Top 10 Best Bargains in Pinball Today

[mwong168]

I came across this article on my friend's game room blog site and thought I would share it. I've owned half of the games on the list before and miss most of them.

http://gameroomblog.com/features/the-to ... ball-today

 

[DRANO]

Lots of great games there!
I would love me some BSD one day and FT is huge bang for buck... although prices are steadily climbing on that title.

The classic Sterns on the other hand... :lol:

 

[superjackpot]

I would agree with Chris' review but things are moving quickly and those 'bargain' games are going up in price too. E.G. a decent BSD is no longer a $2000 game. Perhaps his is the U.S. perspective

 

[mwong168]

I would agree with Chris' review but things are moving quickly and those 'bargain' games are going up in price too. E.G. a decent BSD is no longer a $2000 game. Perhaps his is the U.S. perspective

Don't forget Chris Bucci's videos are posted from many years ago and they were a bargain back then and I think his Shadow ended up costing him like $500 after he sold off the Riverboat Gambler. He also did pretty good with his AFM straight trade for MM too

Prices up here in Canada have historically been higher then the US and there are still some deals to be had down there but unfortunately because of the distance someone else will beat you to it. There was a pretty good deal last week in Michigan where someone was selling a T2 for $1100 and JM for $1400 or else $2100 for the pair. Both had some minor issues but for the price I think you would come out ahead. If someone is really looking for a local project BSD send Dave Astill a PM but I will warn you the cab is pretty bad but the playfield looks like it will clean up nicely and I believe the game boots. Dave is a good guy to deal with and will not leave any details out so you will have a good idea of what you will be getting into.

 

[Grauwulf]

Sadly most of the machines on that list I have *zero* interest in owning. I've had a couple classic Bally/Stern machines, they don't hold my interest. I own RFM and am on my second Shadow, I really regretted selling my first Shadow. Sadly Shadow went through a 'flavour of the month' phase a little while ago and it seems to be very difficult to find one for a reasonable price any more and a lot of the parts for it have dried up. This one isn't going anywhere.

 

[hippochrome]

Great list, thanks for posting it!
I'm surprised seeing BSD on there...I really don't care for the gameplay, and lack of features in it (mist magnet is neat only the first time you see it)
I think wcs94 should be on the list instead.

 

[Vengeance]

I think wcs94 should be on the list instead.

:shock:

WCS94 is a snore fest, my god that game is just terrible, playing it is such a grind, every single time, it's the exact same thing.

While you can say that BSD is weak from a depth standpoint, it's fun comes from the difficulty, getting the triple stack is extremely rewarding and such a cool feeling when Drac is screaming out "THIRRRRTTTTYYYY MILLLLLLION" it's an adrenaline rush.

WCS is not hard, and it never gets hard and you never feel like you accomplish anything, it's just a grind as your grind you way through multiball, after multiball, after multiball.

 

[REVOLUTION]

This list lost me at "any classic Stern"

 

[hippochrome]

I think wcs94 should be on the list instead.

:shock:

WCS94 is a snore fest, my god that game is just terrible, playing it is such a grind, every single time, it's the exact same thing.

While you can say that BSD is weak from a depth standpoint, it's fun comes from the difficulty, getting the triple stack is extremely rewarding and such a cool feeling when Drac is screaming out "THIRRRRTTTTYYYY MILLLLLLION" it's an adrenaline rush.

WCS is not hard, and it never gets hard and you never feel like you accomplish anything, it's just a grind as your grind you way through multiball, after multiball, after multiball.

I knew you'd flame me on that one, lol!
From a pro-pinball players perspective you of course are right...however, I take the perspective of the casual pinball player, who likes to bash the ball around and see some neat tricks. WCS94 fits the bill perfectly, and I'd say a top 10 in value for the buck.
Lets say Joe Shmow is looking for a cheap DMD to put in his basement to entertain the family with, you gotta agree WCS94 is exactly that. And with all those toys/tricks in it...if it came out today it would be über expensive compared to BSD.

 

[cooke]

Classic Stern ftw.

Still the best kept secret in pinball, as far as I'm concerned. The ballers can keep their $2K+ games. I'm good with my cheap-ass Sterns. But watch out! Games like Star Gazer, Iron Maiden and even Quicksilver and Lightning aren't as cheap as they once were. The word is spreading about these games.

I still contend that Lectronamo is the best $500 game you can buy.

 

[brewmanager]

Nice to see Road Show getting some love. My problem is a good one. Now that I'm starting to really get into my wh20 I have no idea which pin leaves next. My limit is 4, but I have 6. See how long I can keep that one up.

 

[mwong168]

Nice to see Road Show getting some love. My problem is a good one. Now that I'm starting to really get into my wh20 I have no idea which pin leaves next. My limit is 4, but I have 6. See how long I can keep that one up.

I love my Roadshow and played it for the first time in months just now when I had Todd over. That is the problem when you keep bringing in new games, your old ones don't get played till the honeymoon phase is over for the new ones. I see you are just as torn about WH20 as I was when I first got it. Give it a chance and I am glad I held onto it for a year because I considered selling it after 2-3 months. Watch Bowen's video again and try to collect those rafts and it is a rush getting multi-ball setup just when you start 5x scoring and hitting that Insanity Falls shot as the balls get fed to the upper flipper.

I have no idea which pin leaves next too and hope nothing I want comes up for sale because I am really enjoying Tron.

 

[WARLOCK]

I told Mike I may not post on this thread, but here I am. I just can't turn away. lol (Good topic Wong)
I have had 5 of the pins on this list. (I still have 4) and the 5th is the older brother of one of these pins.
I have had opportunities @ 4 of the others. Great list. (Plus the classic Sterns are all fun) Yes, I maintain one.

However...

Buy what you want to.
Play what you like to.

The purpose is to enjoy your hobby.

 

[Honey Badger]

Some of the best bargain pins in my opinion are Road Show, Fish Tales, Rollergames, TFTC, WPT, Baywatch, WCS94, T3, Congo, Stargate and NBAFB. The winner for me though is SST, fun as hell for the price they go for.

Sure there are better games out there but for what you are getting compared to what you pay for these titles, this is my list. All of these games keep me coming back for more after playing.

 

[movingpictures]

I love my Roadshow and played it for the first time in months just now when I had Todd over.

Poor game, it must be lonely begging to be played.

Maybe it's time to downsize? :lol:

 

[TwilightZone]

Going to disagree with Adam, I think WCS is a great game and is one of the best values out there. It still come up under $2K. Not many DMD era games are under $2K. I agree it might not be the best game for a skilled player, but I think it is a simple and fun game. Personally I find making it to the final game against Germany a blast. Love the music and feel of the game. A fantastic family friendly game.

Road Show is another game that is undervalued. I've seen them sell in the $2,800 range, but every now and again one will come up in the low $2K range. Lots of game for the money. I have one and it won't be leaving. I love the humour. The layout is great and to make it more challenging you can install lightening flippers. Williams Fan's RS has lightening flippers on it and I have to admit I like them. Hard to find those flippers though. Not sure if they are repro'd or not.

SST is a great game, like Jason mentioned, if you can find one. They used to be dirt cheap, but have started to climb and they don't come up as often as they used ot.

Cheers,
Duane

 

[Menace]

The lightning flippers have been repro'd but unfortunately not very well, as they have serious durability issues. (they only seem to last about a week before breaking)

D

 

[cdnpinballer]

I am a WCS94 owner and agree with Hippo and TZ. It's a fantastic and affordable family friendly game. Lots of stuff going on like 2 magnets, 2 ramps, 2 scoops, 3 kickout holes, 3 pops, spinner, kickback, goal toy and a really cool skill shot with the coin toss. There is so many things jam packed in the game and it's got a ton of flow and combo shots to put everything together. One of my Fav animations in all of pinball is the airplane flying to another city when you hit the lit "travel" spinner. I don't know why but I just love seeing that jet fly by.

It's a lot of fun and for me has the 'just one more game' attraction.

 

[jooky]

Hooray for Road Show!

Signed,
A soon to be RS owner.

 

[mwong168]

Poor game, it must be lonely begging to be played.

Maybe it's time to downsize? :lol:

I went through quite a bit of getting my Roadshow and was in a head to head race with Williams Fan at the same time to see who could find one first. Roadshow provides great bang for buck if you compare the price point to other games like TAF or TZ and I think the only thing Lawlor forgot to incorporate were magnets on this game. For $2000-3000 you would be hard pressed to replace it with another title that packs so much stuff and fun in my opinion. I have a set of white lightning flippers so I might try swapping them out into my Roadshow sometime and see how it plays.

There are many games in my collection that I don't play enough on a regular basis and I am completely fine with that. Sometimes it is better this way because when I do circle back it is refreshing and almost feels like a new game. It might seem like I go through many games in a short period of time but for the games I enjoy I do not let go easy. You can ask brewmanager about my Roadshow before he found his own and DavidC who might still be looking for an Indianapolis 500 after almost 1.5 years of asking me :lol:

I can also say for under $2000 WCS94 is a great game as well and was a huge hit when I had it for 6 months and my nieces and nephews were sad to see it go. I remember logging some time on this back in the day cause every arcade seemed to have one and I could always hear "GOAL!!!!!!!!!!" in the background somewhere. If space was not an issue I probably would have one still along with the other games listed in the top 10 bargain list.