What's Hot in Pinball

New themes and used machines, simulators and books

The modern pinball enthusiast has three choices when looking for pinball action: new pinball machines, used or vintage pinball machines, and computer or online pinball simulators. For the pinball novice or aspiring classic pinball machine collector, there are also some great books available to give you a sampling of pinball game history. Here's a sampling of what's hot in pinball today.

New pinball machines

According to BMI Gaming, the ten best and most popular new pinball games to own today are:

1. Lord of the Rings

2. Theater of Magic

3. Monster Bash

4. The Simpsons Pinball Party

5. Twilight Zone

6. Medieval Madness

7. Tales of the Arabian Nights

8. Cirqus Voltaire

9. Funhouse

10. No Good Go'fers

Thanks to the success of Peter Jackson's movie trilogy, Lord of the Rings pinball machines are hugely popular. Manufactured by Stern, Lord of the Rings pinball features such game elements as multi-ball modes, including one for the character of Gollum, a jump ramp leading to the One Ring, which has a magnet in its center and feeds the ball to a ramp shaped like Aragorn's sword, and elaborate playfield design including twelve action figures based on the movies.

Used pinball machines

Used pinball machines continue to be a thriving online business. Whether you're looking for pinball parts for do it yourself pinball board or machine repair, or a vintage pinball machine from Gottlieb or Bally, the Internet is a great place to begin your search.

Because pinball games are truly machines and have a large number of moving parts, it's advisable that if you decide to become a used pinball machine collector that you either learn the basics of pinball machine repair or have a pinball machine repair specialist in your community. If you're new to the pinball machine market, check out some of the books we mention below to help you get started.

Pinball simulators

Though pinball purists shudder at the thought, free pinball simulators have become the primary way that a lot of people get their pinball fix. Computer-based pinball games can't duplicate the classic pinball machine playing techniques such as tilting, trapping, and bangbacks, and truly accurate simulation of ball physics has also proved elusive. But pinball simulators have improved in the last few years. 3D pinball simulators are available that can give you at least a visual facsimile of the real thing.

Some of the most popular pinball simulators include Grand Slam Pinball, Pinbrawl, Intel's Protection Pinball, and Jungle Quest Pinball.

Pinball books

To christen yourself a serious pinball machine collector, you need to purchase the 2006 edition of the Mr. Pinball Price Guide. The guide lists over 2,500 machines manufactured since the invention of the pinball flipper in 1947.

For a crash course in pinball machine history, there's The Pinball Compendium trilogy by Michael Shalhoub. The volumes cover the 1930s to 1960s, 1970 to 1981, and 1982 to the present. Each volume is crammed with hundreds of beautiful color photos, and includes extensively detailed information about particular pinball games as well as exclusive interviews with some of the greatest pinball machine game designers.

Finally, the must have book for home pinball machine repair is Pinball Machine Care and Maintenance by Bernard Kamoroff. The book is written with the layman in mind, and will enable you to perform much of the repair and treatment your used pinball machine will require.

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