Quoted from Completist:
I’m sure there are other games that could make the list. But i wanted to narrow the poll down to 3 options. Each one was chosen for a specific reason.
TWD - because it is hard. Its always quick to remind me i suck at pinball. But i think games like this can make you a better player. In a smaller collection i may not of considered it.
LOTR - prob not the best in tournament play with good players in the room. But by myself i like getting lost in a deep game.
SW - theme alone and some satisfying shots. And i spent considerable time looking at different reviews. So kinda the reason i started the poll - Was this game one i needed to pay more attention to?
These are all just my opinion, in the order you put them.
TWD - Pro. I always liked the Pro. Nasty game, but when you were able to step on its tail and hit it, wow. What a great game. Then I did a temporary trade for one (with my LOTR funny enough), and it was a Premium. I ended up hating it. The biggest thing was that left ramp. It never felt “good”. That shot started annoying me, and then the whole game started annoying me. After about a week I stopped playing it, and every time I tried, it just never came together. There was something about the geometry of the Premium that didn’t work for me. Since then I haven’t bothered to try to bring in the Pro. At some point I will, but it would definitely be Pro over Premium on this one for me.
LOTR - I just sold my second LOTR a month ago. Hands down one of the greatest games ever made. And if I had infinite space, it would still be here. I can’t count how many times I’ve played it over the years. You are correct, it is a horrible tournament game. But alone, there is just so much to do. It’s one of the few games where score is meaningless. Do I remember the first time I broke 100 million? Nope. But do I remember the first time I Destroyed the Ring? You bet I do. And the first time I completed Two Towers, and Fellowship. The game is a quest, a wonderful quest.
SW - Star Wars is the one I’ve played the least. But that is just because I don’t like it. I love Steve Ritchie, but SW feels like it was designed by artificial intelligence that had never met humans. It doesn’t feel like there is a single satisfying shot in the game. Except when your playing it out and the ball gets hung up on the drop targets, then launched into the glass during the ball search The software always felt muddled to me. Games should lead you towards a crescendo, but SW seems to want me to just walk around the park and never sit on a bench. I know it has its fans, but I’m not one of them.
Stern does have some other great games, but these are the three you asked about.