I’ve owned both and it really comes down to which theme you prefer. They both have longevity.

I’ve owned both pros. Have Iron Maiden out on location now. If I were to have one at home, I’d pick Jurassic Park. I enjoy that theme much more

I own Jurassic Park and love playing Iron Maiden on location. Just can’t get into the theme for ownership.
Theme being equal I would say say you can’t go wrong! I love playing both games, I own JP because it’s a top 5 theme for me and my family.
If theme is equal to you on both I would just buy whichever one is available.

I have both, and both are in my top 5 stern. They aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. You can’t go wrong with either.

I have a JP LE and an Iron Maiden Prem and I can't see myself selling either. They both have an amazing layout, deep rulesets, great theme, sound and lighting, however a slightly different experience.

Iron Maiden I find more of an old school shooter, fast, furious and flowy.
JP is a more immersive game and ruleset (especially with Movie Code). it's more of a deliberate/tactical shooter, however still with incredible flow.

Iron Maiden I find great if I need a quick pinball fix, JP more so if I want a challenge.

Both are fantastic, personally JP has more longevity, but I'd happily take IM, it's awesome.

I own both premiums. Owned them before. Sold them. Bought them again. Neither are going anywhere. Honestly though. I never play JP. I do play maiden though. I’d give the nod to maiden but both are great.

These two pins are my favorite Elwins.
Both are just fantastic - maybe a nod to JP (kept that one) for how many directions you can go.
I’m realizing I’m not much help - apologies.

I've owned Maiden & JP since each was newly released, love both, never selling either. So I speak with love for both of them, but no jilted ex-owner bias.

Jurassic Park, hands down. Maiden is an all-time great game, but I wouldn't say it's especially deep, by modern standards. Fun every time you walk up to it, but from a rules standpoint you'll probably have a similar experience most times you play, unless you're a good enough player to occasionally reach Number of the Beast.

JP is like 3D chess. I can play it five times in a row and have five totally different games depending on where I focus my progress. There are two different mode groups/ladders, plus the dino paddocks (think MM castles, except you have to chase them around the playfield), three strikingly different main multiballs, more mini wizard modes than you can shake a stick at, fossils to collect, the constant stress of rescues, perks dependent on which island path you choose, and overall what I would call a very "textural" style of gameplay where the individual choices you make weave together to create countless different combinations.

It's hard for me to imagine a more rewarding pinball experience. JP has all the story/progress depth of a game like LOTR, with the blow-it-up score potential we've grown to love in modern games. Anything can pay off huge or be a total bust. There are no gimme score strategies. You'll earn everything, and love it.

What he said ^^

Had both, traded both, want Maiden back not Jp

I also agree Yancy. I also own both. My only addition would be Maiden is a bit more approachable for casual/ less skilled players if that is something you are taking into account. Honestly you can’t go wrong with either.

JP definitely designed for the more serious player. I owned JP for over a year and never could progress very deep into it. The paddocks are kind of repetitive and get very difficult after the first few. Maiden feels a bit more balanced and modes more doable but not a fan of the theme. But really you cannot go wrong with any Elwin game.

BOTH are incredible PROS.
Art on Iron Maiden is better, We own both and they will NEVER leave.
Can NOT go wrong with either.
Good Luck

I've owned or temp traded for both. IMO it really depends on how good you are. If you have ever completed Godzilla, gotten all the way through it... then JP 100%. They are both great games but Iron Maiden is broader code wise with more to do towards the beginning of the game. Jurassic Park absolutely is deeper than Iron Maiden, but there is not much to do towards the beginning of the game.

Here is your test. Go and play Jurassic Park. If in the course of 5 games you make it to the visitor's center, 100% go Jurassic Park. If you never make it, Iron Maiden is for you.

Note that you could buy either and trade for the other (+/- $500) a year or two down the line and try both.

I owned an Iron Maiden Pro for a year and a half and sold it to get a Jurassic Park Premium and haven't regretted it once. Maiden is great but after a while most of my games started feeling the same in terms of progression. Jurassic Park's software is perfection and you rarely have 2 games that are similar. I agree 100% with Yancy's post. I still enjoy playing Maiden and if I was a bigger fan of the theme I'd consider picking another one up. In terms of Keith's games JP is my favorite by a pretty wide margin but is followed by Godzilla, and then Maiden and then way down at the bottom is AIQ.. that is one that I just can't get into.

Jp. Deeper game, some what linear. Challenging, better layout. IM music not for everyone.

Why not consider dp or mandolorian?

Codewise, with regard to integrating the theme into the modes (not just playing clips), story progress, feeling like you're on a quest, it remains one of the best ever. Scoring is a bit "of the era," pretty woodchoppy, but no major complaints. If assets are your thing, the early 2000's DMD, dithered cabinet art and low res sounds don't hold a candle to what manufacturers are doing these days. It was probably the best of its era and remains a fun journey. Still no feeling quite like when the music for There and Back Again kicks in.

Owned IM pro- traded it back to original owner for GZ LE (and my GZ premium on order). Regretted that. Sort of.

Bought a late run JP premium. Why? Because I discovered the code depth in getting to Visitor Center- so many other mini games within the game. Great shots. No regrets.

IM premium came up for sale locally- bought that. I personally like the premium better, but the Pro is a damn fine game. Not an IM music fan, but very happy to have this back in my collection.

I am very lucky to have a good size collection- also have LOTR, AIQ, and many others.

If you want longevity and a deep code game- JP hands down.

If you want a 4 flipper game with very cool shots, great code, great art, and IM music- IM hands down.

I am 63 and an above average player (not great, but have made it to Visitor Center on standard settings).

Good luck!

As a JP Prem owner, I really like the moving T-Rex and the Raptor gate capturing the ball. I've played a lot of Pro on location, and it's fun. However, at home, I like the additions as do my family members. If you never have it, you'll not miss it, but if you do, you'll enjoy it.

Great writeup on JP, and accurate imo. I don't own an IM but have played one often in league play. great game, but when it came time for me to buy there was no contest.
-p

Owned both, kept imdn but want to get jp back.
Also its fun to change the music on maiden to whatever you like and play it that way.

I think that difficulty of JP is a little overblown too. Getting to visitors center is fairly easy if you know how to do it. As long as you start a paddock before you move on to other tasks like TREX and Control room modes, raptor, and CHAOS multiballs, you will either end up catching the dinosaur or it will escape, and if it escapes, you still progress towards visitors center! You just don’t get the points for catching it and as big a bonus when you do get to visitors.
Yes the right loop, O shot is hard, but because the Dino’s move and you don’t have to get every single rescue, you never have to shoot it unless you want to start CHAOS, and you can even start it without ever shooting it by getting a free letter from a supply drop. I still shoot for it, but often I will do it during a ball save to be safe.
I do really like how some games I will start and say ok I’m chasing Museum Mayhem, or this game I’m going for Visitors Center, or Secure Control Room, or just for a big score, or I’m going all the way for Escape Nublar. The final wizard mode, When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth seems almost impossible but that’s what keeps you chasing it! I’ve been close enough to know it’s possible but after over 2 years of ownership and getting to the mini wizard modes many many times I still haven’t gotten all the way. Compare that to my Guardians which I love as well and after 3 months I’ve been to the final wizard mode Save Xandar 5 or 6 times now. Still a super fun game, but just not as deep.

Some guys had trouble with the TRex. Pretty much all your premium money is in that one mech. The TRex doesn't really add anything to gameplay imo. It's a cool feature but pro plays exactly identical. On the other hand IM has nice premium features that do change gameplay like lift ramp and physical ball lock.

Seems like it but I only made it once to Visitor Center in over a year of ownership. You have to be extremely cautious with your shots, only do easy side paddocks, let things time out, and ignore most of the game to even have a chance of making it. Hate playing like that. I felt like the Control room modes were overly difficult as well. Every game just got frustrating so I sold it. The guy that I bought the game from is a much better player and had the same experience. Compared to GZ where I already got over 2 billion, reached mini wizard modes, and seen a lot of the game in just 2 weeks.

My experience is the opposite, it’s easier to get to visitors center by ignoring it and playing the rest of the game. I’ve been there on ball 1.
Paddock 1 play in single ball, you can finish it almost before your ball save is over.
Paddock 2 start and then play out TREX multiball
Paddock 3 start and then play out Raptor multiball
Paddock 4 start and then play out with either CHAOS or a second raptor
Spell MAP again and you are there.

Fastest and easiest way to get there

Edit to add that if you want big points start a TREX or Control Room when you start a paddock before you start the multiball and then you are using a multiball to progress through both a paddock and a mode at the same time.

The moving TREX is awesome, however the Raptor cage is easily the best premium feature.

GZ and JP don't seem remotely similar to me. I don't own GZ, but I've played it a bunch. This would not concern me at all.

Iron Maiden gets old a LOT faster.

JP is perhaps the best layout ever

BE (before Elwin) pinball was OK. LOTR one of the better efforts.

I have never filmed a video playing pinball before but I wanted to show how easy this is so I setup a filming system using my phone and my kids toys to hold it and on my first try got to visitors center on ball 1…under 10 minutes…technically. It’s actually ball 2 as I had an extra ball but it still says ball 1. I have made it more than once on legit ball one before though. I will try to figure out how to post the video.

Edit to add link to video. Also made a post under game play videos showing the rig I made up with my kids toys.

Own ‘em and play ‘em. Both are Stern Elwin games and that’s about what they share. Two very different games that complement any collection. If one of these does not enthrall you, they are both easy to unload even in today’s market.

What is my recommendation for a single pin? Godzilla premium. Second pin? The theme that you cannot live without.

I Agree with Yancy and that is why I would choose Iron Maiden. Overly complex rules in pinball make me lose interest in the game. Iron Maiden has a perfect rule set.