What tables do you hate with a white hot passion?

[Crawley]

Some surprise dislikes on here. A few of these tables mentioned for dislikes I really enjoy (Big Shot, Genie, even Harley isn't too bad).

But Goin' Nuts is at the top of my list for tables I just don't like: "music", layout, game play, visual. Just all bad. I was actually interested in trying the Gottlieb Q-Bert table until I found out it has the same "music" as Goin' Nuts. Still want to try it but wouldn't be able to play it very long.

Another annoying pin that has terrible music is El Dorado. Its too bad as I like the game play on that table but the sounds just keep me away.

I don't get any joy out of playing Black Knight and have pretty much stopped playing that table all together. I typically don't care for mutli-playfield games as is. It will be interesting to see if BK2K turns things around for me.

And last but not least Pin Bot I dislike since I typically have terrible games on it. That left drain seems to have a magnet on it. I HATE how the ball can head straight down the left drain once it comes out of the plunger shot. It catches me off guard each time so I rarely am able to nudge before it shoots straight in there. There's nothing more frustrating than having back-to-back balls where they go down the left drain before you can do anything. Then the right shot to advance planets is really a PITA to hit. I get frustrated just trying to make that shot over and over again without success. And forget multiball. That lasts only a few seconds due to all the quick drains. So this table just ends up making me mad.

 

[mbroge]

I can't say I hate any of the tables, really, too much of a pin fan to really, truly hate one, but the rule set on Flight 2000 is ridiculous. I've given up on trying to activate multiball. The right spinner can score a ton of points if you shoot at it constantly, but on the whole it just doesn't feel rewarding to play.

Dr. Dude doesn't do much for me either, it's another rule set that that doesn't seem to be intuituve, and the artwork is way too busy and makes it hard to track the ball. The real table isn't much better, to be perfectly honest - I think the designers were just trying way too hard to be "hip" and "now" and it felt dated when it was in its heyday (and I'm probably dating myself but I don't care).

 

[oqvist]

Huh? Gottlieb was the king of the EM era...but I guess you wouldn't know that since you think "most em tables are awful".

Okay worded it poorly. I just mean I have hardly ever played an EM table I enjoyed Gottlieb no exception. I feel they have made progress and made pinball better and better over the years.

 

[Espy]

I can't say I hate any of the tables, really, too much of a pin fan to really, truly hate one, but the rule set on Flight 2000 is ridiculous. I've given up on trying to activate multiball. The right spinner can score a ton of points if you shoot at it constantly, but on the whole it just doesn't feel rewarding to play.

Dr. Dude doesn't do much for me either, it's another rule set that that doesn't seem to be intuituve, and the artwork is way too busy and makes it hard to track the ball. The real table isn't much better, to be perfectly honest - I think the designers were just trying way too hard to be "hip" and "now" and it felt dated when it was in its heyday (and I'm probably dating myself but I don't care).

* Get rollovers
* Hit drop targets
* Lock balls
* BLAST OFF!

Not too difficult if you know the pattern. And all aside from the drop targets and final ball lock can be done at any stage.

 

[MegaDrive (Mark Wyda)]

I may be in minority but I adore Gottlieb EM. I think they made the best EM machines, admittedly I'm no expert but it certainly seems that way. Would love to see more.

Genie isn't technically an EM but for what it is, it's very awesome. Big Shot is classic, and while Central Park is unfair, it's certainly unique, and artistically it's classic "Americana" that I really like.

Dr. Dude is awesome. I can understand people not liking the "totally tubular, bodacious, and radical. " late 80s, early 90s neon style, maybe it's cause I grew up in that era but personally I love this one and Party Xone as well.

Flight 2000 is a classic. At first I thought it was trash, I still think the art package sucks even for the time, but when you get going it's got a great, unique rule set and it's one I come back to more than a lot of titles from that era, like Firepower or Gorgar. Not that I dislike FP or Gorgar, both have showier art and astetically to F2K, but IMO F2K has the better gameplay, which is why I keep coming back. Glad it won the poll.

 

[Espy]

I may be in minority but I adore Gottlieb EM. I think they made the best EM machines, admittedly I'm no expert but it certainly seems that way. Would love to see more.

Genie isn't technically an EM but for what it is, it's very awesome. Big Shot is classic, and while Central Park is unfair, it's certainly unique, and artistically it's classic "Americana" that I really like.

Dr. Dude is awesome. I can understand people not liking the "totally tubular, bodacious, and radical. " late 80s, early 90s neon style, maybe it's cause I grew up in that era but personally I love this one and Party Xone as well.

Flight 2000 is a classic. At first I thought it was trash, I still think the art package sucks even for the time, but when you get going it's got a great, unique rule set and it's one I come back to more than a lot of titles from that era, like Firepower or Gorgar. Not that I dislike FP or Gorgar, both have showier art and astetically to F2K, but IMO F2K has the better gameplay, which is why I keep coming back. Glad it won the poll.

I think we're too quick to label pinball machines by the technology they use. There is a big overlap between late EM and early SS in playstyle. in fact some machines were made both in EM and SS style. Era is probably a better measure of table design and rules rather than the software (or lack of), particularly for that era. I suppose alphanumeric and then DMD changed the way that information was displayed to players, but the separation between EM and SS was more gradual.

 

[Shaneus]

I don't really *hate* any, but there are some tables I just avoid or find myself having not played for a while (if ever). Most surprising is probably Monster Bash. It really doesn't do anything for me, and after having played it IRL for the first time last week... my opinion on the machine proper isn't any different. Don't see what the fuss is about.

 

[Patty]

Well, "hate" isn´t the correct word, but i truly dislike "Goin´Nuts" and - maybe a surprise for some of you - "Black Hole" and the first "Pinbot"-Table.

 

[MegaDrive (Mark Wyda)]

I think we're too quick to label pinball machines by the technology they use. There is a big overlap between late EM and early SS in playstyle. in fact some machines were made both in EM and SS style. Era is probably a better measure of table design and rules rather than the software (or lack of), particularly for that era. I suppose alphanumeric and then DMD changed the way that information was displayed to players, but the separation between EM and SS was more gradual.

Well I like to compare what's out to what's out. For instance if were talking early 80s which is the era where El Dorado ****ty of Gold came out, Xenon was out Gorgar was out Flight 2K and if you're comparing Audio, art packages, and gameplay innovations and design, it doesn't hold up.

As an EM which I think it originally was it's not bad. Does that make sense?

 

[vikingerik]

Flight 2000 is annoying because you work so hard to start multiball, then shooting the lock again just keeps it there and robs you of a ball. It's not a great table, but holds its own among the other games of the "multiball and not much else" era like Black Hole, Black Knight, Firepower, Centaur.

 

[Squid]

I hate the Arabian Nights.

It's a good table. I like the themes. It looks good. It plays good but...

I used to play this one quite a bit for real. That lamp has made me quit the table. I won't play it just to be stubborn about it.

I hate that lamp.

 

[JPelter]

I'm honestly a bit surprised how many people hate Tee'd Off. It's one of my favorite tables in TPA, easily in the top 10. It's incredibly complex and does very clever things without an over-reliance on ramps. Of course, as always, it's a matter of personal tastes. It's just curious how divisive that table seems to be.

 

[SilverBalls]

Goin' nuts. Very annoying. Dr Dude - irritating.

Really like/love all other tables and that includes Genie and Central Park.

Although I couldn't harm almost any pinball table, I would quite happily take a sledgehammer to Goin' Nuts.

 

[Jeff Strong]

I may be in minority but I adore Gottlieb EM.

You aren't in the minority...well, maybe on this forum...but the pinball community in general recognizes Gottlieb EM's as great pinball machines. Just look at Pinside or IPDB ratings.

 

[SilverBalls]

I love them too. Gottlieb = 100s of beautiful EMs with gorgeous artwork and retro styled aprons of white, red and blue.

 

[Bowflex]

The initial release of Whirlwind had the only noise worse than Goin Nuts. It was similar but louder and more grating.

 

[Eaton Beaver]

Probably my least played table is Centaur. The sound effects are brutal and I have zero Table Goals accomplished on it. I also dislike FunHouse even though I loved playing it in arcades as a teenager. I have zero Table Goals accomplished on it and the future doesn't look bright either. One other table I am not a big fan of is Terminator 2. Not a big fan of the sound effects and I avoided this table in the arcades back in the day although every arcade had it.

 

[soundwave106]

As an EM which I think it originally was it's not bad. Does that make sense?

I kind of wish they released "El Dorado" instead of "El Dorado City of Gold". The sound effects probably would be better.

I see all of these enormous scores, and I wonder how the hell you guys manage to avoid my fate. I am pretty good at pinball, and pretty good at TPA, but the skills to achieve highscores on these games with any kind of consistency completely avoids me. To me, that is the biggest problem, it makes them feel more like games of chance, than of skill. Which is partially true of all tables, there is always the element of chance, but it seems far more prevalent on those 2 tables.

With ST:TNG, I find that the left / right shots are safer than many of the center shots. Get a good "flow" going, especially with the warp factor shots (left lane -> "delta" ramp), and memorize the shuttle sequence to guarantee an artifact, and "nudge" away from those outlanes as much as you can, and you can get a very high score. Without a good flow, you run into the infamous Steve Ritchie outlanes quickly. It's in some ways a typical design from him.

This is very much the same as the original pin, which was a bit of a drainfest. Make it quite a bit easier, you get people who complain about it being quite a bit easier (see: Twilight Zone). I actually find TPA ST:TNG easier than the real thing as the delta ramp is a bit easier; I can get Final Frontier a bit easier in TPA than real life.

 

[JefferyD]

I don't have any hatred, but I have a large amount of indifference for Haunted House. I'm good for a ball or two, but I usually bail out before plunging ball 3. If I aim for the first target, I hit the 2nd and vice versa; and if pure chance rolls my way and I get those two knocked down, I can never get the ball to settle on the left for the 3rd target. Maybe ticking off a list of targets in a particular order doesn't appeal to me, particularly if I can't do it. "Victory" I don't mind so much – I do well there, for some reason – but after the rush I got from getting through the target list a few times I've kind of neglected that table, too.

I had Dr. Dude hatred for a long time, but I knuckled down a couple of weeks ago and played a few games, and then I even skimmed the instructions. Hey! Not bad. Quirky. Off-beat. Annoying as hell. But that's the joke, I think.

 

[Nolan]

With ST:TNG, I find that the left / right shots are safer than many of the center shots. Get a good "flow" going, especially with the warp factor shots (left lane -> "delta" ramp), and memorize the shuttle sequence to guarantee an artifact, and "nudge" away from those outlanes as much as you can, and you can get a very high score. Without a good flow, you run into the infamous Steve Ritchie outlanes quickly. It's in some ways a typical design from him.

This is very much the same as the original pin, which was a bit of a drainfest. Make it quite a bit easier, you get people who complain about it being quite a bit easier (see: Twilight Zone). I actually find TPA ST:TNG easier than the real thing as the delta ramp is a bit easier; I can get Final Frontier a bit easier in TPA than real life.

Thanks! You pinball folks are very helpful, I will keep this in mind when next I play.

As long as some of us are talking about sound I have to say the horrific dirge that accompanies Black Knight renders it unplayable for me unless I mute it. I actually dig the play of the table, but that sound, my god. Wish the PS4 version had sliders for music like the PC version.