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    Sandwich Shooter PekoJPF's Avatar
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    Default Parlour Reviews Thread Read 1st post first

    As sort of discussed over in the Playing Updates thread, this is where I'll review the various parlours I've been in to play the games. Others can use this as research for any places they might want to visit or avoid. I'll try and keep the reviews structured in the same way as much as possible but do prepare for a polemic tirade if one place happens to be especially bad. This post will be most important as it'll describe what I'm looking for in each aspect that I'm reviewing. I'll do the ratings out of 10 or 5.0 or something. Not decided yet.

    Playing Atmosphere
    I'm looking for a bright and spacious place. I want it to be clean but honestly it needs a little smoke to go with it. Too much smells bad and means poor air-con. Too little suggests machines are underplayed. This'll be waived at any new parlour or non-smoking one such as Kaleido in Shinjuku.

    Staff and Rules
    Staff are always great so not much to say here. Call button efficiency and customer interaction are bonus plus points but as long as service is with a smile (always is) then all's good. As for the rules, I don't want to Cashout on each machine. Let me carry my coins and balls around until I'm done and going home. This is more for slots.

    Machine Selection
    I'm looking for a good selection of stakes. Sometimes I dont want to play higher stake games, rather sit on a 1yen machine and force it out for bonus. At minimum I like to see 4 and 1 yen pachinko, and 20 yen slots. Really some 5 yen slots too to make it a good place. Keep popular stuff in order but have an Amadigi row of 1/99s and older stuff. Oh and Hanemonos score points here too. Don't have everything completely in order and grouped together. Mix the 1/99s around. If everything is matched and grouped together it feels too clean cut for a parlour.

    While Playing Machines
    An important factor. From the top, I like a detailed battle counter with lots of past data. The sand should accept all notes. I'm looking for the machine to be clean and have good levels of sound. I especially do not want to see any bent nails on pachinko. All the lights and moving parts should work. I'd very much like a USB charger for my phone and a drink holder is preferred. Additionally, having the balls or coins put on a card rather than in a tray is what I like. Stacking trays looks great, but causes problems when calculating Cashout, and blocks the aisles.

    Facilities
    Although I rarely use anything aside from the toilets, I'll make a note and appreciate the gesture of facilities. These could be cafes, manga rest areas, special vending machines, and so on. I will not be counting separate establishments with an adjoining door to the parlour.

    Exchange and Cashout
    Ideally I want an even money-in, money-out ratio. It will be recognised and leniency taken if the rate is unequal due to a prefectural policy. If it is unequal, I like the premium taken when I put my money in, rather than when cashing out. This makes it easier to calculate what I need to exchange back. Any extra premiums/takes will score negative points and in some cases can be a deal breaker. A well stocked prize counter is preferred, as I sometimes like to get beer, snacks, and toys. The more prize chips, the better too. 500, 1000 and 5000 yen are acceptable. Finally, finding the separate 'shop' should be easy and nearby. Nothing worse than walking around with a 5000 yen chip and nowhere to take it.

    Overall
    A summary of what I've found and my final verdict.
    Your man on the Pachi Frontline.

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    Default Re: Parlour Reviews Thread Read 1st post first

    Apologies for the absence. I've been studying for a test (JLPT N2, for those that might want to know) Anyway, that test was done and probably burned out, so here's a parlour review. Let's review my 'local' today.

    Parlour: Nishiya
    Nearest Station: Gumyoji
    Access: 2 minutes walk from Gumyoji Keikyu Station, 7 minutes from Gumyoji Subway Station
    Stakes and Machines Available: 1.11 Yen Pachinko

    Parlour Atmosphere
    This is an older more 'local' parlour. It is smaller and less spacious than others in the bigger towns nearby. That isn't to say it's a bad thing at all. It is very cosy, and you can play in peace. The regulars are friendly and you might get people watching your machine and giving you a thumbs up. If you visit enough and speak passable Japanese, you can indeed have a conversation. There isn't the dead faced atmosphere that you get at larger establishments. The air conditioning could do with an upgrade however, and it does get comparably smoky inside when you consider other places. 7/10

    Staff and Rules

    The staff here are friendly and welcoming. All the transactions are done via a Play Card, so staff can easily let you keep any remaining balls to replay through. If you go to the counter, they won't cash out everything straight away. Again, there is light conversation to be had if you like. Machine has a problem? They're on hand very quickly. Can't find the 'shop'? They'll provide directions. The rules are the standard affair, but obviously with the Card system, it's easy to play on whatever machines you like. Lunchtime is 40 minutes, which ideally I'd like 50 considering the popularity of the restaurants around, but it is doable. If you go to the bathroom or to pick up some grub from 7-11, they're not on your case and vacating your machine. Good vibes. Especially on finding the 'shop', as some places won't do it. 8.5/10

    Machine Selection
    Now I'll have to deduct a point or so as this is ONLY 1yen pachinko, however it's not shy of saying that, so people going should know what they're going to get. You occasionally think maybe they could do a row over and have a few slots in, but then it's the case of a job half-done. A parlour that does get this right is Forest in Aomori, but they have *just* that bit extra space to make it work. As for the machines themselves, they're at the level of 'arranged' that I like. The Seastorys have their passage. The Lower odds have their own, as do the higher odds machines. When you get to titles, varied. Lots of different cabinets, some older games and some newer ones. This parlour doesn't get the newest of the lot, so you will have to wait a month or two past initial release. They will have one or two of each 'essential' parlour machine and of course some extra....However, the machines that are removed are hard to predict, including the hanemonos. If you like a machine, protect it by playing it. Sometime a title I like goes out for something I have no interest in, but got to admit that's just my personal gripe and not let it affect the ratings. Because of the good selection, the range, and the non-corporate feel of everything.....Despite the stake limitations, it gets a solid 8/10.

    While Playing
    Check the battle counter and it'll provide a wealth of information, up to 20 or 30 days/bonuses I believe. Note the spin segments are x200 and not x100. You sit down at the machine, and you'll see that there are two things lacking. Drinks holder, and USB charger. I do want to charge my phone when I'm having a row-out with a 1/319. Wifi however is provided. The sands accept all notes, a very important factor. The only problem is that the acceptors are positioned above the main sand and notes go in vertically. This can be a struggle if you have two of the tall cabinets next to each other. Machines are in good condition, and I have not experienced a breakdown on any. The pins are also intact, as they should be for here especially....! Overall,a decent playing environment. There are a couple of things missing, but these can be rectified. 7/10

    Facilities
    Simple here. Toilets and seating area. Occasionally there's a giveaway or food stand set up. The seating area is far less smoky than the machines! Vending machines are here too but I want Monster when I'm rowing a 1/319...! It's hard to do a terrible facility report, and this place has got what you need really. 7/10

    Exchange and Cashout

    OK let's get the air cleared. 1.11 yen pachinko. That means for 200 yen in, you'll get 180 balls. That's a little problematic considering neighbouring towns do better deals. Especially when you're cashing out 1 yen per ball....It's a considerable premium in comparison. Let's bear in mind though that this is roughly in line with any parlour in the town. A silver lining I guess is the premium is taken when you cash-in. It's very easy to calculate the balls when you cashout. So let's do that. Head to the counter..... It's snacks, drinks, and daily necessities. The larger parlours have gifts and larger home electronics(cheapy fake Roombas etc.) but this isn't a large parlour. It definitely stocks well. There are 4 types of beer! The standard chain beers, and unfortunately not refrigerated, but it's a drop of beer that other places don't do. Exchange chips are 500 and 2000 yen. I'd like a light parlour to do 200 as well perhaps. Still you can carry a large chunk of chips if you manage to hit a large rush on a machine. Exchange counter for chips. Very near. No interaction at all. No mistakes made ever. I do like the range and ease when I'm exchanging, but the 1.11 yen situation brings this down. I'd happily give it 1.5 extra if it was on a 1.05 yen deal. I'm feeling a 6.5/10 here.

    Overall:
    A nicely stocked parlour in terms of machine variety and cashout range. A nice local feel to be found here and somewhere you'll end up coming back to no doubt, if you want a long refreshing session on a pachinko machine. The main issue is the premium as a 1.11 yen rate is indeed high compared to places along the same line. If an equal exchange is priority, this won't be the place for you. However, IMO it does plenty of good bits to keep you wanting to come back again. I know I do. I play for the game. This place in a lot of ways delivers. 7.5/10
    Your man on the Pachi Frontline.

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    Stuey - The RADministrator MrGneiss's Avatar
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    Default Re: Parlour Reviews Thread Read 1st post first

    Wow, what a great review!! Makes me want to play!!

    "Blowing smoke rings at the moon."

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    Fever Hunter Vikingwiz's Avatar
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    Default Re: Parlour Reviews Thread Read 1st post first

    Excellent review! Keep’em coming


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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    I was thrown out of Top Gear Drunkenclam's Avatar
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    Default Re: Parlour Reviews Thread Read 1st post first

    Nice work any chance of external picture (or acquire street view link)
    Ian #UKPachinko

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    Default Re: Parlour Reviews Thread Read 1st post first

    @Drunkenclam I’ve Got you. I’ve been to this parlor. 8091431C-25C0-4E3B-ABE2-AB7F131AEB2A.png
    Last edited by Goobie777; 07-26-2019 at 09:09 PM. Reason: Added text

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    Sandwich Shooter PekoJPF's Avatar
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    Default Re: Parlour Reviews Thread Read 1st post first

    I'll try linking everything in together on later reviews. That one admittedly is difficult as it's bottom of a hill near a pedestrian area, I dont think the cars went down too far.

    Anyway you want the truth? You cant handle the truth! But you best learn. I'm going to give you a review of my Worst Parlour 2018 winner. Most people here I'm sure would love to play in a real-time parlour....So let's put two things to bed. 1) All parlours are the same. 2) All parlours are decent. This ends now, with a review of the aptly named.... So with apologies for the long wait, here is the worst-rated parlour by me in 2018....And I haven't found worse yet...!

    Name: PANDORA
    Location: YOKOSUKA
    Access: 10 minutes from Yokosuka Station. 5 minutes from Yokosuka Navy Base. Joined on to AEON Mall.
    Stakes Available: 4 yen, 1 yen Pachinko. 20 yen, 5 yen Slots (With premium)


    This was the day Goobie left Japan. Or the night before. We always had sessions in Yokosuka-Chuo, about 10 minutes away from the base. However, this time he had packing to do and admin to complete. I went over to the place nearest his navy lodgings. Unfortunately, he couldn't come out to play. However I'm sure he will agree after reading this that he missed nothing at all.

    Parlour Atmosphere
    This place is different in the way that the slot floor and pachinko floor are in adjoining buildings so you need to exit and enter again to play either type. The pachinko place is fairly nice and bright, with a bit of smoke. It's nicely arranged, but all using trays, no cards, so the rows do become narrow. They have put machines in as many spaces as they can, which I quite like as you never know what you're going to ffind round a corner. The slot place is in the standard dark colour they have at many Pandoras. The rubber flooring and simple colours and textures make it look like an abandoned Chuck-E-Cheeze with slots around. That said, it's fairly well marked and arranged, with the stakes quite easy to make out. You are not too likely to stray into the stake area you don't like. So yeah it's not great or cosy, but their machines are placed pretty well. The different buildings leaves me thinking "Why?" But it might be two adjoining shops they bought out. It's fair I suppose. 5.5/10

    Staff and Rules
    The staff are pretty efficient with what they do, but service with a smile it is not. When I planned to cash out some slot coins, the man bluntly asked what machine I was playing before. I answered I was on a Juggler, but played a Symphogear beforehand, then he scribbled something on his clipboard. I got my receipt OK, but asking about previous machines and writing down things makes me feel that it's NOT ok to move coins around to different machines. You'd have to cash out on each individual machine. You'd spend more (Not lose more) in the long run as these slots have a premium when you insert the money. The pachinko side was less painless, although you'll notice a lot of workers sweeping up the dropped balls and putting them in a box. They also weren't around when I wanted to know where the exchange 'shop' was. Honestly not particularly inviting. 4.5/10

    Machine Choice
    A nice arrangement of stakes here, and aside from no hanemonos, I did like the arrangement and choice of machines. This is where they did their best. Nicely arranged low variance, high variance, Sea Storys, popular slots, and some rarer titles. I don't know what setting the slots were on, but I had a fair enough go on them. The niggling part that they got right is that the machines were well ordered into rows, but within that they were spaced out a bit. It's nice having to walk a bit to find the second Powerful pachinko, or having some Hokuto Muso's spread about like. 8.5/10

    Facilities:
    The usual vending machines and toilets. All fairly clean and with good drinks selection. No rest area of note or anything. 6.5/10

    While Playing
    I didn't get to charge my phone while I was playing, but I cant rememebr if that's me forgetting my charging cable or not. One thing's to be said on the slots side though, be careful of their game counters. I checked a Hades and it didn't seem to have chained any bonuses together for weeks. Then I discovered the battle counter recorded things differently... It would record any 'chained' bonuses (triggered within another bonus) and put them together in one lump sum. Therefore you would need to check the amount of coins paid out to determine how good the bonus actually was. It was also not possible to see how many were triggered, thus leaving it difficult to determine if someone had just got the 1/8192 GOD streak. Then again that's a pot-hunt and some people like the whole gung-ho idea. I'll let that run to some degree. When playing, all the winnings are done by trays, even on the lower stakes. Like I'll mention in future no doubt, 3 things. 1) Choked aisles with winnings. 2) Difficult to calculate and regulate your balance, and add from the win-balance to your playing pot. 3) Attendants getting in the way sweeping the balls all the time. Aside from that, I had a fairly pleasant playing session. I didn't give the Hades much at all once I'd found that battle counter though. Also, the machines stayed full all the time I was there. In other locations, you do have a problem of machines running out of coins mid-bonus which can disrupt things. 7/10

    Exchange and Cashout
    Everything was going....Acceptably I suppose, until it was time to cash out. I had done my best result on a Fever Queen, around 4500 balls from a chain of Fevers. First of all, no attendants were around so I had to pick up and take my balls to the counting machine and wait. Once the balls were counted, I went off to the desk to get my chips. Now places around Yokosuka are equal exchange, and at this moment I saw that this pachinko parlour charged a ridiculous 1,3xx balls for a 1,000 yen chip. I'd never ecountered this in any establishment Ive been to. This was pure greed IMO. Especially considering other places do not fleece you. I took my chips and my 600 yen worth of unwanted snacks (No beer) and went to find the 'shop'. This again was ridiculous as I walked round the shopping centre, through the car park, absolutely everywhere. No staff about mind you...! I was messaging Goobie, and after about 30-45 minutes, he replied. Unfortunately he couldn't meet me due to packing but I am very grateful that I knew where to go....It was across a large car park round the back of a restaurant! Got my money, and got outta Dodge. I could have walked with a profit, but their ways of doing things left me down on money and time. 2/10

    Overall
    An average parlour with good machines, mediocre atmosphere, but an abhorrent cashing out situation. While I now know how it works, it's not anywhere I will ever be going back to, and I do not recommend you do either. Go into Yokosuka-Chuo and play in one of the many, many good parlours around the station. The cashout sins cannot be forgotten or forgiven, so two points will be deducted from the overall score; One for the money-grabbing, and another for the shop finding fiasco. 3.5/10
    Your man on the Pachi Frontline.

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    Sandwich Shooter PekoJPF's Avatar
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    Default Re: Parlour Reviews Thread Read 1st post first

    It's time for another one of these! The NO APOSTROPHE edition. I know I just put one in but the fewer the better. Reason being, I have a new desktop setup. A very powerful one if I may say so myself (As someone who just buys in-store...) I feel like giving the keyboard a proper christening with a PARLOUR REVIEW! I did want to review a very promising parlour called ZIATH in Kamiooka, as it was scoring very very well. However, the machines played terrible! While this is not something I can strongly correlate to the parlour (I suspect ALL parlours have a low setting as standard) it means I could not exchange any tokens for money....Meaning I cannot comment on the exchange or cashout process accurately enough. An incomplete review is no review in my eyes, so today I will review....

    Name: GRAND AQUA
    Location: KANAZAWA-BUNKO
    Access: 10 minutes from Kanazawa-Bunko Station if you catch the traffic lights badly
    Stakes Available: 4 yen and 1 yen Pachinko, 20 yen Slots.


    I have been visiting here for a little bit now, albeit not particularly regularly. It is a high-stake heavy parlour but at the time I was punting them a little bit. I have actually done well from this place and enjoyed many a machine. It is the furthest parlour from the station exit, but that should not put anyone off from visiting.

    Parlour Atmosphere:
    The parlour is light, spacious and clean. The aisles are indeed wide and you will have no issue moving around. No bumping backs going on here. Downstairs is dedicated to 4 yen, and upstairs has the 1 yen section and the slots. This is a large parlour and inside, you will know it. Some pachinko machines cycle directly onto your card, but some deposit the balls in the trays. It pays to check. The slots section as is sometimes the case is darker and has carpet down, giving it a more casino feel. This works better for the lights that the slots give off. There are nice high ceilings to add to the atmosphere too. Smoke ratio is pretty much there too. This parlour is clearly well looked after and the atmosphere inside shows this. A fine job. 9/10

    Staff and Rules:
    The rules are very standard, and they allow you to move around the parlour with your coins and cards easily. The staff are many and the speed in which problems are rectified is indeed good. Although it is a busy parlour, efficiency is on point. Everyone I encountered was very friendly and looked after me without question. One thing to mention with the above statement, is that you will always receive a card when cashing out your winnings, no receipt. Because the staff do not ask if you have a card already (You will) it means a few transactions later you can end up with 3 or 4 Visitor cards. You can always cash-out each card in turn, but this would leave your next machine target at risk and sort of disjoints the session. While playing, they rarely come round and flash the menu at you to fetch drinks, but I will be honest this is a good thing, as this is distracting and you never have enough time to place an order anyway. Why bother? Proper good friendly staff here. 9/10

    Machine Choice:
    Very top-heavy with no 5 yen slots and an exponentially bigger 4 yen section. With the number they have, one would think that a small section could be created with older slots on 5 yen. As usual, new machines will take centre stage on the higher stake and you will have to wait for them to be moved to a lower stake when they cycle the stock. That said, when this does happen, there should be sufficient numbers of 'new' machines in the 1 yen section. The newer or popular stock is well arranged in a clean cut order. The lower variance or variety stock is not arranged, giving that treasure hunt experience that I like. They have a good bit of everything. A few hanemonos, and a wide variety of 'simple but not Juggler' slots. No 30-pai slots unfortunately. If you like Okinawa style, Oki Doki is your nearest bet. 8/10

    While Playing:
    This is almost a Before Playing section too in this case. On P-World, you can actually view the Battle Counter stats live before you enter! This makes it easier to plan what machine you want to session on, if gaining quick wins is your goal. Anyway let us sit down and play. Charge your phone. Place your drink in the holder, and enjoy. As above, you have to check on the pachinko if the machine works on a tray, or feeds the balls onto your card. More uniform here would be better of course. I reckon they are targeting the tray with the popullar machines, then they can have more leftover balls to palm off into snacks etc. That way their best stock will get that little bit more profit for the parlour. Normally on the variety stock, we meticulously make sure our ball count is rounded off perfectly. The battle counter gives you a wealth of information in however many formats you would like. I have never encountered any breakdown, stuck balls, or bent nails here. Spin to ball ratio is good. Slots have never gone empty on me, and I have had a few big wins here! A very comfortable experience. 9/10

    Facilities:
    This is a very strong point of this parlour and is only really rivaled so far by Ziath. Basics. Clean toilets and plenty of them, and good vending machine selections, well stocked. There is a large manga rest area on the top floor with a lot of stock, and downstairs they have their own cafe. Make sure someone is actually there, but I am sure they will come if requested. Plenty more seats around if you need a quick sit down or are waiting. There is perhaps a laundry facility too! Not sure 100% if it is connected to the parlour but it looks that way. Plenty of lockers as well. Things like manga rest areas do matter a lot after considering it, as they provide a necessary slow down to the whole gambling modus operandi of a parlour. It allows players to detatch from the game and get their head straight if needed. I think I will give this one my first ever 10/10 as this has set a very high bar.

    Exchange and Cashout.
    Like I said before, balls and trays. This is not perfect but it is at least dealt with efficiently. The good thing is that you will receive winnings on a card regardless (The counting machine dispenses one) so you can always round off the balance if needed, though not most efficient. Now let's get our money. The exchange counter has a lot of things on offer, from gifts to household goods, then snacks and drinks. Takes a bit of time to find the BEER, but that is not so important as you will probably be catching a train to Tyson's after sessioning here. Tokens-wise, it is the standard 500, 1000 and 5000 selection. Signs on the desk will tell you how much each is worth. An equal exchange of balls and coins to tokens is very welcome and is indeed carried out here. Some people say that the places that take a premium have higher setting slots, but I do not really buy into this theory. After you receive your tokens, it is the usual story of taking the slightly inconspicuous exit out and finding the dodgy money-hut. Just cross the road and there it is. A painless and generous exchange to round off a good play. 9/10


    Overall:
    If you are down near me, give me a shout and I will be delighted to introduce you to this parlour. The place is well kept, the staff are friendly, and the machines are easy to sit down and play. If you need a break, you are well catered for and you will get your moneys worth on the exchange. The place does update stock fairly regularly, so if you find something you like, get onto Pworld, check the Live stats, sit down at the machine you want and enjoy! I certainly did, and Im sure I will in the future. Make that trek. Go past Happy and Three-Eight. Grand Aqua has Bunko on the map. 9/10
    Your man on the Pachi Frontline.

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    Stuey - The RADministrator MrGneiss's Avatar
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    Default Re: Parlour Reviews Thread Read 1st post first

    Another great review!!

    "Blowing smoke rings at the moon."

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