Pinside rating
This game received 1066 approved Pinsider ratings and currently rates 8.692 /10
Top 100 ranking
This game ranks 1st in the game group "Lord of the Rings ". The group itself ranks #6 in the Pinside Pinball Top 100.
Score breakdown
Score breakdown in the 4 main categories:
Game design: 8.91
Artwork: 8.381
Sounds/Music: 8.406
Other Aspects: 8.78
Pinside staff rating
This is how we, the very knowledgeable (wink wink) Pinside.com staff & moderators rate this game. 9 of us have rated this game.
This game is part of a group
Note! There are multiple versions of this game!
This is "Lord of the Rings ".
The other version is: Lord of the Rings Limited Edition
Ranking history
An overview of this machine's ranking over the last years. Lower is better.
Rating history
An overview of this machine's rating over the last years. Higher is better.
Found 591 ratings (with comment) on this game
There are 0 ratings (that include a comment) on this game.
Currently showing results page 1 of 24.
List options
9.780/10
16 days ago
Victoria, BC
Talk about a pin with a lot going on! If you're a fan of the series you'll adore this game. If not? You'll probably still love it. I think its one of Stern's best early 2000's machines. The center ring/eye shot is rad, the barlog toy is a glowing feature of pure joy when activated, the sword ramp is an incredible touch and almost worth the price of play, the winding ramps are sure to bring a smile, and the toys suit the field perfectly. The gameplay is fun and rewarding, collecting your companions with different shots is a blast, and the modes are incredibly enjoyable...whether its out running the Nazgul, or escaping from Shelob, there's not one event that's a snooze. Great pin, great sound, playfield, great animations....easy to understand why its a top 10. With this one, Stern definitely has my sword for this journey.
9.616/10
30 days ago
This game is so good, that I even give a pass to the Stern clipart playfield, and it's pretty bad. I think the longer I own it, the more I realize that it's almost part of it's charm. The game does everything else so well, that it almost has to show a flaw. For me, the rules are a masterpiece. I've been just a few shots away from Valinor, yet, it seems so far away. It's the only game I've ever played that makes me feel like I'm part of the adventure. People say this sometimes about IJ, but I've owned it and never thought that. This game really pulls you in with perfectly placed sound bites, and a great musical score. I think I ever decide that I only need to keep one game, this could very well be the one.
Avon, IN
9.356/10
5 months ago
I've had this game about 3 weeks now and have thoroughly enjoyed it. I find it more difficult than most claim but i have set it up hard. Can tend to get going on a longer game but i haven't found that to be an issue yet. I also haven't found the sound quality to be as bad as some have claimed but i wonder if it varies from machine to machine. In general, the game will keep your interest and not disappoint - deserves its place in the top 10. Not sure how kid friendly the theme is. i love it but some kids may find it a little intense. This is one of my favorite pins and even more so now that i have one and can truly dive into the rules.
Pros: theme, music, animations (colordmd well worth it on this machine), flow, toys (ring and balrog), variety of skillshots, ramps, and the RULES/Depth
Cons: playfield art. Can see what others mean about photoshop quality used. the art chosen and used is good but could have been executed better . a lot of comments exist about path of the dead. it is a slower shot but sometimes i try to use it to get a 5 second break.
Pros: theme, music, animations (colordmd well worth it on this machine), flow, toys (ring and balrog), variety of skillshots, ramps, and the RULES/Depth
Cons: playfield art. Can see what others mean about photoshop quality used. the art chosen and used is good but could have been executed better . a lot of comments exist about path of the dead. it is a slower shot but sometimes i try to use it to get a 5 second break.
8.016/10
5 months ago
I'm still not understanding why so many games like this get so much love. Once you play JJ Hobbit how can you really think this game is a top 5 type game? To me the playfield is totally cluttered and so many awesome opportunities went missed. The game isn't that much fun after playing it for about an hour you'd get bored pretty fast. Whereas the Hobbit you'd never want to stop playing. The Hobbit is only about 100 times better.
9.008/10
5 months ago
First, the negatives. This is one of the worst multi player games in existence. Ball times can be a bit long (although everything is adjustable) and switching players breaks up the epic journey feeling of the pin. Also, the playfield artwork is a little muddy and some of the sound clips seem to be sampled at a lower quality rate.
The positives? Everything else. This game is immersive in so many ways. It's an epic journey and the "on a quest" feeling that the game gives you is unrivaled. The music enhances the theme and it fits the action perfectly. This game also has great voice work and some of the best custom call outs in pinball. The code is deep, the modes offer plenty of variety, and playing thru the movie themed multi-ball modes is the perfect balance of challenging and fun. The game is also loaded with great shots and nailing the center ring shot never gets old. Great custom dot animations round out the package and make a ColorDMD a must have on this title. Overall, this is a top tier pinball machine that arguably offers the best immersive experience in pinball.
The positives? Everything else. This game is immersive in so many ways. It's an epic journey and the "on a quest" feeling that the game gives you is unrivaled. The music enhances the theme and it fits the action perfectly. This game also has great voice work and some of the best custom call outs in pinball. The code is deep, the modes offer plenty of variety, and playing thru the movie themed multi-ball modes is the perfect balance of challenging and fun. The game is also loaded with great shots and nailing the center ring shot never gets old. Great custom dot animations round out the package and make a ColorDMD a must have on this title. Overall, this is a top tier pinball machine that arguably offers the best immersive experience in pinball.
9.300/10
7 months ago
After years of ignoring this game (I’m not familiar with the movies, but I love the 1977 animated Hobbit), I decided to read up on this game and started to play it in local bars. I was immediately struck by how inspired it feels. The ramps are unique. The playfield is complicated but tasteful. Artwork, music and callouts are very good. The code is excellent and deep. Plenty to do. You don’t have to be a fan of the movies. This game stands on its own. Maybe the best long-ball adventure game I’ve played. I soon wanted to own one. Now I see why this game is so highly regarded. It’s not really that hard, but it depends a lot on your settings. Just a really unique game designed and built by a lot of talented people. Probably Stern’s crown jewel.
9.600/10
8 months ago
This machine is an epic and immersive adventure with fantastic themed rules and modes coupled with a number of excellent and challenging shots and some very good speed and flow. The multiballs on this game are fantastic and although the main three cannot be stacked, you can combine Gollum Multiball and the active modes with them. Destroy the Ring is fantastic.
Probably not the best for Multiplayer because the game is just so immersive and there can be longer ball times (but there can also be very short games too). One of the best machines for home use enjoyment.
Probably not the best for Multiplayer because the game is just so immersive and there can be longer ball times (but there can also be very short games too). One of the best machines for home use enjoyment.
9.560/10
9 months ago
Unknown City
One of the best pins ever made. First game I ever played I made it to Destroy the Ring and I was hooked since then. Fan layout but some good variations of shots and toys. This was during the period of Stern producing long playing games with deep rules like Spider-Man, POTC, etc which is still the golden era of Stern for me. Definite a top 5 game.
8.421/10
11 months ago
Ipswich
Lord of the Rings has some, if not THE best theme integration of any machine. The crazy deep ruleset and large number of shots really suit the goliath films. Music is good, lots of callouts from a variety of characters too. Sound quality isn't as great as subsequent releases but not a deal breaker. Machine looks great, and the layout is good. One of Gomez's last brilliant layouts (sorry, still bitter about the hideous Avengers game). I wouldn't want to own it, I think the ball times would be just a little too long, but I really enjoy playing it on location, at shows, and in tournaments.
Weert
8.596/10
1 year ago
As a pinball fan but not a big LOTR fan, I really enjoy this table. The theme doesn't do anything for me personally however it is integrated in the table extremely well. The real draw to this table for me are the rules. There are 3 main multiball modes and several gameplay modes to be played. There is so much to do on this table, including one of the most difficult to reach wizard modes in all of pinball. Decent shots and an interesting layout. Not the best art, but it could be worse. Overall an great pinball experience.
You too can add your own comment by rating this game! Click here to rate the machine.
Hey there! Got a moment?
Great to see you're enjoying Pinside! Did you know Pinside is able to run thanks to donations from our visitors? Please donate to Pinside, support the site and get anext to your username to show for it! Donate to Pinside
