I'm feeling the urge to downsize my collection, but I cant seem to do it. I have a dedicated space for them. Hell, I built and entire building for them. For now, I sell to try new ones and just keep in in an equilibrium.

Ya same here I added on 13 years ago for the pins and now been here for 28 years now I want too move out of town so we have land and bigger shops but most of the houses we have seen can't hold the pins like I have now keep looking I guess u Gil we do find something that will work

Burnout can get to us all. The early days were so fun and exciting with so much to discover in this hobby. My interest certainly has declined from a time when it was full on obsession. There have been a couple times when I thought I had enough. Sold off most everything only to get interested again. Based on that experience I'm happy with what I have now and don't feel the need to add or subtract anything.

I still get excited when a game I've never owned and hardly ever played falls into my lap.

I'd be way more excited about getting a Scorpion or Phoenix than I would a Jurassic Park, which I've played a million times.

Can't believe my brotato Levi likes Phoenix! I had one temporarily far awhile years ago, and it's a really fun, simple game. The backglass is a representation of female genitalia!

I am excited about one coming my way. Although it's a title I've had in the past.

I own 7 machines, but only have room for 6. 5 actually works and looks best. I have enough and 1 too many. Realistically I should sell 2 machines, but I like them all. I don’t feel a desire to buy any more. I’m happy with the line-up and want to make them all a little nicer. I’m sure I could survive with 2 or 3 machines just fine though, and they would probably be EMs instead of solid state.

My collection is largest it’s ever been and I’m pretty happy lol

I do this with all my hobbies. Go deep and overdo it, then end up purging a good bit. Has worked well overall in funding the next "hotness".

Right now, my hotness is pins...so...I've got 2. Of course, it started with "1" and then that grew to "2" and then I wanted a new one so I did the right thing and sold the first to purchase the third machine. Could "fit" 5 and I'm really mulling over hard what the next two to fill the room would be. I don't see owning more than "5" because the real estate in the room wouldn't allow any more. Keep 2-3 as permanent fixtures, and rotate in 1-2 every so often to keep the lineup fresh. That is, if my wife doesn't kick me to the curb before I reach the "5".

Pins 1 and 2 don’t get along. You had to get a 3rd pin to put between them.

If an Eight Ball Deluxe came along at a fair price, I would have to make room for it and sell 1 or 2 machines. It would be a tough call. I don't want to maintain more than 6. Maintaining 4 or 5 is probably the sweet spot for me. Although, I am finding that once I work through a machine's problems and get it up and running, there isn't a whole lot to do with it other than keep it clean. I admit that I like working on and maintaining EMs more than I like working on solid state machines. I'm amazed at Vic Camp's collection. Very cool stuff.

wrong thread. sorry
.

I'm going to be downsizing soon to pay off a divorce. Been in this house almost 10 years and got to build a game room I was proud of, but turning 60 next year, got 4 project games gathering dust to either restore or just sell as-is, and I just don't have enough parties to warrant having all these games anymore. When I had a classic car I could take it to car shows or just go for a spin w the wife or friends, but you can't just take a pinball machine someplace to share it with people. The problem is they're like old friends, most of my A list games were from my early days in the hobby over 20 years ago. Sure, I like seeing them all lit up and stuff but sometimes I feel like Scrooge McDuck, gleefully sitting on a treasure and sharing it with nobody.

Another thing I'm struggling with - I've restored a few 70s SS games from my youth (Strikes and Spares, Evel Knievel, KISS, and have a couple more pending), and - I'm finding that I enjoy these simple games almost as much as my GZ Premium and the other 90s A-list games, yet I don't want to diminish the value of my collection by selling all the A-listers, a few that I don't even care about really. What causes this kind of behavior in an otherwise practical, rational person???

I've never had a large collection. I bought my first game in 2012 and I think the most I've had at one time is 7. I have 5 now and am expecting to have FF Pro this fall to make 6.

I'm definitely not as into pinball as I used to be. I'll play my games maybe once a week for an hour or so and go to MGC every year, but might check out Expo this year for the first time in a while.

I think I used to enjoy the hobby more when I could pick up projects (or at least games in rough shape) that I could restore. My last few purchases have been NIB and there's just not as much to do maintenance-wise. I've thought of downsizing more, but it would be tough to part with any of the ones I have.

Yeah this. The thrill of the hunt and finding machines at great prices, driving to go get them, fixing them up etc was possibly more fun than playing the games. That has all dried up and now its just “drop 7-10 grand on a game with a distributor” or pay some outrageous price for a classic from a hobbyist/flipper…its a whole different homogenized ballgame to me and not nearly as fun and interesting. Im down to four games and probably going to sell one of those soon.

I'm holding steady at around 40 machines.
With over 20 years in the hobby, I've learned what I like and what I don't like about pinball. I keep my passion by avoiding the parts I don't like.