Hypothetical: Farsight announces Season 5 is the last. What needs to make the cut?

[vikingerik]

Good point about BBB but I guess enough people played it to have it rank 48 at Pinside's top 100.

There's a selection bias here. The only people who have played BBB are those who seek it out. If you cared enough about BBB to go find one, you're probably predisposed to liking it.

In other words, it's ranked highly not because everyone likes it, but because nobody dislikes it, because that group hasn't sought it out to play.

 

[EldarOfSuburbia]

Hurricane
Corvette
Jurassic Park
Demolition Man/The Shadow (either, I can't decide, but if I can only have 3 licenses... one has to go, and Corvette and JP are essentials)
Comet
Surf N Safari
Paragon

 

[Crawley]

Don't get me wrong, I would love to try BBB as well, through TPA or whatever. But it seems like a luxury inclusion.

It's got a great theme, sound package, and plays really well. That on top of the rarity of it make it worth the inclusion.

If you're in Indiana you have at least one opportunity to check out the game yourself. Vintage Flipper World expo in Michigan has BBB on hand each year - this is also probably the best expo I've been to. Their 2016 pin lineup was posted and looks like its going to be another great year with the few new inclusions. And last year at the Chicago Pinball Expo there were 2 BBB's on hand - which was kinda a surprise. That starts up this week so will see if one/both make a return.

 

[invitro]

There's a selection bias here. The only people who have played BBB are those who seek it out. If you cared enough about BBB to go find one, you're probably predisposed to liking it.

In other words, it's ranked highly not because everyone likes it, but because nobody dislikes it, because that group hasn't sought it out to play.

I played BBB at a pinball show, and I didn't go to the show to seek BBB out, I went because I hadn't been to a pinball show yet, and because it had AFM, which I was seeking out.

Also, I and most others would've given BBB a meh rating after that show.

And how does this theory explain the low rating of machines like Goin' Nuts?

I do think there's a selection bias among BBB players, toward serious pinball fans. I don't see any reason that that bias results in a too-positive (or too-negative) rating. The rating is likely due to be more accurate though, because its raters have played more different machines than the average rater and thus should be more skilled at rating machines.

(I don't remember BBB well at all, but #48 is clearly too high. The elephant in the room is the unmentioned IPDB rating of BBB, which is #253 after 27 ratings; the Pinside rating is for 20 ratings. Compare with Pinball Magic, which is #50 IPDB and #42 Pinside.)

 

[HotHamBoy]

I'll be at the Chicago Expo, for sure! I noticed it's 24 hours for a couple days. Would you happen to know when the optimal time to go is? I mean most active/rare machines to lowest attendee population. I got to the Louisville Arcade Expo this spring around Noon on Friday and pretty much had the run of the place, although a lot of machines were still being brought it. By around 4pm there was at least a 2-3 person wait on most machines, some had as many as 10 or 12 (thanks to high appeal and pro-players playing 10 minute balls...). It stayed like that through the rest of the weekend, regardless of how early it opened.

And that museum looks amazing! I'll definitely make the trip. I went through that list and it's kinda weird seeing so many hard to find games but not some of the more common games I've seen at multiple locations (like Star Wars Episode 1).

 

[Crawley]

I'll be at the Chicago Expo, for sure! I noticed it's 24 hours for a couple days. Would you happen to know when the optimal time to go is?

Friday night is the busiest. Parking is basically full by 7pm. Game Hall opens at 1pm that day and is the best time to start playing as people don't really start showing up till 5pm. After that it's a waiting game or can play a lot of EMs without waiting. Saturday morning is also a very good time to go. It'll slowly get more packed as the day goes on but isn't as bad as Friday night.

Last year there was an overflow room that had 30 or so pins in it. I didn't know about until a few days later reading about it. Still not sure where that room is located but will have to ask about it this year if they needed to open one.

 

[Annorax]

Licensed:
TSPP (kickstarter)
Doctor Who (kickstarter?)
Judge Dredd

Unlicensed/Easy Licenses:
Apollo 13
WWF
Stargate (easy? dunno)