There are some scenes and stories that can be so iconic and memorable in our minds. Adventures of fantasy characters, heroes and villains squaring off and travels across this world and so many other fantastical creations. For me, the books, cartoons and movies that encompass the world of JRR Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings are some of the most iconic and beautiful, striking landscapes and adventures that I would love to be a part of somehow. Well today we get to look at a way to do just that as we venture into Middle-Earth together to see how we can take on their roles and travel as a part together!
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Trick-taking game is for 1-4 players and is published by Office Dog Games and Asmodee. It is designed by Bryan Bornmueller and it played in approximately 20 mins per chapter.
The Fellowship of the Ring Trick-taking game is a cooperative card game in which players will take on roles of various characters from the first part of the classic Tolkien adventure in 18 different chapters or rounds. Players will win and move to the next chapter or lose and try again to secure the victory for each round.
Gameplay:
The game comes with a starting point chapter 1 card and 4 characters that you will chose from. The main deck that is used consists of cards numbered 1-8 for mountains, forests, hills, shadows and the One ring which is cards numbered 1-5.
Each round you begin by reading the chapter card aloud to see what the scenario, characters and victory condition will be. Any listed characters that have an asterisk next to their name must be chosen. Each chapter has a victory condition that must be met to win that round.
The main cards are shuffled and one is pulled out to be the lost card of the round. Then players are dealt cards so that everyone has an equal amount to begin. Whoever has the 1 of Rings must take Frodo and begins with the token “cannot lead rings” face up. From there players chose a character card for the chapter and perform any set-up actions associated with them.
Now the game begins with Frodo leading the first trick. Like most trick-taking games, there is the lead card that is the trump suit players must follow. If you cannot follow the suit you can play any other card. The Rings suit is similar but a player cannot lead with it until one has been played on an off-suit option. Then the token is flipped and anyone can play it as a lead card. The 1 of Rings card is the most powerful and if a player would like to they can declare when they play it that they will win the trick no matter what was played.
As each player is trying to play together to make their individual goals are met, there is a need to make sure the right cards are played in the right hands. However, players cannot discuss or show their hands to others at any time. Tricks won are kept face-down as well to not give more information. Once you have accomplished your specific character’s goal you place a star token on top of it to signal to all players you are done.
The round ends when all players have played all their cards from hand. If all character have completed their goals the round is won and you move to the next chapter. If not you may try the round again where players may end up in different roles based on the card shuffle and who picks what. The game consists of a total of 18 chapters so there are many rounds to try and play through.
As you progress new aspects and cards will be revealed from the game giving you need abilities, rules and ways to win or lose. I won’t go in to a lot of the detail but I will say there is a lot more to explore as you dive into this game!
Impressions:
I love trick-taking games and there are so many different ways to experience them currently in the board game space. There seems like new ones pop up every day, and different variations of familiar aspects bleed across a few different games. When it’s the good things that mix together you can have a really fun game and I think we see that here in a few different ways.
One of the things I liked the most with this one is the games that it reminds me of like The Crew and The Gang. I liked the need to work together but not knowing all the information to make it simple. It’s similar to bluffing however you don’t actually want the info to be hidden here. I would put this more in the vein of a co-operative game then not, so if you enjoy working together with the people at your table this will be a great selection for your group.
The story-driven chapters that match the book is such a fun idea, giving you new characters and objectives for each round. There are some constants like Frodo, but getting to play new characters is a fun change each time. I especially enjoyed the challenge of trying to get the Ring suit into play and how you passed cards and who started with what could really change the cards played quickly. Each round feels like an adventure and challenge that is unique to the ones played before it.
Without getting into too much detail (I don’t want to ruin surprises) there are a lot of really awesome and true to the story parts of the game that are revealed as you get further into the chapters. Even something as simple as the introduction of the dark Riders and the threat they bring in feels perfect for the way it is incorporated into the gameplay.
And let’s not forget the art on this one: it is gorgeous, a stain-glass style that really pops off the cards and table and gives it an elegant look and feel to the story. I love the familiar yet new looks of some oft he characters and how much you identify them to ones you already know and love.
Overall this is a must-have addition for me. I love the Lord of the Rings, trick-taking games and story-driven adventures. All of this in one game is a hit and one that my friends have really enjoyed getting into. With 15-20 mins per chapter, you’ll probably also find your game group saying “just one more round!” after each play. Pick this one up for your next game night and see how well you and your adventuring party do together!
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