The Pinball Arcade table ratings

[Rittless]

Oh man, this survey has me as such an outlier across the board.

Those low scores for El Dorado City of Gold, Victory, Gladiators, Black Knight, Rescue 911, Black Hole, TX Sector, Phantom of the Opera, F-14...
And yet, far too high scores for Tales of the Arabian Nights, Cirqus Voltaire, and spots one and two both taken by AFM and MM...

There's just no accounting for taste!

It does demonstrate a heavy skew towards easy-flowing, modes-based modern tables amongst the player base... I'm still reeling over the abysmal undeserved scores for El Dorado City of Gold and Victory in particular...

Although I own all tables, I null-voted tables I haven't played yet, or haven't played enough to judge... My scores skew high but I'm just being honest - I really love pinball and anything in my 10 range (and maybe even the 9's) I would happily own the real thing of.
Art and sound and theme all factor into my vote, but the strongest weighting has to be scoring and gameplay for me, hence why I've ranked Elvira so bloody low. It's a table that is ruined by having by far the most effective scoring being hammering the left loop and doing nothing else... it has some cute features (I like how the multiball onset happens) but unfortunately I don't have any desire to play that table, and I'd love to see it re-ruled...

My Pinball Arcade table ratings
——————————
10 — Black Rose
10 — Centaur
10 — Cyclone
10 — Diner
10 — El Dorado City of Gold
10 — F-14 Tomcat
10 — Firepower
10 — Medieval Madness
10 — Pin•Bot
10 — Red & Ted's Road Show
10 — Safe Cracker
10 — Star Trek: The Next Generation
10 — Swords of Fury
10 — The Twilight Zone
10 — TX-Sector
10 — Victory
9 — Attack from Mars
9 — Black Hole
9 — Bram Stoker's Dracula
9 — Creature from the Black Lagoon
9 — Doctor Who
9 — Eight Ball Deluxe
9 — El Dorado
9 — Fish Tales
9 — Funhouse
9 — The Getaway: High Speed II
9 — Gladiators
9 — Paragon
9 — Party Zone
9 — Phantom of the Opera
9 — Space Shuttle
9 — Terminator 2: Judgment Day
9 — White Water
9 — WHO dunnit
9 — Xenon
8 — Black Knight 2000
8 — Black Knight
8 — Centigrade 37
8 — Central Park
8 — Flight 2000
8 — Jacks Open
8 — Judge Dredd
8 — Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
8 — Rescue 911
8 — Ripley's Believe It or Not!
7 — The Addams Family
7 — Cactus Canyon
7 — Class of 1812
7 — Fireball
7 — High Speed
7 — Jack•Bot
7 — The Machine: Bride of Pin•Bot
7 — Tales of the Arabian Nights
6 — The Champion Pub
6 — Cirqus Voltaire
6 — Starship Troopers
5 — Al's Garage Band
4 — Bone Busters Inc.
4 — Elvira and the Party Monsters
3 — Doctor Who: Master of Time
3 — Goin' Nuts
none — Big Hurt
none — Big Shot
none — Cactus Jack's
none — Cue Ball Wizard
none — Dr. Dude
none — Earthshaker
none — Genie
none — Gorgar
none — Harley-Davidson Third Edition
none — Haunted House
none — High Roller Casino
none — Hurricane
none — Indianapolis 500
none — Junk Yard
none — Last Action Hero
none — Lights...Camera...Action!
none — Monster Bash
none — No Fear: Dangerous Sports
none — No Good Gofers!
none — Scared Stiff
none — Taxi
none — Tee'd Off
none — Theatre of Magic
none — Whirlwind

 

[smbhax]

Added Wipe Out to the survey!

http://smbhax.com/tpatr

The previous new table, Paragon, has landed in a tie for 34th place. No change in the top 10!

The Pinball Arcade table ratings
——————————
1. 9.06 — Medieval Madness
2. 8.84 — Attack from Mars
3. 8.65 — Monster Bash
4. 8.54 — Theatre of Magic
5. 8.43 — The Twilight Zone
6. 8.23 — The Addams Family
7. 8.19 — Star Trek: The Next Generation
8. 8.14 — Tales of the Arabian Nights
9. 7.96 — White Water
10. 7.86 — Terminator 2: Judgment Day
11. 7.78 — Red & Ted's Road Show
12. 7.74 — Eight Ball Deluxe
13. 7.69 — No Good Gofers!
14. 7.66 — Fish Tales
15. 7.62 — Funhouse
16. 7.60 — The Getaway: High Speed II
17. 7.57 — Bram Stoker's Dracula
18. 7.56 — Taxi
19. 7.55 — WHO dunnit
20. 7.52 — Cirqus Voltaire
21. 7.38 — Ripley's Believe It or Not!
21. 7.38 — Scared Stiff
23. 7.34 — Creature from the Black Lagoon
24. 7.30 — Indianapolis 500
25. 7.29 — Junk Yard
26. 7.28 — Doctor Who
27. 7.19 — Jack•Bot
27. 7.19 — Whirlwind
29. 7.18 — Cactus Canyon
29. 7.18 — No Fear: Dangerous Sports
31. 7.10 — Safe Cracker
32. 6.99 — Judge Dredd
33. 6.98 — Diner
34. 6.94 — Black Rose
34. 6.94 — Paragon
36. 6.91 — Swords of Fury
37. 6.86 — High Roller Casino
38. 6.84 — Earthshaker
38. 6.84 — The Machine: Bride of Pin•Bot
40. 6.80 — High Speed
41. 6.72 — The Champion Pub
42. 6.71 — Pin•Bot
43. 6.68 — Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
44. 6.66 — Centaur
45. 6.60 — Hurricane
46. 6.56 — Elvira and the Party Monsters
47. 6.47 — F-14 Tomcat
48. 6.45 — Space Shuttle
49. 6.41 — Flight 2000
50. 6.39 — Black Knight 2000
50. 6.39 — Cyclone
52. 6.37 — Xenon
53. 6.35 — Party Zone
54. 6.32 — Last Action Hero
55. 6.23 — Tee'd Off
56. 6.13 — Big Shot
57. 6.02 — Gorgar
58. 6.00 — Cue Ball Wizard
58. 6.00 — TX-Sector
60. 5.99 — Jacks Open
61. 5.78 — Phantom of the Opera
62. 5.75 — Firepower
63. 5.74 — Starship Troopers
64. 5.70 — Centigrade 37
65. 5.68 — Black Hole
66. 5.64 — Dr. Dude
67. 5.58 — Class of 1812
68. 5.49 — Harley-Davidson Third Edition
69. 5.42 — Gladiators
70. 5.35 — Haunted House
71. 5.33 — Lights...Camera...Action!
72. 5.31 — El Dorado
72. 5.31 — Fireball
74. 5.29 — Big Hurt
75. 5.07 — Victory
76. 4.98 — Al's Garage Band
77. 4.92 — Cactus Jack's
78. 4.80 — Genie
79. 4.73 — Rescue 911
80. 4.62 — Black Knight
81. 4.49 — Doctor Who: Master of Time
82. 4.08 — Central Park
83. 3.89 — El Dorado City of Gold
84. 3.43 — Bone Busters Inc.
85. 3.34 — Goin' Nuts
86. none — Wipe Out

 

[Fungi]

This list is getting kinda long. It may be time to add a line reminding us what buttons are what #s. Like a "1-10" line after every 20 titles. Or maybe just one on the bottom of the list.

 

[smbhax]

This list is getting kinda long. It may be time to add a line reminding us what buttons are what #s. Like a "1-10" line after every 20 titles. Or maybe just one on the bottom of the list.

Ah, I see what you mean! I've added a column label row ever 20 tables, hopefully that helps. : )

 

[Jeffery Fro Hunt]

My 2 cents, Actual & Digital!

Obviously a post that has been running for a while, but I like the premise and wanted to be counted on it. I did not give below a 3 and maybe should have a couple times. I rarely give 10's in surveys, but I did here. I ranked them like I like to play them, and the highest scorers are the tables with the best feature/bang-for-the-buck potentials. They are the ones that get rockin' once they get rollin'! A couple tables are just not interesting enough or are so featureless that the play is devoid of excitement. There is a significant amount of consideration given to actual memories of tables played and the higher ratings given slant toward the tables I play/played & like in real life, and that is a good number of them, overall. Would love to own my 9's & 10's and not only would I play them often, I would wear them out with a quickness!
——————————
My Pinball Arcade table ratings
——————————
10 — Cirqus Voltaire
10 — Judge Dredd
10 — Medieval Madness
10 — Monster Bash
10 — Ripley's Believe It or Not!
10 — Star Trek: The Next Generation
9 — Attack from Mars
9 — The Machine: Bride of Pin•Bot
9 — Red & Ted's Road Show
9 — Theatre of Magic
9 — The Twilight Zone
8 — Big Hurt
8 — Centaur
8 — Central Park
8 — The Champion Pub
8 — Doctor Who: Master of Time
8 — Elvira and the Party Monsters
8 — Fish Tales
8 — Gorgar
8 — Harley-Davidson Third Edition
8 — Indianapolis 500
8 — Junk Yard
8 — No Good Gofers!
8 — Safe Cracker
8 — Scared Stiff
8 — Tales of the Arabian Nights
8 — Terminator 2: Judgment Day
8 — Victory
7 — Al's Garage Band
7 — Big Shot
7 — Black Hole
7 — Cactus Canyon
7 — Centigrade 37
7 — Class of 1812
7 — Creature from the Black Lagoon
7 — Doctor Who
7 — Dr. Dude
7 — Earthshaker
7 — The Getaway: High Speed II
7 — Gladiators
7 — Haunted House
7 — High Speed
7 — Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
7 — No Fear: Dangerous Sports
7 — Party Zone
7 — Rescue 911
7 — Starship Troopers
7 — Tee'd Off
7 — TX-Sector
7 — Whirlwind
7 — White Water
7 — WHO dunnit
7 — Wipe Out
7 — Xenon
6 — The Addams Family
6 — Bone Busters Inc.
6 — Bram Stoker's Dracula
6 — Cactus Jack's
6 — Cyclone
6 — Diner
6 — Eight Ball Deluxe
6 — F-14 Tomcat
6 — Fireball
6 — Firepower
6 — Funhouse
6 — Genie
6 — Goin' Nuts
6 — High Roller Casino
6 — Hurricane
6 — Last Action Hero
6 — Lights...Camera...Action!
6 — Phantom of the Opera
6 — Pin•Bot
6 — Taxi
5 — Black Rose
5 — Flight 2000
5 — Jack•Bot
5 — Jacks Open
5 — Paragon
5 — Swords of Fury
4 — Black Knight 2000
4 — Cue Ball Wizard
4 — Space Shuttle
3 — El Dorado City of Gold
3 — El Dorado
2 — Black Knight

 

[Dev]

Hi guys,

I've been a lurker here for a while, looking at this list whenever I'm thinking of buying another TPA table, and I haven't voted as yet. I was intrigued by Rittless' list and comments and wanted to hear how he and other people here who feel strongly that the list is unkind to simpler / older / Gottlieb tables would defend some of the lower rated tables on this list.

I'm all for different tastes and aesthetics, but I don't believe in awarding points for historical significance and I think a good table should pretty much have something for everyone (i.e. I don't buy the snob defense: if you were better at pinball, you would be able to appreciate it).

So I'd be curious to hear a defense of a table like Firepower, for example. I really wanted to like this table, because of its art style and its simplicity. But if I'm being honest about my play experience, I don't think it compares very favorably with newer tables. It seems like the ball drains out an awful lot. It either comes tearing down the middle so it's almost impossible to deter (nudging is overly necessary here, as is luck, it seems to me), or it bounces off a bumber and into an outlane. I just wasn't feeling much flow from the so-called "King of Flow" here. I could never get into any kind of rhythm and games were uniformly short, and usually not because of me, I felt.

But, like I said, I'm actually keen to have my thinking turned inside out, if only to have more motivation to go back to some of these tables, and I'd like to hear from people who love them.

 

[Kolchak357]

Firepower isn't meant to be a flow game. You really need ramps and orbits to establish that. But it is fast. Balls will often return to you very quickly. It's a an ccurate shooters game. It takes careful shooting to setup and start multiball. This pin doesn't guarantee multiball like many modern pins. Can it be frustrating at times? Yes, Firepower, sure can be. It will punish a bad shot more than most pins.
I think it's fits nicely in a collection. I dig modern pins, but sometimes they can have long ball times and extremely complex rule sets. I don't always want that. Depends what you are in the mood for.

 

[Watchman]

If you suck like I do the balltimes are always short.

 

[smbhax]

Hi guys,

I've been a lurker here for a while, looking at this list whenever I'm thinking of buying another TPA table, and I haven't voted as yet. I was intrigued by Rittless' list and comments and wanted to hear how he and other people here who feel strongly that the list is unkind to simpler / older / Gottlieb tables would defend some of the lower rated tables on this list.

I'm all for different tastes and aesthetics, but I don't believe in awarding points for historical significance and I think a good table should pretty much have something for everyone (i.e. I don't buy the snob defense: if you were better at pinball, you would be able to appreciate it).

So I'd be curious to hear a defense of a table like Firepower, for example. I really wanted to like this table, because of its art style and its simplicity. But if I'm being honest about my play experience, I don't think it compares very favorably with newer tables. It seems like the ball drains out an awful lot. It either comes tearing down the middle so it's almost impossible to deter (nudging is overly necessary here, as is luck, it seems to me), or it bounces off a bumber and into an outlane. I just wasn't feeling much flow from the so-called "King of Flow" here. I could never get into any kind of rhythm and games were uniformly short, and usually not because of me, I felt.

But, like I said, I'm actually keen to have my thinking turned inside out, if only to have more motivation to go back to some of these tables, and I'd like to hear from people who love them.

I tend to think TPA does a better job of recreating more modern tables than it does on the older ones; on older tables, there often isn't a whole lot besides flippers, bells, and wood grain, and if you don't get those just right, there just isn't going to be much there to draw you in. TPA's rendering of texures and surfaces isn't amazing, sounds can be a bit spotty, and most importantly, the flippers feel the same on every single simulated table, and don't really feel like the flippers on any old table I've ever played.

On the other hand, I really dislike the pre-programmed, automatic way balls in TPA will travel down ramps and so forth, and in older tables, there's often less of that--except for kickouts from dishes, those can get pretty repetitive in TPA.

Shooting and targets, though, TPA does pretty well; Jacks Open is my favorite table in the game, by a good long ways. I'm not looking for long game times, mind you.

Regarding Firepower specifically, it has been one of my favorite tables in real life, but something about the TPA version has really left me flat. Actually, I liked it more in FarSight's "Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection" on PS2, even though the physics and graphics in that game were much more rudimentary. Somehow the way the ball operates in the bottom part of the table, which is really exciting on the actual table, just doesn't do much for me in TPA. Maybe the velocity of that table, the split-second, unpredictable ricochets, the ball spin, just can't be translated into the physics algorithm TPA uses. (Although come to think of it I'm not sure I've played it in TPA in the latest physics version--or if the PS4 version of the table has even been updated to the latest physics version, for that matter.)

 

[smbhax]

Added Firepower II to the survey!

http://smbhax.com/tpatr

The previous new table, Wipe Out, has come down in 55th place. No changes in the top 10.


The Pinball Arcade table ratings
——————————
1. 9.05 — Medieval Madness
2. 8.84 — Attack from Mars
3. 8.63 — Monster Bash
4. 8.54 — Theatre of Magic
5. 8.43 — The Twilight Zone
6. 8.24 — The Addams Family
7. 8.19 — Star Trek: The Next Generation
8. 8.14 — Tales of the Arabian Nights
9. 7.95 — White Water
10. 7.85 — Terminator 2: Judgment Day
11. 7.74 — Eight Ball Deluxe
11. 7.74 — Red & Ted's Road Show
13. 7.68 — Fish Tales
13. 7.68 — No Good Gofers!
15. 7.61 — The Getaway: High Speed II
16. 7.60 — Funhouse
17. 7.55 — Bram Stoker's Dracula
17. 7.55 — Taxi
19. 7.53 — Cirqus Voltaire
19. 7.53 — WHO dunnit
21. 7.40 — Indianapolis 500
22. 7.38 — Ripley's Believe It or Not!
23. 7.35 — Scared Stiff
24. 7.34 — Creature from the Black Lagoon
25. 7.27 — Junk Yard
26. 7.19 — Jack•Bot
27. 7.18 — Cactus Canyon
27. 7.18 — Whirlwind
29. 7.16 — Doctor Who
30. 7.12 — No Fear: Dangerous Sports
31. 7.05 — Safe Cracker
32. 6.99 — Diner
33. 6.96 — Paragon
34. 6.95 — Judge Dredd
35. 6.92 — Black Rose
36. 6.86 — High Roller Casino
37. 6.84 — The Machine: Bride of Pin•Bot
38. 6.83 — Earthshaker
39. 6.79 — High Speed
40. 6.72 — The Champion Pub
41. 6.69 — Pin•Bot
42. 6.65 — Centaur
43. 6.62 — Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
43. 6.62 — Swords of Fury
45. 6.60 — Hurricane
46. 6.56 — Elvira and the Party Monsters
47. 6.46 — F-14 Tomcat
48. 6.43 — Space Shuttle
49. 6.39 — Cyclone
49. 6.39 — Flight 2000
51. 6.38 — Black Knight 2000
52. 6.34 — Party Zone
52. 6.34 — Xenon
54. 6.28 — Last Action Hero
55. 6.27 — Wipe Out
56. 6.23 — Tee'd Off
57. 6.13 — Big Shot
58. 6.01 — Gorgar
59. 5.99 — Cue Ball Wizard
59. 5.99 — Jacks Open
61. 5.86 — TX-Sector
62. 5.75 — Phantom of the Opera
63. 5.73 — Firepower
63. 5.73 — Starship Troopers
65. 5.71 — Centigrade 37
66. 5.67 — Black Hole
67. 5.64 — Dr. Dude
68. 5.58 — Class of 1812
69. 5.49 — Harley-Davidson Third Edition
70. 5.36 — Gladiators
71. 5.35 — Big Hurt
72. 5.34 — Haunted House
73. 5.33 — Lights...Camera...Action!
74. 5.28 — El Dorado
74. 5.28 — Fireball
76. 5.05 — Victory
77. 4.90 — Cactus Jack's
78. 4.87 — Al's Garage Band
79. 4.80 — Genie
80. 4.71 — Rescue 911
81. 4.60 — Black Knight
82. 4.42 — Doctor Who: Master of Time
83. 4.07 — Central Park
84. 3.88 — El Dorado City of Gold
85. 3.42 — Bone Busters Inc.
86. 3.33 — Goin' Nuts
87. none — Firepower II

 

[Striker]

Well, here goes my two cents....

10 — The Addams Family
10 — Cyclone
10 — Funhouse

9 — Doctor Who
9 — Diner
9 — Eight Ball Deluxe
9 — Elvira and the Party Monsters
9 — Medieval Madness

8 — Attack from Mars
8 — Big Hurt
8 — Haunted House
8 — Ripley's Believe It or Not!
8 — Star Trek: The Next Generation
8 — Terminator 2: Judgment Day

7 — Big Shot
7 — Black Knight
7 — Central Park
7 — Firepower
7 — Gorgar
7 — Indianapolis 500
7 — Jack•Bot
7 — Jacks Open
7 — No Good Gofers!
7 — Pin•Bot
7 — Red & Ted's Road Show
7 — Taxi
7 — The Champion Pub - I reserve the right to regrade after I play some more, because I have a feeling this one will be more fun once I learn how to actually play it...
7 — The Machine: Bride of Pin•Bot
7 — Victory
7 — WHO dunnit?

6 — Black Hole
6 — Centigrade 37
6 — Cirqus Voltaire - a 9 in real life; but this table feels broken to me.
6 — Fish Tales - see Champion Pub; only played it once so far.
6 — Goin' Nuts - bonus points for the freaky concept.
6 — Harley-Davidson Third Edition
6 — Junk Yard
6 — Space Shuttle
6 — Tales of the Arabian Nights
6 — Whirlwind
6 — White Water

5 — Al's Garage Band
5 — Black Rose
5 — Bone Busters Inc.
5 — Bram Stoker's Dracula
5 — Class of 1812
5 — Earthshaker
5 — El Dorado City of Gold
5 — Flight 2000
5 — Gladiators
5 — High Roller Casino
5 — High Speed
5 — Monster Bash
5 — Party Zone
5 — Scared Stiff
5 — Swords of Fury
5 — Tee'd Off
5 — Theatre of Magic

4 — Centaur
4 — Genie
4 — Phantom of the Opera
4 — The Twilight Zone - I just can't get the hang of this one.
4 — Xenon

3 — Cactus Canyon
3 — Cactus Jack's
3 — Creature from the Black Lagoon
3 — Dr. Dude
3 — Doctor Who: Master of Time - it's basically Doctor Who without video mode.

2 — Black Knight 2000
2 — Lights...Camera...Action!
2 — Safe Cracker
2 — Starship Troopers

1 — Cue Ball Wizard

na — El Dorado
na — F-14 Tomcat
na — Fireball - an 8 or 9 in real life, but I don't own it on TPA.
na -- Firepower II
na — Judge Dredd
na — The Getaway: High Speed II
na — Hurricane
na — Last Action Hero
na — Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
na — No Fear: Dangerous Sports
na — Paragon
na — Rescue 911
na — TX-Sector
na — Wipe Out

 

[Kolchak357]

You have some pretty good pins in the NA section. Just curious......just didn't buy them yet, or do they not interest you?

 

[Rittless]

Hi guys,

I've been a lurker here for a while, looking at this list whenever I'm thinking of buying another TPA table, and I haven't voted as yet. I was intrigued by Rittless' list and comments and wanted to hear how he and other people here who feel strongly that the list is unkind to simpler / older / Gottlieb tables would defend some of the lower rated tables on this list.

I'm all for different tastes and aesthetics, but I don't believe in awarding points for historical significance and I think a good table should pretty much have something for everyone (i.e. I don't buy the snob defense: if you were better at pinball, you would be able to appreciate it).

So I'd be curious to hear a defense of a table like Firepower, for example. I really wanted to like this table, because of its art style and its simplicity. But if I'm being honest about my play experience, I don't think it compares very favorably with newer tables. It seems like the ball drains out an awful lot. It either comes tearing down the middle so it's almost impossible to deter (nudging is overly necessary here, as is luck, it seems to me), or it bounces off a bumber and into an outlane. I just wasn't feeling much flow from the so-called "King of Flow" here. I could never get into any kind of rhythm and games were uniformly short, and usually not because of me, I felt.

But, like I said, I'm actually keen to have my thinking turned inside out, if only to have more motivation to go back to some of these tables, and I'd like to hear from people who love them.

I think if you acknowledge the weaknesses of The Pinball Arcade's ability to simulate real pinball, and use that knowledge of the weaknesses to inform your opinion of tables you haven't played in person but have played on Pinball Arcade, then I think you can end up with very different results.

It also depends on why you like pinball. I personally love the noise, excitement and theming a huge amount, but as I grew as a pinball fan (this really isn't an attempt at a 'snob' defense, by the way) I found myself enjoying the satisfaction of progressing goals and making shots first and foremost, and other features I used to view as of primary importance, are now just flavouring and a very welcome bonus on a good table.

My least favoured games have bad 'one shot all day long' problems or very lopsided and uninteresting scoring, with nothing to mitigate it. Elvira And The Party Monsters is one table I especially will list as great theming and has some good options in there, but the left ramp is all you need forever because it becomes broken, fast. Star Trek and Cue Ball Wizard have modes you literally should not attempt to play if you are looking for scoring - I only rate those higher because they have other aspects that overcome these faults. F-14 Tomcat would be an example of a dead failure in scoring variety, but generally speaking every other target on the pinball is useful other than the lock 'ramp/channel' and the table is so fast and out of control that it turns standard pinball on its head - hence I own F-14 Tomcat for real!

As you mention Firepower, I love that table because with adequate nudging there isn't really any ball you cannot save - it's harder in TPA but it's fully possible. I ended up with an obscene score on it and perfect 'in the zone' credit on one of the tournaments, except for a tactical drain to collect the large bonus. It's also a table that makes you use all of the machine to get the best score.

El Dorado: City of Gold is a great example of a table I love greatly but is panned hard here. It's not original in the slightest; it's an art update of a layout Gottlieb used at least twice before. But I think it's a pretty and well-integrated art overlay on the original table, and the minimal sound effects/music mesh in a pleasing way. And as a table layout, it's a scoring delight. It makes clearing the green row of drop targets essential at least 3x every ball, and clearing the top three 2x on the first ball, then 1x at least every time after that. The reason is because the first time you clear the top yellow banks, your bonus is held for the entire credit; the second time, you get a chance at the special score, and you can score an extra ball on the green targets. You can do this indefinitely, but only once per ball - so you have a game where an ideal player can play forever, but constantly has to risk their progress because to collect the big bonus, they have to drain. And the longer they sit on a scored extra ball and a full 3x bonus, the more time is wasted in sub-optimal scoring. I also like how relatively controllable it is as a table - the outlanes are easy to nudge save out of. It's a game you can easily get an 'okay' score on, but you still have to work to get high scores.

'Victory' ranking so low also blows my mind. It literally asks you to take a tour of the table to keep collecting hurry-ups - a cute way to integrate a 'race' theme - but it has a novel way of giving you an extra ball in a way that preserves your current score multiplier progress on the target bank. Oh, and that score multiplier is only active as long as there's a hurry up shot currently active. What an awesome way to make it critical to hit the hurry ups, while also making the score multiplier relevant!

Basically, all of the games I score higher, I could just play forever - 'just one more ball' - and I feel reward your attempts at getting a high score consistently, no matter how high you go. A lot of games start struggling to keep their features relevant all the way through, and I think that's an example of a poor score sheet.

In summary, I think games that have great scoring but don't/cannot back it up with big flashy light shows or a DMD display are disliked disproportionately. AFM and MM are essentially the same game and thrive on repetition rather than wildly unique shots and playfields, but they are beloved, despite a lot of the disliked tables having similar utility of their playfields! So for many people, there has to be a huge amount to be said for the theme when it comes to enjoyment. Because I have a similar confusion to you, but in a different way; I cannot understand why nearly half of the top 10 is ranked higher than some of the tables that have ended up in the bottom half!

Maybe it's fair to say that, compared to others, I disproportionately dislike tables where I notice that certain shots and bonuses are essentially worthless to a high scorer.

And I think that describes a lot of Gottlieb tables in a nutshell - not all of them of course... Bone Busters has some saving graces but it is very hard to like as the playfield art is actually extremely hard to see through and the rules set is not great.

 

[FlippyFloppy]

I think if you acknowledge the weaknesses of The Pinball Arcade's ability to simulate real pinball, and use that knowledge of the weaknesses to inform your opinion of tables you haven't played in person but have played on Pinball Arcade, then I think you can end up with very different results.

It also depends on why you like pinball. I personally love the noise, excitement and theming a huge amount, but as I grew as a pinball fan (this really isn't an attempt at a 'snob' defense, by the way) I found myself enjoying the satisfaction of progressing goals and making shots first and foremost, and other features I used to view as of primary importance, are now just flavouring and a very welcome bonus on a good table.

My least favoured games have bad 'one shot all day long' problems or very lopsided and uninteresting scoring, with nothing to mitigate it. Elvira And The Party Monsters is one table I especially will list as great theming and has some good options in there, but the left ramp is all you need forever because it becomes broken, fast. Star Trek and Cue Ball Wizard have modes you literally should not attempt to play if you are looking for scoring - I only rate those higher because they have other aspects that overcome these faults. F-14 Tomcat would be an example of a dead failure in scoring variety, but generally speaking every other target on the pinball is useful other than the lock 'ramp/channel' and the table is so fast and out of control that it turns standard pinball on its head - hence I own F-14 Tomcat for real!

As you mention Firepower, I love that table because with adequate nudging there isn't really any ball you cannot save - it's harder in TPA but it's fully possible. I ended up with an obscene score on it and perfect 'in the zone' credit on one of the tournaments, except for a tactical drain to collect the large bonus. It's also a table that makes you use all of the machine to get the best score.

El Dorado: City of Gold is a great example of a table I love greatly but is panned hard here. It's not original in the slightest; it's an art update of a layout Gottlieb used at least twice before. But I think it's a pretty and well-integrated art overlay on the original table, and the minimal sound effects/music mesh in a pleasing way. And as a table layout, it's a scoring delight. It makes clearing the green row of drop targets essential at least 3x every ball, and clearing the top three 2x on the first ball, then 1x at least every time after that. The reason is because the first time you clear the top yellow banks, your bonus is held for the entire credit; the second time, you get a chance at the special score, and you can score an extra ball on the green targets. You can do this indefinitely, but only once per ball - so you have a game where an ideal player can play forever, but constantly has to risk their progress because to collect the big bonus, they have to drain. And the longer they sit on a scored extra ball and a full 3x bonus, the more time is wasted in sub-optimal scoring. I also like how relatively controllable it is as a table - the outlanes are easy to nudge save out of. It's a game you can easily get an 'okay' score on, but you still have to work to get high scores.

'Victory' ranking so low also blows my mind. It literally asks you to take a tour of the table to keep collecting hurry-ups - a cute way to integrate a 'race' theme - but it has a novel way of giving you an extra ball in a way that preserves your current score multiplier progress on the target bank. Oh, and that score multiplier is only active as long as there's a hurry up shot currently active. What an awesome way to make it critical to hit the hurry ups, while also making the score multiplier relevant!

Basically, all of the games I score higher, I could just play forever - 'just one more ball' - and I feel reward your attempts at getting a high score consistently, no matter how high you go. A lot of games start struggling to keep their features relevant all the way through, and I think that's an example of a poor score sheet.

In summary, I think games that have great scoring but don't/cannot back it up with big flashy light shows or a DMD display are disliked disproportionately. AFM and MM are essentially the same game and thrive on repetition rather than wildly unique shots and playfields, but they are beloved, despite a lot of the disliked tables having similar utility of their playfields! So for many people, there has to be a huge amount to be said for the theme when it comes to enjoyment. Because I have a similar confusion to you, but in a different way; I cannot understand why nearly half of the top 10 is ranked higher than some of the tables that have ended up in the bottom half!

Maybe it's fair to say that, compared to others, I disproportionately dislike tables where I notice that certain shots and bonuses are essentially worthless to a high scorer.

And I think that describes a lot of Gottlieb tables in a nutshell - not all of them of course... Bone Busters has some saving graces but it is very hard to like as the playfield art is actually extremely hard to see through and the rules set is not great.

Great Post!

 

[EldarOfSuburbia]

I'll be curious to see what, if any, effect Black Knight emulation has on its score. I did bump my score for BK up to an 8... from a 7. So not a huge amount of movement of the needle from me.

I think FS missed a trick with BK by not making it Free Table Of The Month on either Steam or Android/iOS (the latter two platforms get 4 free tables each month... and BK still isn't in there!!).

 

[Ben Logan]

I tend to think TPA does a better job of recreating more modern tables than it does on the older ones; on older tables, there often isn't a whole lot besides flippers, bells, and wood grain, and if you don't get those just right, there just isn't going to be much there to draw you in. TPA's rendering of texures and surfaces isn't amazing, sounds can be a bit spotty, and most importantly, the flippers feel the same on every single simulated table, and don't really feel like the flippers on any old table I've ever played.

On the other hand, I really dislike the pre-programmed, automatic way balls in TPA will travel down ramps and so forth, and in older tables, there's often less of that--except for kickouts from dishes, those can get pretty repetitive in TPA.

Shooting and targets, though, TPA does pretty well; Jacks Open is my favorite table in the game, by a good long ways. I'm not looking for long game times, mind you.

Regarding Firepower specifically, it has been one of my favorite tables in real life, but something about the TPA version has really left me flat. Actually, I liked it more in FarSight's "Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection" on PS2, even though the physics and graphics in that game were much more rudimentary. Somehow the way the ball operates in the bottom part of the table, which is really exciting on the actual table, just doesn't do much for me in TPA. Maybe the velocity of that table, the split-second, unpredictable ricochets, the ball spin, just can't be translated into the physics algorithm TPA uses. (Although come to think of it I'm not sure I've played it in TPA in the latest physics version--or if the PS4 version of the table has even been updated to the latest physics version, for that matter.)

I like this post for the respectful reminder to Farsight that physics need much improvement. Ball and flipper physics are the whole game. Still looking forward to ballspin, for example.

 

[weirdproq]

My updated Pinball Arcade table ratings:
——————————
10 — The Addams Family
10 — Bram Stoker's Dracula
10 — Doctor Who
10 — Medieval Madness
10 — No Good Gofers!
10 — Red & Ted's Road Show
10 — The Twilight Zone
9 — Attack from Mars
9 — Creature from the Black Lagoon
9 — El Dorado
9 — Funhouse
9 — The Getaway: High Speed II
9 — Junk Yard
9 — Monster Bash
9 — Star Trek: The Next Generation
9 — Taxi
8 — Big Shot
8 — Black Knight 2000
8 — Cactus Canyon
8 — Centaur
8 — The Champion Pub
8 — Cirqus Voltaire
8 — Earthshaker
8 — Eight Ball Deluxe
8 — F-14 Tomcat
8 — Jacks Open
8 — Judge Dredd
8 — Last Action Hero
8 — Rescue 911
8 — Ripley's Believe It or Not!
8 — Tales of the Arabian Nights
8 — Whirlwind
8 — White Water
8 — WHO dunnit
8 — Wipe Out
7 — Big Hurt
7 — Black Knight
7 — Black Rose
7 — Centigrade 37
7 — Cue Ball Wizard
7 — Diner
7 — Elvira and the Party Monsters
7 — Fireball
7 — Firepower II
7 — Fish Tales
7 — Gladiators
7 — High Roller Casino
7 — High Speed
7 — Indianapolis 500
7 — Jack•Bot
7 — The Machine: Bride of Pin•Bot
7 — Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
7 — No Fear: Dangerous Sports
7 — Paragon
7 — Party Zone
7 — Pin•Bot
7 — Safe Cracker
7 — Scared Stiff
7 — Space Shuttle
7 — Swords of Fury
7 — Tee'd Off
7 — Terminator 2: Judgment Day
7 — Theatre of Magic
7 — TX-Sector
7 — Xenon
6 — Al's Garage Band
6 — Bone Busters Inc.
6 — Cactus Jack's
6 — Cyclone
6 — Firepower
6 — Gorgar
6 — Harley-Davidson Third Edition
6 — Haunted House
6 — Hurricane
6 — Lights...Camera...Action!
6 — Phantom of the Opera
6 — Starship Troopers
6 — Victory
5 — Black Hole
5 — Central Park
5 — Doctor Who: Master of Time
5 — Flight 2000
5 — Genie
4 — Class of 1812
4 — Dr. Dude
4 — El Dorado City of Gold
4 — Goin' Nuts

 

[Striker]

You have some pretty good pins in the NA section. Just curious......just didn't buy them yet, or do they not interest you?

Haven't bought Season 5 yet. Only played two in the lot - F-14 Tomcat and Fireball. I'll eventually break down and purchase it, if for no other reason than to own Fireball. I'm not great at it, but I love it for nostalgia. It was in a very small game room at the Taco Bueno restaurant across from my high school (think Taco Bell, but better ingredients food and stab at authenticity).

 

[Kolchak357]

I'll be curious to see what, if any, effect Black Knight emulation has on its score. I did bump my score for BK up to an 8... from a 7. So not a huge amount of movement of the needle from me.

I think FS missed a trick with BK by not making it Free Table Of The Month on either Steam or Android/iOS (the latter two platforms get 4 free tables each month... and BK still isn't in there!!).

It went from a 2 to a 7 for me. I considered it unplayable before this update. Might even move it to an 8. I still can't find a landscape camera view that I love on iOS (only 3 views to choose from). That is my only gripe now. Cam 3 is too low and cam 1 is too high for me. I'd like one in between those two.

 

[smbhax]

Added World Champion Soccer to the survey!

http://smbhax.com/tpatr

The previous new table, Firepower II, is sitting at 58th in the rankings. No change in the top 10!


The Pinball Arcade table ratings
——————————
1. 9.06 — Medieval Madness
2. 8.83 — Attack from Mars
3. 8.63 — Monster Bash
4. 8.53 — Theatre of Magic
5. 8.44 — The Twilight Zone
6. 8.25 — The Addams Family
7. 8.20 — Star Trek: The Next Generation
8. 8.14 — Tales of the Arabian Nights
9. 7.96 — White Water
10. 7.85 — Terminator 2: Judgment Day
11. 7.81 — Eight Ball Deluxe
12. 7.76 — Red & Ted's Road Show
13. 7.69 — No Good Gofers!
14. 7.68 — Fish Tales
15. 7.63 — The Getaway: High Speed II
16. 7.61 — Funhouse
17. 7.57 — Taxi
18. 7.54 — Bram Stoker's Dracula
18. 7.54 — WHO dunnit
20. 7.52 — Cirqus Voltaire
21. 7.45 — Indianapolis 500
22. 7.39 — Ripley's Believe It or Not!
23. 7.36 — Scared Stiff
24. 7.35 — Creature from the Black Lagoon
25. 7.28 — Doctor Who
26. 7.27 — Junk Yard
27. 7.19 — Cactus Canyon
27. 7.19 — Jack•Bot
27. 7.19 — Whirlwind
30. 7.13 — No Fear: Dangerous Sports
31. 7.07 — Paragon
32. 7.06 — Safe Cracker
33. 7.00 — Diner
34. 6.96 — Judge Dredd
35. 6.92 — Black Rose
36. 6.88 — High Roller Casino
37. 6.85 — The Machine: Bride of Pin•Bot
38. 6.84 — Earthshaker
39. 6.79 — High Speed
40. 6.73 — The Champion Pub
41. 6.69 — Pin•Bot
42. 6.68 — Swords of Fury
43. 6.66 — Centaur
44. 6.63 — Hurricane
45. 6.62 — Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
46. 6.57 — Elvira and the Party Monsters
47. 6.48 — F-14 Tomcat
48. 6.44 — Space Shuttle
49. 6.40 — Flight 2000
50. 6.39 — Black Knight 2000
51. 6.38 — Cyclone
51. 6.38 — Wipe Out
53. 6.35 — Party Zone
54. 6.34 — Last Action Hero
54. 6.34 — Xenon
56. 6.25 — Tee'd Off
57. 6.15 — Big Shot
58. 6.11 — Firepower II
59. 6.03 — Gorgar
59. 6.03 — Jacks Open
61. 5.99 — Cue Ball Wizard
62. 5.88 — TX-Sector
63. 5.76 — Phantom of the Opera
64. 5.75 — Starship Troopers
65. 5.74 — Firepower
66. 5.72 — Centigrade 37
67. 5.69 — Black Hole
68. 5.64 — Dr. Dude
69. 5.59 — Class of 1812
70. 5.49 — Harley-Davidson Third Edition
71. 5.48 — Big Hurt
72. 5.42 — Gladiators
73. 5.35 — El Dorado
73. 5.35 — Haunted House
75. 5.34 — Lights...Camera...Action!
76. 5.27 — Fireball
77. 5.06 — Victory
78. 5.02 — Cactus Jack's
79. 4.95 — Al's Garage Band
80. 4.81 — Genie
81. 4.76 — Rescue 911
82. 4.62 — Black Knight
83. 4.47 — Doctor Who: Master of Time
84. 4.06 — Central Park
85. 3.88 — El Dorado City of Gold
86. 3.48 — Bone Busters Inc.
87. 3.33 — Goin' Nuts
88. none — World Champion Soccer