Quoted from nogoodnames222:Theme aside, they're two very different games and it'll really depend on your preferences. I have both, and they're the only games I have in my apartment at the moment so they've gotten a ton of play over quarantine.
LOTR is a great game, pretty standard pinball (in a good way) with a good variety of modes, amazing callouts, and a lot of fun/satisfying shots (I'm a sucker for Gomez's layouts).
Hobbit feels completely unlike any other pin IMO, a good game on it feels like a proper adventure. The intensity ramps up as you go, there's what feels like an endless amount of modes with some stellar theme integration, incredible music, visuals, etc. Less 'fun' shots which absolutely slaughters it in casuals' opinions, but I get just as much joy out of nailing the massive orbits (wide body with a short shooter lane means the biggest orbit in pinball, I believe) as I do from a good ramp, so I'm not bothered by that. It needs to be set up steep as the playfield is wide open when all the beast-mechs are down and things can feel floaty if the pitch isn't right. The one thing I always come back to that I never see other people really talk about is how dynamic the playfield/action can feel on Hobbit... when you start out, the ramps are both open, the beasts are all down, the orbit will get interrupted by the magnet in the back... and then things start ramping up, the playfield begins to feel more crowded with beasts, the ramp diverter/u-turn gate drops, the orbits return the ball to your flipper at 100 mph... it's just excellent.
You're gonna get more votes for LOTR which is why I feel the need to run defense for Hobbit, but it really is a phenomenal game that offers an experience you can't get from any other pin I've played.
It's always great to see when people get Hobbit. It's not a game I'm turning on the most in my collection (primarily because one good game could take 45 minutes), but when I do, it's really like nothing else out there. Which is not to say it's better than everything else, it's just so unique and clever. Travelling around the outside orbit represents your journey on the map on the screen. Knocking down character drops adds them to your party. Orcs and trolls are impeding your path to other places, quite literally as they pop up on the playfield and have to be knocked down. The ball is your character. It's pretty brilliant conceptually.