Tuesday, 16 July 2019

Gaming in Middle-earth: roll the dice

INTRODUCTION TO GAMING IN TOLKIEN’S WORLD

Gaming in the world of Middle-earth is currently at the highest point it ever has been since Tolkien first released the Hobbit. There is a wealth of gaming products being brought out by a diverse group of gaming companies - board games, paper and pen tabletop roleplaying games, card games and computer games. If there was ever a time to explore Middle-earth, now would be it.
To give you an idea of what is available, below are the core companies producing games and the range of their products. I've stuck specifically with companies with games based on the books (so no film connected games here).
COMPANIES AND THEIR PRODUCTS: A to Z
ARES
WAR OF THE RING and HUNT FOR THE RING

http://www.aresgames.eu/games/war-of-the-ring-line
[Boardgame, 2-4 players]
Products Released
To be released
  • Hunt for the Ring: Light and Shadow
  • War of the Ring: Kings of Middle-earth
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ATHLON GAMES
LOTR MMORPG
No release date currently.
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CUBICLE 7
THE ONE RING ROLEPLAYING GAME
https://www.cubicle7games.com/our-games/the-one-ring/
[Tabletop RPG, 2+ players]
Products Released (1st Edition)

Announcement of the 2nd Edition of The One Ring: Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game
To be released (2nd Edition)
  • The One Ring – The Lord of the Rings™ Roleplaying Game
  • The One Ring – The Lord of the Rings™ Starter Set
  • Loremaster’s Screen and Legends of Middle-earth
  • Fell Foes
  • Minas Tirith – The Tower of Guard
  • The Errantries of the King
  • Moria – The Long Dark

Please note the products for AiME follow the releases for the One Ring Roleplaying Game but usually have different names.
[Tabletop RPG, 2+ players]
Products Released
To be released
  • Rohan Region Guide (based on TOR Horse-Lords of Rohan)
  • Rohan Adventures (based on TOR Oaths of the Riddermark)
  • Erebor Adventures (based on TOR Laughter of Dragons)
  • All the One Ring: Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game 2nd Edition products
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FANTASY FLIGHT GAMES
THE LORD OF THE RINGS LIVING CARD GAME
https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/products/the-lord-of-the-rings-the-card-game/
[Card game, 1-4 players]
The Lord of the Rings Living Card Game is comprised of various packs and expansions. Telling the story of the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings books are the SAGA expansions. There are also STANDALONE SCENARIO packs which are often released at conventions such as GENCON and the Fellowship events. The DELUXE expansions along with their corresponding CYCLE of six packs form the backbone of the game, setting up a story then expanding upon it with the accompanying six cycle packs. Finally there are the NIGHTMARE packs which are there to make previous packs just that much more harder with additional cards. Existing packs with Nightmare additional packs are denoted with a (*N) at the end of their pack name. I have not linked the Nightmare packs.
Please note Standalone Scenarios and Nightmare packs are both Print-on-demand products from Fantasy Flight Games.
Products Released
DELUXE EXPANSIONS
SAGA EXPANSIONS
STANDALONE SCENARIOS (GENCON and Fellowship events)
CORE SET QUESTS (*N) – come with Core set
SHADOWS OF MIRKWOOD CYCLE (Core set)
DWARROWDELF CYCLE (Khazad-Dum Expansion)
AGAINST THE SHADOW CYCLE (Heirs of Numenor Expansion)
THE RING-MAKER CYCLE (Voice of Isengard Expansion)
ANGMAR AWAKENED CYCLE (The Lost Realm Expansion)
DREAM-CHASER CYCLE (The Grey Havens Expansion)
HARADRIM CYCLE (The Sands of Harad Expansion)
ERED MITHRIN CYCLE (The Wilds of Rhovanion Expansion)
To be released
LORD OF THE RINGS LIVING CARD GAME (Digital version)
https://www.fantasyflightinteractive.com/en/games/lord-rings-living-card-game/
[Boardgame, 1-5 players]
Products Released
To be released
JOURNEY TO MORDOR
https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/products/the-lord-of-the-rings-journey-to-mordor/

[Boardgame, 2-4 players]

Products Released
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STANDING STONES GAMES
LORD OF THE RINGS ONLINE

https://www.lotro.com/en
[MMORPG, 1+ players]
Lord of the Rings Online is a massively multiplayer online roleplaying game (MMORPG).
It's currently up to Update 24: Vales of Anduin revisiting places first seen in the Hobbit. In the timeline players have seen Sauron defeated and explored parts of Mordor but have now headed north towards Wilderland and beyond.

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Fun Fact #1
The quote "The board is set, and the pieces are moving" is Gandalf speaking to Pippin, from Lord of the Rings: Return of the King Book Five Chapter 1: Minas Tirith.

Fun Fact #2
The dice seen in the "Gaming in Middle-earth" logo is from the Metropolitan Museum in New York. It's a twenty-sided die (icosahedron) from Egypt, dating somewhere between the 2nd century BC and the 4th century AD, known as the "Ptolemaic Period–Roman Period". More information can be found here.

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