Tallahassee, FL
In spite of its age, LOTR is plenty deep for a small collection even if you are a better than average player. You certainly should try to play any game before you buy it, but you're relatively safe with LOTR as its price is pretty stable so if you do decide to sell it you'll probably get your money back out of it more or less.
There are several of pin events in Florida and the Southeast, those are good opportunities to try out some games you wouldn't get to play otherwise.
Good luck with whatever you end up purchasing.
