Thanks for heads up Nuneatons probably about 45-1hr so not too bad. Can have a trip down over Christmas fingers crossed.
So is the game play similar to Sttng?
I’m going to add loads of caveats. I’ve only been playing pins since July. I’ve owned LoTR since September and I’ve played STTNG a bunch of times at FlipOut in London.
With those caveats, I really like both games, but it feels like they’re both older pins based on film/TV licenses with lots of toys and pretty complex code. There’s lots of working through modes, but they have older design sensibilities than modern Sterns.
I guess I’d say there are several eras of pins. There’s the 60s/70s EM ‘bells and chime’ games. Then, there are 80s games, which - in general - are early Solid State and often have flattish play fields, without too many ramps, and the gameplay is about optimising scores. Then, there are the early Bally Williams games, which have ramps and interactive toys, but also simpler code and no modes. Then you get into the late Bally Williams games (late 90s), which start having mode-based gameplay, and then you transition into the early 2000s with games that have deeper story-based gameplay like LoTR. Then, you move into the LCD era of Sterns with incredibly complicated mode-based gameplay that are very dependent on the programming and graphics to create a story.
I’d say, if you’ve only got room for a couple of pins, you probably want to cherry pick from each era. If you’ve got a STTNG, you’re obviously not afraid of pinball maintenance, so there’s no reason not to experiment with some earlier pins with different gameplay philosophies. I like Fish Tales because it’s all about getting a high score from several key shots. If you‘re good at it, you can get a high score in the space of minutes, and the challenge comes from making those shots. LoTR is a long gameplay game that involves playing through a story by making lots of easier shots and, from what I’ve played of STTNG, that’s relatively similar in style.
Personally, I feel, at the moment, with having two pins (and not much room), if I bought STTNG as well as LoTR, I’d end up neglecting one of them. With having Fish Tales and Lord of the Rings, I can have a quick game about making key shots, or a long game about playing through a story - it depends on available time and my mood.
Hopefully that helps… If you can get to Nuneaton over Xmas, then it’s great way to try out lots of styles of pin without making a big commitment. Pins are subjective and what works for me might not work for you.