Williams tables on iPad - best way to get them

[ScotchYeti]

I got a new iPad and now the Williams tables are a blast. No slow downs anymore, everything is smooth. The pricing scheme though was invented by a pinball hater from hell. I donˋt mind the stars to get new features, but how on earth can you play the tables for a reasonable price, e.g. max 5 bucks?

I only want 5 or 6 of all the tables, which would mean 1250 Zen coins (34€), I mean, come on.

With the challenges it will take forever because 20 „parts“ are needed for the 2 stars plus tons of Arcade tickets?!?! What the hell…

How often are there sales to get a set for 10 bucks?
Or what would you propose?

I am glad that I have enabled Medieval Madness back when the app was released.

 

[shogun00]

Unfortunately, there really isn't any easy way.

I would focus on buying the Williams Physics unlock and the Zen Effects unlock. Jusy play the first 2 challenges daily to acquire the table parts, tickets, and coins. With those two unlocks you only need to get the tables up to 2 stars to get all of the bells and whistles.

If you don't mind watching a few ads, you can get 60 tickets and a table part free daily.

 

[ScotchYeti]

Thanks, shogun00. I figured out that the challenges can be restarted with a few tickets so itˋs a grind but doable.

 

[ScotchYeti]

After spending tons of hours here are my findings:

Starting to get the tables for free in 2021 means a lot of grinding. You can probably get 24-30 table parts in an hour by playing challenges. As the parts are spread over 21 tables and 20 parts are needed per table to get them to 2-stars, we talk about minimum 15 hours - and of course you will need more because the parts are not won evenly.

When the app came out I have brought Medieval Madness to 2 stars and then dropped everything as the grinding has worn me out. Fast forward to 2021 and I would be willing to pay up to 5 bucks per table if it would be possible. As I am not a fan of half the tables, the big packs aren't really attractive.

What I have done so far is:

• I bought the Universal Monster set for 10 Euros.
• I did 2 days of grinding over the weekend. This is not sustainable and sucks the fun out of pinball.
• I bought 350 ZEN coins for 10 Euros adding up to 480 in total (I had some left over from the past).
• I looked at the tables I wanted most (e.g. Attack from Mars, Funhouse) and bought the corresponding table parts boosters. I think in total I bought 9. It's pretty uneven, I needed 4 Funhouse parts and got like 7 for Cirqus Voltaire.
• For the remaining coins I have enabled the Visual Effects (mostly loving them) and the Williams Physics (awesome!).

Money paid: 20 Euros, Tables enabled: 8
Wanted Tables Left: 2, Junk Yard has 5 pieces missing and for Theatre of Magic it's 4 pieces
Undecided about Roadshow, probably will let it come naturally.

Let's see where I will stand in another week of grinding. Actually I am waiting for the next special event as this will be the best time to acquire things.

 

[vfpcoder]

Hey!

Check out the "Zen Pinball Party" available via Apple Arcade!
It Includes "Attack From Mars"; "Medieval Madness"; "The Getaway: High Speed 2"; and "Theater of Magic".
All of these tables have been recoded using the Epic engine.

They also include a bunch of new and old Zen original tables.

 

[ScotchYeti]

Hi vfpcoder,

I will checkout "Zen Pinball Party" when new Williams tables become available. Don't know when this will happen, probably not so soon.

My criticism of the "Williams Pinball" monetarization model was too harsh and based on the assumption that it should be similar to the PC or consoles. You get the app and buy the tables, which here is only possible for a ridiculous price. I also thought that it would take forever to get the tables to 2 stars, which is not true. A reasonably skilled player can do it in 2 weeks and I actually like it.

It wasn't that much different in the old "Pinball Hall of Fame" game. You started with "Gorgar" and could then enable the other tables. The advantage was that you could pick the next table to be unlocked, not the random table parts you get here.

Short summary after less than a week:

• 14 tables are enabled
• 3 more are ready to go, I just need the tickets.
• I intentionally keep Champion Pub, Safe Cracker and Hurricane at 0 stars.

So even in 2021 with 21 tables available spending money is not necessary. Getting them to 4 stars is another story and buying the Physics update (as suggested by shogun00) is a smart move. You will also earn more XP this way.

 

[Scared Stiff]

How often are there sales to get a set for 10 bucks?

I am not sure there will ever be a sale on that app anymore. Considering it uses the old game engine that Zen has moved away from, I wouldn’t really expect anything more from that app. On iOS devices, Zen has shifted their focus to Apple Arcade. That is pretty clear. Once they work some of the remaining bugs out it will be fantastic. It’s already pretty good. I like it much better. Granted it’s under a rent to play model now, but I was already playing other things on Apple Arcade anyway and got it free for 6 months just by being a member of the Target store’s discount program.