On this point, I agree. I love the color DMD in my LOTR! I love the look of it during the mode starts.

It's the only game that pushes our league night ending time from 10PM to 11:30.

Keith's amazing rules and Chris Granners audio work that leverages film callouts from the original actors and custom callouts by actors in the film's. It was great seeing them team up again for WOZ.

When I mentioned the sound quality was not as good as I would like, I was not referring to the callouts themselves. Just the quality of the sound itself, but it is still good, just not up to quality of more recent Sterns games as far as clarity, at least to my 65 year old ears...

I was lucky to get one of the last nib lotr LE (2011). Out of all the pins I own and will own, I will never get rid of this pin.
It may not be perfect, but it is darn close. A combination of great gameplay, theme intergration, rules, sound, fun makes this one of the all time great pins.

I owned LOTR and sold it. You can only destroy the ring so many times before you get bored of it. Was a fun game when I first got it. 3 months later pass. Dr who is more of a challenge.

I can point out one feature that LOTR brought to pinball that is very often overlooked. The players interactions with combo shots. Nearly every single game after LOTR, that Stern produced, borrows it's linked shots features (in a mode or multi-ball).

It is very easy to overlook such a basic and simple thing. It did not really exist in it's current form, prior to this title. I appreciate this new feel for shots and also understand that a lot of what exists now (with Stern's brand name) would not have been possible, had this revelation not been realized and implemented so well in LOTR.

I also realized about a year ago that LOTR is just not for me. It is a GREAT pinball, possibly Stern's best ever... But, for an average skilled or above average skilled player, you can play the damn thing for what seems like "way too long".

I played in a 4 player game in our league last year that lasted OVER 90 minutes. That's just too damn long to determine who the better pinball player of a game happens to be for that given day.

Lotr has just about a perfect rule set as its integrated with the theme and layout.

Thank you Keith

I have WPT sitting right next to it. It's on 5 ball for me and I doubt I'll ever finish it.

For new pins, I'm at the point now if Keith and/or Lyman don't have their stamp on it, I'm not buying

You just know that if one of those guys is writing the rules, the game is not going to be an average run of the mill game.

LOTR is pretty awesome so I named myself after it!

Not gonna add to the description of it's greatness since it's all been said. I will say that those who do not like a long playing game, LOTR is easy to nerf down to normal length. Just turn off EB's, pull the outlane rubbers, up the difficulty of starting the MB's and it becomes a different game.

BTW, after years and years of saying LOTR is my favorite game of all time, I do believe it has now been eclipsed by my Met Premium. There, I said it....... "Fly You Fools"!

The reason for long ball times is to make you feel like your in the movies. The suckas lasted for-ev-er. "Those f**kin' hobbit movies were boring as hell. All it was, was a bunch of people walking, three movies of people walking to a f**king volcano. Even the trees walked in those f**king movies."-Randel Graves, Clerks II.

But I enjoy the pinball game, and the movies though long, were ok too.

I've never had the change to play LoTR, but what makes it have such long ball times? The ball won't drain down outlanes or SDTM?

Just one of those game were eventually you can really get a feel for the shots and the shots are relatively safe. Also, once you get this game rolling (on factory settings) you can earn some extra balls and then you are in for the long haul. My father and brother refused to play LOTR with me. I had it for eight years and they could go make a sandwich and watch and episode of Seinfeld before their turn would come up. My longest game was right around 2hrs. I can't even tell you the number of games I had that were 45 minutes plus.

In contrast I have exactly ZERO games over 10 minutes on Iron Man! And that's with several games over 100 million!

On the subject of long balltimes:
-Most setups are set easy because its a deep deep game so people want to see everything and anything in one game. So they move outlanes in, they adjust settings to have a bajillion extra balls...knock it off!

Want to fix long ball times on LOTR? here's what you should do:
-For starters, open the outlanes all the way or take the pegs off completely.
-Increase pitch to 6.8 or 6.9+
-Make sure your pf is clean and your rubbers are fresh (titans/super bands?)
-turn Extra Ball memory OFF for every mode that involves an extra ball. This gives more incentive to go for eb right away when its lit and a bit more risk/reward
-Dont give extra balls for special or for points.
-Change FOTR mb start to moderate (easy default) - this is just a personal preference.
-Change path of the dead setting to easy (moderate default); this will compensate for some of your harder setups.
-Change consolation balrog to mystery not both which is the default. This allows less repetition to bash balrog sequence and makes it more of a special fun mode - and it doesnt cock block your TABA progression.

Your game is now setup harder and long ball time games will mean that much more. On the flip side, there's so many achievements to be had in lotr (i.e. beating any of the multiballs, GOTE's , DTR, TABA, modes, etc...) that short games still feel fun and accomplishing.

Playing the game to get to Valinor everytime you play will wear you thin. Thats like playing ACDC to get to encore every game. Have fun and enjoy the short ball time games as well as the long ball time games.

With this setup in the past week, ive reached DTR half a dozen times, have beaten all mb's except ROTK, played TABA twice, and have come close to lighting all the GOTE's. And none of those games lasted more than 20 mins with one or 2 of those games coming close to valinor. I typically tend to have 1 or 2 long balls and the rest short.

I love this game because (like many of Keefer's creations) it feels like a journey. That is what this movie is about. So iz WoOz. Games programmed by (for example) Lyman Sheats are about building opportunities and executing them for maximum points. That is why I love my LotR.

And if you think your ball times are too long, put big yellow rubbers on the sides of the orbits and ramps, remove the outlane posts, replace the flippers with lightning flippers and set the tilt to "Whisper" settings. You may adjust the rules as well, but those physical alterations will make you wonder "What happened to those long games I used to have on this table on their own.

Have fun!

I sort of ignored LOTR at first as I had only seen the first movie and was bored silly. However, I was at a pin party that had 2 LOTR's -and my girlfriend couldn't stop playing it. So, I started to play it and was really drawn in by the great light shows and music at first...and then I just couldn't stop playing it! I didn't really know the movies, but I was really enjoying the music, voices and was getting a hint of the rules depth. After that party I couldn't stop thinking about it...so, I saw one on Craigslist and bought it! I think this was around 2008 and it's played like a champ since I shopped it out and tweaked it back then. After I got the game and massively got into it - I finally watched all 3 Extended Editions and enjoyed them because they had so many "pinball moments" lol.

What else can I say that hasn't been said...it's got everything. Long ball times don't matter because it's constantly fun and interesting all the way through. The game is just organic. Every shot feels good and means something...multiple things! Shots logically flow into other shots. You can play it for story or you can play it for points. It's just a great game.

Bought and have sold two LOTR's. That said, I miss this game already! It is such a classic and it has much class. Have to agree with Kaneda's take on why LOTR is special. So many elements are woven together that the experience is rewarding.

I have to wonder why Kaneda was asking whether or not to sell the game, less than only four weeks ago?

If that is not enough, set number of balls to one. No one is that good!

Because in a one-game collection you eventually need to sell/trade to get any variety.

What LOTR has is Multiball FLOW. You don't have to cradle and allow everything to come to a halt to score well and advance multiball status. There are plenty places like the ring, left loop, orthanc and gimli hole to slow things down while still retaining flow.

I love this about LOTR.

Same with WOZ. Lots of areas to send the ball to hide for a couple seconds.

Completely agree with Eskaybee, ball times can be as long or as short as you want depending on how hard you set the game up. Get some Gerlitz wax on the playfield if you want to make it really fast too, 1 coat of this completely changed the speed of mine and make it much more difficult but also much more rewarding to play.

That's a great point and something I noticed on LOTR but didn't quite know how to describe it. It always seems to have the perfect balance of balls coming and going - and you can just get this magical zen flow of Jackpots that most games don't have.

I agree with Rarehero, very well worded and described. I do try to trap and control Fellowship, but the increasing callouts in TTT can only come from hitting shot after shot before the jackpots reset.

Only non-special part for me is the potd.

LOTR is my favorite pin. Best mix of theme, gameplay, rule set. Would be my last pin to go, although I can't imaging parting with STLE either... The color DMD in LOTR is excellent and a must have.

I think LOTR is a very high quality well rounded game with some really great shots.

Thanks! Yeah I wanted to write it down a few times over the past few months in certain threads but couldn't describe it well. Such a good pin!

Agreed

Hi Guys,

Just got my first pin and its an LOTR. What sucked me in was how well integrated the play was with the motion pictures and the depth of the challenge. The side quests and getting the a randomized gift of the elves is pretty epic along with destroy the ring and, though I haven't come close to it, valinor. Pair that with the sound score and actor voice integration and its just a fantastic game that keeps on giving joy. Lots of mod's also available that enhance the game.

LOTR is the *modern* classic. Yes. MM, MB, TZ, and TAF are awesome *90's* classics indeed. And LOTR is right up there with those classics on the "all time" list -- for myriad reasons. Play and enjoy!

Why do I think LOTR is so special?

The 2 flippers give it simplicity.
The rules give it complexity.
The Ring gives it "a toy to bash."
The call-outs give it instruction.
The music & sound give it drama.
The artwork gives it attraction.
The depth gives it a challenge.
The theme gives it familiarity.
The reliability gives it longevity.
The animations give it extra "coolness."

LOTR is one of those rare combinations. It truly is.

POTD sucks but at least it was an attempt.

When they do a VE, if they can, and fix the lighting and sound, it will be a MAJOR improvement by today's standards.

As for long ball times, I really don't get the problem with it, who cares, DEEP RULES require a long time to get there, if you want short ball times, put it right next to an IM and alternate games, problem solved.

The POTD is a great aspect of the game. If I wanted a balls to the wall speed game where the ball has zero "away" time, I'd go to a newer stern. The POTD is important to this title because it give the player time to work on other aspects of the multiball while still keeping the multiball alive

Yup, I like it! I think a lot of people don't realize you can press both flipper buttons to pop the ball right up there and skip the intro animation/ball-hold.

And then actually TRY to control the ball. So many people don't realise the switches are worth different values and that you can nudge your way to a better result and that its role is similar to the IJ path of adventure (not as complicated of course).

I get it, just not a fan of it myself and the part I like least about this pin. Yes its integral to the scoring and MB's.

I put the Arwen diverter on mine which I like better and I know other people don't and that there are scoring differences. Different strokes.

I sold mine after a while because I wasn't playing it, but I do think it's a great game. I might pick one up again someday. I love the ring shot and destroying the ring. The music and callouts are great.

Love the movies love the game. That being said being a decent player makes this game WORK just like TSPP. Ball times are so long sometimes its painful.

Interesting because I've always felt like TSPP was more like work than fun. I've never felt that way about LOTR.

I was just referring to ball times mostly. More times than not I am having a twenty minute game or more.

That LOTR is a POS and it has been for years haha. I actually bought a LOTR because I felt like I'd never really played it.

I had TSPP and have LOTR. TSPP did feel like work. I also felt like TSPP had so much going on all over the PF that things just seemed to happen, which I didn't like and felt was confusing. LOTR doesn't have an incredibly deep ruleset compared to TSPP and I think it makes the game much easier to understand and more enjoyable. The code is super solid and the only obvious thing I would change is the mode shots not being lit during MB. I guess that might have been a HW limitation at the time?

Well put..

The sound package is def a HUGE plus as well. Dont see many people saying much about that. The White star board set used the Brian Knight legacy chip If I am not mistaken. Plus the Custom callouts and the integrated music id top notch.

Because when I play a 45 minute long ball, my arms actually start to get tired. That's not fun for me any longer. Too much like work.

First friend i made in the pinball community had a LOTR i remember the first time i played it, i had been playing pinball for about a month or so and it was back in March this year, it was early hours of the morning maybe 2:30 - 3:00 AM.

I watched one of the other players we were with step up to it and on the first ball got something like 80 mil.
I couldn't see the play field whilst he was playing but the DMD and the call outs were going nuts (TOOO WAARRR!!!!/JACKPOT ONE, TWO) i was thinking wow this game definitely has something to it then i realized i was player 2 and i had to follow that.
I step up to the game and score 200 mil on my first ball.... i wish. I just crumbled with the thought that i was not going to figure this game out and buy the end of the 3 balls i had some 4-5 mil score.
I decided did not like it but understood the appeal of it but this was mainly because i did not know what the hell i was doing.
After about 2 more months had passed and getting to play the machine several more times and my friend teaching me about the modes and the multi's my scores were improving 30 mil to 50 mil, with my mate pumping me up every time i beat my personal best

It came time to buy my first pinball machine and it was going to be Walking Dead Pro all the way because hell my friend had LOTR right... i could play it anytime i wanted if i went 25 mins down the road.
One thing i couldn't shake was the amount LOTR had grown on me, anytime someone would ask so whats your fav pin "LOTR!!" i would explain and then it dawned on me......... i have to get LOTR, as of 2 weeks ago I am a proud LOTR owner. I love the flow of the game the feel of the shots, especially the shot on the Legolas ramp. My scores have gradually improved (top score of 122 mil) and as of yesterday i finally destroyed the ring in 1:20 and today again in 1:40. There is something about this game that i find rewarding, everytime i play it, it makes me feel important for hitting even a gimli shot and hearing "you have my axe!". Also i had not seen the ring destroyed before yesterday, i freaked out and was wildly flipping when there was no need.

I believe its almost solely this game that has made me a better player in the short time I have been playing pinball. Its sharpened my thought process during game play, taught me about stacking (eg. mode with golem and stacking that with a multiball) and to calm myself down between shots as well as what modes contribute to other goals (war of the ents getting POTD souls).

I have introduced a few friends into pinball over the last month or so and i just hope they find a machine enjoy as half as much as i enjoy LOTR

Bit of a long post and probably a terrible read but I am very glad i picked this game as my first pin, especially in Australia where the price seems to be climbing a lot lately and hopefully wont have to pay more in the future to get it into my slowly growing collection.

LOTR is one of my favorite games due to all of the points people have made.

One subtle thing I really like about LOTR that I haven't heard mentioned is the way the volume level increases as you progress through the multiballs. It really builds drama and adds to the excitement.

Another aspect that makes LOTR special is the masterful way the sound prompts and insert lights guide you through the game. You can follow your progress through modes and multiballs without looking at the display. Compare this to Tron where you have to look at the display as the ball is being spit out at you to see how many more shots are needed to start Disc multiball.

And even less people realize you progress each single switch yourself by hitting the corresponding white targets on the PF.

Sorry to hijack a little bit but since we have a lot of LOTR fans/owners here i want to ask a question. When i start fellowship multiball on my mates machine certain shots produce a troll with a club on the dmd but on my balrog comes out almost immediately. What setting will change this so i can get the same thing happening on my machine?