Week 14: Gaming – Tuesday 30th May 2023
#TolkienTrewsday #TolkienTuesday #Tolkien
Welcome to #TolkienTrewsday #TolkienTuesday.
The hub for this Twitter-based event can be found here.
Tolkien Trewsday (the Hobbit name for Tuesday!) invites the #Tolkien community to form a fellowship to collectively tweet about a pre-selected theme about Tolkien, his works and his life.
Each week a new theme will be selected, often via a poll or by a guest host/curator, and together we will build a collective outpouring of creativity, knowledge and love for J.R.R. Tolkien and the adaptions based on his works.
The inspiration for this comes from the highly successful #FolkloreThursday which engaged lovers of Folklore, academics, artists and more to use Twitter to discuss it.
We only ask that if you are joining in, please do so with courtesy and kindness in your tweets. This is a positive-action community event, open to all and supportive of fan diversity. Intolerance, racism, bigotry have no place here.
💬 This week’s theme
Week 14: “Gaming” – Tuesday 30th
May 2023
From Middle-earth Roleplaying (MERP) by Iron Crown Enterprises, to ongoing “The Lord of the Rings Online” MMORPG by Standing Stone Games, to the 1982 text-based Hobbit game produced by Melbourne House, gaming has been part of Tolkien fandom for a long time. Tolkien’s works influenced the first and most famous roleplaying game, Dungeons & Dragons, who had to change the name of some of the races, especially Hobbit to Halfling, when the Tolkien Estate found out.
How to contribute
We are keeping it very simple. All you need to do to join is tweet something about the current week’s theme and use the following hashtags in your tweet:
#TolkienTrewsday #TolkienTuesday #Tolkien
Your tweet, besides following the theme, can be anything. Examples include:
- Games within the fictional world of Middle-earth
- Games based on Tolkien's legendarium
- Games influenced by Tolkien (D&D, etc)
With the gaming focus this week, I've created a thread on the LOTRO forums to promote #TolkienTrewsday!
🎲 Bonus content for #TolkienTrewsday
See below for various crib sheets and blogs covering gaming releases!
Amazon Studio’s “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” Season 1 Episode 1: A Shadow of the Past
“Caraes in three moves”: A
quick look at dice and tabletop games in Tolkien adaptions
(Quote by Arondir, Amazon Studio’s “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power”
Season 1 Episode 1: A Shadow of the Past)
Gaming is ancient. The oldest
known dice are from Turkey, dated about 3000 BCE. They were used in Egypt,
Sumeria (Royal Game of Ur) and elsewhere. A great article about historical dice
can be found here. The oldest d20 discovered is from Ptolemaic Egypt and adorns
the logo for my gaming section. You can find out more about it here. Along with
dice came the invention of board games such as the Royal Game of Ur (Sumeria)
and Senet (Egypt). A look into ancient board games can be found here and here.
The scene from Pompeii (above) shows two dice-players arguing, the Latin inscription above the man on the left says “I won” whilst the one on the right says, “It’s not three, it’s two” (Translation source). This is quite apt for one of the examples from a Tolkien adaption I’ll be discussing below where two dwarves argue over a game of dice called “Hammers and Bones”.
🎲 Tolkien Trewsday: Updated and new resources
With this week’s Tolkien Trewsday theme of “Gaming”, I’ve given some time to update the “Gaming in Middle-earth - State of play report” blog post (now May 2023) and also update some of the crib-sheets I had provided to help fans see what is currently available in terms of games.
- Gaming in Middle-earth - State of play report
- Crib-sheet: Released and upcoming games
- Crib-sheet: Digital(PC/console/mobile games)
- Crib-sheet: Free League TTRPGs
- Crib-sheet: Games you may have missed
🎲 Finding games in Tolkien’s
texts
Actual games of dice and tabletop do not appear in Tolkien’s works. There are however mentions of sports that Hobbits partake in, for example in this excerpt from “The Hobbit” talking about Bilbo:
“As a boy he used to practise throwing stones at things, until rabbits and squirrels, and even birds, got out of his way as quick as lightning if they saw him stoop; and even grown-up he had still spent a deal of his time at quoits, dart-throwing, shooting at the wand, bowls, ninepins and other quiet games of the aiming and throwing sort”
-- (Of Bilbo), “The Hobbit” (Chapter VIII: Flies and Spiders) by J.R.R. Tolkien
Whilst the creation of golf is linked to Hobbit folklore, other games mentioned above are simpler though names may well be unfamiliar: “Shooting at the wand” and “Quoits” are two examples.
But throughout his works, Tolkien alludes to gaming (dice and boardgames) with phrases said by his characters. Examples of this include:
"The board is set, and the pieces are moving"
-- Gandalf to Pippin, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Book Five Chapter 1: Minas Tirith.
Gandalf then makes a reference to chess, by saying:
“But the Enemy has the move, and he is about to open his full game. And pawns are likely to see as much of it as any, Peregrin son of Paladin, soldier of Gondor. Sharpen your blade!”
-- Gandalf to Pippin, “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” (Book Five Chapter 1: Minas Tirith) by J.R.R. Tolkien
There are other instances of
this and also more references to sports across the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. A
few of this have been documented here and here.
It is in adaptions of Tolkien’s Middle-earth that we see games being played, though none of course are canon. I’ll look at two examples, one from a game, “The Lord of the Rings Online”, and one from the recent television show, “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power”.
Thettmárr and Líkmund in the Keep of Annâk-khurfu playing “Hammers and Bones”
in Standing Stone Game’s “The Lord of the Rings Online”
🎲 Dwarven runic dice games in The Lord of the Rings Online
In Lord of the Rings Online (LOTRO) you’ll come across quite a few dwarves playing dice games, usually randomly on the landscape but later as you head towards Gundabad you’ll be reunited with two dwarves from Moria who become part of that storyline and their game-playing a story itself.
The earliest instance of dice throwing dwarves in LOTRO appears in the Dwarf/Elf starter area, near Thorin’s Gate whilst the Dourhands are still in control. A tweet alerted me to this one, so I rolled a new Dwarf character (called him Hnefatafl, after the Viking board game) and went to find them.
Dwarves playing dice at Thorin’s Gate, Ered Luin (Dwarf/Elf starter area), in “The Lord of the Rings Online”
This group, like later ones,
consist of three to four dwarves, gathered around in a semi-circle or full
circle and looking at the ground. The repeating animation usually shows one
kneeling whilst throwing dice and the onlookers react with a cheer or dismay,
sometimes spinning around and kicking the air in disgust. On the main landscape
are other similar instances of Dwarves playing a dice game. There is a group in
Bree on the High Stair.
Dwarven dice game on the High Stair, Bree, in “The Lord of the Rings Online”
And there is a clandestine
meeting in Erebor of Dwarven guards playing dice in a high-up spot, possibly
avoiding their duties. They are in the Tumnu-dûm, the Dwelling-halls
[Location: 14.7N, 136.2W].
Dwarven guards playing dice in the Tumnu-dûm (the Dwelling-halls),
Erebor, in “The Lord of the Rings Online”
There are likely to be more instances of Dwarves playing dice in LOTRO so if you do find any, please let me know here or on Twitter (@timboltonuk).
As mentioned above, the main instance of Dwarves playing dice games is found later in the game though there was pre-shadowing of their later story in Moria. It is the story of Thettmárr and Líkmund that provides with a name for the dice game they are playing too: “Hammers and Bones”.
Whilst in the Deep Descent (The Silvertine Lodes, Moria) you assist Thettmárr on various quests. Once you have finished his tasks, he sends you towards the Chamber of the Crossroads (Durin's Way, Moria) to find Líkmund and help them. On arrival, Líkmund states:
“Hrm... Thettmárr sent you to check up on us did he? More likely he sent you to check up on ME.
'I still owe him a hefty gambling debt from our last outing together, and I'm betting he wants to make sure I live long enough to make good on it.”
-- Líkmund (Dialogue source: Quest: To the Chamber of the Crossroads)
Thettmárr and Líkmund’s gambling troubles are left behind for quote some time once you leave Moria but many storylines later you encounter them again, as The War of the Three Peaks engulfs Elderslade and the fight for Gundabad begins.
During Chapter 3.5 (“The War Camp”) of “The Legacy of Durin and the Trials of the Dwarves” questline, you are asked to travel to Annâk-khurfu (“The camp of return”) in Elderslade and meet the Dwarves there. You find Thettmárr and Líkmund are gambling again and playing a game at a table, their banter on repeat. You learn this is a runic dice game and called “Hammers and Bones”. This is the first time the Dwarven dice game is named.
Thettmárr and Líkmund bantering whilst playing “Hammers and Bones”
in the Keep of Annâk-khurfu in Standing Stone Game’s “The Lord of the Rings Online”
After some lengthy banter, Thettmárr and Líkmund both shake their dice and throw them and you can actually see dice on the table between them during the repeat animation.
Thettmárr and Líkmund’s gaming table in the Keep of Annâk-khurfu in Standing Stone Game’s
“The Lord of the Rings Online”. Notice the dice on the table after they have both thrown them.
When you finally reach Gundabad, it is revealed in the quest “Chapter 5.5: Treasure in aTroll-hoard” (Part of “The Legacy of Durin and the Trials of the Dwarves” questline) that Thettmárr is very concerned for Líkmund due to his ill-luck at “Hammers and Bones”:
“Líkmund and I have been playing Hammers and Bones for many months now, and I have never seen a streak of ill fate like the one under which he labours now. He cannot seem to win, and I cannot seem to lose. I have begun to wonder if my friend might be cursed!
I will accept these coins in partial satisfaction of Líkmund's debt to me, but I would consider it paid in full if he simply promised never to play Hammers and Bones ever again! There is something unnatural about his poor luck at that game, and I fear it may spill over into the rest of his life, or affect our efforts here in Gundabad!”
The connection between these two and your meeting them back in Moria, with the new knowledge that it is likely all the instances in-game of Dwarves playing “Hammers and Bones” as their dice game of choice, is further driven home when you finish Chapter 5.5 and Bróin tells you:
“'Oh, I am sorry, my friend. I am just a little unsettled by the strange familiarity which surrounds me. I remember Thettmárr and Líkmund arguing over games of Hammers and Bones while we sought to reclaim Moria. We were, all of us, members of the Iron Garrison, and we thought to restore the Dwarrowdelf to prominence and glory.”
“Hammers and Bones” gets further mentions in other quests, such as:
🎲 “Clan of the Zhélruka - Chapter 5: An Ordinary Squabble”
Néchek and Víglund fight over a goat, one claims they won it fairly in a game of “Hammers and Bones”
🎲 “Gundabad: Pit of Stonejaws Quests - Quest: Storming Stazg Vozag”
Klúso calls themself a “master of Hammers and Bones”.
There are other instances of “Hammers and Bones” but I want to avoid spoilers for any who have yet to complete Gundabad, so we’ll now leave Thettmárr and Líkmund’s game and look at a few other instances of gaming within LOTRO.
In Erebor there is a life-sized chess/checker board in the Erebor housing area, the Abodes of Erebor. The Court of Games is in the far south of the housing area map and the board is watched over by two thrones.
Finally, the one instance of gaming that isn’t directly linked with Dwarves is some of the skills for the Burglar class. There is a trait line called “Gambler traits” for the class.
One of the set bonuses is “Loaded Dice” with a description, “You always play to win.”
“Loaded Dice” – Burglar set bonus in LOTRO.
Another skill is “Roll the Dice”.
“Roll the Dice” - Burglar trait in LOTRO.
And it’s not just dice that are gaming/gambling references for the Burglar class. The “Dealings Done” is a set bonus with the description, “You know what to do with the cards you are dealt” which changes the skill “Lucky Strike” to “Gambler’s Strike”.
One of the Burglar deeds, “The Book of Knives” (Page 3) hints at cheating at dice games in one of the pages
you collect to complete the deed:
“A section of the introduction, this page suggests that the author was neither modest nor the type to shy from a fight. She was apparently overly fond of causing trouble at inns throughout Eriador. Sometimes going so far as to cheat openly at dice in order to provoke a fight.”
The game table outside the Inn at Tirharad (Southlands) in “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power”
🎲 The game table in “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power”
Amazon Studio’s “The Rings of Power” gives us a game table, positioned outside the Inn at Tirharad in the Southlands and on at least two occasions there are men playing an unnamed game. It’s definitely a two-player game where each player attempts to take the other’s pieces, so likely the game is based on chess.
This is further evidenced when the Silvan Elf Arondir (played by Ismael Enrique Cruz Córdova) approaches the two men playing and states:
“Caraes in three moves”
The word Caraes does appear in Elvish, but as has been pointed out, the Sindarin meaning does not really make sense. The best guess it is some equivalent of “Checkmate”:
Sindarin (Late Period, 1950-1973)
caraes
S. hedge of spikes
Source
The pieces on the board are a mix of humanoid and animals with possible anthropomorphic animals as well. It is perhaps a nod to the famous Lewis Chess pieces discovered in Scotland. You can learn more about the Lewis Chess pieces here and here.
The Lewis Chess pieces, National Museums Scotland. Source.
Before I conclude this blog, I wanted to dip into tabletop roleplaying (TTRPG) games and two neat snippets of information.
🎲 The One Ring RPG
“It seems clear that the Eldar in Middle-earth, who had, as Samwise remarked, more time at their disposal, reckoned in long periods, and the Quenya word yén, often translated ‘year’ (p. 377), really means 144 of our years. The Eldar preferred to reckon in sixes and twelves as far as possible. A ‘day’ of the sun they called ré and reckoned from sunset to sunset.”
J,R,R, Tolkien, “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” (Appendix D: Shire Calendar for use in all years) – my blue bold.
The One Ring roleplaying game (TOR) was originally brought out by Cubicle 7 as a first edition, whilst the second edition has been published by Free League (Fri Ligan). The writers and game designers for TOR are well known for their love and use of Tolkien’s lore in the gaming mechanics and also the game books themselves. There is an lore Easter Egg linked to the quote above! This was spotted by a Facebook user and reported in one of the dedicated gaming groups for TOR. The rules use specific dice (d6 and d12) for its resolution mechanics in a lovely nod to Elvish numerical preference, as detailed from the core rulebook below:
“The One Ring makes use of a specialised set of dice, including six 6-sided dice (also called Success Dice) and two 12-sided dice with two special icons (called the Feat Dice).”
-- “The One Ring” roleplaying game, page 16.
🎲 D&D and Tolkien
Lastly, I thought I’d finish with a blog recommendation. Author John D. Rateliff, who wrote “The History of the Hobbit”, gave a talk on the history of Tolkien RPGs at MerpCon IV in 2008 and later wrote it up as a series of posts on his “Sacnoth's Scriptorium” blog. You can view the talk here.
🎲 A Brief History of Tolkien RPGs (part one)And it has come full circle because Free League now publish The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying 5E game, the successor to Cubicle 7's Adventures in Middle-earth 5E RPG. So there is a D&D-based Tolkien game!
🎲 A Brief History of Tolkien RPGs (part two)
🎲 A Brief History of Tolkien RPGs (part three)
🎲 A Brief History of Tolkien RPGs (part four)
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