Stern
Lord of the Rings Pinside Rating
This game received 1186 approved Pinsider ratings and currently rates 8.706 /10
Lord of the Rings
Top 100 ranking
This game ranks 2nd in the game group "Lord of the Rings ". The group itself ranks #14 in the Pinside Pinball Top 100.
Score breakdown
Score breakdown in the 4 main categories:
Game Design: 8.96
Artwork: 8.273
Sounds/Music: 8.466
Other Aspects: 8.821
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 title is part of group: "Lord of the Rings "
Found 748 ratings (with comment) on this game
There are 748 ratings (that include a comment) on this game.
Currently showing results page 2 of 30.
List options
8.868/10
1 year ago
Warren, PA
Fantastic machine, simply the best 00's Stern (narrowly beating TSPP) in my opinion. It does help that LOTR is my #1 theme, but the game is excellent even if you aren't a fan of the franchise. Art is a bit washed out as is the audio (in a sense), but the layout and rules make up for it.
9.760/10
1 year ago
This is the game i played the most back in the day. IMO, it is still my favorite pin of all time. I love the theme, flow is great, call outs are classic, rules and shots are fantastic. And easily has the best wizard mode of all time. The game takes you on a journey just like the movies. Best rendition of a theme that translated to a pin. They were not stripped down on the rights for this game and you can tell. The ratings speak for themselves. The only real knock on it was the art. Due to screen printing and not hand drawn. But honestly if everything else is fantastic who cares? I sure didnt. Love this pin!
Київ
8.315/10
1 year ago
This is probably my favorite pin. Rules are simple enough, but fun and challenging. I prefer to play to destroy the ring. Start the 3 multiballs, then destroy the ring. It's such a great feeling.
The individual modes are all pretty good, but I don't think I'll ever be good enough to see Valinor. The ball times can be very long, but the Lord of the Rings is an epic journey, so it makes sense. The playfield art leaves a lot to be desired, but I'm willing to overlook it.
The individual modes are all pretty good, but I don't think I'll ever be good enough to see Valinor. The ball times can be very long, but the Lord of the Rings is an epic journey, so it makes sense. The playfield art leaves a lot to be desired, but I'm willing to overlook it.
Somain
Gyál
7.547/10
1 year ago
Oakville, ON
Game theme doesn't do anything for me at all - LOTR is not something I ever watched or have an interest in.
That said game shoots well and its a packed game. For people into LOTR this is a dream machine and a dream theme I am sure. They seem very rare to find anywhere on location (locally anyway) so I was happy to get to try one.
That said game shoots well and its a packed game. For people into LOTR this is a dream machine and a dream theme I am sure. They seem very rare to find anywhere on location (locally anyway) so I was happy to get to try one.
8.596/10
1 year ago
This pin is FUN! I love the shots, super fast and the upkicks are super cool. My favorite shots are the 180 ramps, especially the left rocket fast return ramp. The ring shot is satisfying when you make it, and the wiggly return is nice. The drama builds in game play modes and feels exciting. I just got this pin so not sure about lastability. Deadpool is my favorite pin and bolted to the floor so I am a Gomez fan for sure. I knew it was my favorite the first time I played it, but I did buy it all decked and modded out with Cleland code and a sub and light rails. LOTR just feels good when you play it and I knew I wanted one at my house after playing it once. Guess I will have to watch the movies so that I can understand the pin more. The DP pin introduced me to DP movies which I now love. Hilarious. I know people love LOTR movies, so I'm willing to try to watch them again. The standard art package on this pin is not great. However, my pin has custom Radcal decals and shiny red powder coating, lit flipper buttons and leg lights, lit speakers, art speaker panel with rings, side art, gold coin door plating, etc. It is a beautiful sight to behold! The lighting is great, but again mine has full LED's and added spotlights. Anyway, this is only day 3 with this pin but I love it so far. UPDATE: so I sold this pin back to the guy I got it from after a few weeks but mostly because it had too many maintenance issues. Older pins are tricky because sometimes repairs are shotty and create more problems than they are worth. I learned my lesson on routed pins that are restored for sure. People talk about how deep the code is on this pin, but I found it intuitive and achievable...and quite satisfying. If funds were limitless, I would certainly have one in my collection only for the super fast shots that amaze and bewilder like every single time you hit one. Hard to find a pin like that. But, I do feel like it's too easy to keep in my permanent collection when there are so many really great pins that I can move in and out of my home with that money.
10.000/10
1 year ago
The machine that saved Stern from bankruptcy! Incredible game that I keep coming back to despite having more modern machines.
Bredared
9.940/10
1 year ago
I bought this pin solely because of my love of the books & the fact that Tolkien truly created a completely new genre in literature. Combined with the ratings, comments, & YouTube videos about it, I bought it without having ever played this pin at all.
Wow! I’m glad I took the risk. This has all the physical fun of a pin, combined with the strategy required for a good game of chess. One must systematically be thinking several steps ahead if you intend to maximize the shots, code, & overall gameplay. It’s not unusual to spend 1-2 hours with your favorite beverage, trying to make your wat through the intricacies to maximize your experience & points, with this pin.
There are several reviews that break this one down in detail, & it is worth your time to review. All I can say is:
1. The pixelization of the cabinet artwork is acceptable, but disappointing.
2. This pin is bolted to the floor of my loft. I plan to give it a complete makeover, but can’t imagine ever selling it!
Wow! I’m glad I took the risk. This has all the physical fun of a pin, combined with the strategy required for a good game of chess. One must systematically be thinking several steps ahead if you intend to maximize the shots, code, & overall gameplay. It’s not unusual to spend 1-2 hours with your favorite beverage, trying to make your wat through the intricacies to maximize your experience & points, with this pin.
There are several reviews that break this one down in detail, & it is worth your time to review. All I can say is:
1. The pixelization of the cabinet artwork is acceptable, but disappointing.
2. This pin is bolted to the floor of my loft. I plan to give it a complete makeover, but can’t imagine ever selling it!
8.611/10
1 year ago
I owned this game for about 18 months and then sold it to make room for others. Wow, I regret that move. Although there is some predictability in this game between completing the movie trilogy modes (Fellowship, Two Towers, Return of the King), there enough interesting missions/modes that make the game interesting. Each of the Ring modes has its own unique mission, and completing the Destroy the Ring mission made the game so satisfying. There were enough toys/gimmicks to keep the casual player interested (i.e., upper left playfield, middle ramp, Balrog target). My wife who is not a huge pinball fan literally fell in love with this game given the variety of shots and modes.
PROS
- Lots of toys, gimmicks, modes, things to shoot
- Great callouts from the actor voices
- The trilogy multi-balls and separate Ring modes are very fun to hit
- Has great lastability due to the game play
- While the graphics are of the era it was built (early 2000s), they are still pretty inventive and unique
- So many different hidden modes that you discover as you keep playing
CONS
- When you go on a roll, the games can last a LONG time (playing with 2, 3, 4 players can take forever)
- Rule set is...predictable? But it's still complicated enough for the casual player
- Can be repetitive a bit if this is your only pinball machine
- After "Destroying the Ring", it might get boring for the more experienced player
PROS
- Lots of toys, gimmicks, modes, things to shoot
- Great callouts from the actor voices
- The trilogy multi-balls and separate Ring modes are very fun to hit
- Has great lastability due to the game play
- While the graphics are of the era it was built (early 2000s), they are still pretty inventive and unique
- So many different hidden modes that you discover as you keep playing
CONS
- When you go on a roll, the games can last a LONG time (playing with 2, 3, 4 players can take forever)
- Rule set is...predictable? But it's still complicated enough for the casual player
- Can be repetitive a bit if this is your only pinball machine
- After "Destroying the Ring", it might get boring for the more experienced player
8.408/10
1 year ago
Crowd favorite in my arcade, people love the theme and the orbits. Since the game follows the movies people seem to pick it up fast. The game is challenging but not impossible, once you get going your off to the high scores fast! Just know that you can get tired of the music and audio after a while.
6.554/10
1 year ago
If it was your only pin then I am sure it would be great. Super long ball times and yes I had it setup pretty difficult and settings set to difficult. I am sure the year this pin came out it was amazing but in a bigger collection this pin doesn't ever get turned on and no desire to play.
Theme is great and some of the modes are fun. It's too bad they didn't do this pin today I couldn't imagine how great it would be.
I don't know not much more to say about this pin as its just mediocre at best.
Theme is great and some of the modes are fun. It's too bad they didn't do this pin today I couldn't imagine how great it would be.
I don't know not much more to say about this pin as its just mediocre at best.
You too can add your own comment by rating this game! Click here to rate this game!
Over the years
Visualizing this game's rating and rank over the years
Hey there! Welcome to Pinside!
Donate to PinsideGreat to see you're enjoying Pinside! Did you know Pinside is able to run without any 3rd-party banners or ads, thanks to the support from our visitors? Please consider a donation to Pinside and get anext to your username to show for it! Or better yet, subscribe to Pinside+!
