Going back to the FIRST post, I haven't commented on TH as much as I had on WOZ when it first arrived.

But only because we've been PLAYING TH so darned much. I occasionally read the comments here, and the anti Hobbit reviews (well SOME of them anyway) are just so laughably off base that I have a hard time taking them seriously at all. It's like they're playing an entirely different pin than the one I'm playing.

The variety of shots are great. This thing plays like a shooting gallery. If one is looking for a ton of flow (and, at times, this one has its share but its not a flow beast like, what, 5 of the last 7 (?) Stern releases), then this might not be for you. But I don't WANT another flow pin. I've got a few. They're all over the place.

This pin defies characterization for me. I don't have ANYTHING from either the DMD or LCD era that is like this.

The troll heads orchestration change the character of this layout on its head. Skill shot is different. Ring button used in ways that I've never seen lockdown bumper buttons used before.

And the multimedia show makes this best use of film footage for a pin HANDS DOWN. That includes sound/music.

And the show is just getting started.

Great game. Entire family loves it.

If you liked the long ball times/journey aspect of Stern's LOTR, though this isn't a flow beast, you'll love the journey aspect of this pin, too. Spinner-map progression was a great addition: I'm glad it made it into the game.

Haven't hooked up a subwoofer yet, but I'd imagine Smaug would sound great with it.

Stays in collection. Unique, and nothing like it.

I'm not badmouthing GB at all.

I'm just saying TH is a completely different pin experience than anything out there. Even WOZ.

The very nature of the playfield layout changes a lot based on how those heads pop up.

You NEED to look at the LCD Book and preferably the main screen as well to keep track of things: am I TRYING to hit drop targets or AVOID targets? The permutations of the shots are dizzying. And Keefer can do all kinds of sophisticated things based on the ability to deliver info with the screens.

The current Stern platform simply can't do this. GB looks great, really. I'm especially a fan of ZombieYeti's art. But the game itself doesn't look radically different from what I already have from Stern lately.

Hobbit is DIFFERENT. Very different. It's definitely a long ball time game. Some people just don't like that. But since the modes are so SO varied, and the eye candy that gets unlocked is also varied, that the "journey" aspect of the game becomes its main thrust.

Some people like that. Some don't. But it definitely has an epic feel that I don't THINK I'll get out of GB (for better or worse).

In terms of bang for the buck, it SEEMS like more hardware on The Hobbit. But why even go there? Just from a limited physical FOOTPRINT persepective, for me Hobbit justifies me making room for it. GB would be welcome, but I'd get rid of one of my 3 or 4 pins that GB reminds me of to make room for it.

That's just how I sees it. And my family, based on their plays.

There's a lot of open space...
....as long as all the troll heads are down. But they pop up and down like whack-a-moles depending on mode and inlane triggers. When that's the case, especially wolf and spider, the ball bounces back VERY quickly. Quicker than standard body.

In Hobbit, the heads pop up much, much, much more than the troll heads in MM. They significantly affect the speed with which the ball returns. And they're highly variable. Which is why it is hard to characterize Hobbit. Which is what makes it so unique.

Keefer can be VERY creative with the modes on this game, between great information delivery to the player via LCDs and wide variety of targets to orchestrate in both up and down positions, and targets behind drops, too. It's a shooting gallery game.

Truer words were never spoken.

How cool would it have been if the crystal ball was a fraction as useful as the book in TH.

If I had to summarize my opinion of The Hobbit in one sentence:

Playing The Hobbit makes it MORE likely that I will buy JJP #3.

How much you want to bet Matt makes an upgrade to the pop bumpers eventually?

With this new patch, the whack-a-mole component to this game has come alive!