MM isn't going to provide the depth or intensity that LOTR + Tron gives you today. Bashing the Castle, while incredibly fun, will eventually get a little stale (if its your only pin). That said, MM is a grail game and you'll definitely enjoy it, and enjoy having it. MMs don't come up for sale often, and it's not likely you'll find a trade for those two. So you are probably better off selling LOTR and Tron and spending cash on MM.

-Wes

Agreed, if you really want MM you are better off selling and talking with cash vs. trade. If you really think it's the right thing for you go for it. Worst case is you sell the MM for right at what you bought one for (assuming you don't massively overpay) and buy some more. No shortage of LOTR or TRON out there. I have a lead on a pretty nice MM if you are interested PM me.

I could support your strategy if I knew that you had more cash to buy another machine in the future. ie: You're down-sizing from 2 to 1 game for quality over quantity, but expect to buy a 2nd machine down the road when money permits. Otherwise, I personally would probably prefer having 2 different pins over just 1 pin (my current position due to space issues).

My concern is that you've only owned your current pins for 1 month. Seems to be as though you might be more caught up in the "getting" than the "owning" and that can be dangerous. Even the mighty MM will likely not hold your attention for too long if you're moving through Tron and LoTR that quickly.

Can you honestly say that you've played your current pins to death? It's not mandatory, but one of the first problems I've found with this hobby is trying to "catch the dragon" -curb the insatiable desire to buy every cool pin on the planet. As soon as you realize that it's ok to enjoy the pins you have, and not to worry about the ones you don't have, this hobby becomes much, much cheaper.

Of course, if you do buy an MM, please keep me in mind when you decide to sell it. It's an awesome game.

At least HALF of the enjoyment in this hobby is in the hunt. Enjoy it!

But, at least HALF of the disappointment in this hobby is missing the pins you've sold (except Popeye!).

-Wes

Well said.

If this is your chance to get your grail MM, then by all means do it. It's only going to continue it's rise in price and LOTR & Tron will always be available. Last year I traded my LOTR and $$ to Another pinsider in Canada for my MM, what a PITA shipping was. Good luck in your decision

Not sure why you think you'd get flamed?

If you found a MM owner that would be willing to accept LOTR and Tron as a partial trade towards his MM, and you want MM, go for it. It's up to you to determine the value of your pins (step 1) and his MM (step 2) in order to decide if the deal makes sense for you financially.

Whether having one grail pin instead of two pins like LOTR and Tron is better, only you can decide that.

I'm one who thinks that having one great pin is better than two lesser pins, but since you are talking about LOTR and Tron, those aren't "lesser" pins.

I own all three, and love them all!

holy moly no. MM is a fantastic, great, game. But I would never ever consider getting rid of Tron and LOTR for one. I would add MM into it though...unless you are super duper hung up on getting an MM.

Well if it was a tron pro...then tron and lotr are an easy buy back later. they are pretty common.

That was Ctozzi's point, and I couldn't agree more. LOTR and Tron pro's are always pretty readily available. MM, not so much.

Actually it was my point first

Haha, indeed it was!

Tron + LOTR + a little cash = MM?

Not for mine.

It really depends on the condition of the mm as the going rate on these is $10K-20K.

^^
This. Keep Tron and LOTR. Great pins. Really. You're well on your way to having a great collection.

If you're still dreaming of MM in 6 months, then take another look.

I got started buying my first pins because I hoped to eventually 'trade up' to the point where I had a single pin... MM.

Of course everyone has different factors that determine what their optimal number of pins is going to be, but I would strongly suggest that one is not enough even if that one is MM. I could easily trade my collection out for a nice MM, which was my goal in getting in to the hobby last summer. But... there's no way I could let go of my keepers at this point

Only a month with Tron and LotR? Unless you just hate them both or are afraid of getting too attached over time to let them go then I'd say hang in there and add the MM later if possible. If it's a matter of either/or then keep looking for a trade you will love MM as it has it's reputation for a reason. It is not just a collectible, it's the funnest table every made. Look at what they've earned compared to any other table and it's easy to see you won't tire of it easily. You can always add more tables later. And finally, no one thinks MM's are going to get less costly anytime soon so waiting to get an MM is not the best advice IMO.

Yeah, all conditions being average i dont see many people open to this trade, MM brings big cash and doesnt have to sit long to get it. If you've got someone willing to do this trade you should take it now, if you change your mind later you can trade the MM for whatever you want anyway.

First off, anyone who would flame you for simply asking their opinion is an asshole (and that's what the ignore button is for).

Now on with the reply:
I currently have Tron LE / LOTR & and a perfectly immaculate restored MM sitting right next to them that took me years to find/acquire. MM is actually much deeper than people give it credit for and is DEFINITELY much more than just "bash the castle" but I only learned that after owning one. Tron is a great fast and furious game with an attainable wizard mode and LOTR is an epic journey with two wizard modes you may never see (I've owned mine for years and only recently hit one of those modes).

I guess the decision really boils down to you, your family, your pocketbook, and most importantly personal preference.

However, listen to the warning of what others said about the "chase" being a factor. It's really easy to get caught up with the "what I don't have / grass is greener" methodology to the point where you miss the beauty that is right in front of you (LOTR / Tron).

Bottom line - Hunt down a collector with an MM, spend a solid hour on it, if you're in love, make the switch.

Would not get rid of my Popeye for under $5k. My friends, roommates, and myself cannot get enough of it! But then again I doubt any Popeye has ever seen the type of upgrades, modifications, and attention to detail that mine has.

But for the original post I have put a lot of time on both Tron and MM, and just a few games on LOTR, but really I think I would be happy either way. Having both Tron and LOTR is cool, but in my opinion Sterns "feel" cheap compared to Bally/Williams, and I do not like Stern flippers at all, when compared to other flippers. So in the end my personal preference I would have to lean more towards MM, but I don't think you can go wrong either way.

I don't understand how you can say that having played Tron.

Disagree completely. The new Stern flippers feel great. At least as good as B/W.

Go for it!! I had a burning desire to own a MM. I had the game for about 4months and than sold it for a slight profit after realizing it wasn't a keeper. MM is probably the safest pin you can buy and if you don't like it can probably get back to where you started. Good Luck.

LOTR by itself is 10X's the game MM is. If you go by game quality and fun factor. it should be

MM + Cash = LOTR

I wouldn't even trade my LOTR even up for a MM.

I made the reverse trade (see ctozzi's post). I traded my MM for lotR, SM and cash. I think it worked out well for both of us!

So, there are collectors out there that will trade. May have to wait a bit though.

And I think MM comes up for sale quite often actually. Money talks. Have 16k? Pretty sure you could find a MM.

Just goes to show their is no accounting for taste. Or intelligence.

There have been a few MM's up for sale recently.Look on Pinside and mrpinball.com for those currently being offered now. GLWT.

Also one MM on Ebay now also.

I call BS.

You can't tell me you think MM is more fun than LOTR.

I do. LOTR is too much like a chore to play and the artwork is Bush league compared to MM.

Id sell the machines and trade with cash. You get alot more sway, 2 machines + $ for MM and the other guy will have to work on selling those machines. Youd probably loose more money, but as the saying goes "it takes all knids". Long as your happy in the end.

yea, the artwork could be desired. So could the playfield layout (boring ass Fan pattern), but the rules more than make up for the areas it's lacking. Plus the sound calls and theme are phenomenal.

I agree, the sound calls are very good on LOTR.

Of all the comparisons that you could make, in terms of "fun", I can easily, and without hesitation, say that yes, MM is more FUN than LOTR!

I don't think that "fun" is a term that I would use to describe LOTR. And I *love* LOTR! It's has superb, deep rules, tons of strategy is required, lots of great modes, etc. But the theme is dark. I like playing it for the long, dark journey that it takes me on, which perfectly fits the theme. But not a lot of it is fun since it isn't light hearted or funny.

Compare that to MM. MM is as fun as it gets! Some of the best, funniest call outs ever. One's that I have not come close to getting tired of, especially from the Damsel.

Yeah, MM is more fun than LOTR. Doesn't mean that LOTR doesn't do some things better than MM. It does.

I think we can all agree LOTR is a deeper game...it ARGUABLY doesn't get much more fun than MM though...

I like where your head's at!

Yes, but . MM doesn't give you that rush like you get when you defeat FOTR, or how tense it gets when your trying to defeat the witch king. I never got an adrenaline rush from anything on MM. It's got some jokes, but they got old in about a week. The Toy is better tho. I'll MM that.

I picked up my friend's minty MM by trading off a routed LOTR (he had a buyer lined up) and adding few bucks to the deal back in 2008. No regrets here!

No adrenaline rush from MM? So you've never got to Battle for the Kingdom? If that doesn't get your adrenaline rush going, I don't know what will?

You also have Royal Madness, which also get my adrenaline going.

I will agree, though, that LOTR has more modes and goals that get the adrenaline going more than MM. DTR, TABA, and all three MB's.

You've only owned the games you have for a month, so I wouldn't jump the gun yet. At least get some play time on a MM before you decide to make that move.

Don't do it

^^^

or you could take a step back and take a few deep breaths... you appear to be caught up in the, ummm, enthusiasm of others, and you might want to take a bit longer to consider your options...

So, it's $5000. LOL!

Bragger... -ha (only kidding, of course!)

But I am jealous of your sweet pinball line-up!

Nah, keep those two games for a while and then do the trade when you start to get sick of them

Money wise it looks ok. MM could keep going up for ever...and it's safe to assume they will be harder to get as time goes on. So if you want to hammer that one down when you can, and then work the other back in that's not a bad idea.

As for owning, Those 2 games are better to own than just 1. Even if MM is "funner" than LOTR, which I think it is.

I'm very happy with my collection, but it pales in comparison to many that I see around here.

But what about the MM re-make?

Me either...