Customer Reviews

War of the Ring: Battles of the Third Age

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

 

 

I've purchased every Ring related game except for the Fantasy Flight series and the best of the lot is still the long out of print SPI title "War of The Ring". It's clear that the authors of this current title learned a great deal from SPI's effort, the 2 games are so similar. In this expansion module we move from the strategic to the tactical. I give this game a 4-5 star rating but do not be mislead. This is not a "fun for the whole family" nor is it a way to "spend an evening exploring the realms of Middle Earth". It is a WAR game, taking the familiar battles from the movies and allowing you to command the troops, breach the walls. This requires some wit, thought, maturity and at least a bit of knowledge regarding tactical warfare and siege warfare. The addition of plastic figurines is just way cool and appealing but this is not a toy. In the high tradition of Avalon Hill this is a war game set in Middle Earth.

War of the Ring may be the best board game I've ever played, and the expansion Battles of the Third Age does not disappoint in living up to that standard. The additions that this expansion makes to the base game go a long way toward balancing the game, improving the depth of the battle system, bringing into play cards, regions and armies that would never see any action otherwise.

In light of all of these excellent additions, I regard the stand-alone Rohan and Gondor battle scenarios as a bonus; but if you are interested in a shorter, more tactical game using the same excellent components and game mechanics, it is well worth it to read through the extra rule set and give them a try. I somewhat agree with one reviewer who said that the game is unbalanced. I actually don't mind this aspect so much; I am a gamer and play games mostly with my wife and other light-gamers or non-gamers. A game with a substantial built in handicap, where we can each try our hardest despite our different levels of experience, is nice to have around sometimes. But the other reviewer was right that this issue shouldn't be ignored; it is for this reason that I give the game a 4, instead of a 5, out of 5.

I was very excited about getting this expansion game after playing War of the Ring numerous times. Battles of the Third Age allows you to play the Battles at Helm's Deep and Pelennor Fields in much greater detail. Unfortunately, the game feels as if it were rushed out without proper testing. Unless the Fellowship player is a complete nitwit, it is virtually impossible for the Dark player to win either scenario. Since all the pressure is on the Dark player to achieve victory before so many turns pass, the Fellowship player really doesn't have to do anything but sit back and wait. The Fellowship player will be bored, the Dark player will won't to throw the game out the window.