The last two games I picked up were Nascar and Monopoly, which of course, are both Pat Lawlor designed games produced by Stern. Monopoly happens to be ranked a little bit higher on pinside (it was actually a lot higher when I got Nascar; Nascar has since had a ratings jump) and in general be more well-regarded. In my opinion Nascar--when working correctly--is by far a FUNNER game than Monopoly and many other games I've played. Great shooting game with lots of distinct feeling modes...It's just too bad it's a Nascar theme. It makes it a little bit like The Shadow in that it's a great shooting/playing game robed in a less-than-desirable theme/art package (emphasis: not bad, just less desirable).

Some of the reasons why I find this a great shooting/playing pin:

1) The left orbit, left ramp, right orbit and right ramp (i.e., the main shots) can all be hit with backhanded shots, making for more shot variety than many games that I've played.
2) The right ramp conditionally returns to either the left or right flipper return lanes via a gate. The software picks based on mode and optimizes for what you need to shoot.
3) The left orbit returns cleanly to the right flipper and the right orbit returns cleanly to the left flipper, making for wicked fast combos if you can keep up (e.g., right flipper to left orbit, returning to right flipper, right flipper to left orbit, etc...)
4) Drop targets are well placed and challenging to hit
5) Bashing the car is fun--Lawlor placed posts in a few strategic places, making it easy to get balls into the test car when raised. Nice touch.
6) The modes started via the test car encourage a variety of shots and there are a TON of modes.
7) There are special modes granted for focusing on specific shots, some as combos (left and right orbits as combos; right ramp shot cumulative shots)
8 ) The main multiball can be stacked with other modes from (6) and (7), adding a nice element of strategy to the game.
9) The game doesn't make you piss around between modes like LOTR, e.g., (which requires you to collect elf rings to start the next ring mode). Mode over? Bash the car and start the next one. Fast paced.
10) CHAMP#1 Wizard mode is challenging but attainable in a sane amount of time

This is assuming the game is playing fast/well. No SDTM launches from the test car are permitted.