LTG wins! The missing 70V to the spider and upper slingshot was caused by one of the wires to the upper right flipper coil having come off. Soldered it on and everything is hunky-dory again. Thanks!

interesting....no hobbits for sale in the marketplace!

Marketplace postings are slowing way down and people are looking more for trades. Nothing new being made. People want something to do.

Same for Pirates, which had been out there and pricy, for awhile now.

Next question in my quest to get my Hobbit back up to fully working condition: Are the clip-fit optos available anywhere? My "subway enter" opto is dead so I need a replacement, but cannot find it for sale anywhere.

I tried searching for both the Hobbit part# (18-7020-xx-yy) and the Pirates part# (18-005001-xx), which I believe are equivalent(?).

Finally killed Smaug again this weekend. It's been a while since I've been playing my other games more, lately. But got on a mission to kill him again. It still is the greatest pinball "moment" of all time for me.

anyone looking to trade ? have a nice Dialed In standard?

Just joined the club!
HUO still running 1.21 code. 521 total games played
Can't wait to update and explore.
Super excited!

same for kill the witch in WOZ !!

Killing the witch is way easier. They are the same experience, but to kill smaug is very rare.

In case anyone else wonders: Though the assembly (opto pair + molex connector) is not available in any pinball shops, the opto emitter/sensor pair itself is readily available at your friendly electronics supplier like Digikey or Mouser. The part is OPB100Z from Optek Technology, and costs around $6-7 for the pair. Problem solved

Edit: So to create a complete opto/cable set, you just need these parts (and a crimping tool):

1 pc. Optek OPB100Z (opto emitter/sensor pair)
4 pcs. TE Connectivity 794956-1 (crimp contacts)
1 pc. TE Connectivity 794954-4 (housing)

Total price around $7.50 without any volume discounts.

What is the pitch of your playfield?

0 degrees

A good playfield pitch for hobbit is 7.1-7.2 degrees, measured on the playfield not on the glass.

Dammit !
I considered myself an average player , but my best is around 3mil , so that makes me a shit player . But I have killed Smaug quite a few times - and it never gets old .

For the record, I don’t consider you an average player. Killing Smaug three times in one game, wow!

Agreed, and that is how mine is set up. I just can't imagine a two hour game with our pitch settings. Still interested to know what theirs was set at.

A good game takes me 45 mins to 1 hour to get to 5 mil or higher, botfa, make good progress to there and back etc.

Finishing all 31 modes takes me 2 hours or more lol

Mine must play super mean. I'd have to check my game logs but I doubt I've gone much longer than 30 minutes at around 2 million points. Time and points don't really correlate in this game though. You could shoot the ramps all day and score nothing but be safe. Take 1 star modes into your mini wizard modes and you will only get 25% value. On the other hand, I've take a 5 star mode Into the Fire and scored 750K there alone. That game was well over a million and maybe only ten minutes long if I had to guess.

You guys are better than me. I still haven't killed Smaug. But with the new ACNC code and the new Deadpool I bought, and all the work I've done on these pins, I haven't been playing Hobbit enough. But I still suck anyway!

Is there a current rule sheet out there? I just have kinda rejoined the club and am eager to learn but it seems all the rule sheets are outdated big time.

A-18 of the manual has the flow chart. It's an excellent guide to the game.

I was more thinking modes’ and multiballs’ individual shots. Is the old version of the rule sheet still up to date on those type things (ie layers of shots to get a chance to kill Smaug)?

Couldn't tell you. Smaug multiball for me is just a tool to finish high star level modes to increase the mini wizard mode values. Smaug MB does do a great job of telling you what to shoot, probably why I don't have it memorized. When it comes to modes, the book on the playfield is your friend. If you really wanted to map all 31+ modes out I guess you could take the glass off and run through them all writing down what is required. Although that also seems kind of silly. There are a few modes that I target and more that I avoid. You don't need to finish them for There and Back Again so I've never invested the time to try and memorize them all.

Each level of smaug has about 6 shots. As you progress they get harder. First round, all the shots are lit for jackpot no matter what. Second mode , the last shot you made unlights, but the rest stay on. Third mode you have to hit every shot. However, since the game saves your progress, you can go for your favorite shots, go back to one ball play, and when you restart multiball, it will only need you to get how ever many left are needed to advance, yet it relights ALL the shots. I know that was quite the run on sentence, so long story short, it gets easier the more times you restart multiball.

After each mode you hit the super jackpot shot to advance. The final mode is just going back and fourth from MAN targets to DWARF targets before it beckons you to load the wind lance. You do this by shooting the right ramp. That leads it to the kick back lane, fires it to your upper right flipper and you kill smaug by hitting the one stand up hiding behind the drops that are not exposed (like his missing scale in the third movie). Boom. He is dead. Then you get victory laps. It's like killing the witch in WOZ, but far more elaborate and more difficult.

So to answer your question, yes.... I think it is the same

So even your answer begs a question about star levels but I’ll dig deeper

* - 1/4 value mini wizard mode
** - 1/2 value mini wizard mode
*** - Full value mini wizard mode
**** - 2X value mini wizard mode
***** - 4X value mini wizard mode

This may be the most important thing to know about this game. I always try to start a mini wizard mode with AT LEAST a three star mode completed if not four.

My best Into the Fire was after finishing Riddles in the Dark which is maybe the only 5 star mode you have any hope of finishing. That Into the Fire was worth over 750K. Finishing the right modes is worth your time. Keefer writes incredible code.

Search for Ted's posts in this thread and the Hobbit code thread. He explained the multipliers a couple of years ago with the star values. One thing that I remember is the spinners. Each time you complete the trip you get another additional multiplier of .25 (?) To the next Arkenstone mode. The other quadrants on the display get multipliers for the number of levels completed also.

Man that's steep! Did you have to modify the trough so it could kick balls freely?

So is it only when you complete a mode that this takes effect? Would it be beneficial to start but not finish a mode if it reduces your score that much?

Think about it. One of the five objectives to start the three mini wizard modes is completing a mode. So based on the mode you finish depends on how lucrative the mini wizard pays out. It is genius. This way people can do a one star weenie mode like "the one ring," and still have a chance at getting to a mini wizard. It will pay out like SHIT, but it gives noobs the chance to feel accomplishment. Meanwhile, for hard core players, they will refuse to start the mini wizard until a good mode has been completed. Awesome game. Love it so much.

As for your last question, the mini wizard modes can only be started once the five pieces if arkenstone have been collected. These are 1) start multiball, 2) get to Erabore, 3) Finish a mode (not just start one), 4) start Beast Frenzy and 5) start feast frenzy (this is what happens when you collect all the dwarves).

So your question about not getting enough points if you don't finish a mode makes no sense, as only completed modes will get you to the mini wizards. Also, the star rating for the level will be shown on the book before you start.

It uses the book mode completed with the most stars for the multiplier. Complete the 1 star and still try for a higher star book mode.

There is risk reward in finishing say a 1 or 2 star mode if you have not already finished a 3-5 star. Let's say you finish The One Ring early in the game, it's a 1 star and you get some extra points for finishing it. BUT, now you finish everything else for Into the Fire and you haven't finished another higher value mode. If you shoot either gobble hole by mistake your Into the Fire is going to be 1/4 value. Instead now you have to play super careful, try to qualify a solid mode, start that mode, and finish it all without shooting a gobble hole by mistake. That's a serious challenge. Again, it's amazing rules design by Keefer.

Is there an order that the game selects modes when you cycle it with the ramp (assuming they’re all qualified)?

Same! I just picked up the smaug gold edition with 106 total plays! I was hunting for The hobbit or LOTR LE, probably going to try and get a hold of LOTR in the very near future but im excited to put way too many hours in on this thing!

Nice!
What code is it running?
3.10 is the latest and greatest

Sometimes game plays get reset during updates. Welcome to the club it's a fantastic game

ALWAYS back up settings before doing updates.

ALWAYS...then you never lose settings.

I think I tried that last time and didn't do it properly so i lost all my stats

I have a separate USB drive i used for the backups.

I copy them to a folder on my pc.

I make a backup evetytime i get a new high score or make settings changes.

Its a really nice service.

Very easy to backup and restore.

I would try it a few times to get comfortable with it.

Really nicely surprised Houdini auto backs up it's scores and settings. I wish JJP adopted this method also.

Would be good if it auto back up to the cloud daily when they do the connectivity update.
Anyone heard more on internet connection progress.

Another Wonka test was done last week with a full update over the web. The internet update process went smooth. They will test the other JJP pins with full updates soon.

Just installed 3.10, since I had it shipped it came with a number of issues of course but I finally got them all worked out and the game is running great. I did accidentally loose one of the rubber post when installing the bag end mod and was wondering if anyone knew where I could find a replacement? I searched all over for it and can't seem to find it.

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Yep, order a few from jjp

Or order 50 and sell them to pinsiders, they'll sell.

Check the very back of the play field. There is about a half inch gap along the back that I have had to retrieve countless screws, nuts, and springs...

Please help me troubleshoot. Frequently when a ball is in the shooter lane, the game will "randomly" autoplunge on its own. I've narrowed it down to the "d" or "w" drop targets. Specifically when the "w" lowers (or "d" raises simultaneously) during the skill shot, the ball launches. I'm having a hard time with diagnosis because I cannot fire the drops (up and down) while watching the switch test screen. Any ideas?