Alright Pinside. Just wanting to hear some opinions to help me get a pinball machine that can hold casual players' interest and not too difficult for kids. I've narrowed down my options to Theatre of Magic, The Hobbit, and Stern POTC.

I currently own RFM, LOTR, Stargate, and JD. Stargate and Judge Dredd get played the least by casual players and my kids (people will wait their turn on RFM and LOTR, someone MIGHT play JD, people don't even look in Stargate's direction). They feel JD is too difficult and Stargate is clunky/uninteresting theme. My favorite one is LOTR, but I actually enjoy both Stargate and JD and play RFM the least (although I do like it). Family wants to keep RFM, so one of JD or Stargate would have to go to make room for a different pin.

In short, looking for a pin that appeals to casual players and kids, but still holds my interest. I've enjoyed all three of these games below, but wanting to hear from owners.

This is how I see the three new prospects:

The Hobbit - LOVE the theme, being a fan of LOTR and Hobbit movies. Concerned about player's abilities to hit ramps. I know people have lots of trouble hitting my Stargate ramps, even though they're no issue for me. Will prices keep dropping and I lose money if I purchase?

Stern POTC - not a huge fan of the theme, but it's not terrible. I like the game, but will hitting the ship get old? Not much to hit on the lower part of the playfield.

Theatre of Magic - Nice flowy game. Older than the other two options. Is it deep enough to stay in the collection for a while?

I'm not asking Pinside to make a decision for me, but I've just never owned any of these titles so wanting to hear how they do in a home environment and with casual players. What do you guys think?

Zero love for TOM so far? Did not expect that.

TOM coming from behind to tie for the lead.

Is TOM a better value as far as resale? Wonder if CGC will be remaking it any time soon. Would hate to buy a 25-year old machine only for them to remake it when I could have had a new game instead.

My preference is The Hobbit, my 12-year old son is leaning TOM. As for my wife, her only observation is "why do we need ANOTHER pinball machine?" My 5-year old just wants to make sure RFM stays so that he can keep saying "Secret weapon!" and "What the heck are you doing, you stupid martians?"

Update: JD and Stargate out the door and I'm picking up a Hobbit on Sunday. Still looking for one more casual game to get me back up to my limit (4 pins) before the wife finds uses for the additional empty space.

The budget took a hit, so thinking of something more affordable for that last pin.

Something around 3.5k or less: Black Rose, DE JP, LW3?

Spending a bit more: Stern POTC, White Water, Flintstones, TOM?

I wish Black Rose came up a bit more often.

I spent a couple of hours playing The Getaway and NGG at the Louisville, KY airport once and almost missed my flight! They remodeled the airport since and took out the game room (disappointing). I used to travel that way on business at least 2-3 times per year (pre-Covid). I really liked The Getaway and the supercharger is an awesome toy.