Customer Reviews

Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest Arcade Pinball

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I've had this machine for about two weeks now. The pinball action is challenging, at first it's difficult, but with practice, everyone who's played a good number of games winds up racking up high scores. The machine looks very much like a real pinball machine, and plays similar to a real pinball game..the classic ones..not so much the modern pinball machines. BTW...if you get this..check out the "classic" play mode, it has five balls instead of three..and awards free balls..big fun!

Having owned real pinball machines, I can say that I was surprised with this pinball machine. If you play most kid's pinball tables out there, you will find they are made poorly and play poorly as well. But Zizzle does a good job of replicating a real pinball machine at a very affordable price. Is it as good as a real pinball machine? No, but then it is one 10th the price of a real machine. But for a kid's toy it is great!

The first thing you will notice is the solid construction. Real wood body and real steel legs make it very sturdy. It is built to last. You will also see that there are quite a few things to do on the game. Ramps, targets, bumpers and more make it so you do not get bored quickly. There is also quite a few flashing lights and sounds in the game. Granted it could use with more variety in the sounds, but it is still a nice feature. Another thing is you will want to have a lamp nearby as the playing table is not lit up and unless you have ample light nearby, the table is quite dark.

The game is challenging as you can lose the ball quite quickly. But like real pinball, if you play it enough, you will get a better feel on how to keep the ball in play. It is also nice that there is both normal pinball and story mode.

If you want as close a pinball experience as you can without spending a fortune, then this is the table for you. It is not as good as a real pinball table, but then it is under $400.00 (and cheaper if you look around) as opposed to $4000.00 for a real machine. I think Zizzle did a good job with it and would like to see them create more tables.

first off, those who purchased this and expected an arcade quality pinball game need some perspective. we recently finished our basement and wanted a pinball machine..until i found out how much an arcade one costs. the potc one was i believe $4500 or so...eep! i deliberated on purchasing the $300 one thinking it would be a piece of garbage but after doing some research on zizzle [the company that makes it] i found that it's 3/4 the size of an arcade machine [i thought it was much smaller], uses the same legs that a tradtional machine uses and had some nice little playfield features. having found the machine at b*st b*y for $199 w/ free shipping i figured what the heck. the machine took literally 10 minutes to assemble, and my two boys, ages 5 and 9, played with it for hours. yes, the opening between the flippers is a little wider than i would like and it makes it difficult to keep the ball in play..but sometimes the ball bounces back into play right through the flippers so you don't lose the ball every time. no, my kids did not get frustrated after using it 'three times' and walk away from the game: my kids must have learned somewhere along the way that you need to work at something to get good at it and after only a few hours of play, they were keeping that ball on the field for longer and longer periods. they found it challenging, something that seems rare to come by in kids' games these days. the reason i did give it four rather than five stars was because of the wide flipper opening. yes, it's a bit simplistic--but i also don't have to either feed it 50 cents each time i use it [or worse, pay thousands of dollars]. my husband and i have been playing with it as well--it's a fun little gadget to have in your home, enjoyed by the adults and kids alike. bottom line: if you can get this for $200 like i did it is WELL worth the money. i wouldn't pay $350 for it however. hope this helps someone on the fence with this product like i was!

I play pinball a lot, and actually find this game engaging. I'm sure it helps that the playfield was designed by the same designer for some of the Williams pinball titles like Theater of Magic. The playfield is set up well, there are various modes to get through so it's not a mindless game, and the flippers and bumpers work well, so it's easy to forget while playing that you're actually playing a scaled down machine. While of course, this is not a substitute for a $5000 arcade machine, this machine is well worth the ~$300 price tag.

No, it's not the best pinball machine in the world, but look at the price! These people who are giving it one or two stars because it doesn't compare to a $5,000 pinball machine are not being fair at all. It does a pretty good job of being just what it is: a miniature version of a standard pinball machine. For the price, it has provided us with a lot of family entertainment. It's fun to just walk by and play a few games. It usually ends up being MORE than a few games, and when someone else hears the sounds, they usually come over to play, too. I do wish it would show the players' scores on the screen at all times, but maybe that's an expensive feature, I don't know. It's a kid-size pinball game, but we all play it, and it's fun. In the past, I've paid more for things that weren't nearly as much fun, so we are very happy with it. And, it was a lot easier finding a place for a pinball machine this size than it would have been for the $5K machine!

I just recently bought this game for $200 and I must say it's a lot of fun. It's about 3/4ths the size of a normal pinball machine, but only about 50 lbs in weight which makes it easy to move around. I'm 6'5 and 220 pounds and the machine has held up well to my tilting it and such, it is a very durable machine.

I find it funny how everyone is criticizing this machine for not being close enough to a full size arcade pinball machine, ($300 in price vs. $3500). That's like saying, hey how come my Kia doesn't drive like a BMW? Well, if you wanted a BMW be ready to pay for it. But for the price the game is great and with practice you get pretty good at it. (i.e. you learn to tilt the table properly to make up for the hole between the flippers)

Like previouse reviews say, this is not an arcade machine, but pretty close. This is very well constructed, and the artwork is beautiful. The lights, sounds and ball action of this machine, make you forget you are playing a toy. I do wish they could have put some more lighting on it, like a previouse reviewer said, it's pretty dark, especially when none of the bonus lights are lit.

I never thought I'd be able to afford a machine that was this close to an arcade game. It's pretty cool. If you leave the machine on, the lights flash, and every 5 minutes, it plays a sound clip to entice you to play the machine<just like the ones in the arcade> If this machine was made about 5 years ago, with the electronics it has, it would have probably cost over a thousand.

I don't have any kids, so am not sure if ages 5 and up, are realy appropriate. But my adult friends have all had a blast with this. It is a challanging machine.

i grew up on pinball. this is a fun little machine (found it on sale for 249) have played a lot on it and have not beaten it yet. if you want pinball fun for 1/20th the price this is for you. it will take practice but thats half the fun.

My husband and I collect arcade-type pinball machines. On a lark, we bought a heavily used, non-working P of C display model. I called Zizzle and requested that they send replacements for the broken parts and was thrilled when they arrived three days later with all the instructions I needed to fix the machine. This machine is well supported by the manufacturer (I'd give five stars for their customer service), and plays surprisingly well for a smaller scale machine.

I agree with the other reviewer that it is not a substitute for a 5 grand pinball machine, but it is pretty fun. The layout strikes me as a bit sparce in terms of bumpers and action; I would definitely recommend seeing and playing it in a store before purchasing. While it is well constructed, I don't think it's worth $399 - more like the $200 we paid at C*stco. (but good luck finding it there)