TSPP will not be simpler but if you just want to "shoot for what's lit" and hear some good sound bites you'll still enjoy. I don't think you'll go wrong. Obviously you'll probably need to appreciate the license.

TSPP is the best Stern game to date. I just seen one for sale on MR. Pinball Classifieds for $6300.

John

It’s a good game, really can’t go wrong with it.

I just listed mine on local Craigslist for $6200. Wish you were closer. Mint example in near perfect condition and completely everything you’re asking for. Only reason I’m listing it is that I’ve finally reached the point where I’ve run out of room. Yes, it took a long time. This game is awesome but I’ve leaned towards older quicker playing games lately with simpler objectives. Think tournament type of games. This and my LOTR were two of my grail games 5 years ago, and never thought I’d sell. Will probably regret it, but really need to make room.

Both are considered sterns best games. They are similar in depth and are mode based. Neither is difficult to learn or shoot, but are extremely difficult to progress to the wizard modes given all that you have to do. Personally I prefer tspp (in case my avatar didn’t give it away) because I think there is more to shoot for, but honestly, if I had to choose, I’d go by whichever theme you like most. I’ve owned my tspp since I bought it new in 2003.

I own TSPP, was my first pin. I just sold LOTR. both are great games but i would lean towards TSPP personally.

I love the creativity of the rules and how they were designed. there is so much to do and i’ll personally never see most of what that game has to offer. i love that everything stacks and runs off of the timer which can be reset by starting another mode or by lighting the otto shot and shooting it. I got to alien invasion once and it was awesome but i got lucky with a few extra balls. The modes are also well done and integrated into the theme well. i would say if you’re a fan of the show go for it. don’t worry about beating it. So many ways to approach how you play it.

I own both a TSPP and a LOTR. Both are extremely deep games, but I still feel they are approachable by players with limited pinball experience as you don’t really need to know or worry about the deeper rules to have fun (or even to get a decnt score). My main problem with LOTR is the ball times can be long, but if you set it up more difficult for skilled players it might be too short/frustrating for other players. This could apply to TSPP to some degree as well, but It doesn’t seem as pronounced to me. This sort of thing is mostly an issue in social settings where there is a lot of skill disparity between players and the more skilled player can hog the game for long time periods.

Thinking back to when I first started playing both games (at a location that also had a Shadow) I felt the basic rules of both were just more intuitive than the Shadow’s rules. Therefore, while both games may be deeper than the shadow, that depth is carefully layered so that they can be understood in digestible chunks as a player’s skill improves. And, as you alluded to, you don’t have to worry about building and managing play field multipliers like with some of Stern’s newer games. The good news is that you shouldn’t have problems flipping either game in the current market if you decide it’s not for you.

For a bit less money, I also recommend Ripley’s Believe it or Not from the same time period. It’s certainly less deep, but still has a LOT of potential strategy and both Atlantis and Frog Frenzy are rare achievements. However, the shrunken head creeps my wife out.

It sounds to me that looking for a Twilight Zone. “Simpler” and “Lots to do” is hard to find in a game. But I think TZ delivers just that.
There are a lot of modes and multiballs, and its all very intuitive. So you get the best of both worlds. Plenty of game to play and keep you interested, plus the game makes it obvious what you need to do the entire time.