I ordered FullT chrome black LE 3 months ago as I like a fast gameplay

I bought a standard Full Throttle & love it!

I have a Smaug and I can't get enough. Just played for 3 hours. Its awesome....

Pinball Wizard in NH has both games on the floor. I gave The Hobbit a couple of plays, but dumped an absurd amount of quarters into Full Throttle. The Hobbit looks way nicer, but was a total bore. Full Throttle didn't have a theme or design that resonated with me, but the gameplay was just fast and fantastic.

Full Throttle by a large margin would be my choice.

a large margin in cost savings too

A Full Throttle LE with the large lcd back box costs the same as a Hobbit. A standard Full Throttle is in the $6k area.

missed the LE part on FTh. Still, those are $7900 I thought--what's a Smaug $9000?

Full Throttle FTW. Fun gameplay.

With the LED add, their within a couple hundred bucks if you find the right Hobbit distributor.

Regardless, I think they're both fun and cutting edge tech. Can't make a wrong choice.

Looks like Smaug is still in the lead as far as the poll is concerned. I'm interested in hearing more from posters that voted in favor of Smaug over Full Throttle.

I'd buy Smaug LE by a longshot.

I would wait on both models. TH is shipping but still has extremely early code for a game that was in design that long. Let them work out all of the kinks and then buy one later if you like it. FT is a fun game but once again I would wait, lots of new tech from a new company that needs to prove themselves. No one knows how the new switch design will hold up. They can make FT as long as they want so I would wait and see how Alien goes and get a FT after they have been in homes/arcades for a year or 2.

Played both. Loved Full Throttle, very under impressed with TH with the exception of the art and lighting package.

Add in the modular nature of Full Throttle and I think it's the clear winner.

No comparison for me personally.

What about the two games make you say that? Gameplay, art, code, theme, layout, LCD animations, flow...?

There are clear a lot of people that prefer Smaug to Full Throttle, but there's little justification within the thread. Not trying to nitpick, just genuinely curious why Smaug over Full Throttle?

I don't think there is any outside of the wait and money spent or being a huge fan of the Hobbit as a franchise, oh and ofcourse Keith who apparently can make anything great, I'm not a JJP hater at all in fact really looking forward to a theme from them I can get behind but TH is boring.

The inductive switch's have worked perfectly over the 4 months of my ownership. Not having holes cut all over the playfield for switch's is a huge plus! The Heighway playfields, with their high quality clear coat are going to last forever! It's a plus not a negative in my experience so far.
I've had 2 issues with my pin so far. One stand up target broke & a pop up post on the orbit. Both were replaced by Heighway in a timely manner.

The layout on FT trounces Hobbit but I like the Hobbit theme better and it has Keefer on rules. In the current game states I would go with FT as it's more fun but I have a feeling once Hobbit code is complete it could be a much improved game even though the layout just isn't that good.

Already has been mentioned but with Heighway you can buy 1 full game and then buy every other release of theirs at 60% of cost and swap playfield/art all of it in 5 minutes...

That reason alone makes it the clear winner in my head. In 6 months or so you can buy Alien at 60% cost plus they have 3 or 4 other licenses from what I hear.

Note: The options at Heighway are really fluid--you don't necessarily need an LE. You can get a standard, add big LCD, add fiber optic ramps, shaker...choose your trim---black (no extra cost), chrome etc etc

FullT on route for 2 months with more plays than it will get in most homes in 2 years. Game is SOLID and build/engineered VERY well. They are proven, there is really no question about it! Fewer issues with FullT new out of the box then every other new game we have put on route in the past 2.5 years.

Aside fomr that Heughway seems to be making adjustments and improving on each batch so the issues experienced at #41 (broken plunger bell which was a bad batch form the manufacturer as I replaced with the identical one from PBL and it was also broken when I opened the box. Broke a standup but with quick connects it took 4 min to replace ) have likely been resolved already.

Played TH on location last month and Full Throttle at PAGG over the weekend.

Full Throttle would get my vote and dollars.

Theme is subjective, so no comment other than that both are executed well with TH being more showy.

Gameplay on FT is fast, brutal, and fun. The 5-7 shots are very tight and unforgiving. On Hobbit, the top flipper really didn't seem to have a purpose, not in terms of code but actual physical targets.

I'd wait on Hobbit- either the code will get better or the secondary market will heat up. On the Heighway machine, if gameplay becomes dull, you'd be able to swap it out for Alien or something else without having to take a bath on depreciation.

Hobbit. One word: Keith

There's also far more going on in TH as well. Both look like fun games though. Wish I could afford both and nearly every other NIB pin, lol.

Hmmm. Full Throttle LE is 5,750 in pounds, plus shipping. That is nearly $8300 in US. I just paid a few hundred less for a Hobbit LE.

Wow you JJP guys really have serious man love for Keith, how many of you guys own WOF, APowers and STriker Extreme? there are other programmers who program some great games you know?

I have no investment in either, but have put 20+ plays on both. For me I found Full Throttle to be a crazy amount of fun. I did not really enjoy the Hobbit very much. Hopefully code will advance on the Hobbit, since I think that will really be the key, as I was not thrilled with the shot layout. On Full Throttle, the playfield was so much fun, I didn't really care about what was happening code and rules wise.

So Im a vote for FT.
Hope everyone is happy with whatever it is they end up getting!

When it comes to story based rulesets (LOTR, WOZ) that make you feel like you are on a quest no one is better then Keith. He's a master at creating those rulesets. 31 modes in The Hobbit, 3 mini wizard modes, 3 major wizard modes and 1 super wizard mode.

I've also noticed that Keith takes the time to come up with interesting and unique rules that you just don't see in other pins. Variety in rules that make the player work the entire playfield is a better way to put it.

I guarantee there will be a lot more people that love The Hobbit a year from now when Keith has added a lot more to the code (same thing happened with WOZ). We are just now starting to see some code that takes advantage of The Hobbits features. Just wait until Keith adds more code that takes advantage of the subway, middle ramp divertor, orbit magnets and then integrates those features with the lockdown bar button. We haven't seen anything yet.

FT plays much better IMO. I like the Hobbit theme better but for me gameplay trumps all so FT would be my choice.

Deep code can't save a boring layout though. I need to get some time in on Hobbit but just from what I've seen it doesn't look that much fun. I especially don't care for the type of games that are coded like LOTR or TSPP. From Bowens tutorial and just by what people have said here that have played both & own neither it seems like FT could be the choice for me & maybe many others.

FT if I had to choose between the two. I only play The Hobbit if I have to in competition.

The inner orbit shot on the right that launches the ball around back to the left inlane to the left flipper on FT is one of the most satisfying shots in pinball. Nothing like in in The Hobbit, that's for sure.

So why are you still holding onto KISS then?

Any of us can really say any layout is boring. I mean is FT's layout this crazy revolutionary layout, no. It has two ramps that are closer to the playfield then the ramps in The Hobbit, of course it will play faster at times. Same could be said about WOZ.

Many games have done this. If you don't like coded games like LOTR and TSPP I can see why you would gravitate towards FT. You should go with the game with the ruleset style that you prefer. I know a lot of people love ACDC but after a while I just got bored with it as the ruleset doesn't hold me as much as mission / mode based rulesets.

Both of these games seem great and are different which in my opinion is the best part. I only have room for so many games so variety in playfield layouts is nice to have.

Kiss is in a Bar making money Egghead. Nice try though.

see post #8 and others ... calm yourself. You vote Hobbit. Got it.

I hope ur right.

If we were making stats on the posts above, we would get a very different answer than the poll above...

My $0.02: Play both. They are polar opposite.

Are there any on here making a decision opinion that haven't played both or even one of these yet?

I've played Both a good amount and Full Throttle lives up to it's name.
It is fast and has shots that feel like the ball is racing around.
It's relatively easy to understand what's going on at all times too.
Also, many shots are enjoyable and gratifying.

The Hobbit to me is a hype train that for me has run out of gas and rails...
Jack said before WOZ even came out that if you don't get/want/etc... WOZ,
you'll definitely like, want and will get the 2nd one, yeah...

So, locally, on route in less than a week things started messing up like
-3rd flipper (working intermittently),
-half of audio going out (a whole channel of audio goes out on the speakers and headset output)
-balls sticking on the pop up characters (with ease)
To me even a $5000 game should hold up on route with ease.

It's cool for being basically the flow and layout feel of a early solid state wide body
with modern stuff added to it, but unless someone worships the Hobbit,
to me it's a LCD screen with a high tech early widebody solid state game attached.

Many guys are still very much obsessed with defending the hobbit. And I can not understand the reason for that.
I just see comments of "the art is great", "the lighting effects are great", "you have a ton of rules", etc etc..
But does the game plays great? Is the layout good? I just read negative comments on that. So the game can not be that good, right? If the art is great but the layout sucks then it's a not so good game imo.
FT has a not so great art but the game plays very nice with a cool layout etc. To me this feels like a way better game, when comparing both.

I never played TH or FT, so I can't judge the games. Just judging the comments from whoever played. And trying to understand why a game that doesn't have a good layout keeps getting so many compliments.

Well, I'll say it then. I got my hobbit yesterday. I was on the fence about buying it, but took the plunge. It came with old code, so I played that for about 20 or so games. It felt..meh. Kind of disappointed. Ok, but not so much fun. I plugged in the new code, then played about 20 games on that. I had the game set at 6.8 degrees for both early and new code, with increased flipper power. The play went from meh to really fun. I can see it has a way to go, so it will only get better from here. I was blown away at the difference in play, with new code. I came away feeling like I had made the right decision. Very satisfied. I shouldn't be so surprised though, as I saw this play out on WOZ too. Woz got better and better with code. It was pretty..meh.. With early code you aren't really experiencing Hobbit.

I didn't like the layout either after playing it with early code, probably due to the troll pops up just popping up randomly (it seemed) and other features such as the drop targets not having rules coded for them yet and the kickback not interacting with the lockdown bar button. With 1.10 rules are now integrating the pop ups in unique ways as well as the drop targets. The kickback now interacts with the lockdown bar button as well as with animations on the LCD. I like that the layout on The Hobbit as it's different and unique compared to a lot of traditional layouts.

Any game, no matter how good the layout is would suck without code, lol. With the last two updates there's been much more positive feedback about the game...and it's only version 1.10.

Striker Extreme was one of Stern's first game and pretty horrible and I don't believe the best code in the world could have saved that one. I haven't played AP much and can't say anything about it. WOF code was never finished because Stern bailed on it and that was a bad period for Stern in sales. If the code for it had ever been completed could have done a LOT more. Keith is one of the best programmers in the business and made some incredible rules and codes for Stern, then with WOZ and will do the same for TH. It's not about being a JJP fanboy. It's about that Keith is awesome at what he does.

And yes Lyman and others have programmed great games also.

On topic, I'd love to play a FT to compare it to TH and even GB. I do like TH and believe with each code update it will improve a lot.

So the answer is no, lets not talk political style, my point is every designer or programmer etc. is capable of making a less than stellar product, Keith might be great and I'm a big fan of LOTR's but just because hes on the team didn't result in me purchasing a WOZ and TH for me anyway will not be saved by his magic, I don't like the gameplay, its not a ruleset issue, when the layout and gameplay is there you don't require code fixes to make it great, it will make a good game better but for many of us TH is unsavable, the fanboys are on the defensive as they should be, If I waited 4 years and got that first version Hobbit I would be upset and probably be trying to justify both the wait and cost, I'm routing for JJP and glad those who love TH got what they wanted.

I must have played the hobbit SLAUG edition as I found myself looking at my watch between shots. Full throttle was probably twice as fast or more. I like fast smooth gameplay more than appearance. A good comparison to me would be tron vs lotr. Tron all day, every day...

Speed is good but is only worth so much to me at todays crazy NIB prices.

I prefer deeper, loaded and more strategic games like LOTR, WOZ, and TH then Tron which while fast and fun to play just doesn't hold my interest after a while. Same reason why I lost interest in ACDC...lack of modes and mode variety.

Thankfully we have a lot of options for different preferred play styles and rulesets.

Trolls popping up "randomly" are sure annoying, but so are trolls popping up at all. They're the main feature of the game for some reason. They basically took the worst feature of MM and doubled down on it. Sure they can block some of the main shots of the game, but geez they're annoying as hell.

We're talking The Hobbit here. Nine hours of movie content and this is what happens? Where are the epic battles? Where's the dragon interaction? Where is the epic feeling of being involved? Just trolls, drop targets and standups? I mean, really?

I guess the 3rd flipper is actually a Hobbit since it's all lonesome with nothing to do.

Full Throttle feels less "polished" from a materials standpoint, but it's got tough, fast gameplay and cool, unique layout. The one in Allentown wasn't quite set up correctly, but I still would consider one.

Yes you hate the Hobbit and think it sucks, we know. You are missing so much about the game and don't realize its code isn't even close to being finished.

Did you know that the upper flipper will likely be required to make a one time shot from the player conrolled kickback to a drop target? No. That sounds like a pretty slick use of the 3rd flipper, lockdown bar button and integration with the LCD for something like a Smaug kill shot.

Where are the epic battles? The three major movie multiballs are not in the game yet. Imagine how LOTR would be without the three movie multiballs...Keith delivered with WOZ code and made that game great, same thing will happen with TH.

Do not underestimate the power of The Keefer

No point in trying here. They don't have a hobbit in their home like we do. It's a great game. FT to be was a cool game but if u are paying close to the same price as the hobbit, it's a easy decision. TH.

Maybe make a basement thread to drone on about how much you love or hate hobbit....it's been hashed and rehashed here.

Played both at TPF, brought home FT new in box. It's very fun. I would say FT I'm black, then it's the perfect color for the Alien kit.

Trolls popping up "randomly" are sure annoying, but so are trolls popping up at all. They're the main feature of the game for some reason. They basically took the worst feature of MM and doubled down on it.

The trolls are the best feature on MM. In fact, I'm not sure MM has a bad feature