The Hobbit. My kids and their friends play TH over the rest of my collection. Next is AFM, then IJ. We’ve owned a TOM and it didn’t last long in the line up. Never owned POTC.

EVERYBODY that is new to pinball has a blast on my TOM. Easy shots and clear goals, shoots real smooth. It's the longest standing game in my collection.

But appears I'm in the minority so forget I mentioned it

ToM is completely over rated, except for the casual player. Style over substance. Easy shots, great light show, simple rules aided by the callouts. Kids and women (who are not serious players) love it--I got tired of it quickly.

Stern POTC was my first pin and my family got tired of it pretty quickly. The ship is awesome, but it’s a very shallow game.

My kids enjoy our Hobbit and don’t have trouble doing modes or hitting ramps. The theme integration really draws them in as well.

In my 6 game collection ToM is played most. Whenever I have guests over they tend to queue up at it. Also, it's my wife's favorite game so its a keeper by that alone. You can never go wrong with a ToM, smooth shots, great theme and a superb art package.

Go with Theatre of Magic. It’s not overly difficult and has a wow factor that kids will enjoy. Plus, it’s an all time classic.

No way I would buy a used TOM right now. The remake is going to happen. Maybe they will even fix the code so the game isn't left loop all day to max your bonus multiplier.

Even with that, I'd go Hobbit all day. So much value for the most immersive game ever made IMO.

You can get a TOM for $6000. I wouldn’t not buy something thinking CGC will do a remake. Supposedly Cactus Canyon is next with maybe an original as well. At their rate, you could wait years for a TOM remake. In the meantime, you could be playing an original TOM.

The Hobbit, roll overs and ramps get you a multiball for starters, it's beautiful, it's great to have others watching to help with shots, and its depth is endless. Latest software 3.10 gets a lot of respect.

POTC is a fun shooting game. Not the greatest Stern, but fun none the less especially for casual players. To me it is the easy choice between the three. ToM gets old really fast. Great looking game until you play it and then it sucks. The Hobbit is just meh. A huge dissapointment compared to what it could have been.

I have owned all 3 and I think this should be the order:

TOM (amazing flow, great prompts and just amazing without being deep)
POTC (great theme, modes and goals can be a bit confusing to some players)
Hobbit (visually stunning but its as exciting as reading a 100 page instruction manual)

TOM is a great shooting game and fast, nice ramps and play, not too deep. stern POTc is boring, Hobbit is nice to look at but boring as well. Looks like you already have a LOTR pin which is better pin and better movie than the Hobbit movies as well.

TOM is really the best for the newer, more casual, and younger players.
GorillaBiscuits really hit the nail on the head when he said it has easy shots, clear goals, and smooth shots.

As a father of 3, I completely understand wanting to get something your kids and guests alike, but you really need to get what your preference is. You are spending the money, putting the effort in, and will be the one playing it the most.

I think that Hobbit is the best, and it would be sweet next to LOTR. It is also the deepest and has tons of modes...all great for home use. NOT great for casual players.

P.S. I know 2 people locally that have Hobbits for sale, if you go that route.
Also, if you move JD or stargate, I may be interested or at least be able to connect you with someone that is.

Call me crazy but I would buy a working original all day before getting a remake. The old games have better build quality and are easier to repair imo.

I have worked on both original and remakes of MM and AFM. I totally agree.

I had a ToM for 6 years and loved it. Played it all the time. Whole family loved it. Sold for MMr. Played the Hobbit several times and loved it . Would love to own that one too. POTC not so much. Prob pick ToM.

I had a Stern POTC and my entire family got bored of it fairly quickly. The ship is an awesome toy but the game itself is repetitive and has almost no flow (almost every shot stops the ball).

In the <3.5K range you might check out Getaway. I have one and it's been a solid hit at my house for a while. It's not deep, but it's satisfying and has good flow (if you care about that).

Stern POTC is one of the worst they made, only positive is the ship and Maybe voice actors

I love Black Rose. It may not be the deepest game ever made but it's super fun to shoot. The canon is a super cool toy.

Definitely can't go wrong with Whitewater either, I can't get enough of mine!

Any of them are good for a casual player or kids as they don't really care about the rules and theme and all that jazz. Its have a game and move on.