wanting ALL THE PINBALLS

A big part of this hobby, as it turns out, is lusting after the great white whales:  Any game still on your want list.
My particular situation limits the dimensions of this.  After a year of organizing, I have space for no more than 3 pinball machines in the back storage room. 3.  That's it.  No more.
Sure, I only have one now, but my dreams or so much bigger.

My "dream" setup is mediated by different levels of fantasy.
In the ultimate "money is no object" dreams, it is hard to pick 3 machines that are outside of the top 20 lists at IPDB or Pinside.
If money were no object?  I guess Theatre Of Magic, Medieval Madness and The Addams Family.  I got the Mr. Pinball 2013 price guide and they list there for 4500, 11375 and 4825, so $20k of pinballs, plus more expensive in Canada no doubt.
Or maybe 21st century pins only?  Lord Of The Rings, Simpsons Pinball Party, and Tron. But even at original release prices, that's $15k.

So my sites have been on more affordable pins.  the pins of the early 90s are where my heart is, those earlier DMDs, and luckily there are a few out there that are still pretty reasonably priced.

Right now I am hunting down a Rocky & Bullwinkle & Friends.  Not an overly complex game, but I really wanted something kid-friendly.  It lists for about $1800.
I have my eyes on other cheap games form the era, like Hook, Back To The Future, Street Fighter 2, Independence Day, and, shockingly... BAYWATCH.
I remember really enjoying that game, and looking at it now I really appreciate how much is crammed in to it.  The ball is shot up a habitrail, and so instead of a shooter lane on the right, they have maximized the playfield.  It feels like a wideboy, but is in a normal cabinet.  And since I can't get widebody machines down my stairs, it shoots up my want list for sure, The Hoff be damned.


I have an opportunity to get a Space Shuttle, and that with Rocky + Bullwinkle and Royal Flush would put me at my max, 3.  LIVING THE DREAM:  a great EM, a great SS, and a fun DMD.
If I ended up getting Baywatch as well though, it'd most likely be Royal Flush leaving.  I have to face the facts:  with only 3 spaces, I will probably end up with 3 DMDs.

so what would be the dream lineup of relatively affordable pins?  An aspirational setup would be No Good Gofers, Ripley's Believe It Or Not, and Jurassic Park.
I'm a bit on the fence about Ripley's, just for the fact pervasive nature of Ripley's profiteering via racist orientalism.  Maybe replace it with Cyclone...


That's all pie-in-the-sky dreaming though.  I have my Royal Flush.  Let's see which one is next.