I only got to play one game on it but I really liked it .....the line was terribly long I got on it when show had just opened , rug wasn't working when I played it &I heard it broke down late Saturday & they had to pull it (the ransom note left behind got some chuckles) but man it sure got a lot of play , most hammered machine at the show besides Hobbit

stolen from Labnip's pics.....

line.JPG

line2.JPG

I only played one game, due to long lines and waiting times but first impressions were pretty good.
I especially liked the LCD and how the call outs from the movie are integrated with the game. I did think the bowling alley was a bit gimmicky, and it was hard to see what was going on there. You need good and strong flippers too to get up all the ramps (something the game was struggling a bit with)

Hard to say anything about the flow or layout after just one game, but definitely left better impression on me than the Hobbit.

looked very nice, but lines too long sadly. it is on my radar screen, but I will wait til it is widely available and has great code. same criteria I am applying to all new pin purchases!

It looked like the issue with the garage door fluttering was fixed since expo, at least I didn't see it.

I got in 1 game, but really couldn't hear the call outs with all the noise around me. That being said, I had a favorable impression of it. I liked it better than AMH, but less than the Hobbit. The game played well, and seems to have a good flow. I felt like the bowling playfield had a little delay, which made it tough, but it is a good idea and was fun to try.

Dunno, it was gone before I could play it

Sorry to say after all the build up but the Hobbit looks MEH (IMHO) I got a refund shortly after it was unveiled last year.

TBL was broken by the time we got there Saturday afternoon.

If so no one at Texas saw it, that was just one of the old prototypes from Expo.

Good strategy. Let all of the hooplah and dust settle. Patience is a virtue. They did send me a T-shirt when I expressed an interest in TBL. Not quite enough to lure me into a pre-buy. WOZLE cured me of that.

LAME it was.
Lines too long... and they couldn't be bothered to "Fix" it.
Very frustrating.

It was the same machine from expo

I was in line to play it Saturday afternoon. I was three players away when they pulled it because players were getting unlimited extra balls.

Apparently the rug mech was not working the whole weekend.

Despite that, those that played the game said it was quite fun.

Better then last title Stern produced
By a Mile !!

With that said ; who will make Iron Maiden ?

Ha! That's me in my Sporting KC Jersey playing TBL in the first picture. I thought it was a lot of fun. AMH was a fantastic game as well. I really have thought about buying a Hobbit after talking to Butch and Jack. I really like the Hobbit. Honestly they were all great efforts and I was glad to have the opportunity to play them.

I don't think the rug mech has been intended to be operating yet on the prototypes.

No, Ive played the protos, rug *works* on them.

Same prototype as expo? Man....no new code, art, nothing? Did they hire tiny Asian girls and talk about how great they are this time?

I'm still plugging away at them pal. Definitely won't be Ritchie because I asked him point blank during the TPF Q&A.
Hopefully Borg can see how many people *cough*WORLDWIDE*cough* would buy one in a heartbeat!

As for TBL,
It was pretty sweet to shoot even though the carpet mech was DOA and the multiball lock was a tad bit difficult to egress. (mostly due to show setup and or, numerous other prototype-y "stuff.")
Flow was good and I did like it better than the Hobbit after playing both back-to-back on Friday.
Callouts are timed perfectly after the corresponding shots are made and the attract lighting kinda reminds me of the awesome TimeShock sweeping spotlight effect. My wife got one of the few strikes in line that night on her first try which was cool to see.
I'll probably buy in once the pre-orders are done and USA vendors get their allotted machines but, (for now at least...) I'm good with not being the first kid on the block to own one.

Isn't Jpop working with TBL now?

I saw the rug working while we waited for our turn, it didn't work for us though so it was flaky at best. Pretty cool though, it retreated a few inches after each hit until it finally revealed a hole to shoot. Nice target, imho

I don't care for the theme but the gameplay and detail on the game including the bowling alley seem really strong. Amazing to me that 3 guys built such an incredible game that seems to me much more innovative and creatively done then the relatively much bigger and bigger budget company.

From the current Stern web-site ''Stern Pinball continues to lead the industry in innovation and design."
I always praise Stern, and deservedly so, for keeping pinball alive. But to me TBL, JJP, America's Most Haunted and P3 are trying some unique things. TBL when refined and eventually released will likely be a very great pin. Go Dutch guys!

This is the same as comparing Ferrari to Chevrolet, Ford or Toyota. To the casual observer, Ferrari is king yet companies like Ford have literal armies of engineers, technicians and designers as well as business people designing, developing building and marketing cars. Ferrari, while offering cars much more appealing to enthusiast and niche markets & customers, they are a small player and innovator when you consider the world-wide automotive marketplace.

Valid points but why can't Stern innovate even a little more? They haven't changed much except for new boards over the years. Still using DMD's and lots of older technology, which isn't all bad, but not exactly great either. Come on, if 3 guys can design and build a pin that has some unique things and features like TBL, Stern can also at least try some new things. I don't mean their playfield designs aren't unique for clarification. But come on they could be much better in using modern ideas, tech, and advance pinball fun to a whole new level.
Chevy has Corvette made in a unique plant in Bowling Green, Kentucky with its own design team and is a low production, high price performance car. Ford listened to customers and redesigned the 2015 Mustang so now it's not only fast, it actually handles like a true sports car. Toyota has made the MR2, Spyders and other sporty and unique cars besides it typical Camry's, Corolla's, trucks and SUV's. Even big companies can go outside their usual products and do something new and unique sometimes. It's not just Ferrari, Porsche, and expensive and very small companies that are creative.

I know this sounds like a Stern bashing, but that's not my intent. Again I really like Stern and respect how they've survived when Gottlieb, B/W and others went under or left the pin industry. Whatever one thinks of Stern, w/o the resiliency of that company, we could have seen pinball production sadly die many years ago. However, to continue the car companies analogy, GM had to change or die. I'm not going to get into the politics or feelings about their being baled out. But assembly line as that company is with their Buicks, typical Chevy's they still make Corvettes, Cadillacs, Camaros and a few cars beyond the typical sedans, trucks and SUV's, i.e, the predictable and well selling stuff.
Last car comparison, Stern makes to me mostly sedans (good and solid but not innovative or cutting edge in technology) and some of them are excellent. (ST, TSPP, LOTR, SM, Metallica, AC/DC, etc)

But the pins guys with TBL and others are trying some new things. And thank goodness for new companies in pinball!

Stern wants to sell the most with the lowest investment possible.

Can still deliver good pins. But that company could step up easily if they want it.

You dont feel the love for their own work when you review most of their pins. Their (code)support is horrible and every aspect of their games is outdated, seen before and or looking cheap.

Ps. Not hating. It is their right to run their business like they want to. But i think they are capable of making hobbit, woz tbl like pins AND build them fast AND give them fast and full code support.

Really think they can do it.

Only profit will decline. And thats a no go for Stern sadly. That is what i mean with missing the love in their pins. You can almost smell its about money instead of making the most fun and best pins.

As a big pinball fan i regret it that the most experienced pin company does not use their own full potential.

Wasn't the last of tbl preorders April 1st? So there not taking anymore sales and the number of games built is fixed???

Sales will be through distro

So far it looks, sounds and plays great. Only it has bugs and issues. If they can fix that, it will be a great pin.

Cant wait on their next pin/theme. If there is a god they will do Star Wars.

They plan on selling more through distribution, just pre orders are over.. I.e. the pre order ending was likely just about knowing a fixed first run quantity.

No, same code as Expo was my understanding, so very limited song selection. Maybe 3? I forget now.

I heard about 3 songs. I didn't go to expo but it looks like little to no progress was made on the code since then, as you could basically go bowling, start multiball, and open the hidden car I think. The rest of the modes would not progress, and the playfield inserts were basically on attract mode. The PF changes, like the missing pot leaf and gun, were covered up with (very nice) decals, but those were starting to bubble. I wasn't surprised the finalized art wasn't there, as I figured this was one of the machines they left over here after expo (and I doubt they were busy with playfield swaps since then). I was surprised that it seemed like no progress was made on the code since expo. I figured they would want to show off their progress.

I though the game was gorgeous and it felt good shooting it, but the novelty of the bowling ally wore off by the second time that I got it (also, the pins weren't registering on my second try very well). It was about as fun as your typical cannon mode, a neat gimmick, but not much more than that. It might be more interesting if you had more control over the ball, like the pitcher on slugfest. I probably would have liked the whole game more if I didn't have to wait so long to play it. Not saying I disliked it, but I didn't give it much thought again for the rest of the show.

Yes, the hidden car popped out as designed. My wife was able to make that happen. I think the game was fun as it stood and showed real promise of being something special. I thought AMH was a great value at its price point and TH was amazing - my favorite of the three.