Coming Soon - Alice Cooper's Nightmare Castle

I originally thought I'd be adding one or two new games in 2019 to the Barncade. So far that's held true with the addition of Munsters, with a plan to add Elvira 3 later in the year. Then I started getting ideas in my head about somehow bringing in Attack From Mars, Monster Bash, and Alice Cooper's Nightmare Castle. With Elvira's new machine unofficially announced for October (with LEs and Pros made first), this makes it likely that Premium models will be available throughout 2020. So I could add one more title this year, wait until next year to add Elvira, and still be on plan. And the more I looked at Spooky Pinball's Alice Cooper's Nightmare Castle (ACNC), the more I was convinced that it belongs in our monster-themed game room.

So what prompted this decision? The biggest catalyst was the recent deep dive article published on This Week In Pinball (TWIP). Jeff Patterson did a great job of pulling information together to make a great post that really got me really interested. From there I watched the Straight Down The Middle review, read reviews on Pinside, and scoured the Internet for as much information as I could find. What I didn't do is actually watch a lot of game play video - I watched a little bit to get an idea of how the game played - but I didn't want to know everything about the machine; I still wanted game play to be a discovery, an adventure, if I bought one.

So what are some of the features of the game?

• The base price is $6450, $150 more than the cost of a Monster Bash Classic Edition.
• Production is limited to 500 units. It's hard to know how much availability, demand, and cost these will have in the future on the secondary market.
• The sculpts by Back Alley Creations of the castle are amazing, putting Medieval Madness to shame.
• It features a Danesi-style lock that was popular in Total Nuclear Annihilation.
• There are 3 flippers, 2 ramps, drop targets, and a few toys such as the guillotine and Frankenstein.
• There's also a cool spiral habitrail, a magnetic ball save, and an under playfield subway.
• The upper playfield has the potential to be one of the best ever made.
• The game has multiple multiball modes with up to 3-ball multiball.
• The playfield and lighting effects are gorgeous, as is the comic-book style art and video.
• Bowen Kerins, one of the best pinball players on the planet and host of the PAPA pinball video tutorials, is the rules director, which means the rules will probably be deep and innovative (and in actuality they already are).
• Alice Cooper songs are in the game but do not play constantly. The main soundtrack of original music is brilliant.
• There are over 700 speech calls from Alice Cooper himself.
• Spooky is offering some nice additions such as art blades, shaker, powder coating, etc.

I called up my distributor about placing an order, but was surprised to find out that they do not distribute for Spooky due to mechanical problems that they had with Rob Zombie...they were worried about maintenance issues. Despite my distributor's concerns, however, I was undeterred. There was one other issue that seems to be impacting purchases: shot difficulty.

Some games have really tough, punishing shots...Bram Stoker's Dracula and The Shadow come to mind instantly, and yet both are sought-after games in home collections. However, another machine, American Pinball's Houdini, has established a reputation of having poor playfield geometries and narrow openings, the result of which are difficult shots that have turned people away in bitter disappointment. Check out these comments found within the Pinside reviews of Houdini:

• "The shots are very tight, and if you aren't hitting them consistently, it can be very frustrating." - Daditude
• "The shots are extremely tight which is the games biggest turn off to the casual player but after a few(many) games they become reasonable, but never easy." - Swainer80
• "This pin has a lot going for it, but unfortunately the atrocious shots take a lot of fun out of the game. “Just shoot better” is a poor response to players complaining about the shots... I have watched many great players brick over and over again on key shots." - Patrunkenphat7

There are many, many more comments like this. Now have a look at some of the early comments for ACNC:

• "The shot layout felt off...many shots simply brick off posts." - Vino
• "But then it is challenging as hell to do what you need to do because of the tightness and slightly skewed angles of so many of the shots" - Imagineerie
• "For me, some of the shots are just too tight for my tastes and I found myself hitting more static rubber posts than anything good...If you like bricking 80% of your shots, then play this game. The last machine I played that had shots this tight was Houdini." - evh347

A couple of years ago these comments would have given me some serious pause. I'm an okay player - I have more bad games than good, but occasionally I will have a great game - and I may not have the skills to hit these shots consistently. But what I've discovered over the last 2 years is that I want to be challenged. I initially hated Bram Stoker's Dracula, even questioned my purchase of it, because it was so tough, but now I find myself playing it a lot and really enjoying it, because great games on it are so much more rewarding. After I got my White Water functioning again, I put up a Grand Champion score within the first few flips. It just felt way too easy...perhaps my skills have improved a little bit, but what I tend to struggle with the most is consistency. What I don't want is something that is way too easy.

But what really intrigued me about ACNC were the comments that emerged after the 2019 Texas Pinball Festival (TPF) and more people had the chance to play it with the code farther along:

• "Shots are tighter than most games. After about 3 games the first time I played it at a show, I had them down. Even though a lot of shots will hit posts, it is fairly easy to recover and try again. This is a shooter's game, but eventually you can get some flow going with 3 and 4 way combos pretty common. My 12 and 14 year olds are hitting shots without complaint." - Crile1
• "The shots can be challenging, but in a good way; it keeps you coming back." - mthirkell
• "I love the layout and shots, yes they can be tight but once you get a feel for them they work real nice." - Daveeb2000
• "Yep it’s tight but not Houdini tight, it’s rewarding tight." - sleepygtr

These comments affirmed that I would really enjoy the game. I'm certainly not afraid of a challenge. Some people say you shouldn't buy a game you've never played, but I've purchased Creature From The Black Lagoon, Scared Stiff, Frankenstein, Rocky & Bullwinkle, and Munsters without playing any of them first, and I really enjoy them all. I love pinball and I doubt I'd be disappointed with anything I buy. Even Junkyard, which I've had my fill of, hung around for years before I sold it, and it went only because I needed the money.

I also kept going back to the TWIP deep dive article, and then there was this comment on Pinside from Crile1 (who was also quoted above):

"The original music for the game is great on its own, plus you get the signature Alice Cooper songs during modes...The sounds are great and go from rattling chains, door slams, screams, and electric surges...The layout is pretty great in that it is a fan layout, but uniquely so. The usual fan shots are put in different trajectories. Some are easier to hit from both flippers, and some not so much. Really makes you think about your gameplay...But, the best thing about this game is the code and gameplay. Bowen's first effort as rules designer along with Fawzma, Charlie, and Scott Danesi really shows originality. Each monster has its own unique set of rules, some which I've never seen in pinball. I like that you have to try to "hide the ball" from the Pit creature by hitting shots that make it disappear from view (like in a scoop or under the castle). Then it counts down a timer for the amount of time it is hidden from view. So cool! Plus there are other little things like getting points for stretching the guy on the rack in the Dungeon...I guess the main reason I am giving this such a rave review is that it is a breath of fresh air for pinball. This game is not anything like what else is out there."

I think what will ultimately set this game apart from others is the uniqueness of the ruleset. Check out this description from TWIP:

"At the heart, Alice Cooper’s Nightmare Castle is about tracking down and killing monsters, you know, the usual. The end goal is to survive your encounters with all nine monsters, reaching a finale where you can escape from the castle with a billion dollar treasure. The premise is – as you’re going into Alice’s castle, you’re battling all the monsters that live there and Alice is the overlord so-to-speak, directing them to attack you.  And all the Alice songs have to be earned which is unique in a music theme.

• There are nine monsters to battle
• You traverse the castle to get to the monsters
• Along the way you collect items or skills
• You can take different paths and select what monster you want to fight, you can select how you get to the monster
• There are different rooms in the castle, all the rooms have different items in them
• Get to the monsters to hear the songs in the game

Rules Summary
Tracking down monsters starts in the foyer, where you can hit the center bank to change the target monster. Shooting left and right orbits advance you through the castle’s rooms, and you can see your position on the map at the bottom of the screen. The “X” shows your location, and the “M” shows the location of the monster. You can also advance directly to the monster through a mystery award or by opening the secret passage.

Once you’ve reached a monster, you play an untimed battle, and each monster’s battle is different. For example, in the Werewolf battle you must hit a lit shot to load your gun, then hit the center targets to fire. If you defeat the monster you earn a frenzy bonus, a timed round with unlimited ball save and extra scoring opportunities, followed by a chance to cash in again with a final hurry-up. All of this is meant to celebrate your victory.

Each monster you battle, win or lose, raises the value of all other monsters by 20%. This means you should plan ahead: do you want to play your favorite battle first, or save it for later when it will be worth even more?"

So last week I placed my order with Spooky and gave them the $1000 deposit. This is non-refundable so I am now committed to buying it, unless I were able to sell my place in line (not gonna happen). My production number is in the mid-400's, which most likely won't be finished until December. That gives me plenty of time to stash funds away for the remaining balance, including add-ons, shipping, and tax. I've opted for the interior side art, “scary blue” powdercoat, and lighted speakers. I will probably add the target decals and knocker. The shaker motor I have not decided on yet; in general, I'm not a fan of them, but I still may opt for one. I also decided to spring for the aftermarket Crypt mod made by Medisinyl.

So look for a post later this year on Alice Cooper arriving!

All photos courtesy of This Week In Pinball, Spooky Pinball, and Pinside