The Hobbit - The Defeat of the Evil Dragon Smaug

Other products by Fantasy Flight Games

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• ASIN: B00005O0F3
• Item model number: LTR04
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #127,503 in Toys & Games (See Bestsellers in Toys & Games)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)

Product Description

Editorial Review

Journey to Middle-earth to defeat the evil dragon Smaug in this unique and beautifully illustrated board game based on The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien's predecessor to The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Unlike most games, where players try to defeat one another, players must work together here in order to be victorious. While traveling the game board, they face challenges of luck, skill, and wit as they gather precious jewels. Game play is complex and, though you need not have read the book before playing the game, those who have read it will likely appreciate the game a bit more. But like any good game, it gets more exciting as you go along and the cooperative angle is a welcome change of pace. --John Moe

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars basic boardgame fun for Tolkien fans, January 21, 2002

By	Vincent V. Marshburn (Homestead, FL United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Durability:5.0 out of 5 stars Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars Educational:5.0 out of 5 stars 

not overly challenging, but that's not to say it is necessarily "dumbed down"; this makes a reasonable game for children and parents. the box says ages 10 and up, but my 7 and 9 year old sons enjoy it, especially since i recently finished reading the book "The Hobbit" to them, and we also recently saw "The Lord of the Rings" movie at the theater. (i'm currently reading "The Fellowship of the Rings" to them to continue the saga of course.) amazingly, they remember many of the elements from "The Hobbit," and this comes in handy since at various points during this boardgame, one's knowledge of the book will prove useful. reading the book is probably not necessary, but it does provide a bit of an advantage, as the player will be called upon to answer riddles and recite poems/songs (don't worry, the riddles are presented with multiple choice answers, and the recitations are only 2 to 4 lines of verse). the game does a fairly decent job of representing Bilbo's journey from the Shire through the Misty Mountains, Mirkwood, Laketown, then the Desolation of Smaug itself. activities in the game are all based on events in the book, though not necessarily in any particular order, since the "event/adventure cards" are drawn randomly; but there is a variety of adventurous situations to imagine, and a little bit of luck and planning can pay off, with the help of "Gandalf's Gifts" cards, which represent various useful items, equipment, resources, and even companions -- for instance, the wonderful elven knife Sting (a sword for a hobbit!) and the One Ring itself! successful resolutions of adventures result in individual experience points; along with these, players collect jewels to represent wealth and additional experience. during adventures, players must decide whether to utilize any available resources, if called upon, or take a chance with the unique spinner to resolve the adventure. in the end, the players face Smaug himself and attempt to pilfer as much of the dragon hoard as possible.

overall, my family has found it quite fun and it makes for a nice evening of entertainment at home after dinner. during out last session, we even played the soundtrack of the movie during our game! very neat. i'm contemplating other related products (Lord of the Rings board game or even the tabletop battle game).

33 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Shame on them!, January 28, 2003

By	Jim Owen (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews

Durability:3.0 out of 5 stars Fun:2.0 out of 5 stars Educational:1.0 out of 5 stars 

I bought this game for my 6-year old daughter, as she loves the book. She enjoys the game, but I suspect it will only be a few plays before it dawns on her how shoddy this game is. It looks beautiful, and from the packaging it looks to be a game of quality, but this is one of the least well-designed games I've ever played.

As the previous reviewer stated, there has obviously been little or no testing of the gameplay. There are lots of cards and jewels and other trappings which essentially obscure the fact that this game is about as rich in gameplay as craps. That is not an exaggeration.

The list of faults to this game are so numerous I don't even know where to begin. SAVE YOUR MONEY!...

The two-star rating is because for young children (age 5-7) who know the book, they might get a little enjoyment out of remembering events in the book which are represented in the game, but on the other hand, the game must be played with an adult because there is a lot of reading, and I think the adult must have an alcoholic beverage nearby to get through this tedious thing.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great companion to a wonderful book., March 31, 2002

By	James (Maryland, USA) - See all my reviews

Durability:3.0 out of 5 stars Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars Educational:4.0 out of 5 stars 

For those who've read THE HOBBIT, this delightful board game is a great deal of fun, featuring characters, places, and situations lifted directly from the text. Simple enough for children of 8 or 9 to grasp, but complex enough to engage adults, the game plays quickly and (best of all) cleans up quickly, with a place for every little trinket and playing piece in the box.

Some of the amusement factor would necessarily be lost without some grounding -- not a great deal, but at least one reading's worth -- in the book, but for those who enjoy Tolkien's introduction to Middle-Earth, THE HOBBIT is a excellent companion to that work. It's really the next best thing to having been there and back again with Bilbo Baggins and his company of dwarves.