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Mata Hari 1978 vs Hot Hand 1979 Vs 8-Ball

CJBob

Active Member
Nov 24, 2014
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Mississauga
I had 8 Ball for a while and hated it. A real drain monster, although guests did seem to enjoy it because it was easy to understand the rules.

Have a look at my profile picture for my vote ;)
 

Starbuck

New Member
Sep 28, 2017
4
1
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Ottawa
Another vote for Eight Ball.

Mata Hari you basically just shoot the saucer.
Hot Hand has the rotating bit at the top, which adds an interesting dimension, but I found it got boring pretty quickly.
Eight Ball is the one I've played the most and I've yet to tire of it. Simple rule set, but not easy to master!
 

atariaction

Well-Known Member
Dec 1, 2012
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Eight ball for sure! Eight ball deluxe is better in my opinion. Matahari, like cjbob says is shoot the middle saucer all day. Had a hot hand for a bit. cool old stern game. unique layout and interesting rules but 8 ball is the winner!
 

CJBob

Active Member
Nov 24, 2014
354
91
28
Mississauga
It's different with home use, but when I was young and playing Mata Hari at the back of the local variety store I would shoot for the targets the entire time, not the saucer. I was able to get the targets down twice for a free game a lot and would often sell my remaining games because I had to catch the bus home. Most days I ended up playing for free.
 
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atariaction

Well-Known Member
Dec 1, 2012
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Yes for sure. The objectives change big time! Its all about the xtra ball and free credits on location. Selling credits for bus fair is awesome, nice! I would just spend hours splitting my bus tickets in half so I could use each side and get 2 for 1 :)
 

DRANO

Super Member
Nov 15, 2012
2,821
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Mississauga
Eight Ball all day long!
The game is hard for sure, but as long as you focus on hitting the 8 ball target as early as possible, you will light the kickback ball save on the big left outlane. That alone makes the game much more manageable. If you use the kicker, you can re-light it again.
The machine forces you to play the entire playfield to collect the balls and is super fast for a classic Bally. Nice looking game too and the chimes give it some great charm... especially when you rip the lit spinner (also lit via the 8ball target)

I've owned Eight Ball deluxe 3 times and have sold them all. IMO, all that game has going for it is speech. The object targets are all grouped together and you can basically make them by accident. Stern Nine Ball has a similar setup with a bank of targets for each ball, but at least it forces you to shoot them in order which makes for a great sharpshooting game with more strategy and shot angles.

I've owned almost all of the top classic Bally pins and only Eight Ball and Fathom were keepers for me.

Good luck with whatever you choose.