglass of High Speed or Taxi. They look like zombies.

I'm just hoping that via settings and perhaps table adjustments, I can set it up to be a bit more forgiving than I remember. I have setup Big Guns as pretty forgiving so my family and guests can at least achieve reasonable ball times. My problem is that with an easy setup, my games are a bit long, and my kids don't like playing with me. Anyway, that is a problem that will fix itself over time as my family gets better.

Any advice on how to setup a High Speed to help beginners?

[cap]

You are lucky if your family plays your pin at all. Mine couldn't care less, and I include all my extended family. You can give preference to what your family likes, but at the end of the day, buy something YOU like, since you will be playing more than them.

[Playr_Juan]

yup, most people will think it is cool, play a game and abandon on ball 2. It happens, can't expect everybody to like it. You can tell who are the ones that do because they keep on coming back.
Get a theme you like and a fun game and you are good to go.

[mrmikeman]

My wife likes to play as well although she thinks she's terrible at it. She is better than she thinks lol.

Anyway that's why I got Cactus Canyon. An fun/humorous "easier" game that she may have a chance to progress through enough to see the wizard mode. She hasn't been close yet but only had the game for a few weeks so far.