The Hobbit looks a lot different from TBL. I might be the only one here, but I find that kind of refreshing.

TBL looks like a 90' wms game on steroids. I love that fact about the game, but I also love to have different types of games in my collection and the hobbit will stand out, looking different from all other pins.

Yes, the playfield have a cold and dreary feel to it (without lights at least) but so does the movies.

Peter Jackson went with a much colder look for the Hobbit movies than lotr and I think jjp captured that same feel as the movies on this playfield.

Aurich makes some great points and he also have a very good artistic sense, in general but I do not agree with him 100% on his view here.

Then again he has seen it in person and I have not, so I greatly appreciate his view on things. I also take into consideration that Aurich hates photoshopped art in the first place. I would have loved for it to be original art but we all knew from the start that it was not gonna happen with Hobbit.

With that open widebody playfield it will probably play a little slower than most modern pins.(almost like an EM on steroids)

Again no problem for me. Why does every new pin have to be faster than the last? I actually like that it stand out in that department too, but I can understand that it may not be for all.

What I find a little strange is that many of the threads about the Hobbit that pops up after Expo is about things we knew about long before last weekend. we have known ca how it would play since we saw the whitewood. The rest is just window dressing and rules for the most part.

The only new element shown on Expo was Smaug (and the book, but that was a placeholder)

I agree that it needs to be fixed in some areas. I have no problem with Smaug, but the area needs some mountains behind it and smaller coins.(should be easy to fix) The book needs to go and also the vuk covers(again, easy to fix)

I am still inn on The Hobbit. It will probably not be the second coming but to me it looks fun, interesting and I love the theme.