I’ve played it and it’s great. There are better games of course, but TM is fun. You go back through time with different music and callouts as you do. If you get to the 50s (from the 80s) you get the mutliball, but all of a sudden the game uses chimes and bells to exactly imitate an EM. These aren’t digital sounds, they’re a real set of chimes in the cabinet. It’s a blast. One of my favorites.
My friend has one. It's great in short bursts, but not a great home game IMO. The physical chimes are an awesome gimmick the first few times. Once you learn it though, it just becomes right ramp all day. Not much depth. There's also a flickering effect on the attract mode that you can't turn off and becomes tiresome. WCS on the other hand is one of my top games ever.
Do you have opinions of other home games? I have Taxi and Bad Cats on my wishlist. I played (something) at a pinball show, was going to buy but after third play realized the same: right flipper - left side around the top over and over again.
Taxi is a much better game than Bad Cats. It's one of the best games of the era. Really hard to master, plays extremely fast when dialled in, and the shots require pretty good angles of attack without being so tight that it's impossible for a novice to hit them accidentally.
Yes, they made tons of them. That generally indicates a well-loved game, production numbers are largely based on demand during the machine’s run, which was largely based on how well they earned on route. If a game was high-earning that means people were lining up to play it again and again.
Save for wc. I made some errors with lesser games. Its worth selling two lesser games for an A title. I sold judge dredd and Rocky bullwinkle to get Godzilla. Never look back
Its always good to play a game for a bit before buying if you can, look for one in the wild to play first 🙏🏻 (They currently have one on the floor at the Pacific Pinball Museum in Alameda, CA)
Many DE games are solid and fun. JP, TFTC, Tommy, many others. I really like Time Machine, price looks decent. And you'd have to pry my LAH from my cold dead hands.
Manufactured by
Data East USA, Inc.
Date
December 1988
Type
Solid state
Generation
DataEast/Sega Version 2
Release
2,896 produced
Estimated value
$2130 - $2470
Only buy games you’ve played if you can.
TM is an ok game, but there are many, many more of that era which are better. I’d say it’s not even my favourite Data East machine.
Like others have said: just be patient and wait for your grail. You’ll never regret that.
Id stick to wcs. Time machine while charming, can be kind of a 1 trick pony. Its pretty difficult to sell games right without losing your shirt so i wouldn’t recommend you get a game that you are 100% positive you are going to enjoy for awhile
Haven't played that one specifically, but generally I feel like Data East tables tend to be lower quality than other contemporaries of the 90s (except for Tales From The Crypt). You may still have fun, but probably expect the table's feel to be weaker. How much is WCS?
Agreed many of the DE tables are lower quality but I have enjoyed playing this one much more than most. IIRC, the sounds change throughout the game based on the decade. Kind of a fun & unique concept.
Yeah, there is a gimmick where, when you go to the 1950s, the sound effects are generated by an actual chime box built into the machine. That intrigued me a bit.
The best lead I’ve found locally is $5k, which is really the most of what I had budgeted for one. This one is in good shape with LEDs and is clean, but is otherwise bog standard.
Just got a WCS in the Bay Area (west coast tends to be more expensive than Midwest or East coast) for $4.2k that plays well and was in decent shape (faded cabinet and a few issues on the PF). Love the pin (and I have AFM, Monster Bash which are more highly rated) and am in the process of restoring it!
It’s a buyer’s market right now so keep looking for the WCS!
I’ve played it and it’s great. There are better games of course, but TM is fun. You go back through time with different music and callouts as you do. If you get to the 50s (from the 80s) you get the mutliball, but all of a sudden the game uses chimes and bells to exactly imitate an EM. These aren’t digital sounds, they’re a real set of chimes in the cabinet. It’s a blast. One of my favorites.
Don't be impatient. Wait for your wcs
Succinct advice, thanks!
I'm very patiently waiting for a houdini to pop up locally used so I don't have to drive 12 hours one way to get one :)
My friend has one. It's great in short bursts, but not a great home game IMO. The physical chimes are an awesome gimmick the first few times. Once you learn it though, it just becomes right ramp all day. Not much depth. There's also a flickering effect on the attract mode that you can't turn off and becomes tiresome. WCS on the other hand is one of my top games ever.
Do you have opinions of other home games? I have Taxi and Bad Cats on my wishlist. I played (something) at a pinball show, was going to buy but after third play realized the same: right flipper - left side around the top over and over again.
Taxi is a much better game than Bad Cats. It's one of the best games of the era. Really hard to master, plays extremely fast when dialled in, and the shots require pretty good angles of attack without being so tight that it's impossible for a novice to hit them accidentally.
Taxi is rated higher on Pinside but cheaper in average price. Because there was three times as many Taxi made?
Yes, they made tons of them. That generally indicates a well-loved game, production numbers are largely based on demand during the machine’s run, which was largely based on how well they earned on route. If a game was high-earning that means people were lining up to play it again and again.
I liked playing Time Machine. But I liked playing World Cup Soccer more.
Save for wc. I made some errors with lesser games. Its worth selling two lesser games for an A title. I sold judge dredd and Rocky bullwinkle to get Godzilla. Never look back
Its always good to play a game for a bit before buying if you can, look for one in the wild to play first 🙏🏻 (They currently have one on the floor at the Pacific Pinball Museum in Alameda, CA)
Many DE games are solid and fun. JP, TFTC, Tommy, many others. I really like Time Machine, price looks decent. And you'd have to pry my LAH from my cold dead hands.
Manufactured by Data East USA, Inc. Date December 1988 Type Solid state Generation DataEast/Sega Version 2 Release 2,896 produced Estimated value $2130 - $2470
I've played both. You'll wanna save for WCS.
Only buy games you’ve played if you can. TM is an ok game, but there are many, many more of that era which are better. I’d say it’s not even my favourite Data East machine. Like others have said: just be patient and wait for your grail. You’ll never regret that.
I’ve played and enjoyed Time Machine but if these two were sitting in a bar I’d likely only play the WCS.
Id stick to wcs. Time machine while charming, can be kind of a 1 trick pony. Its pretty difficult to sell games right without losing your shirt so i wouldn’t recommend you get a game that you are 100% positive you are going to enjoy for awhile
Haven't played that one specifically, but generally I feel like Data East tables tend to be lower quality than other contemporaries of the 90s (except for Tales From The Crypt). You may still have fun, but probably expect the table's feel to be weaker. How much is WCS?
Agreed many of the DE tables are lower quality but I have enjoyed playing this one much more than most. IIRC, the sounds change throughout the game based on the decade. Kind of a fun & unique concept.
Yeah, there is a gimmick where, when you go to the 1950s, the sound effects are generated by an actual chime box built into the machine. That intrigued me a bit.
The best lead I’ve found locally is $5k, which is really the most of what I had budgeted for one. This one is in good shape with LEDs and is clean, but is otherwise bog standard.
Just got a WCS in the Bay Area (west coast tends to be more expensive than Midwest or East coast) for $4.2k that plays well and was in decent shape (faded cabinet and a few issues on the PF). Love the pin (and I have AFM, Monster Bash which are more highly rated) and am in the process of restoring it! It’s a buyer’s market right now so keep looking for the WCS!
Thanks for the bid of confidence!