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| Domino (Gottlieb, 1968) at left and Duotron (Gottlieb, 1974) at right. |
- Find Your Sweet Spot (era)
When I went to purchase my first game, I was looking at a later model, a 1979 Gottlieb Genie with digital displays and sounds and a wide-body featuring 5(!) flippers. I figured that a more modern unit might be more reliable, easier to fix. I had memories of playing this specific game as a young adult.
At the shop, the proprietor asked if I was interested in older games (he had a few) and it did not take me long to realize that the warm fuzzies of owning and playing a pinball game were related to the lights, sounds, and feel of an older type machine (specifically an EM, or Electro-Mechanical, device). He had two, and I chose one at random (seemed in better shape, better art, newer) and I lucked into a machine that was right at my own sweet spot. I was 13 when Duotron was new; I don't recall encountering it, but I certainly could have. - Find Your Sweet Spot (manufacturer)
For the EM games I am interested in, there were three primary manufacturers: Bally, Williams, and Gottlieb. In the months since I've purchased my first game, I've had the opportunity to play several examples of Bally and Williams games in the wild. Know what? They do not do it for me, quite as much as the Gottlieb games. It's little stuff - design, art, flippers, chimes / bells, targets, rollovers, bumpers - each brand has a slightly different way of doing things.
So if you get the chance to play some older games, note the age, the manufacturer, and figure out what you really like.
- Find Your Sweet Spot (popularity)Pinball was a consumer driven market for many years - with the number of games ordered related to how well received the game was in the field. Domino and Duotron were not all that popular (about 2500 games made, each). Bally's 1977 Eight Ball had a production run of 20,000.
The production run factors in multiple ways. There may be a lot out there, but they may have been played hard, worn out, and there aren't too many left. Lower production runs of popular games might mean they are more collectible and worth more. Games with higher production runs might make it easier to find parts (used or reproduction), schematics, and vendors who provide parts and services.
I've been able to pick up schematics for both my games, as well as kits to replace rings / rubbers. On the other hand, a set of mylar replacement target faces for Domino (mine were worn off / poorly repainted) required sending off to Australia. ($23 including shipping, deal!) - Game Popularity vs. Playability
When I purchased Duotron, my first game, I was a total newb. Once it was in house, I started looking around, and found ratings / review like these:
"Very blah playing game. Ball always seems to hit posts and not targets. NO flow at all.""Big disappointment. There is so little to do on the playfield except to knock the trapped center ball back and forth which racks up an inordinate amount of points compared to the other elements. I have 6 pins and this one gets played the least by far."
I can't really argue. It's not the best designed game out there, by far. However, that also means that it will tend to be more available (collectors will not so quickly snap it up), more affordable (collectors pay a premium for more desirable games), and be in better relative shape (less popular games have accrued fewer playing hours over a 40-50 year old lifetime).
A great place to do some research is pinside.com - they have a machine database that lists all sorts of stats for individual games, forums to ask questions, map to locate folks who own (or are selling, or want to buy) specific machines or where machines are available for public play. - Condition - What's Important?
Assuming you have a bit of electro-mechanical aptitude (you'll need it for one of these older games) then a fully operating game is perhaps the least important aspect of condition. All that stuff can be fixed.
What can't be easily fixed are condition issues, specifically:
Backglass: Is it intact (not broken or cracked)? Is it worn (the heat from incandescent bulbs tended to burn away the paint so older backglass will have bare spots, pinholes, etc.
My backglasses are in pretty decent shape - Duotron has a few thinning spots, Domino has some touch-up work that is not great (our lady has a bit of mottle flesh tones). Neither are deal-breakers for me.
There's a market for replacement backglasses (not cheap) and for some very popular games, reproduction glass or lighter translite replacements are available. But a lousy backglass ratchets down the visual appeal of any game.
Playfield: The playing surface of the pinball machine is also somewhat critical. There are two issues: the artwork (which can be worn down to bare wood fairly easily, with many plays, but does not generally affect the play) and actual damage (gouges, dents, pits. grooves). Some things can be repaired, some things touched up, but starting with a playfield in good condition is a real plus.
Domino backglass available on ebay for $130 - note the significant artwork damage, peeling, etc.
Plastics: The little translucent covers for various playfield mechanics, often damaged by heat (incandescent lamps) or by errant pinballs. Replacing these can be difficult / impossible. I can get a set of plastics for my games for about $100 / set (again, from Australia) - quite a commitment for a machine that I pick up for a few hundred bucks. So it's better if the plastics are intact when you buy. Same thing goes for things like targets, drop targets, lane covers, pop bumper plastics, etc. Some of this stuff is fairly generic and can be easily replaced but if it's in any way unique to the game or the theme, it might be hard to find.
Cabinet: Most of the game cabinets had some great art, often related to or resonant with the game. The cabinets can be faded, vandalized (some folks like the high scores and initials in pen or carved into the wood), repainted, recovered. They can also be physically damaged.
Both of my games have original cabinet paint. Neither is in super great quality, but it works for me.
There's an industry out there of folks who create stencils for those restoring / repainting cabinets. - Purchasing Your Game
I found both of my games on Craigslist; which seems to be a pretty solid way to find something local. In both cases I watched the item go unsold for a while, and enventually decided to make contact. Facebook Marketplace also seems to be a pretty good place to look right now.
For a first game, local seems best - you can go look at / play the game, no need to ship (many sellers are unwilling to ship, local only) and perhaps there are multiple games available to look at.
Other channels are ebay (less easy to find something local, often a competitive bid situation) and online auctions (often sold as-is with no opportunity to play or see in person)
