Customer Reviews

The War of the Ring Board Game

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

War of the Ring may be the finest board game I have ever owned (and I own many). And if not, it's certainly the best war game. And it's not just the Tolkien fanatic in my talking; this is some of the most fun unplugged gaming you can have.

This is primarily a two player game, but up to four can play. One player/team plays the Free Peoples of Middle Earth (Rohan, Gondor, The North, Elves, and Dwarves), the other plays the Shadow (Sauron, Isengard, and Southrons and Easterlins). There are two was to win: Military of Ring victories. A ring victory means that the Free Peoples player will need to get the Fellowship to Mordor and cast the ring into Mount Doom, or the Shadow player will need to get 12 corruption points on the ring bearers. A military victory means that you will need to capture enemy settlements to gain victory points (10 for Shadow, 4 for Free Peoples...it's not as easy as it sounds!).

The thing I like most about this game is that it stays interesting through the whole game. Every turn is exciting. This is due to the core mechanic. Each turn, players will roll dice with symbols on them. Each symbol gives the player a variety for options they can take with that die. Players take turns choosing actions based on what they rolled (one at a time, so there's hardly any player downtime). The number options available would be overwhelming, but the game includes two reference sheets that makes things very easy. All the options you'd want in a war game based on LOTR are here. The game starts will all nine companions in the fellowship, but you'll be able to break them up, so they can persuade the nations of the Free Peoples to go to war. Which brings me to the Political Track. The game starts with each nation in the political position they are in in the books. Companions can activate them, and by using dice or being attacked will push them closer to war. Combat is similar to Risk, but with a few added twists, such as leaders, characters, and defending Strongholds. There's alot going on in this game, but it's all fun.

As far as the rules go, there really isn't anything that brings the game down. The odds are against the Free Peoples, but it is possible to win. (The Expansion fixes this) But there are flaws with the production and presentation. The rulebook itself is somewhat confusing. Not until you've finished reading it will you understand things you read in the beginning. This will cause your first few sessions to be a "feeling it out" experience. The pieces are another problem. All of the Free Peoples pieces are either blue or grey, and all the Shadow pieces are orange. It's difficult at a quick glance to tell which piece belongs to which nation. To add insult to injury, there's colored borders around each nation, so it make you wonder why FFG just didn't mold them in the corresponding colored plastic. I (and many other players) paint their pieces to fix this.

But again, none of the flaws found really bring the game down in the long end. The game is a total blast, and the 2-3 hours it takes just fly by. Every aspect is intensely interesting, and is fun regardless of who wins. Aside from the afore mentioned problems, the rest of the production and presentation is extremely high (what else would you expect from FFG?) Tolkien fans, this is a MUST buy, but everyone else will still find alot to enjoy. I love this game, and give it the highest possible recommendation.

This game is fantastic. My brother got it only 3 days ago but we've already played 3 times(each game takes about 3 hours!). When playing you actually feel like you are in the middle of the battle! Personally I think the 2 player mode is much better than the 3 and 4 player modes. The miniatures are beautiful and the map(the board) of the game looks fantastic.
So if you want to buy a present for someone which is NOT a video game I strongly suggest this one

This game is extremely fun. I Have played it many times and still have not gotten board. The focus if your evil is get the ring or take over the whole map which is really not difficult. Good has to get the ring to Mt doom or take over the map (which is near impossible.) One thing that is really cool is when you are good you have to get the dwarves and elves to fight for you if you want them too. The only thing that is bad is the miniature colors which are hard to tell evil from good and how long it takes since you usually don't have 3 hours at hand. However it is fun to the last minute. I say any lord of the rings fanatic or strategy game lover would love this game.

Is Risk too boring for you (not enough challenge)? Do you love Lord of the Rings? Then this is your game.

PROS:
There's a lot of bang for your buck in this game. A huge board, many many plastic miniatures, cards, cardboard counters, dice, all very great looking--artwork by John Howe. The game is designed to mimic historical events from the trilogy to a great degree--even the cards are designed to reflect specific events or battles. There are many decisions to make, dice to roll, and battles to be fought. There is also a well designed game mechanic that simulates the Eye's search for the ring (and the fellowship). The learning curve is steep--it will take one or two plays to catch all the nuances. It does take 3+ hours to play even once you've got the hang of it.

CONS: (There are a couple minor ones)
There are multiple factions of good pieces (same for the bad guys), but they are all the same color. The only way to tell them apart is to look at the molded detail--sometimes they are tough to tell apart. Some of the cardboard counters suffer the same problem--the artwork is too similar to tell them apart. The Nazgul are tall and skinny--they always fall over. Sometimes you suffer from too many pieces to fit in a small territory.

Having said that, this is such a good game, you can get past the shortcomings. Die hard LOTR fans will paint their miniatures anyway :)

Definitely recommend for LOTR fans and any gamers looking for a challenge. The expansion to this game is excellent also. (sold seperately).

I've purchased every Ring related game except for the Fantasy Flight series. With that being said my favorite (and the best) is the long out of print SPI title "War of the Ring" to which the current title under review owes a great deal of it's appeal and design. This is a strategic level WAR game, centering on the military aspects of war in the LOTR, while incorporating the familiar characters we've come to love or dread. This is not a product for celebrating your 7 years birthday child whose hero is Frodo. It is a mature game requiring patience, intelligence and at least some measure of strategy and tactics. Your [...] will certainly enjoy the plastic figurines (I enjoy them as well and when no one is looking I'll play toy soldiers with them!). Set aside an entire evening or maybe even 2 evenings to play the game thru to completion . The expansion set (which I review elsewhere) brings the same qualities but to the tactical level. A younger person might relate to that better since it incorporates the battle sequences familiar from the movies. I rate it 5 stars but keep in mind it is not a "fun for the whole family" nor a "thrill packed adventurous journey in Middle Earth". It's a war game first and foremost. But man, those plastic figures are super cool any way you see it!

I think I remember reading that this is a 3-4 hour game. Granted, until you get used to the rules, it will be slower than normal, but my brother and I took close to 16 hours to finish our first game. It is a great game, however. After a few battles, you get an idea as to what it involves for your particular army to win. Essentially, the Dark Lord must attack and the Free Peoples must defend. It really is a lot of fun if you have the time and can walk away for awhile until you can rejoin the fight. I got the feeling I was playing a classic military board game. It's very fun rolling dice, drawing cards, etc. Highly recommended.

This is one of my favorite boardgames and a must for Lord of the Ring fans. The game places all of the action and events from the book and movie into the players hands as a strategy game much like Risk, but a lot better than Risk. One player controls the Free Peoples (Elves, Rohan, Gondor, The North, and The Dwarves) while another player controls the Shadow (the armies of Sauron, Isengard, and the Southrons and Easterlings). Each side has their own set of objectives for victory with as much of a chance to win as the player's own tactical decisions can grant. Much of the game is decided by rolling special dice. Each side has a certain number of dice and each side of the dice determines what action the player can play during a specific round. Cards add to the overall game by adding special bonuses when played. The game takes a while to setup since there are a lot of pieces to place on the board but the time spent playing the game is well worth it. In general, if you're a fan of strategy board games and a fan of the Lord of the Rings then this is a must!

A great game if your looking for some strategic game play in the LoTR universe. Huge map, great parts, nice looking cards and much replay value. Well worth the money for such a nice board game.