Perhaps this is simplistic, but........

In general, pre-order nothing. The game will eventually be available as a regular order or on the secondary market. In the meantime, once it is released, go play the game so that you actually know what you may be buying.

Pre-orders may be financially risky if the company you are ordering from files for bankruptcy prior to you receiving your game. You may have difficulty and spend a lot of time collecting your pre-order money.

That said, there may be a few specific, limited circumstances when a pre- order makes sense. One is when you want to support a new, fledging company. From that perspective, a pre-order with JJP for WOZ was a sensible decision. Similarly, if the pre-order gets you a truly limited edition, it may be logical to do so. Interestingly and ironically, that may actually be true for TH SE because the order date
cut off is only 26 days from now. TBL has no such time limitation. Also, if you need the game ASAP, a pre-order makes perfect sense.

If I were to pre-order, I think a huge difference between TH and TBL is the LED screen (actually 2screens if you include the book). After having played WOZ a lot, I am truly amazed by how much better the LED is than the DMD. To me, it is fascinating how much many folks are so excited about the color DMD's, yet they do not appreciate the LED. Color DMD's may be a great improvement on pre-existing games, but could you imagine how much better TRON or TWD, or TBL could be with an LED instead of a DMD?

Bottom line.......it may make sense to order TH SE, specifically because of the time limited number produced. This does not appear to be true for TBL. And add in the whole LED for TH vs. a plain old uni-color DMD for TBL, and TH pre-order is looking a lot better to me.