I would sy FGY or RBION from the games I've owned.

EDIT: FGY is great cause the journey to sperm attack is so great. Tons of things to do at different points of the game and multiple objectives to reach sperm attack.

RBION has a ton to do with multiple end goals. Great deep ruleset.

Wizard of Oz

--Luke

I was going to say ACDC until I read this:

The depth is in maximizing the scoring more than taking a journey.

WOZ might fit the bill, but that's based on forum chatter - I haven't played it enough to really know what I'm doing yet.

WPT gets a lot of love for a deep ruleset also.

I think this thread is going to turn into: "list all the games that are considered deep for a normal pinball game, but pale in comparison to LOTR and TSPP".

WOZ, RBION, and The Shadow have a lot of depth.

As a former owner of FGY...I will admit it is a fun game and there are fun things to shot for....the one problem you will eventually see....if you want to get to wizard mode....you have to spin the spinner on the right...and then the scoop, rinse repeat. The only way to progress from mode to mode is to spin the spinner...more times to start each mode. Though there are other things to do, if you want to progress through, this must be done....sorry for being repetitive.

I got tired over having to focus on the spinner ALL THE TIME. Still love the game....but for the price it commands, I had to move on....MET Pro is much more fun...as there are more shots needed to progress...my 2 cents

Good Luck in your search

Shadow has almost no depth, you literally shoot the same 2 way combo shot for 30 minutes and watch as your score cracks 6 billion.

RBION has a lot of depth and is truly a great game (and Family Guy as well), but it's just not on the same level of stackability and craziness as TSPP. If you want games with a similar feel to TSPP, you could try WPT (nice and cheap, also another Keefer ruleset) or WOZ (basically everything is stackable, and "everything" entails a lot).

I think WOZ and ACDC are the places to look for crazy code depth.

WPT if you can get over the artwork and theme is fun, deep and cheap

With AC/DC...I find myself shooting for score most of the time....I have never even come close to completing all the songs....for encore mode. I believe 6 songs finished is the best I have done. And my score wasn't close to the high score list. Still love it though

I don't think The Shadow is a really in depth game compared to TSPP.

Just as (KevinDDR) says. The combo shots over and over again. But somehow, it ends up being a very fun game just not a very in depth one.

Actually all you do is vengeance the whole time. Hard game though if you are going other routes.

Just thinking out of the box a little bit, have you ever played a Stargate? It's a strategy game with 7 goals, 6 modes, 3 wizard modes, drop targets, reverse drop targets, etc... and is cheap compared to your estimated budget.

http://www.ipdb.org/rulesheets/2847/stargate.htm

^^^unless his collection is not up to date on Pinside...he already owns it

Ha. That's what I get for being at work where none of the link buttons work on my ancient IE7, so I didn't even check. Nevermind... go play your Stargate!

Given your stated budget, I would recommend an X-Men Pro. 8 Hero modes (including a multiball), 7 Villain modes (2 more multiballs), great combos, and 2 really awesome wizard modes (Danger Room and Dark Phoenix).

I've had mine for almost 2 years now, and have only gotten to Danger Room twice. Never even sniffed Dark Phoenix yet.

Add in great comic book art and a ton of unique voice call-outs, and you've got what is in my opinion a fantastically deep game.

Later,
EV

i have TSPP, LotR, WOZLE and AC/DC Premium in my current collection. i find that i spend most of my time on WOZ and AC/DC lately (probably because they are newer) I understand that WOZ is over your budget, but you can probably find one in the $6000 range for HUO. If you think that TSPP and LotR are deep, they are only a hill next to a mountain when compared to WOZ.

How about STTNG?

Until LOTR, it was the most immersive game I had played. Like LOTR, each mode is fun, challenging and you are rewarded for doing well in them.

Great sound and overall package.

Note: I own LOTR and TSPP and STTNG is still one of my favorites. Like you, I prefer games that get their depth by revealing something new versus getting their depth with complex scoring rules (like AC/DC).

Make It So!

HUO Metallica Pro would fit the bill nicely. It may be my imagination, but MET feels deeper than LOTR me (I have both).

+1 for X-men

metallica, indy

Amen on MET brothers

I agree that AC/DC is a lot about shooting for score, but it's crazy deep in terms of all songs being a bit different. So finding a right strategy and approach for each song will take forever, let alone getting to Encore.

If journey is your goal, then maybe AC/DC is not it but if depth (i.e. lot to do, lots of rule nuances) then it might just fit the bill

I concur.

Xmen for sure. Crazy depth in that one.

Spider-Man can have depth if you shoot for the modes. It's a blast to play and can be had for you price range. Rfm has lots of modes and is a blast.

I have lotr, tspp and RBION. RBION is very deep, but not to the level of the other two. It is very very hard, though. Spelling R I P L E Y is no easy task. There's some kind of frog frenzy mode, never seen it. I like the game a lot, games tend to be shorter than in tspp and lotr. Setting the outlanes wide really shortens the game.

I'm picking up a WPT at york. Good to hear everyone echoing that it has a lot of depth

I've heard so many great things about XMEN (I call it NORT), but it's ususally drowned out by the louder complaints (from the minority) about callouts. Too bad it overshadows what seems to be an otherwise great pin package.

Never got to play one thought - maybe someone will add it to their collection?

To the OP: after a while you're find playing 20, 30, 40 min games to be ... well, time consuming. You might want to consider some fast, challenging games to compliment the long, challenging ones like TSPP, LOTR, XMEN, TZ, WPT... Pins like IM, TRON, MET, ST are less deep but can be just as difficult to complete.

I hear hell has 9 circles. That's pretty deep.

In all seriousness though, that would be a pretty bad-ass pin.

Dante's Inferno theme would be amazing

Ripley's and XMEN both have a lot to do in them. Both games are fun to play.
I also think both games are a great value in todays market. Proof is in the lineup.

IJ is a candidate as well

For depth and fun, I will have to throw out America's Most Haunted.

Not a coincidence. And they're all keefers... uhh, I mean "keepers"

https://twitter.com/pinballkeefer
www.ipdb.org/search.pl?any=keith+johnson

XMen is as deep as anything out there. RFM has a lot to do but appears to be repetitive due to the video and being structured progression.

Hmmm, in that case so is the rest of the list.

That's really disappointing to hear. I've been really wanting to pick up The Shadow but I didn't realize it had such a shallow rule set.

Shadow isn't deep, just difficult to complete. I have been to the final battle once and it was the first week I owned the game. I am glad I couldn't complete it as I end up losing interest in a game once I "beat" it.

RBION is fantastic,deep rules,lots to complete....tough....play it and I think you will agree!

WPT is crazy deep, I like it better than my Lotr Le, Woz is crazier deep.

What's the common denominator? Just wait for TH next and you'll another Keith special

I wouldn't stress on "shallow" or not, it has a great mix of gameplay with so many different ways to play.

I bought mine on the idea that it was so deep and was surprised within 2 days on hard I was at the final battle, however beating it is another story. If you time out the modes its fairly easy to get to final battle. 50+ final battle attempts, never beat it, got down to 1 shot to go, drove me nuts.