That was a routed one with mechanical issues, may not have wanted that one.

This is why I am selling mine. I'm out of space and want to mix things up a bit.

I disagree! I am also a former owner that sold my Hobbit and I did not take a loss and I do not hate the game and I do not think it is a poor design or ugly.
I, like many others, have a criteria for what I truly like in a pinball game. Pinball is an ever changing business/Hobby with new designs and new titles. So I, like many others will move a game on for other reasons than: poor design, hate the game, blah blah blah... Other reasons: New must have title, need the cash for more important things (and there are more important things! ) out of room somethings gotta go, I have experienced it and I want to experience something else, blah blah blah... There is the one thing that I dislike about all JJP games and it is the constant fan noise of the their PC based games.

To me it looks like a game put together in the 1990s by Sega.

I wonder why...

I think Hobbit is a great game, but like any game, some will like it some wont.

Just guys looking to get new games, there are only about 5 for sale used, thats not really very many.

Agreed. If one got thrown at me for real cheap, I'll admit I'd probably buy it just because it's a cool looking game, I do like the theme, play is barely OK and the display and animations with updated code is pretty damn awesome. That said, if you're talking theme I would rather have an LOTR any day of the week.

We used to have a Smaug LE and WOZRR at my old shop, and I just like more shots on games. I'd go from playing WOZ with shots galore.......over to Hobbit with one cross ramp at the top and some orcs popping out of the PF. Just my opinion, but nowhere near enough shots to hold my attention. Ton of multiball.......and I don't really care if I can get 20 different modes from hitting the same ramp over and over again. That gets old quick.

I hate piling on, but this pin (The Hobbit) really bummed me out. I am a Tolkien nerd to the nth degree. I almost bought it just to look at it. LOTR is my grail pin, not just because I love the theme to death, but the game is incredibly well designed and really captures the world of Middle Earth. Some argue the game plays too long (which I can agree) but I still enjoy the hell out of it. Then there's the Hobbit. I was so excited when I heard it was going to be made by JJP and would integrate this awesome new display and be a widebody game, I started saving my pennies. Then I saw the 2D CAD layout and wondered, why is this widebody design so open across everything? Why does it have two flippers mid playfield that don't really appear to have any shots that can only be hit by those flippers? For a widebody it only had a few shots where the ball physically travels to a new location. I remained optimistic though, the artwork looked amazing ( I LOVED that they listened to feedback and changed Smaug on the playfield), the display was well done, and the sound and callouts were all on par. Then I played it. I couldn't get into it at all. It looks like it should be fun, but it felt like a grind. Hitting those beasts over and over and over again is monotonous and unavoidable. They pop up all the time, felt like I was in beast Frenzy every five minutes. The modes were fairly non-descript for the most part with at least one of them being a single shot. The multiballs also did not feel very different from one another and I found the game just felt the same throughout my entire gameplay. The playfield is what bums me out the most. A widebody was meant to have a TON of stuff to do and shoot, yet this pin has very few shots. The dancing drop targets are cool, but I really could careless. Why is there even a 3rd flipper on the game? There isn't a shot that flipper has that you can't hit with the other two. Why did they remove the mid left flipper and not both? It just feels like they had a concept in mind and thought it would be cool, but then figured out through play testing that they really didn't need 4 flippers, but going down to just 2 on a widebody seems silly, so we'll leave 3 in there for good measure even though it's not really needed.

In any case, I've played the game maybe 50 times or so, but after playing a single game on a machine on location for over an hour I have not played it again. It would have been awesome to have TH sitting next to my LOTR and see all that Tolkien greatness, but for me, the game didn't stack up.

But......you have 13 others you could be selling instead

For the win.

Lately, I have been gravitating towards shorter ball time games and TH tends to have longer ball times. I sold LOTR for the same reason.

I am planning to shake up my lineup a bit, so there are a couple others that will likely be posted soon.

This is the problem. And the worst part is that nothing is actually hard to do aside from finishing a mini-wizard or Smaug multiball. Getting to Smaug and monsters multiballs is crazy easy, and they all stack and....OH LOOK ADD A BALL FROM MODE START NOW YOU'RE IN MULTIBALL-NOT-MULTIBALL....

It's not a long player because you're taking your time making precise shots like LOTR, it's a long player just because you spend half the damn game playing in 'protected' status from ball savers and multiballs...

Love my hobbit as do any non pinhead friends we have over, young or old. Players may not like it for all the reasons cited, but casual non-pinheads love it and it seems to appeal to the masses, which is good for pinball.

Exactly. Playing LOTR almost caused me to burn the Christmas roast 2 years ago. When a game takes 45 minutes to play, and you destroy the ring twice without any chance of getting to Valinor, it's time to go. Who the hell can ever get through 31 modes? I've got my hands full just trying to get a couple of gems on WOZ...

When I decided to make a serious stab at getting to Valinor, if I didn't complete a multiball the first time I played it, I just reset the game, unless it was super close to being done and I knew I could finish it on the second go. It was the only way to keep playtime at any kind of reasonable level while attempting to do that.

First there were more AC/DC built then Hobbits second AC/DC is 4 yr's older

I think you said you’re also going to buy a Woz. Hope you do even if Woz costs more it does so because it’s worth it.

True even unrelated pins like SM are dropping in price I saw a BSM for $6k I believe looked great just wasn’t selling for what they were sell By 2 years ago, same thing for red SM I sold one for $5k 2 years ago the same exact pin now sold for $4800 even with $500 in extras that were added after I sold it.

Maybe this is like XMLE which I sold for $2000 loss, however for nib price which was $6600 was not great, but if you get one for $4600 not so bad. It’s a matter of what price you pay, pay less you can always sell it without much loss it’s not a bad proposition.

I get your analogy, but even if TH was only a few thousand bucks I don't think I'd want it taking up the space in my line-up.

When you can buy a lotr for 2000 dollars less it's a no brainier. I owned the hobbit for only 2 months and that was enough. It was an easy decision between keeping 1 of the 2 pins.

(I was also moving so I had to decide to keep one pin. It may have lasted longer if I wasn't moving)

There was a pinsider a few years back who said it took him 2 hours to get to valinor...I think it was fattrain of centerflank...Ill try to find it

EDIT: it was just over 90 minutes and it was maplesyrup
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/valinor-a-10-year-quest-completed

EDIT AGAIN: I was right the first time, fattrain did it also and he played 2 hours... https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/thou-shall-pass-valinor-achieved-holy-sht

The crazy thing is with the final software XMLE is killing it on location here. Ties or beats WoZ for earning, and that's saying something as WoZ is one of the best earners.

Like I don't even understand how you get enough extra balls or not drain 3 times in two hours. That's just s ridiculous slog. Much like speedrunning any other game, there's a very optimal path to get to Valinor, and assuming you follow it and don't try to brute force your way through playing the same multiball 5 times each, Valinor should be easily achievable in about 45 minutes, IMO. Closest I ever got was TABA + 5 gifts + 2 multiballs completed. Very close.

On topic: Hobbit actually has the same issues. Completing Into the Fire takes... HOLY CRAP FOREVER..... I've only finished it ONCE out of about 100 games, and maybe 10-15 times starting it. But it was a thing of beauty to pull off. Never could have been achievable without the add-a-ball after each stage.

Really you don't see it thats like asking why so much hate for Stern this is pinside smack talk is all that many pinsiders know

Bite me!

I think we have beaten up the topic of why people like or don't like the hobbit. Play it before you buy, enjoy if you are a fan. For Hobbit owners that bought and have grown tired of it, or just don't care for it now, Hobbit buyers may get a good deal on one when they sell it. Partly because they are still making them and NIB are available so used are going to take a big hit on resale.

You are one cR@zY dude CrazyLevi !

Is 25% (assuming original price of $8k (shipping included) and HUO sale price of $6k) a "typical" discount on HUO games when they're still available NIB? Probably not fair to compare to Stern Pros which are essentially a different market, but does this compare to Stern Premiums and LEs, or to WOZ? Honest question, I don't know but would assume that the markdown is generally less on other games, which would suggest that there's something else going on with demand for Hobbit.

In general I don’t like wide body pins. For me the exceptions are Twilight Zone and WOZ but I also enjoy TH. I have put in plenty of one on it because of league and I would like to pick one up at some point. It’s not a bad game at all. Now I do think in general there is a point where games get way too deep in the rules. There kind of needs to be a realistic “Wizard Mode/end” and if you complete that perhaps an advanced or bonus wizard mode. Wish I could say I had a game that took me an hour or more LOL!!!

For one, I wouldn't sell my hobbit at the going prices, it's a lot of game for mid 6000. But it is missing that "something" factor. Holding out hope that Keith polishes this game up and not just a final wizard mode that I will most likely never see.

If you remember, TH bombed horribly at expo a few years ago just before it was supposed to be released. It then went through a series of redesign by committee after the original designer had already been let go by JJP. I don't think they ever really captured a complete playfield and certainly no cool shots or even a purpose for the upper flipper.

Hobbit isn't a bad game, it's just not the kind of game that attracts/interests me.

A few years ago I thought people would run out of money with all the new games coming out so fast, but earlier this year I started to think I was wrong. I think the real limiter is space. There are a ton of people with the money to buy every new game that comes out, but they don't have the space for it.

Maybe that will be the mechanism that keeps building a healthy resale market, although it could tend to drive resale prices lower.

I'd personally own a lotr instead of a hobbit

I like my Hobbit but it stays in my basement because it is beautiful (I have Smaug SE), sounds great, novice players love it and it goes great with my LotR and complete JJP collection. It doesn't stay there because the game play blows me away as really fun (it's just ok). The layout is too open, the shots are too similar (or too difficult), the modes are mostly boring, the ball times are really long and the best way to get a high score is repeated multiballs (gets lame). I have no plans to get rid of it but it would go before WOZ, MM, LOTR, TZ, TOTAN or DI.

It's a narrow body game in a wideboy cabinet. As a result, you get a lot of dead action in the side to side areas of the playfield. They tried to remedy that with the pop up toys, but they're way overly used. Throw in the limited shot layout, and a lot of the modes feel very samey. Eventually you're just rolling from one multiball into another, and you get serious case of multiball fatigue.

Keith did what he could, but the layout is just not a winner. Really long shots (aside from pop ups) make for a slow game and the two ramp shots are the same shot from either flipper.

It sure is gorgeous. Fantastic light show, amazing sound, and really good video integration make for a real showcase game, but it's just not up to par in regards to gameplay, especially for the price.

This thread brought me down, so I decided to play it again. Found out it is fun as hell!

728FE794-D3CD-4635-B701-0C306474C0EC (resized).jpeg

3A69A498-9800-4304-9A49-D42795C95704 (resized).jpeg

You guys think this knife is done falling?

Or...

By the time toy story is shipping and used diles & pirates are popping up...perhaps Hobbits for $5k?

Sooooo anyone else think the op was trolling? Only one post in 24 hrs?

You have a badass collection - I don't see how you have enough space for what you have!

Got caught red handed. Just keep your post up next time or just don't post it at all

Screenshot_20171107-205605 (resized).png

Thats why I have to be choosy, I have a JJP PotC LE on order and really just room for 14ish, so what do I sell?

I don't get your point. I don't like TH, but retracted my comment cause this site is so negative.....Stand by my original posting. Look forward to new JJP machines.......TH is in our past

Agree there are 6 Walking Dead premium/LE(s) for sell on here right now. I love the game. My wife not allowing it in my home. I really want one but
I want my wife more so I'll pass for right now. I was looking for 1 to re-theme just to get it in the house.

The parts bill was less then 200 it was still a good purchase and perfect fun to price value in today's nutty market.

Not sure what you mean by the "very samey" comment as there's a lot of variety offered by the games 31 book modes and Smaug MB plus the 3 Arkenstone modes have multiple stages which are all unique as well. I do agree that adding multiballs to book modes isn't the best idea, I wish there could be options to set it to "off", 2 and 3 ball. Sounds like there's more code updates to come, I hope, so things can change.

All pinball games are static meaning that layouts and features never change. Keith Johnson however has coded a ton of unique modes for The Hobbit, no 2 play the same and that's pretty remarkable. Combine that with JP animations and some incredible audio work by David Thiel and The Hobbit is a very engaging game with a lot of depth.

Hobbit has modes where on a simple level you are just bashing the spider, but then the next you could be hitting both hole shots and then interacting with the lockdown bar button and screen to hit the far left drop targets. Another book mode has you hitting orbits to drop a pop up mech to hit a ramp shot. Then another mode has you building value for switch based shots and cashing the points in at the left ramp. Finally another mode has you hitting only certain drop targets. Every book mode is unique with its own custom music from Two Steps From Hell, and is integrated with video clips / audio from the films. Impressive stuff to say the least.

I agree if the models stacked less like the bad version of X-Men code this game would be off the hook it's so close but not ideal (yet?) Also call me crazy I pulled the center post opened up the outlane and the game starts to have more risk reward and faster play. Friends hate it so I sometimes swap back.

I hear ya there. I hope JJP gets back to it soon as there's a lot of potential with the game. Besides the lack of a final mode (hopefully coming) the core of the game is great with all of the book and Arkenstone modes. It just needs some tweaks, and overall needs to offer the player a more cohesive experience (reward system for beating book modes would do it). With the proper attention given to code TH could easily be a masterpiece.

One of the prettiest games out there but an absolute chore to play. Walked away from it twice and let it drain and I'm not good. It's by far the fastest dropping game out there.

Every now and then when I see a pointless and tasteless comment about any pin I check what that person owns.

Then I understand. Cheers