# The Hobbit Playfield Tour | Episode 4

**Source:** Jersey Jack Pinball  
**Type:** video  
**Published:** 2017-01-28  
**Duration:** 10m 12s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Phr9OvFw0Uc

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## Analysis

Butch Peel from Jersey Jack Pinball provides a comprehensive playfield tour of The Hobbit (Standard Edition), the company's second game following The Wizard of Oz. The video details 31 modes, multiple interactive features including pop-up beast mechs, drop targets, three flippers, dual LCDs, magnets, ramps, and innovative mechanics like individually resettable drop targets and a virtual ball lock system. The design prioritizes depth and long-term engagement through complex rule integration and player feedback via sound, lighting, and on-screen prompts.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] The Hobbit (Standard Edition) is Jersey Jack Pinball's second game following The Wizard of Oz — _Butch Peel, JJP official video introduction_
- [HIGH] The game features 31 modes total — _Butch Peel, closing statement of official product tour_
- [HIGH] The game has three multi-ball wizard modes — _Butch Peel, closing statement_
- [HIGH] Individually resettable drop targets are a patented Jersey Jack Pinball exclusive feature — _Butch Peel describing drop target mechanics midway through tour_
- [HIGH] The plunger on Hobbit is intentionally weaker than The Wizard of Oz because skill shots are in the lower playfield portion — _Butch Peel, design rationale explanation_
- [HIGH] The game uses two LCDs: a 27-inch center LCD and an eye-level book LCD — _Butch Peel, describing LCD placement and function_
- [HIGH] The virtual lock system kicks the ball immediately back into play rather than holding multiple balls like The Wizard of Oz — _Butch Peel, comparing lock mechanics between games_
- [HIGH] The game features four pop-up beast mechs that trigger from different playfield switches — _Butch Peel, describing pop-up mechanics_

### Notable Quotes

> "This game is packed too. So we're going to start and work our way around the play field, show you all the different features in there the game and how it all functions and works together to make a great game of pinball."
> — **Butch Peel**, opening
> _Sets expectation for comprehensive feature breakdown; emphasizes design complexity_

> "We designed it that way. We put a lot of features into it. We wanted it to be deep, wanted it to keep you entertained for a long period of time and not get old."
> — **Butch Peel**, early
> _Articulates design philosophy: depth and longevity through feature abundance_

> "You're not holding all three balls down there. Every time you lock a ball, it'll keep your progress here on the play field up on the LCD, but it's not going to hold these balls under the play field, all three of them, and then kick them out at the end, kind of like The Wizard of Oz did."
> — **Butch Peel**, mid-late
> _Key differentiator: virtual vs. physical lock; gameplay innovation vs. JJP's prior title_

> "That's a very cool feature, it's something we patented. That's a Jersey Jack Pinball exclusive right there."
> — **Butch Peel**, mid
> _IP/patent claim on individually resettable drop target mechanic; competitive advantage_

> "You're never gonna get bored of this. There's 31 modes in the game, different things for you to play and have fun with. There's pop-ups, there's drop targets, there's three multi-ball wizard modes."
> — **Butch Peel**, closing
> _Summary of content depth; reiterates 31-mode count and multi-ball features_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Jersey Jack Pinball | company | Manufacturer of The Hobbit and The Wizard of Oz; producer of this official video tour |
| Butch Peel | person | Jersey Jack Pinball representative; provides comprehensive playfield tour and design rationale |
| The Hobbit (Standard Edition) | game | Jersey Jack Pinball's second release; features complex rule set with 31 modes, dual LCDs, innovative mechanics |
| The Wizard of Oz | game | Jersey Jack Pinball's first game; referenced as comparison for Hobbit's design choices (plunger strength, lock system) |
| Smaug | game | Themed character/magnet feature in Hobbit; element of multiball gameplay with verbal interaction |
| Radagast | game | Themed label on vertical up kicker feature in Hobbit playfield |
| Thorin | game | Themed scoring target in Hobbit; scored via Newton ball mechanic in playfield center |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Playfield mechanics and features, LCD display integration and player feedback, Game rules and mode design (31 modes, wizard modes), Jersey Jack Pinball design philosophy and innovation
- **Secondary:** Virtual vs. physical lock systems, Ball control and player guidance systems (LEDs, sound, on-screen prompts), Multiball and wizard mode design

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.85) — Official manufacturer presentation with enthusiastic framing of features. No criticism or concerns raised. Tone is educational and promotional. Language emphasizes innovation ('patented'), depth ('31 modes'), and player satisfaction ('never gonna get bored').

### Signals

- **[design_philosophy]** Weak plunger by design choice (intentional, not defect) reflects skill shot placement priority in lower playfield vs. full-field shot requirements (confidence: high) — Butch Peel: 'The plunger on this game is very weak compared to that of The Wizard of Oz. And that because all of your skill shots are in there the lower portion of the playfield'
- **[design_philosophy]** Jersey Jack emphasizes design depth, feature complexity, and long-term player engagement as core philosophy for The Hobbit (confidence: high) — Butch Peel: 'We designed it that way. We put a lot of features into it. We wanted it to be deep, wanted it to keep you entertained for a long period of time and not get old.'
- **[announcement]** Official Jersey Jack Pinball playfield tour establishes The Hobbit (Standard Edition) as a released/in-production game with comprehensive feature set (confidence: high) — Butch Peel official tour of completed playfield, detailed mechanical descriptions, mode counts, and release positioning as JJP's second game
- **[product_strategy]** Individually resettable drop targets claimed as patented Jersey Jack Pinball exclusive, representing technical differentiation (confidence: high) — Butch Peel: 'That's a very cool feature, it's something we patented. That's a Jersey Jack Pinball exclusive right there.'
- **[technology_signal]** Virtual ball lock system represents design innovation departing from physical lock predecessor (The Wizard of Oz); immediate ball return vs. holding under playfield (confidence: high) — Butch Peel detailed comparison of lock mechanics: 'You're not holding all three balls down there... This virtual lock will kick the ball right back into play'

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## Transcript

 Hi, Butch Peel with Jersey Jack Pinball. In this video we're going to take a quick look at the surface of the Hobbit playfield. The Hobbit is the second game that we've put out here at Jersey Jack Pinball. It's how you back up the Wizard of Oz. It's a great game. It's got a lot of cool features in it. This game is packed too. So we're going to start and work our way around the play field, show you all the different features in the game and how it all functions and works together to make a great game of pinball. So we know this is a complex game. We designed it that way. We put a lot of features into it. We wanted it to be deep, wanted it to keep you entertained for a long period of time and not get old. So there's a lot of things going on. When you come up to the game, you look at it and you say, what do I do first? I get that question a lot at shows and things. People ask me, what do I shoot? do I take go after well we're gonna help you figure out what to shoot the game will help you along the way so RGB LEDs in the center of the playfield these lights will change different colors they'll point out in these arrows what shots you need to make things will pop up is that anything that moves hit it basically you're gonna get sound feedback so when you hit something you're gonna hear a sound like one of these beast mechs gets hit that's gonna make a crashing sound when he gets hit so you'll know you got that sound registered and that that shot was actually made. You're going to get sounds telling you what to do. They're going to tell you shoot the right ramp, shoot the left ramp, make these different shots and you'll know what to do. Another good feedback here is the 27 inch LCD. All these different areas of the screen are tracking your progress towards getting these goals and getting towards the wizard modes in the game. So beasts are going to be tracked down here, you've got your lock inserts up here, all the different things. So you'll just know what you need to do glancing up here or someone can help you if they're watching. And the LCD makes a great game to watch too so they don't have to watch all the play field action all the time. We've got another LCD up here that's going to give you indicators and this is more your eye level when you're playing the game. It's going to be a little more closer to what your eye level is while you're tracking the ball. You can glance up here, timers and things like that will tell you how long you have to complete modes. Very cool feature. So let's go through the entire play field. Start at the bottom, work our way all the way up to the top. Look at all the features in the game. First of all, the plunger. The plunger on this game is very weak compared to that of Wizard of Oz And that because all of your skill shots are in the lower portion of the playfield You don need a super strong shot The ball is going to come out turn and shoot at things just across the playfield You're not trying to send it all the way around the top. So if you look down at the lockdown bar, you see another new feature, the ring button. This button can be used to perform many different functions in the game. It can select your skill shot. It can fire the wind lance over here. It can change from mode to lock and disable those things on the ramp. A lot of different things that you can do with it. Score points with it. A bunch of different things like that. Speaking of the wind lance, this is a special mode where the ball is shot around the steel ramp. It comes down. It's diverted onto this wire ramp, and it's actually held in place here by this up post that you can see sticking up out of the play field there. That post comes up, holds the ball, kind of tees it up for this kickback coil to be fired by the ring button and send the ball back up onto the play field trying to hit a target. And you'll have a strength indicator up on your screen here to show you how strong that kick is going to be and then you can use the wind lance to time that shot and hit the target that you're supposed to hit on the other side of the play field. In the other out lane, we have the golem feature. When this is lit, this Golem feature is lit, and the ball goes out this out lane, your ball's not finished yet. Your game's not over. If you can time that again, you're going to get a ring button here. You're going to get a moving needle up and down in a meter up on the screen. If you hit in the blue area and stop it in the blue area, you get your ball back. Moving up the play field from the bottom now, you have your flippers down here. We have, like I said earlier, we have the kickback coil that's hidden underneath the apron here. As we get up into the slingshots, you got these slingshots with the axes on top of them, so they actually chop as the ball is being pushed around the playfield. Very cool feature. Moving up further, you start to see some of the RGB LEDs here. You're going to see the pop-ups. There are four pop-up beast mechs here in the playfield. They pop up at different points during the game. They're triggered by these switches here. So these two will be triggered from these two switches and give you a good left flipper shot. These two are triggered from these switches and give you a good right flipper shot at either one of them. As soon as they pop up, smack them. That's the name of the game. Getting up a little further, we've got two three bank drop targets. One on the left, one on the right, the man and the elf. And then you've got your dwarf five bank drop target up here above. These are individually resettable drop targets Every one of those can pop up We can fire them up We can walk them down We can take a single drop target walk it around the playfield and give you something to shoot at that moving All these different things can be done That's a very cool feature, it's something we patented. That's a Jersey Jack exclusive right there. A little further up the playfield you see your third flipper. This is a three flipper game on the Hobbit. You've got an upper right flipper and you've got your lower left and right. You also have a slingshot opposite your flipper. So this slingshot here can kick the ball and actually feed that upper flipper or get you a little more side-to-side motion at the top of the play field. Moving up a little further, you see on the two orbit shots here, left and right, we have spinners, opto-spinners. And those, you can spin the ball through there, and you're going to advance to error bore. Every time you hit those, it's going to move you a little closer to your goal and where you're trying to get in the game. Next up is the vertical up kickers. So we have one that's labeled with Radagast and one that's got Ballon under here. So the ball is knocked into here. All it does is pop it up and give it back to you, make you a nice smooth return shot, give you control of the ball again. Same thing on the opposite side. Ball pops up, gives you a nice smooth shot on the other side. Behind the drop targets is another feature. Every one of these drop targets has a stand-up target behind it on the left and right here. So those are your actual dwarves. So when you're collecting dwarves, you're trying to hit the yellow targets behind the drop targets, not the drop targets themselves. And there are four more dwarves up here behind these five. So there are three of them there. And then the fourth one, you have to knock these two drop targets down and put the ball into the vertical up kicker like so. Another cool feature during Smaug multiball, Smaug's going to turn around here. He's going to blow flame at you. He's going to talk to you and talk trash, tell you you can't defeat him. You're going to have to prove him wrong. So no game is complete without pop bumpers. So here are the pop bumpers in this game. There's three of them up here. They're barrel jump bumpers on one side and a single pop bumper over here by itself. Now you can shoot the ball up into there through this opening here. When they're bouncing around it can come out and come up here and feed your upper flipper for a very cool shot at the upper drop targets. We have another entrance into the pop bumpers up here in this end. There's a magnet back there. The ball shoots around, it gets hung on that magnet and then dropped into the pop bumpers. On the left side we have a second magnet at the top of the play field. This one's made to catch the ball and drop it into a hobbit hole up there like this. So it'll grab the ball, release it, it'll go down through a subway and pop up and come back out of the play field in one of the vertical up kickers. So the book LCD is put on there to give you cues during the game It going to show you what mode you playing what mode you ready to start if you ready to begin a mode It going to tell you during a mode how much time you have what shots you should be trying to make how many points you going to score if you make those shots And it's down here closer to eye level so that you can not look up so much like you have to at the 27 inch LCD. You can kind of keep your eye down in the game, follow the ball, take a glance up here every so often and see how you're doing. So in the center of the play field is a Newton ball. When you shoot it with the ball in play, if you hit it hard enough, it will transfer its energy to the ball behind it that's loose in there, a captive ball, and it will bounce up and hit the target up there. And that's how you score Thorin in the game. And lastly, we have the two steel ramps at the top of the play field. They're a crisscross, real cool, single piece ramp. We shoot the ball up one side, it comes down the opposite side and returns to your flipper for a nice smooth return shot. Same thing on the opposite side. this way, comes down this ramp and gives you back to your flipper for a nice cool return shot. You notice there are cutouts in the ramp here. Lock mode in the right ramp, book time in the left ramp. That's going to tell you what's going to happen when you shoot that ramp. So if the lock mode is lit, when you shoot the right ramp, the ball will come around here, be diverted by a diverter that's underneath this pillar here and caught by this magnet right here, smuggle, turn around, talk some smack at you, turn back around and drop the ball in. So it's not a physical lock in this game. You drop the ball into here, it's going to hit inside, it's going to be kicked right back into play again. So you're not holding all three balls down there. Every time you lock a ball, it'll keep your progress here on the play field up on the LCD, but it's not going to hold these balls under the play field, all three of them, and then kick them out at the end, kind of like Wizard of Oz did. That's a physical lock. This virtual lock will kick the ball right back into play and score you a lock so that it knows when you're ready for multiball. So if mode is lit on the right side of the ramp here, when you shoot the right ramp, it's gonna come around, it's gonna be kicked up by this diverter right here, knocked off the main wire ramp onto this side wire ramp, and it's gonna be held down here in the out lane for you to fire with the ring button, the wind lance, and put the ball back into play and to begin a mode. So the Hobbit is an incredible game. Lots of things to do. You're never gonna get bored of this. There's 31 modes in the game, different things for you to play and have fun with. There's pop-ups, there's drop targets, there's three multiball wizard modes. I mean, lots of things to do. You're never going to get bored. Get out there and play a game today and have some fun.

_(Acquisition: youtube_groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: b702b8e6-4d46-49da-b1a7-6eef6f7ee0c2*