Which Is Better For Your Home - A Single Player Or Multi-Player Pinball Game

Buying a pinball game for your home game room is no little task. Yes you want a fun pinball machine and yes you want one both family and friends will enjoy. So does that mean you go right out and buy the first "cool" looking pinball machine you see? Nope, No Way, Never!

Although a "FUN" pinball game is what every home game room or rec room needs, you must consider a couple of things. One consideration is whether you'd like a single player or multi-player game? Of course most of the games now days are multi player so if you're looking for a modern pinball game that is single player they're hard to find unless it's a children sized pinball game. The antique / vintage pinball machines made in the early 1950s and before are the single player pinball machines.

So not only do you have a choice between single player and multi-player but now you must choose between a vintage pinball machine and a more modern pinball machine. And of course each one has its good points and features so let's go into a little more detail.

Single Player Pinball Machine

Considering most of the single player pinball games date back some 50 years or so a good point in having one of these is its uniqueness. They're rare, they have a lot of neat "vintage" bells and whistles for those times and they're actually very challenging yet simple to play for kids of all ages from 3 to 103.

Because of their uniqueness they also tend to be a big conversation piece and everyone wants to take a turn to play. It's not often you get a chance to play an original pinball game from the 1930s, 40s, 50s or 60s. Growing up, in my parents game room they had two antique pinball games from the late 1930s/early 1940s era. One was called "Miss Annabel" and the other was called "Catalina". They didn't have electronic graphics or digital score keeping, they were one-player games and they were quite old. But those two antique pinball games were more fun than a lot of the newer electronic pinball games with all the graphics, sounds, bonus games and all the other high tech stuff they have on them now days. You see it wasn't how "new" or how "advanced" the game was that made it fun, it was the skill involved and the uniqueness of the game that made it fun!

Both family and friends enjoyed those games for many years during all the holiday parties. We had tournaments, kept high scores and more. So you see single player games do have some advantages over the newer multi player pinball games. Also it seems that with the vintage pinball machines it was you against the machine, not other people. But with multi-player games you seem to concentrate more on beating your competition than beating the game.

Multi Player Pinball Game

Modern era pinball games have a lot to say for themselves. You'd think I'd favor the antique single player games because I grew up with them but that's not true. As time went on my parents replaced one of the antique games with a 4-player electronic pinball game. I was a little upset at first but grew to like the 4-player game.

First of all it had all the bells and whistles that most of the pinball games have now days. Like bonus games, extra balls, two-ball play and more. Those were features I only encountered in arcade game rooms. But suddenly we had one in our own home. And you know what, I loved all those features. Plus since it was a 4-player game more people could play during the family get-togethers and holiday parties. Also it kept the high score so no need to have a piece of paper and pen nearby. And the winner could put in their initials by using the flipper buttons.

So what are some of the basic features you get with a modern pinball machine? You get the multi-player feature, high score memory, name memory, computer graphic screens, multi-ball play, ball capture, bonus games, talking games, stereo music and some even have two levels of pinball action. There are more features besides these too. Mainly because there are so many different modern machines available you'll come across a lot of features we haven't mentioned. If you come across an arcade game room go in and check out the cool features on some of the newest pinball games available, you'll be amazed.

One other really neat thing about modern pinball games is that you can find "Theme Pinball Games". From the Simpson's and Adams Family to Star Trek and NASCAR there and many different and fun themed pinball games that would fit right into a home game room theme. You may just find one for your home that you never knew existed.

So after playing pinball games for 30 years both modern and antique I've come to a conclusion. No matter which you choose they're a great addition or I should say a "MUST" addition to any ultimate home game room! The best scenario would be to have one of each if possible. I love the uniqueness of the vintage pinball machines and I love all the high tech features of modern pinball machines too. Of course everyone has their own reasoning behind which is better and some games just work better for some people than others. But before going with one over the other make sure to give them both a try. You never know which one you'll love more and you may be surprised which one you decide to add to your home game room.

Visit www.game-room-decorating-ideas.com to find fun and interesting information on creating a Family Game Room in your home.

Visit www.game-room-decorating-ideas.com/fun-pinball-machines.html to learn more about adding fun pinball machines into your home game room.

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Is Swapping Video Games With Other Gamers a Better Way to Play New Video Games?

Every gamer goes through the process of buying a new video game - playing it to boredom or completion and then moving onto the next game. For some, the retail value of £40 (~$60) for most new video games makes moving onto the next game a tricky task, making gaming an expensive hobby! This article will discuss several methods of buying/getting new video games available to gamers and consider whether video game swapping sites represent the best possible value to a gamer when moving onto a new video game.

Trading in Video Games

Trading your video game in at a local store is one method - this will often mean losing over half the value of the game you paid in the first place. And the local store is probably going to sell your video game at a markedly greater price. So the trade in value they offer you isn't going to get you very much at the store so you'll still have to contribute some extra cash to get a new game. However, this process is convenient and you have your next game in hand as soon as you're in the store!

Advantages:

1. Convenient

2. Instant

Disadvantages:

1. Low trade in value

2. Hefty mark up by retailer means you pay more cash for the next game

Video Game Rental

Joining a games rental service, such as Boomerang or Lovefilm, is another option. You typically pay a flat monthly subscription fee and receive a limited number of games which you can keep for as long as you wish. The quality of such services varies greatly and the major drawbacks here are that you must keep a list of games you desire - resulting in you receiving which ever game the rental company has in stock when they receive returned games. So the danger here is that you may not actually get the game at the top of your list. Other drawbacks include waiting a long time for that one game you want - or receiving games that are scratched to the point where your console won't play them! Most importantly, you hand out all that cash each month and you don't actually own anything in the end - it's arguable that there's better value in buying a game, keeping it until you've finished with it and then trading it once you're done.

Furthermore, the value in this service varies from game to game. Some games can be completed within a few days of playing, and so the effective cost of playing this game is a fraction of the monthly subscription fee. And some games will be played for many years, making playing these games via rental very expensive! So in this sense, rental has the advantage of letting you try out a large number of games for a monthly subscription fee. If you think the game has long term value, then you could simply buy the game safe in the knowledge that you'll be playing this game for a long time to come! But then PC, Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 gamers can try out new games by downloading them, muting this point in their case.

Another game rental option is often available from a local video store. The rental cost is typically 5% to 10% of the cost of the video game for up to 7 days worth of play. Using a local video store to rent games is definitely convenient and the value of the service to you depends on whether you actually finish the game or decide it's not your thing (i.e. you've gotten the most out of them) before the game is due back.

Advantages:

1. Large collection to choose from

2. Easy to get new video games as you complete old ones

3. You get to try a large number of games for a nominal subscription fee.

Disadvantages:

1. May not get the game you want

2. Could be waiting a long time for games depending on rental companies stock levels

3. You don't actually own anything in the end

Selling your video games

Another route is simply selling you video game. One of the most convenient ways to sell is by auctioning your game on eBay or TheGameCollective. If the game is a recent and popular one, you'll probably get a good price - potentially much more than a local store would pay, and all you had to do was wait a few more days for the auction/sale to complete and then send your game through the post. A little less convenient than a local store but for many the extra value in the video game is worth it.

The draw back here is that eBay will take a cut of the final sale price currently 8.25% of the final fee and if you accept payment via PayPal, you'll have to pay an additional fee (~4%), representing a loss of up to 12% of the final price (unless you're cunning and build this into the P&P price - but that's a bugbear for many!).

Advantages:

1. Can receive a good price for your game

2. Quite convenient

Disadvantages:

1. Must wait several days for sale to be agreed

2. Commission on final sale price

Video Game Swap

Swapping video games via an online game swapping network is another method. These sites include TheGameCollective, gamejam or hitflip and for a small/no fee these sites will allow gamers to agree swaps and then exchange home addresses and mail their games to each other. This service provides gamers with the opportunity to play new video games at about the cost of posting a game. So in this sense, the game swapping option offers great potential for the value conscious gamer.

Game swapping isn't currently widely adopted and so unless a game swap site experiences heavy traffic a gamer may have to wait a little longer to get the video game swap they want. This could take a short while depending on a game's popularity and so in this regard game swapping is not as convenient as, say, trading. But as game swapping becomes more popular, the process of moving onto new video games is set to become a much better value experience.

Advantages:

1. Can be obtained at the cost of mailing a game

2. Easy to get new video games as you complete old ones

Disadvantages:

1. May have to wait a long time to find another gamer willing to swap

John Dunne has been an avid gamer for over 20 years and has setup the video game swapping website TheGameCollective.co.uk to help gamers swap and sell their video games free of charge to help us get the most out of gaming.

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.