UK Machine Record
Lord of the Rings
Stern · 2003 · at 1 UK venue.
The Lord of the Rings is one of Stern's great licensed machines and one of the deepest games produced during the company's early modern era. Designed by George Gomez, it compresses the entire trilogy into a single machine, with the Fellowship, the Ring and the three major multiballs providing its structure.
The rules are famously deep, but the basic objectives are easy enough to understand: destroy the Ring, defeat the major enemies and work towards destroying the One Ring. The Balrog, Gollum and Mordor shots give the game a strong sense of progression.
It remains highly sought after in Britain, particularly among players who enjoy rules-heavy games. The Ring is the game. Everything else is about getting you ready to destroy it.
Written by Silverball
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No guide to Lord of the Rings yet
Guides here are compiled against the machine’s published rules, credited to what they were built from, and dated. That makes them slow: the machines standing on the most UK floors get one first — but anyone who plays this machine can write their own.
Strategy tips written by players on PinTips , not by Silverball. Best-voted first.
From a trap you can choose your mode by selecting the mode light next to the one you want. shooting the ball advances 1 more left or right
Skill shot3 tips
- Skill shot
You can "choose" your skill shot by plunging JUST enough so the ball rolls past the first switch and comes back to rest on the plnuger
- Skill shot
Tower skill shot is safest, and feeds left flipper cleanly when made.
- Skill shot
Do NOT select Tower skill shot if you lock a ball while War Of The Ents is running! Diverter will not enter Tower.
Multiball4 tips
- Multiball
Fellowship Multiball: Shoot every shot in the game x number of times (usually 1 or 2 to start) and once all are lit shoot left loop
- Multiball
Two Towers Multiball: Spell Keep letters in lanes. Lock balls up right ramp
- Multiball
Return of the King: Collect 5000 souls. Easiest mode to collect souls is War of the Ents. Tower Skill shot also good to make progress
- Multiball
During any multiball, light Palantir with a left orbit tower shot, and hit it to get an add-a-ball reward. Only works once per multiball.
General3 tips
- General
Gollum/Gimli and Aragorn(right ramp) shots are repeatable from the right flipper backhand.
- General
RotK Jackpots start 1x, 2x, 3x, 4x, and increase if made in order - 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x, then 3x, 4x, 5x, 6x, etc.
- General
Re-light modes by collecting 3 elf rings. Light mystery by collecting 7 dwarf rings. Light Gollum MB by collecting 9 rings of men.
Wizard mode1 tip
- Wizard mode
Try to stack There and Back Again with Gollum multiball
Tips belong to the players who wrote them. Read them all, vote, or add your own on PinTips, a Match Play project.
Community tutorials on YouTube, not made by Silverball.
Videos from YouTube, curated from channels we rate. They belong to their creators, who aren’t affiliated with Silverball; links open on YouTube so the view counts for them. A creator who’d rather not be listed can get in touch and we’ll remove it.
One reviewer's opinion, not a Silverball verdict, and not a guide to playing.
Videos from YouTube, curated from channels we rate. They belong to their creators, who aren’t affiliated with Silverball; links open on YouTube so the view counts for them. A creator who’d rather not be listed can get in touch and we’ll remove it.
Where a machine sits is Pinball Map’s work, not ours, find Lord of the Rings near you on their map. Ratings, tips and tournament results here are ours.