130 replies to this topic

[TheMcD]

Yeah, let's get this question rolling. How good are you actually when it comes to real pinball?

I'd have to say bad, but rising. Or maybe mediocre, but rising. I actually suck, but sometimes I pull something good out of my rear.

Honest opinions only, please... no egos will be helping here.

Discuss and vote.

The McD

P.S. Pinned. If another mod disagrees, de-pin it and tell me.

Edited by TheMcD, 06 March 2009 - 09:31 PM.

[lupo51ca]

Yeah, let's get this question rolling. How good are you actually when it comes to real pinball?

I'd have to say bad, but rising. Or maybe mediocre, but rising. I actually suck, but sometimes I pull something good out of my rear.

Honest opinions only, please... no egos will be helping here.

Discuss and vote.

The McD

P.S. Pinned. If another mod disagrees, de-pin it and tell me.

I'm usually not terrible, although I've had more then a few days where terrible would be an understatement. I think I'm pretty consistant at playing, although I don't get to play as much as I used to due to the lack of machines around here, and the ones I usually do get to play are not well maintained so I can't tell how my performance is.

[TheMcD]

Ooookay... fess up. Who said his skill level was max?

The McD

[templarjh]

wasn't me I'm maybe in between mediocre / high (voted mediocre). I used to be great at Taxi when there was one in the dorm. 19 mil. high score if I remember right. I've turned the reels over a few times on my Satin Doll. I can generally walk up to an unfamiliar machine and at least look like I know what I'm doing, and I can nudge with occasional effectiveness. Never have pulled off a successful death save, although I won't try unless the machine is already really beaten up (I was so close a few times on the beat up South Park in town).

I can't touch the guys who are really good at this :/ *we're not worthy*

[faralos]

well I'm great on the older ones (the e.m. ones I grew up playing, I'm 49 and remember the OLD flipperless ones too) but these new ones are mostly luck and are usually too busy on the playfields to actually let my tired old eyes adjust to the ball thru all the lights and flashing things and moving parts! So, on older machines (pre '80's) I'm great, but on the newer ones I'm mediocre. But I haven't played any real pins in years, due to no arcades anywhere near me. i hope to enter that p3 tourney coming up in Allentown in May (I think). will keep you informed on how that goes. (and I'm bringing a camera to take shots of the various pins they'll have there, since it's also a swap meet.

[slam23]

I'm effin' starved of real machines here in Holland! In my college days (early '90's) I was consistently first place on Star Wars, Indy, T2 and Jurassic Park, especially getting replay after replay on the SW machine. I even got asked by the bar owner to forfeit some of those to let other people play (and make him more of a profit probably ) Have reached eternal life mode a dozen of times on Indy (and 3x times in one particular good game if I remember correctly, coming up with a score around a cool 5B). When I compare my playing of that time with what I know now of real pinball wizards I would consider myself a player with high skill level on my favorite machines, mediocre at best on tables I don't know that well, but certainly not maximum skill on any one of them. If half of the claims on pinballhighscores.org are true, then I bow to those guys! 4B on LOTR is way out of my league, but I can hang within the top 10 or 20 on some tables (playing the vpinmame versions sadly enough...but they are by most considered to be more difficult than the real machines, do you agree?). Because I don't get to play real machines anymore I guess my skills have worsened, and are probably still declining. The next time a encounter a real pin, I'll first look for shift keys on the damn thing for sure! I hope there's gonna be a revival that put some machines near my neighbourhood, that would be nice!
Greetings Slam23

[Jive]

I have a high skill level, not on top, but always getting better.
Testing tables all day long is improving your skill...
Yep: when you have to test a part of a table, let say the way Dracula is moving on the Monster Bash's table, or how is acting the animation of Bride, you have to play until the animations begins... Which means the ability to activate some parts quickly and efficiently (no time to lose).
It doesn't mean that I have the highest score everywhere, but I brake more or less easily the records.
That said, I know that some of you have a VERY high skill, and that my own records are far away from yours.

It's time to make a "High Scores" folder, here. No ?

[TAB]

Having played in Stuttgart/Germany before my illness The Machine BOP. No one has beat me. And the real one is better than PC.
But what was the world without all collectors here. Roms, Pics, Emulations and Randy
Tell your little child about the fantastic 'Flash'. This was a very good machine

[yogiholzer]

Everything . Sorry! I was and I'm still and will ever be a lousy pinball player.

[cellocgw]

My reply should be...." Just ask my wife how good I am," but then someone might actually ask her .

I don't get to the arcade much now that my kids are way too old for the redemptions. Plus they (Acton Bowladrome) seem to be giving up on pins.
Overall I've got far better strategy and technique than when I was young, but that doesn't make up for reaction time, I fear.

[PAN]

I start playing pinball in 1971 and through all the years it was my favorite kind of sport. The first ten years I played for money and beer or selling free games. On every machine PAN stands in the rankinglist. May be in an other country I would get a profiplayer, but not in Germany. Every year there are less machines in the Pubs, in Marburg there is a rest of three pinballs and not one is nice to play. So I'm very happy to find VPin...

[Shadow]

Shit hot . . . .

You find me a pinball machine and . . .

. . .well, find me a pinball machine . . .

[computerfrk1]

I started playing in 1988 it took about 4 months before I learned the tricks on how to master any game out there. I just practice now to stay sharp but don't play a lot. Believe it or not the originals are the only tables that DO stump me.

[studmuff]

I'm actually average maybe even below average. Every once and a while I'm pull a great game out of my ***. However, I'm getting better. I feel my first game is usually my best and then I digress. Most be the beer.

[Tomcat Leader]

7 time Ohio State Pinball and Video Game Champion. 'Nuff Said.

Oh, and my kids to this day can NOT beat their old man. My son, Jeremi, once talked himself into a 30 million point beatdown at The Simpsons. His response to my first ball: "Well, this is pretty much pointless."

Edited by Tomcat Leader, 01 May 2009 - 03:50 PM.

[g1teg]

I like to think I'm pretty good. I grew up with a 1964 Williams in my bedroom. Going to the arcades before there were any videos out was my favorite pastime as a kid. I love to play pinball so much, I'm flying from Birmingham,AL to Pittsburg,PA this summer for the PAPA12 tourney. It will be my first real competition and I'm going for B division. I think my skill level could be good enough for A, but with no tourney experience I thought A would be a real stretch!

I play probably 2-4 hours a week on my own collection. There are few pins here as well and they are usually in poor shape. I play LOTR, Tommy, and ST:TNG the most. In response to a previous post, IMHO 4billion on LOTR is just about impossible. I once had a game on LOTR that lasted over an hour and it was only around 350 million! Typically on LOTR I feel pretty good when I get over 150 million.

Happy flipping, everyone!

[Theguyoverthere]

Definitely not the absolute best, but I like to think I'm pretty good. Consistency is my problem. I can get high scores, sure, but not without low ones...

[Tomcat Leader]

I do intend to teach my youngest daughter, Makayla, my deadly skill. But that's when she gets older. She's only 10 months right now.

Edited by Tomcat Leader, 30 June 2009 - 01:42 AM.

[ANDROID]

I would say that I am a very skilled player on the games I have played many times in the past, whether EM.s of More modern.

I started playing pinball in 63, 64 when I was nine or ten.

My mom was a cocktail waitress at a 60 lane bowling alley with six pinballs and eight regulation brunswick 4-1/2 x 9 pool tables. I could hang out make money keeping score for league bowlers, and then hop on the gottlieb ems. A dime a game and three for a quarter. By the time I was 12 or so I could play for hours on a quarter or two. Red lit specials. I just love Wedgehead Gottleibs.

For me there is a learning curve on a new/unfamiliar to me table. I have to experiment with Risk vs. Reward for certain shots and learning all the rules and jackpots, or the basic objectives for the game for high scores on the more modern machines. So I would probably be very average until I pick up the flow and learned where not to shoot etc. how to light up the xtra balls. etc.

There was a long period when I did not play pinball, from the mid eighties till a few years ago. I appreciate vp8, 9, as most of the modern tables I check out are not up to my playing standards. Very unlevel playfield or wobbly legs. I would sure love to play more modern real tables in good to excellent condition.

Some say that vp8 or 9 is harder than a real pin, but I would have to disagree. Most real pins have lost some solenoid power so the flippers sometimes struggle to hit loops or ramps with any speed. And if the playfield is loose the sometimes you can count on a decent bounce off of flippers, slingshot banks etc. Playing new or like new REAL tables is the cat;s ass, but anything worn down some or older makes the game really harder than vp8 or 9

I love to compete, whether it is pool, darts, pinball, foosball, trivia, quake2 and other 1st person shooters.

[Rockin and Rollin']

well I'm great on the older ones (the e.m. ones I grew up playing, I'm 49 and remember the OLD flipperless ones too) but these new ones are mostly luck and are usually too busy on the playfields to actually let my tired old eyes adjust to the ball thru all the lights and flashing things and moving parts! So, on older machines (pre '80's) I'm great, but on the newer ones I'm mediocre. But I haven't played any real pins in years, due to no arcades anywhere near me. i hope to enter that p3 tourney coming up in Allentown in May (I think). will keep you informed on how that goes. (and I'm bringing a camera to take shots of the various pins they'll have there, since it's also a swap meet.

Looks like you and I are in the same boat. I'm 50 and started playing in the '60's before and after bowling in leagues. After a short time, I had gotten so good that most who put quarters on the glass got disgusted and grabbed the coins and left the building. Now....no place to play anymore, and the few I might find in a bowling center are so dark and worn out, it is a waste of money. That is why I am thankful to find this board. It allows me to play machines of my past and play many that came before me and ones I never would have played.