I have had a SM since they were in production and I have a Tron Pro coming soon. Despite my insane excitement to get my Tron, I have to say that SM is the better game in regards to rules and playfield layout. It's just a fantastic game. Tron isn't a huge step down, but it is not quite at SM's level.

If we're going to rank those three Sterns, I'd go:

1. SM
2. Tron
3. IM

If we want to do a top 5 Sterns, I' d go:

1. LOTR
2. TSPP
3. SM
4. Tron
5. IM

Note: I haven't had a chance to play AC/DC yet. It could easily make the top 5.

It's not if you open those outlanes and tighten up the tilt. The PAPA videos for SM are incredible.

The fact that there's no real consensus between the two machines means that both are just simply great games. You can't lose either way.

I own a TSPP, SM, and I just sold (sniff) my LOTR, I can say that they can be prone to long ball times, but it's completely dependent on how you set the games up. Open those sides up! These games are a whole heck of a lot more fun with open lanes. You have to nudge to stay safe, you have to be very mindful of staying out of the slings, and the short shots become far more crucial to hit accurately.

Tron has shorter ball times than any of the three due to some extra unpredictability from the Recognizer, but you can still get some lengthy ball times if you don't have those lanes opened up there too.