Quoted from usandthem:Thanks. Maybe I'm just of the mindset, perhaps wrongly, that the third flipper should be to hit a shot that none of the other flippers can make, like a ramp or a loop.
Sure, but the windlance can't set up a shot to the main flippers. A ball coming from the pops can't set up the main flippers. It's just an extra thing to do. You don't have to use that flipper if you don't want to. When you shoot the left orbit, you can let it come back on the right and go to the bottom right flipper...or use the upper flipper to hit targets.
On Hobbit, everything is context. Keith managed to make so much happen with that limited space under glass. No shot just does one thing. It's generally "Shot does this, unless you do that first, then shot does something different". For instance, sometimes an orbit shot loops...sometimes a magnet catches it and drops it into the pops (which then can set up the upper flipper shot)...sometimes you get a "cave lock" if you light the orbit locks by spelling LOCK 2 or 3 times before locking a ball with Smaug.
Or even the ramps...sure, they're just two ramps...sometimes they light the beast inserts, sometimes they start a mode, sometimes they lock for multiball, sometimes they give you more time in a mode, sometimes they let you flip the book pages to choose a different mode.....sometimes the right ramp sends the ball to Smaug - sometimes to the left inlane - sometimes to the Windlance. Anyone who says the game is "bare" (and I used to) really hasn't played it...there are so many little things that change and affect gameplay...it's constantly interesting.