I feel like I'm starting to make an impact. She's gone from flat out saying no, to still saying no, but stressing that some tables would be worse than others. So it's less of a no for TZ than it is for Gorgar, say.
But it's still a no.
I want to just get one table, and I'm prepared to spend spend spend to make sure I get one I could be happy with. Twilight Zone, BK2K, Addams Family, CV, basically something top teir with deep gameplay and lots of modes. The new Stern Star Trek is actually creeping onto that list too. I haven't played it much yet, but I really enjoyed what I played.
You aren't going to be disappointed in that table, but you already know that.
I'd love a Gorgar, but I think any older table is going to be out because the sounds drive my wife crazy. If I'm playing Gorgar in TPA I have to wear headphones. The only other thing that does that to my wife is Jack Black's voice.
I'm going to give my advice on something...
90% of the people in this hobby who are active in some sort of community (Pinside, RGP, etc) are selfish. They only think about themselves and what they want and like. The other 10% think about either their significant other, kids, or other family when making game decisions. Unless you have infinite funds, I would say being part of the 10% is the smartest way to go.
When I was deciding on what game to get, I was thinking about me. My wife told me I could get any game I wanted. Literally, any game I wanted, I could buy. Well, one stipulation was family friendly - so no Family Guy, TSPP, Freddy, TFTC, Playboy, etc. I wanted to smart about it, though...I wasn't going to buy something like MM, AFM, or WoZ - those games are WAY too expensive.
When I started looking, I told myself I wanted a game that was really deep, had a LOT to do, and would keep me busy for a long time. I spent a ton of time thinking about what game would meet those criteria. When I settled on X-Men, it was mostly because the game was CRAZY deep and had a lot of shots. Really, that game was super fantastic in every way. The only reason I got rid of it was because I found a TRON for really really cheap (like, NIB back when it came out cheap). In retrospect, I probably should have kept X-Men because that would have made my wife happy AND I would have still been happy.
Moving onto TRON, I bought it because the theme is sick, the gameplay is rad, and the machine is, to be honest, a real piece of art. However, the gameplay is good FOR A PINHEAD. My wife hated it. But I didn't really think about that when I bought it. I already sort of explained all this earlier, but the long and short of it is, if people say the game has brutally short ball times and it's really hard to make progress (as in, "I only reach Portal once every 500 games!"), that's not the game for the family, haha.
What I'm getting at is that if you're going to spend some coin on a game, make sure it's one that will please everyone, ha. When I had X-Men, my wife was already talking about how neat it would be to have a second game in here. With TRON, she never once spoke those words. Having a game that speaks to the "real" decision maker in your home will make the hobby easier for her to swallow. I mean, consider the cost of what you're getting into...You're going to probably spend between $4-6k on a game, right? So I mean, that's a used car, new kitchen appliances, etc. Keep that in mind!
tl;dr - When picking a game, I would show your wife videos of PAPA tutorials or something and see what she thinks. Also, despite what some folks say, there's no shame in being a Stern fanboy.
