Customer Reviews

Lord of The Rings Expansion : Friends & Foes

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

"The Lord of the Rings: Expansion Board Game (Friends and Foes)" is an excellent supplement to an already enjoyable game. This game is not playable by itself, but requires the main "Lord of the Rings Board Game."

New rules, new boards and new cards are introduced increasing the challenge rating of the game, as well as increasing the overall feel of the game. Familiar and favorite characters like Tom Bombadil, Treebeard and Glorfindle find their way into the game.

Two new boards are introduced: Bree and Isengard, including all of the characters you would expect with these new scenarios. Each board has a sticker to add to the main timeline board, so that you know when to encounter them. Also introduced are 30 "Foe" cards. They add a new way to win or loose the game without completing Mordor.

If you enjoy "The Lord of the Rings Board Game," I am confident that you will also enjoy this Expansion Set.

The Friends and foes expansion set adds three vital components to the LOTR game system.

1. It adds the Bree game board and events including Tom Bombadil (whose absense from the movie is painful)

2. It adds Isengard game board and events

3. It adds the many foes from the book really giving the game a new outlook.

Now in addition to all of the various problems you may already face now the wolf riders, the uruk-hai, and the cave-trolls add to your grief and the various foes appear to battle you. You must keep these foes in check as they sap your strength and allow Sauron time to grow ever closer. Defeat enough of them you might be able to avoid some of the great dangers that lie ahead altogeter, allow enough of them to plague you and you will be overwhelmed and defeated.

This is money well spent. If you own the game buy it!

Without the expansion, it is difficult enough for the four hobbits to make it to Mordor, but with this expansion comes an army of enemies to band against the players.

This game shows team players how to rely and work together, as they depend on the survival of the ring bearer to make it as far as possible.

One of the few games that allows for selfless acts and creates one goal for the players....the enemy is Sauron, NOT the other players.

Excellent game!!

If you've played the Lord of the Rings board game several times, you may refuse to believe that it could get any better. The brilliant co-operative nature and well crafted scenario design make for a challenging and fun gaming experience every time. What else could one need?

Trust me, once you've played with Friends & Foes, you'll never want to play without it.

The expansion adds several new angles to the game, all of which were obvious intended from the start, as they integrate seamlessly into the rules. The most obvious is the Foes deck -- now as you adventure forth, Sauron's armies gradually threaten to overrun Middle Earth, forcing you to fight them back. It adds a fun and challenging element to the game, and the fact that the "discard 2 cards" symbol now reads "reveal 2 Foes" also means that you're less likely to lose a hobbit to something as silly as merely running out of cards.

The two new scenario boards, Bree and Isenguard, fit into the game flow perfectly. Bree is relatively easy, though full of Foes, but Isenguard is hard, with a potential "Game Over" event at the end of its track. To offset these extra boards, it is now possible to skip up to two different scenario boards (your choices are Moria, Helm's Deep, and Shelob's Lair) if you can defeat enough Foes.

If there is one solid criticism of Friends & Foes, it is the new "Military Victory" option, which allows you to win the game by defeating every Foe (instead of having to destroy the Ring). This option, as written, is far too easy to attain -- with it, we've actually won games while still on the Helm's Deep board. Fortunately, Fantasy Flight did release an official errata (do a web search for "black gate card" for details) to fix this, so I'm not counting it against the score. (I also know of many people who play that defeating all the Foes only moves Sauron back 3 spaces, and you keep playing. I've come to like this option even more than the Black Gate fix.)

Friends & Foes adds another level of depth and immersion to an already great game. Perhaps more importantly, it does so without adding significant complication or taking anything away from the game. Adding it feels like you're upgrading from a trial version to the "full game", in my experience, and it's a wonderful feeling.

I only played the base game once before getting this expansion. Now I can't imagine playing without it. It added so much content with such a small amount of additional rules it was well worth it. This expansion really fills the game out and give it more depth. Much like the cities and knights expansion for settler's of catan.

WARNING! I mistakenly ordered the Lord of the Rings original board game which was just re-released as a Silver Line edition with new artwork and whatnot. This is all well and good, but it simultaneously made all existing expansions incompatible until they are re-released (if ever) as Silver Line editions. This was one of the expansions I ordered, and now I have to return it.

I can't believe they only rereleased the original and not the expansions at the same time, forcing this kind of confusion on consumers such as myself :(

Lord of the Rings Expansion is a good game. If you lose you will want to play it until you win. A little difficult to understand at first. Also at times frustrating, but you can make it through. Very hard with just two people, Medium with three, Kind of Easy with four, and Easy with five. As the BIg Eye comes toward you, or when you roll the dice it get thrilling. Its kind of a piece of cake once you play it alot. That is why I give this game 2 thumbs up. THIS IS AN EXCELLENT GAME!!!!!