Most people don't know anything about playing a Pinball game and what to shoot for. They just flip the ball around and things may or may not happen for them. Real players (most of us on Pinside for example) figure out the rules and read rule sheets for games. Games are complex these days. I wouldn't want to be able to know everything a game offers the first time I play it *cough* Tron *cough*. Neither TH or LOTR is very intuitive at first play. Collect Elf rings to start a mode??? Huh? How could you possibly know that? At least TH tells you what to do on the screen to start a mode. They both have a MODE light on the pf/ramp that lights when available to start...it isn't rocket science here people. Once you learn the rules they both make sense and are awesome. It you can't learn the rules to either of these games then you have some issues I can't help with.

Let's be honest here: a new player isn't inspecting the playfield and reading inserts. Hell, I barely do that. They are pressing start and flipping the ball around randomly trying to hit something that looks cool.

Now that's a big problem. Sounds like it just isn't for you. But maybe you need to play one that is set up more difficult?

Could very well be...as long as it isn't IJ!!