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| Board game | |
| War of the Ring: Second Edition | |
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| Information | |
| Designer | Roberto Di Meglio, Marco Maggi, Francesco Nepitello |
| Illustrator | John Howe |
| Publisher | ARES Games |
| Release date | 2011 |
| Players | 2-4 |
| Ages | 12+ |
War of the Ring: Second Edition is an enhanced and updated version of the 2004 board game of the same name.
From the publisher
War of the Ring is the greatest board game inspired by THE LORD OF THE RINGS™ ever created! WAR OF THE RING is a grand strategy board game that allows its players to immerse themselves in the world created by J.R.R. Tolkien and experience its epic action, dramatic conflict, and memorable characters.
As the Free Peoples player you command the proud hosts of the most important kingdoms of the Third Age. From the horse-lords of Rohan to the soldiers of Gondor and the Elven lords of Rivendell, you lead the defense of the last free realms of Middle-earth. Face the evil minions of Sauron on the field of battle in a desperate attempt to delay their onslaught, while you lead the Fellowship of the Ring in the Quest for Mount Doom.
As the Shadow player you lead the hordes of the Dark Lord and his most powerful minions as they try to bring darkness to Middle-earth. Legions of Orcs, Trolls, Wolfriders and the dreadful Ringwraiths await your command. Hunt the Ring-bearer and bring the precious Ring to his Master, or crush your enemies with your unstoppable armies.
Gameplay
Victory Conditions
There are four ways to win a game of War of the Ring, two related to the Fellowship and two Military focused (in order of priority):
- If the Ring-bearers of the Fellowship accumulate twelve or more Corruption points, Sauron regains the Ring for himself and Shadow wins the game
- When The One Ring is destroyed (by the Fellowship making it to Cracks of Doom with less than twelve corruption), the Free Peoples immediately win
- If the Shadow controls Free People Settlements worth ten or more Victory Points, Sauron conquers Middle-earth and wins the game
- If the Free Peoples control Shadow Settlements worth four or more Victory Points, they banish Sauron from Middle-earth and win the game
Nations & Troops
While the game is a contest between the Free Peoples and the Shadow, the actual forces for each are divided into separate Nations. Each Nation is individually represented on a Political Track which changes as the game progresses, showing how close that particular Nation is to open war. Nations also have their own unique troop miniatures and when a troop is lost, they can be eventually replaced by the Shadow Player but any Free Peoples troop is lost forever, reflecting their dwindling forces over time. There are also significantly less Dwarven and Elven troops available compared to those of Men.
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Characters
In addition to the Nation-specific troops, both the Free Peoples and Forces of Shadow must position their unique characters strategically.
Much like in the source text, The Fellowship of the Ring is formed at the beginning of the game, with the goal of successfully bringing the Ring-bearer to Mount Doom for one of the possible victory conditions. Escorting the Ring are Companions, characters supporting the Fellowship or breaking off and assist elsewhere in Middle-earth as the game progresses.
- The Ring-bearers: Frodo, Sam and, in special circumstances, Gollum.
- Companions: Boromir, Gandalf, Gimli, Legolas, Meriadoc, Peregrin, Strider (and then Aragorn).
The Forces of Shadow have only a handful of characters, but they are no less powerful. Aside from the Ring-wraiths, Shadow's Minions do not start the game in play, and instead are recruited when circumstances require them.
- Eight Nazgûl that can quickly move around the map as required, some of which are in place when the game starts
- The Witch King
- Saruman
- The Mouth of Sauron
Locations
There is an expansive 104 unique locations on the map of Middle-earth in War of the Ring. Most of which are Regions, but some of which are Settlements, representing a Town, City or Stronghold. Some regions are defined as belonging to a specific Nation, and there are some uncrossable mountain areas of the map that must be accounted for when moving troops and characters. A few regions are marked as a Fortification, giving defenders bonuses in combat.
The list of locations is grouped roughly geographically, and if a region/settlement is part of a Nation, is marked accordingly, along with the type of Settlement.
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Northwest
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Central / Southwest
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Northeast
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Southeast
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| SH = Stronghold | S&E = Southrons & Easterlings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Credits
- Game Design: Roberto Di Meglio, Marco Maggi, Francesco Nepitello
- Art: John Howe
- Art Direction & Graphic Design: Fabio Maiorana
- Sculptures: Bob Naismith
- Sculpture Design: John Howe & Matteo Macchi
Expansions & Scenarios
Lords of Middle-earth
Released in 2012, the first expansion included:
- The Elven Rings, powerful items that each grant an additional Action dice during gameplay, but only if their respective Keeper is in play and even then, their powers are fleeting. The Keepers are:
- Lady Galadriel, Keeper of Nenya, who if Sauron or the Elves are At War, can be played in Lorien, where she must stay.
- Lord Elrond, Keeper of Vilya, who if Sauron or the Elves are At War, can be played in Rivendell, where he must stay.
- Gandalf the Grey, Keeper of Narya. An alternate version of Gandalf the Grey from the core game, that explores an alternate reality where Gandalf more openly used the power of the Elven Ring.
- New characters for the Forces of Shadow:
- The Balrog of Moria, which can be played inactive in Moria, but once unleashed can roam the map. It adds a special Lesser Minion Action Die to the Shadow Player's Dice pool.
- Gothmog, Lieutenant of Morgul, can be played in Minas Morgul, but only if the Witch King has not yet appeared. It adds a special Lesser Minion Action Die to the Shadow Player's dice pool.
- The Mouth of Sauron, Black Numenorean, an alternate version of the character from the base game, which can extend sieges and accelerate army mustering.
- The Witch-King, Chief of the Ringwraiths, an alternate version which enables accelerated card draw as well as quickly responding to declared movements of the Fellowship. This version can replace the base game version of the character mid-game as the Shadow Player sees fit (or vice-versa, once per game).
- Additionally, Sméagol was added as a beneficial Free People's guide for the Fellowship as long as Gollum has not yet appeared. However, Sméagol bides his time until the Fellowship has dwindled down to just the two hobbits...
- Alternative versions of Boromir, Gandalf, Gimli, Legolas, Meriadoc, Peregrin and Strider also provided for the Council of Rivendell variant of gameplay, which allow the Companions to start in their original homes instead of all starting at Rivendell.
Lords of Middle-earth at BoardGameGeek.
Treebeard Mini-Expansion
Released as a promotional item at Essen 2012, this adds Treebeard as an optional character (with miniature) for the Free Peoples player, enabling them to Muster the Ent in Fangorn Forest with Gandalf the White in play.
Treebeard Mini-expansion at BoardGameGeek.
The Breaking of the Fellowship
The Breaking of the Fellowship is a free downloadable scenario released in 2012 for War of the Ring, giving players an opportunity to start a game with the map set to match the state of Middle-earth just after the Breaking of the Fellowship. Most starting army deployments are changed, the Companions of the Fellowship and some of the Minions of Shadow are are in different starting positions:
- The Fellowship (just the Ring-bearers and Gollum) start in Eastemnet
- Boromir is removed from the game
- Gandalf begins as Gandalf the White and starts in Lorien
- Strider, Legolas and Gimli start in Eastemnet
- Meriadoc and Peregrin start in Fangorn
- Saruman starts in Orthanc
The Political Tracks are also updated accordingly and the Fellowship begin the game with three Corruption Points.
Warriors of Middle-earth
Released in 2016, the second expansion added the concept of Factions to the game, along with relevant miniatures, Faction Event Cards and Faction Dice. Faction figures are not considered Army units, cannot claim territory and generally are a separate tactical layer to be considered. No Factions are in play when the game starts and can only be brought into play when certain game-state conditions are fulfilled.
Free Peoples Factions:
- Dead Men of Dunharrow - Can be brought into play if Strider/Aragorn is near Erech, which is where they appear when activated. They move and attack Shadow Armies as one Army of the Dead, and must eliminate one of their numbers to move.
- Ents of Fangorn Forest - Can be brought into play if Saruman is in play, and a Companion or the Fellowship is in Fangorn. Faction figures form the Entwood, a single collection of Ents that must always be accompanied by a Companion or the Fellowship, which can attack nearby Shadow Armies and can move very slowly across the map. Has the ability to completely remove Saruman from the game if all Shadow units in Orthanc are eliminated and an Ent is present.
- Great Eagles - Can be brought into play if the Fellowship is not in Rivendell or Gandalf the White is already in play. Eagles start in Eagle's Eyrie but can be positioned anywhere on the map, able to swoop to a defending Free People army from four regions away, ignoring mountains.
Shadow Factions:
- The Broods of Shelob - May be brought into play as soon as the Fellowship has departed Rivendell. They appear in Dol Guldur and Minas Morgul, can move quickly and support any Shadow Army, but cannot attack by themselves.
- Corsairs of Umbar - Once the Southrons & Easterlings Nation is "At War" on the Political Track, the Faction may be activated. After which they can begin to appear in Umbar, but movement is limited to coastal regions on the Western Sea, any Gondor region (save Erech), and Osgiliath. They can move swiftly, and even transport other Shadow Army units and/or support them in a Battle, though cannot form an Army on their own.
- The Hillmen of Dunland - They are activated once Saruman is in play and can begin to appear in the North & Sound Dunland regions. They cannot form a Shadow Army by themselves but can support other Shadow Armies, bolstering their forces, and can also be directly recruited to a Shadow Army if it is present in Isengard or Rohan.
Warriors of Middle-earth at BoardGameGeek.
Tidings not Burdens
A promotional mini-expansion released in 2016, Tidings not Burdens adds two Event cards (one for each player) themed around the long-running debate of why the Eagles didn't just fly the Ring to Mount Doom. The Free People's Event card ("Fly, You Fools") lets them win the game if they can successfully debate this topic, while the Shadow Player's card ("I was sent to bear tidings, not Burdens") can win the game if they use their event card to discard "Fly, You Fools" from the Free People's hand.
Tidings not Burdens at BoardGameGeek.
The Fate of Erebor
Released as a mini-expansion / scenario in 2022, The Fate of Erebor allows players to explore an alternate history where Sauron's forces won the Battle of Five Armies, resulting in the occupation of Erebor, the loss of Lake-town and the Kingdom of Dale never having been re-established. When playing with this modular scenario, overlay tiles are added to the map to reflect these new changes to the Erebor (now a Shadow Stronghold), Dale (a Fortification, no longer a City) and Iron Hills (upgraded to a City from a Town) regions with related starting army deployments slightly modified as well. Additionally, two new Cities are added to Ered Luin and South Rhûn.
The Fate of Erebor at BoardGameGeek.
Kings of Middle-earth
Released in 2023, the third major expansion Kings of Middle-earth introduces the concept of "Rulers" to the game, a type of Character that represent important ruling personalities involved during the course of The War of the Ring. These Rulers work differently for the Free Peoples and Shadow Players.
Free People Rulers are referred to as "Sovereigns". They begin the game as normal Leaders, but over the course of play can either be "Awakened" by the Free Peoples or "Corrupted" by the Shadow Player. Corruption can be removed through actions but once a Sovereign is fully Corrupt, it must be removed from the game entirely by the Free Peoples player sending a Character there to deal with them.
- Brand, King of Dale - Starts in Dale, Can be Awakened if The North Nation is Active. Grants bonuses during Battle when along side North Armies. When Corrupted, North Army units cannot be normally recruited and he hinders Battles involving North Armies.
- Dáin Ironfoot, King Under the Mountain - Starts in Erebor, Can be Awakened if Dwarves are Active and Erebor is unconquered. Can upgrade and recruit Dwarven units. When Corrupted, units cannot be normally recruited in Erebor and Shadow Sieges of Erebor can be extended.
- Denethor, Lord Steward of Gondor - Starts in Minas Tirith, Can be Awakened if Minas Tirith is unconquered. Upgrades Gondor Army Units and draws more Event cards after being used. When Corrupted, Units cannot be normally recruited to Minas Tirith and Shadow sieges there can be extended.
- Théoden, King of the Riddermark - Starts in Edoras, Can be Awakened if Rohan is Active and Edoras is unconquered. Offers increased Leadership in Battles and accelerated recruitment of Rohan Armies. When Corrupted, Rohan units cannot be normally recruited, and Helm's Deep is considered an Isengard Stronghold.
- Thranduil, King of the Woodland Realm - Starts in Woodland Realm. Can be Awakened if Elves are At War and Woodland Realm is unconquered. Upgrades Elf Army units and can accelerate the movement of the Fellowship with increased chances of staying hidden. When Corrupted, Elf units cannot be normally recruitedin Woodland Realm, and Shadow sieges there can be extended.
Shadow Rulers are referred to as "Dark Chieftans", and do not start the game in play, instead the player must meet certain circumstances the enable their placement during gameplay.
- The Black Serpent, Chieftan of the Haradrim - If Gondor is At War, can be placed in any Region with a Southrons & Easterlings Army. Can forfeit played Combat Cards to increase hits in combat.
- The Shadow of Mirkwood, Chieftan of the Dark Lord - If the Elves, Dwarves or the North are At War, can be placed in any region with a Sauron Army Unit. Can forfeit played Combat Cards and Leadership to increase dice results.
- Uglúk, Chieftan of the Uruk-hai - If Rohan is At War, may be played to any region with an Isengard Army Unit. May forfeit played Combat Cards to increase dice results in Combat. Also improves odds of Hunt rolls for finding he Fellowship if adjacent to them.
Kings of Middle-earth at BoardGameGeek.
The Seeing Stones
The Seeing Stones is a two card promotional mini-expansion released in 2023 that requires the Kings of Middle-earth expansion. It adds one Event card for each player:
- "The Palantír of Minas Tirith" for the Shadow player, allowing them to discard a card from the Free People's hand if Denethor is corrupted or Minas Tirith is under Shadow control.
- "Knowledge of the Seeing Stones" for the Free Peoples player, giving them the ability to look at the top cards of a Shadow Event deck and decide which ones should be discarded or shuffled back in.
The Seeing Stones at BoardGameGeek.
Sieges of Middle-earth
Releasing in 2026, the fourth expansion will add additional mechanics for attacking and defending strongholds, including defensive sorties and offensive siege weapons.
Adaptations
In 2022, ARES Games released War of the Ring: The Card Game, a more streamlined version of War of the Ring: Second Edition, utilizing only cards and making it more accessible.
External links