Are you a fan of Lord of the Rings? Are you a fan of board games? If both answers are yes, then War Of The Ring was made for you! I bought my copy of the first edition in 2006 and had had excellent long matches with my nephew. Oh, I remember too well. Great games they were. But I have a word of caution for you. If you don’t like long games, you won’t enjoy this one! You need to be prepared if you wanna embark in such gaming experience and adventure. Below a summary about how the game works, if it’s good for you and some photos to help you decide if you wanna give it a shot.
“In War of the Ring, one player takes control of the Free Peoples (FP), the other player controls Shadow Armies (SA).
Initially, the Free People Nations are reluctant to take arms against Sauron, so they must be attacked by Sauron or persuaded by Gandalf or other Companions, before they start to fight properly: this is represented by the Political Track, which shows if a Nation is ready to fight in the War of the Ring or not.
The game can be won by a military victory, if Sauron conquers a certain number of Free People cities and strongholds or vice-versa. But the true hope of the Free Peoples lies with the quest of the Ringbearer: while the armies clash across Middle Earth, the Fellowship of the Ring is trying to get secretly to Mount Doom to destroy the One Ring. Sauron is not aware of the real intention of his enemies but is looking across Middle Earth for the precious Ring, so that the Fellowship is going to face numerous dangers, represented by the rules of The Hunt for the Ring. But the Companions can spur the Free Peoples to the fight against Sauron, so the Free People player must balance the need to protect the Ringbearer from harm, against the attempt to raise a proper defense against the armies of the Shadow, so that they do not overrun Middle Earth before the Ringbearer completes his quest.
Each game turn revolves around the roll of Action Dice: each die corresponds to an action that a player can do during a turn. Depending on the face rolled on each die, different actions are possible (moving armies, characters, recruiting troops, advancing a Political Track).
Action dice can also be used to draw or play Event Cards. Event Cards are played to represent specific events from the story (or events that could possibly have happened) that cannot be portrayed through normal gameplay. Each Event Card can also create an unexpected turn in the game, allowing special actions or altering the course of a battle.”
The game is well structure and it respects a lot the theme. Basically, if you’re the Shadow Armies, you’ll use your full force to hammer all Free cities, conquer them as fast as you can. Hunting for the Ring is definitely something you should do too. The Nazgûl are awesome with the ability to fly, pretty useful. If you’re the Free Peoples…run! Run, Forrest, Run! You gotta be quick and cautious with the Fellowship. It’s hard to balance that but there’s where the golden ticket lies. Frodo must be protected at all costs and meanwhile, you gotta resist as best as you can all the attacks from the armies of Sauron.
Well, if you have already played this game, you know what I mean and all the electricity that flows within the game. I’m a lover of board games! I’m really into them when I’m playing and I don’t care if one match’s gonna take 30 minutes or 8 hours! I go for it!
War of the Ring is THE ultimate experience if you wanna relive all the action of Lord of the Rings, but not only that….you can interfere, you’re the one who’s changing the fate of Middle-Earth depending on our strategies and actions. Cool game, awesome fun! DO TRY IT!
This article was created thanks to boardgamegeek.com
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