TPA Tables You've Played For Real

Logan812

New member
Jul 9, 2012
30
0
I've played all of these in Birmingham, AL. Of course, I have played many other tables elsewhere, but none of them are featured in TPA.

Williams:
Gorgar - Plays pretty much the same except the ball isn't quite as "loose" as in TPA, but that goes for real pinball in general.

Black Knight - Obviously much different considering the TPA version of BK is TERRIBLE. Seriously, it's pathetic. It's actually a very addictive, challenging, and fast game IRL. It's one of those early-mid 80s tables that prove you don't need tons of rules and modes to have a good pinball game. Also, this particular one I played is upgraded with LEDs and looks pretty sweet.

Fish Tales - Is as fun as always. TPA does a very good emulation of it and gives a good idea of the real thing. Of course, it's still very challenging.

Medieval Madness - Easily my favorite from this bunch of tables both IRL and in TPA. This particular one had a color DMD installed. Plays more or less the same as TPA except the catapult shots are a little more difficult when actually aiming for them (plus, the ball doesn't teleport into the catapult shot when it's barely close to it like in TPA obviously.)


Stern (Including Stern Pinbal Arcade):
Ripley's Believe It Or Not - A little more difficult IRL for the one I played, but mostly because that table is in need of maintenence and has to go into ball-search often during gameplay. Also, the shrunken head almost never leads to the upper flipper while the vari-target releases at an odd angle - making penguin loops and slot machine shots a lot more difficult, but that's the way it is. It's a mechanical game after all.

Mustang - Plays about the same.

AC/DC - Pretty tricky although not in a fun way, and not one of my favorite modern Sterns despite being an AC/DC fan.

Star Trek - Fun game with fun rules. The physics feel a little off in Stern Pinball Arcade in general though. It's almost as if they just copied the physics from an older version of TPA.

Ghostbusters - Same as Star Trek.

Gottlieb:
Cue Ball Wizard - The flippers on the one I played didn't rotate ridiculously high so I had to be more careful compared to TPA.

Genie - It's Genie... That's all you need to know, really.
 
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vfpcoder

Member
Jul 9, 2012
302
0
Logan812:

When you say you have played these in Birmingham, Al are you referring to "BumperNets"?

After my post above stating that I had never played a real "Medieval Madness", someone alerted me to the fact that BumperNets in Birmingham had a reproduction MM. So I raced over there during my Easter vacation and had a gas playing MM, Ghostbusters, Batman '66(!), Star Trek, and many other pins I had never played before! The only (very slight) quibble was that the Sterns were all Pro versions only, so there was no way to experience, for example, the Klingon laser light show on the Star Trek table.

I have to say, though, that I haven't seen that many pins in one place outside of Vegas! I'm going to have to hit that place at least once every two weeks or so from now on!
 

wizard33

New member
Jul 31, 2014
174
0
What I've played IRL:

S0:
ToM (big nostalgia on this one)
RBION

S1:
AfM
TZ
SS
Harley 3rd
Taxi
MB
CV (pinball in poor condition)
MM

S2:
CBW
T2
GN
FP
TOff

S3:
HS
BR
FT

S4:
XE
TAF

S5:
HS2

S6:
(none)
 

Gorgias32

New member
Jan 14, 2016
436
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I had a chance to play Medieval Madness in real life a week or so ago - it was interesting to me how steep the ramps are, especially the right ramp, and the balls coming down from the right or left kickouts definitely did not settle on the flippers like they do in TPA 90% of the time. Also it seemed to be a lot easier in real life to hit the Merlin target than in TPA.
 

Logan812

New member
Jul 9, 2012
30
0
Logan812:

When you say you have played these in Birmingham, Al are you referring to "BumperNets"?

After my post above stating that I had never played a real "Medieval Madness", someone alerted me to the fact that BumperNets in Birmingham had a reproduction MM. So I raced over there during my Easter vacation and had a gas playing MM, Ghostbusters, Batman '66(!), Star Trek, and many other pins I had never played before! The only (very slight) quibble was that the Sterns were all Pro versions only, so there was no way to experience, for example, the Klingon laser light show on the Star Trek table.

I have to say, though, that I haven't seen that many pins in one place outside of Vegas! I'm going to have to hit that place at least once every two weeks or so from now on!

Yep! Although some of the other ones were in other random locations. Fish Tales is in an Irish pub called Buck Mulligans which also has Nascar and Popeyes. I honestly can't remember where I played Cue Ball Wizard though.
I only have this week and finals next week left at UAB, so I don't know if I can keep going to BumperNets for very long, but it's a cool place.
 

vfpcoder

Member
Jul 9, 2012
302
0
Yep! Although some of the other ones were in other random locations. Fish Tales is in an Irish pub called Buck Mulligans which also has Nascar and Popeyes. I honestly can't remember where I played Cue Ball Wizard though.
I only have this week and finals next week left at UAB, so I don't know if I can keep going to BumperNets for very long, but it's a cool place.

Thanks for the info!
Since all the tables at BumperNets are also for sale, I just assumed that "Fish Tales" and "Cue Ball Wizard" had been sold before I got there.

Also, since they are spread over three adjacent areas on the first floor of the Galleria, it was certainly possible that I may have just missed them. In any case, the place is *incredible*. I even found a couple of well-maintained "woodrails" in the back of the primary location. ("Genie", unfortunately, was down while I was there.)

It's really gratifying to find a place like this where you can play a huge variety of real pinball tables!!

(BTW, I thought the biggest difference between the TPA/Stern digital recreations and the real things was the brightness of the flashers. Those modern Sterns really light up!!
Oh, and I don't how FarSight could reproduce Batman '66 due to the color monitor showing clips from the TV series --- but you never know ...)
 
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Nov 18, 2016
156
0
I've been a big fan of Black Hole ever since I first got TPA 4 years ago. On Friday, I got a chance to play the real thing at Modern Pinball. And... damn. The TPA version doesn't even come close to the incredible visual experience you get from the real table. Just jaw dropping. Going back to the TPA version was a bit disappointing. (Except for seeing the flippers on the interior level, which I found a little tricky in reality as I'm pretty tall.)
 

gordonabrown

New member
May 3, 2016
66
0
I've been able to add a bunch more to my original OP. Over the last several months I've been able to play:

Bram Stoker's Dracula - TPA's is a great version, just as hard irl.
T2 - I find this one to be so much fun on both TPA and in real life. Easily one of my favourites to play live.
Cactus Jack's - I enjoy this one even if it is a one-shot pony.
High Speed II - Had a blast with this one even if the upper-right flipper kept sticking out. Certainly made loops damn near impossible.
Scared Stiff - the one I played was badly uneven so every ball went dramatically to the left. Didn't really get a good feel for it.
Who Dunnit? - One of my faves both in TPA and real life.

I've also played all the (modern Stern) tables in SPA.
 

vikingerik

Active member
Nov 6, 2013
1,205
0
I've been a big fan of Black Hole ever since I first got TPA 4 years ago. On Friday, I got a chance to play the real thing at Modern Pinball. And... damn. The TPA version doesn't even come close to the incredible visual experience you get from the real table. Just jaw dropping. Going back to the TPA version was a bit disappointing. (Except for seeing the flippers on the interior level, which I found a little tricky in reality as I'm pretty tall.)

I was at Modern Pinball a few weeks ago and Black Hole was out of order, good to hear it's up again.

And yes, TPA doesn't do Black Hole justice at all. The sheer SIZE of the thing is a major part of its original appeal, which gets completely lost on a pocket size phone screen.
 

strells

New member
Oct 7, 2014
291
0
The Addams Family
Attack From Mars
Black Hole
Black Knight
Black Knight 2000
Bram Stoker's Dracula
Bride of Pinbot
Cactus Canyon
Cactus Jack's
Champion Pub
Cirqus Voltaire
Creature from the Black Lagoon
Cue Ball Wizard
Diner
Dr. Dude
Doctor Who
Elvira and the Party Monsters
Fish Tales
Funhouse
The Getaway: High Speed 2
Harley Davidson
Haunted House
High Speed
Frankenstein
Medieval Madness
Phantom of the Opera
Scared Stiff
Space Shuttle
Star Trek: TNG
Tales of the Arabian Nights
Taxi
Tee'd Off
Terminator 2: Judgement Day
Theatre of Magic
Twilight Zone
Whodunnit
Whirlwind
Whitewater

Many played at California Extreme, the Vegas Pinball Hall of Fame, and a few during my college days.
 

yespage

Member
Oct 31, 2015
466
2
I was at Modern Pinball a few weeks ago and Black Hole was out of order, good to hear it's up again.

And yes, TPA doesn't do Black Hole justice at all. The sheer SIZE of the thing is a major part of its original appeal, which gets completely lost on a pocket size phone screen.
As opposed to what pinball machine that isn't crammed on a phone screen?
 

Anubis

New member
Jun 4, 2016
59
0
Honestly, not a lot of them. Mainstays for me are:

High Speed
Pinbot
F-14
Swords of Fury
Eight Ball Deluxe
Whirlwind
EarthShaker

I could find places that had a couple of pins, but no true pinball rooms.
 

Kratos3

New member
Sep 22, 2013
2,352
1
Medieval Madness
Attack from Mars
Theater of Magic
TOTAN
Twilight Zone
Addams Family
Black Hole
Black Knight 2000
Funhouse
PinBot
Gorgar
High Speed
Taxi
Phantom of the Opera
Cyclone
Comet
Fish Tales
Whirlwind
Stern Star Trek Limited Edition



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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dave950lam

New member
Apr 20, 2012
838
0
Table I've played IRL:

Black Hole

S1:
Gorgar
Black Knight
Taxi
Big Shot
Star Trek NG
Attack from Mars

S2:
Firepower
Space Shuttle
Pinbot
Centaur
Whirlwind
Goin' Nuts
Haunted House

S3:
Black Knight 2000
High Speed

S4:
Earthshaker
Addams Family
Cyclone
Xenon

S5:
The Getaway
F-14 Tomcat
El Dorado
Fireball

S6:
Eight Ball Deluxe
Swords of Fury

Other tables I've seen:
Centigrade 37
Funhouse
Twilight Zone

BTW - I never heard of Paragon before seeing it on Youtube and Twitch.
 
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EldarOfSuburbia

New member
Feb 8, 2014
4,032
0
Added a few more to the list at Allentown this year:

- Centigrade 37. This was in excellent condition, looked almost new, new flippers, rubbers, lamps, it was cleaned, and the owner was asking $1850(!) for it.
- Jacks Open. Played pretty well. The red "J" target in the target bank was replaced with a second red "A" target. Possibly out of necessity?
- El Dorado City Of Gold. Yes, it's just as ugly in real life.
- Ripley's. There's been one at the show the last couple of years, but it was never working. This year, it was working. More difficult in real life. Flipper traps are far more difficult to obtain and the ramps are more difficult to hit.
 

DA5ID

New member
Aug 27, 2014
916
0
Probably easier to name the TPA tables I have NOT played IRL - and am on the hunt for.
15 on the list - maybe a summer roadtrip quest!

Al's Garageband
Big Shot
Bone Busters
Cactus Jacks
Cue Ball Wizard
Cyclone
Eldorado City of Gold
Flight 2000
Big Hurt
Gladiators
Goin Nuts
High Roller Casino
Hurricane
Lights Camera Action
Space Shuttle
 

shutyertrap

Moderator
Staff member
Mar 14, 2012
7,334
0
Probably easier to name the TPA tables I have NOT played IRL - and am on the hunt for.
15 on the list - maybe a summer roadtrip quest!

Al's Garageband
Big Shot
Bone Busters
Cactus Jacks
Cue Ball Wizard
Cyclone
Eldorado City of Gold
Flight 2000
Big Hurt
Gladiators
Goin Nuts
High Roller Casino
Hurricane
Lights Camera Action
Space Shuttle

You can find Goin' Nuts in Las Vegas at the Pinball Hall of Fame. I've seen Space Shuttle, Cyclone, and Cactus Jacks there too, but the normal games like that rotate.
 

strells

New member
Oct 7, 2014
291
0
I was just there last month and I did not see Goin' Nuts. Or maybe I just blocked it out of my memory...hmm.
 

DA5ID

New member
Aug 27, 2014
916
0
:) I found myself in vegas on new years eve (driving back from CA) - i thought making a pilgrimage to the pinball hall of fame would be a better way to spend NYE than watching street fights and vomiting on the vegas strip. I got there at 8:50pm and it was completely dead so the operators decided to close early at 9pm. I only got to do a quick walk though and couldn't find the goin nuts machine so I played Harley Davidson (on my list) until they literally shut off the power.

So I went to the Vegas Strip and watched street fights and vomiting. On a positive note I stayed at the sketchiest hotel I have ever been to that cost $200 (everything else was sold out or $700+) and I did NOT get stabbed or robbed. I hate vegas - only reason to go back is the HOF and hopefully they stick to their posted operating hours.
 

TFHFony

New member
Mar 9, 2017
113
1
Didn't keep scores, but recently I visited the Dutch Pinball Museum and played to following tables which are also in TPA:

* Adams Family
* Bride Of Pinbot
* Arabian Nights
* Elvira & The Party Monsters
* No Good Gofers
* Medieval Madness
* Cactus Canyon
* Creature from the Black Lagoon
* Indianapolis 500
* Red & Teds Roadshow
* Space Shuttle
* Terminator 2

And probably some others I don't remember :)
 

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