Are location pins better then owning?

[kevin the 1984 kid]

Can't help but to think that pinballs on locations or other collectors pins are more appealing to play . After owning a pin does it lose it's magic? I love going to locations and playing pins more than my own pins mainly because there is no maintenance and it's a "new" feeling of play every time. Even games I love to play after owning them seems to get a bit dry. For example I owned a Space shuttle and got bored of it after a couple months, on location I would play it for hours. I recently traded my RFM ....after a short time of owning. I've wanted to own that game for years! and loved playing it on location or at the TOPL. After owning it I really lost interest withing a few months again. I typically have 3-4 pins and 1 arcade in rotation so it's not like I'm playing the same pins everyday....but still would rather play other peoples pins! Does anyone else feel the same? Do I need more pins in my own collection or does owning your "dream" pin dull the excitement of only playing once and a while?

 

[Vengeance]

I don't, I generally hate location pinball.

Reason being there is usually something wrong! Either it's not level, there is something that isn't working, it's dirty, it's not playing right, or whatever else the case may be.

Having the game at home means it plays exactly the way I want it to.

I can't speak to a 4 game collection, but in my collection I don't mind getting bored of games, I just ignore them for a few months and then play them again later. TSPP and LOTR are examples of that for me. I love both games but just don't feel like spending the time to play them right now. So I haven't I've been playing more Metallica, Genesis, and TZ again. I'm sure I'll go back to TSPP and LOTR eventually.

 

[Menace]

Yep, as Adam pointed out any game you have access to and play a lot of will lose it's lustre. It's human nature, and happens with pretty much everything in life when you stop and think about it.

The pro's of location pins is usually you get access to games you don't own (if you can actually find location pins). The downside is again what Adam already mentioned, which is they are usually not maintained to the same standards as your own and are usually a dissapointment to play. More often than not when I drop money into a location game I end up walking away shaking my head because of that... sad but true.

Unfortunately so many of us collectors are limited by space (and money) so growing your line-up to something that allows you to stay engagged with playing your own collection can be tricky. I've often told other collectors that are just getting into the hobby that I find 10 games in a line-up seems to be the perfect number (with one or two projects in the shop to rotate in and out). Not only does it give you enough variety to keep you coming back, it's the perfect number to keep up on maintenance. By the time you finish shopping them all out and dialing them all in, the first game you worked on will likely require attention again.

Of course, this is just my $0.02.

D

 

[mwong168]

I agree with Adam and location pins play horrible for reasons listed above.

In a small or large collection any game no matter how good or if it is a grail can get old. I don't blame you for getting bored of Space Shuttle as it probably would have lasted as long as High Speed did for me which was 72 hours and before I gave it the boot. This is why I am very picky about my games and live by my "NO RAMPS, NO DMD, NO THANKS (and now NO STERN)" motto

I was also very excited to get an RFM and went through quite a bit of trouble to get one. I drove ~1200kms round trip to QC to pick mine up in the rain. The worse part was I miscalculated and my trunk couldn't fully close and water was slowly seeping in so I pulled into one of these EnRoutes and shrink wrapped my car.

The RFM novelty wore off after about a week of owning it and I ended up trading it away a month later.

I think Doug's magic number of "10" is the perfect and I've been hovering around 10-11 pins for the past 2 years now and am quite content. If I get bored of a particular game I will just stop playing it and in a few months when I circle back around it feels "new" to me again.

 

[Honey Badger]

I use to love playing pins on location but after being spoiled in a home environment it drives me nuts when games play like crap in the wild. I think you just need more games Kevin and if not then find something you really like. At one point all I had in my basement was a Taxi, TSPP and 24. They are 3 great games and I never got bored.

 

[kevin the 1984 kid]

10 would be nice...just need to go back in time and pick some up at the SB auctions for a reasonable price! ....plus my basement will max out at 6 or 8 If I get rid of the TV (than the kids would have to hang out in the garage when there older i guess) It's good to know though, I've always wondered if the guys in the TOPL that have 20+ machines get bored of them. Niagara has a pretty good pinball on location vibe that is for the most part well maintained (only skyway and marineland suck) I play pins on location in my area once a week and 90% of the time there clean and working well with no issues. I would like to get a couple more pins but like Mwong168 said It would probably be best if they where DMD or they would get boring faster (still looking at that pinball pool though...Taxi would be nice too)
I currently own Getaway, Shadow and Champion Pub plus a mame arcade (that's always down) would love to get a Monster Bash but I'm afraid It will lose it's magic if I get it...plus the price is crazy for a decent one. All in all maybe I just need more pins!! or better ones....

If anyone comes down to Niagara I have a list of pins on location that I update frequently :
http://www.maaca.org/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=8177

 

[kevin the 1984 kid]

I use to love playing pins on location but after being spoiled in a home environment it drives me nuts when games play like crap in the wild. I think you just need more games Kevin and if not then find something you really like. At one point all I had in my basement was a Taxi, TSPP and 24. They are 3 great games and I never got bored.

24 is a underrated game, don't see them for sale much.How is the Gold wings doing? I kinda miss that thing, people would go nuts over the air siren special......

 

[tim.sanderson]

I agree with Kevin.

I love finding games on location. There's a certain amount of charm that only comes with playing games in public, with people you don't know.
Me and my buddy have driven to several provinces/states to play pinball, that's something I hope not to lose a love for any time soon. Sure the games aren't usually in the condition that I've/we've become accustomed to, but that's the nature of the game.

If it weren't for pinball (or vids) in the wild, none of us here would be in the hobby.

My advice is to loosen your standards, have a beer with people you've just met, and have fun playing a few games you actually have to drop a few quarters into.

 

[meegis]

I'm heading to niagara Friday and Saturday this week

 

[meegis]

Well put Tim

 

[Menace]

If it weren't for pinball (or vids) in the wild, none of us here would be in the hobby.

My advice is to loosen your standards, have a beer with people you've just met, and have fun playing a few games you actually have to drop a few quarters into.

I agree whole heartedly, and I try to drop money into any pin I find out in the wild but most of the games I find are completely unplayable. (non-working flipper(s) being the #1 issue) It's disheartening because I'm trying to explain the concept of supporting pins on location to my kids and why it's so important, but how can you hit that home with the younger generation when the majority of location games are unplayable? (at least the ones I'm coming across)

My son and I did come across an X-Men this weekend that was actually playable at the movie theater, so we played it until our show started which was a nice surprise. (although most of the lower PF lamps were out but that doesn't affect the play so...)

D

 

[meegis]

I wandered across a striker extreme in a bowling alley. Would have dropped some coins in, but unfortunately it was turned off. I went up to it anyway, and this is what I saw.

Basically, no rod, balls in lane, no way to even try. I blacked out the op card to not out them personally.

 

[meegis]

Though I do like seeing games on route, as it means pinball is not completely dead.

 

[a.stebel]

Best thing about finding one in the wild is trying to acquire it for your own collection.

 

[tim.sanderson]

After my comment above, I will say that I do agree that it sucks how operators seem to keep their games in such shit shape.

It's one thing if the game has had a problem for a few days, but it's total horse-shit when op's neglect their machines for months.
Playdium at Square One is deplorable, especially for a business that tries to sell you the very machines that you play there. Major problems go on for months without being fixed. All the while a sign on the glass tells you that you can buy the game from them.

Hopedale Bowl in Oakville has a couple of machines 'maintained' by a well know operator. They changed their lineup to Dark Knight and Street fighter a while back. Dark Knight is in fairly rough shape, Joker doesn't spin around, but other than that it actually plays OK. But Street Fighter, that's another ball game. Mid September last year I sent an email to the operator to let them know that SF 's left flipper was so weak it can't make the ramp shots, and that it eats your money on a regular basis. They said thanks for the message, and that although they hadn't received a service call from Hopedale yet, but they'd send someone to fix the game. Fast forward to earlier this month. The game still eats coins, and the flipper still can't make ramp shots. As if visiting kids need another reason to to think pinball is lame.

It's too bad, because I've talked to the lady (who's very nice, for the record) who owns the alley (I think it's family owned/run), and she says she wishes they'd pull the stupid boat racing game (which had one half of it busted my last two visits) and claw machine, and replace them with more pins.

Maybe another operator should offer up more games and better service!