Oh, for sure! The artwork is brilliant on all of the cards and the board itself, and really draws a good distinction from the films. It’s a little quirky in some of the illustrations, namely the character cards, but I feel it fits the theme well and pulls more from ‘fantasy illustration from the 80s’ than any of the modern films. The individual models are well made if a little confusing, giving decent forms to the main fellowship as well as the different races you have control over. The bold colours of blue and red let players see from a glance who has the most control over this land. Even the dice look impressive, giving each player their own coloured set covered in gold/silver symbols, ready for them to roll and spend as their precious actions. If Tolkien is a bit alien to you then have no fear, this game looks great on its own merits and all the illustrations will add to the game guarantee. Here once more you can also see the new size and quality of the Character and Event cards for both sides. As before, the game can be played as a two player or four player working in teams of twoand I must confess to much preferring to play two-player. However, this is very much a personal choice, mainly because I only tend to like such teaming of players on one side when there can still only be one winner. So, Wars of The Roses by Z-man Games and Ragnar Brothers' Promised Land are both games I hugely enjoy, whereas WOTR is definitely a 2 player for my money! In the event any translated versions of the Anniversary Release are announced to become available, customers can choose to switch from the English version to another version free of charge. The game turn is broken down into 6 phases with most of the game occurring in the Action Resolution phase. The Fellowship of the Ring area with character guide cards. Special Actions: The FP’s “Will of the West” is a wildcard that can be set to any other face, while the SP’s “Eye” is added to the hunt box. (more on hunting later) More Key Concepts

So if the FP decides to move the Fellowship a second time in a round, the SP then only needs to roll a “5” the second time around to be successful. Going a third time, like hiring Gollum as your sous chef, is even riskier. That’s not how you make a tuna tartare. War of the Ring is an area control strategy war game based on the events of Lord of the Rings. The game plays best with two players, on one side is the Free Peoples, on the other are the forces of Shadow. The predominantly verdant land with its dark green woods and now much more strongly contrasting region of Mordor seems a more accurate depiction. The mountainsstand out more and the various regions are better delineated and so easier to spot during game play. My only wish is that Mordor had been made even grimmer and louring in its shading! War of the Ring is a game for two to four players, based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings™.Ultimately War of the Ring is a two player strategic war game driven by action dice and event cards, which despite the asymmetrical nature, is extremely well balanced. The 96 event cards ensure every play of War of the Ring is going to be different. The game is fairly complex because there is a lot going on, and there are a lot of rules although each rule is simple and the two sided player aid card helps a great deal.

The base of War of the Ring is a solid, challenging and not over complex, two player area control strategic war game. On this alone War of the Ring is a seriously good game. Add to this the lovely presentation and components, how well it brings to life the events and characters in Lord of the Rings and immerses the players into Middle Earth, it really is a winner. Reduce the amount of damage by “taking a casualty,”—yes, literally sacrificing a Fellowship member. (RIP, Boromir). Additionally, if the total damage is more than than that character’s strength, the remaining damage must either be taken by the next member, or as corruption. (described below) I’m Sean Bean. It was only a matter of time. The second victory condition involves the more canonical element of the “one ring.” If at any time Frodo reaches the final space of Mt. Doom, casting the ring into the fire, or if he becomes too corrupted by said ring, the game is instantly over, with either the FP or SP respectively emerging triumphant. How to Play: While the game is certainly a challenge when it comes to setting up and initially learning the rules, there is a lot to recommend here. For fans of epic wargames or The Lord of the Rings, this game allows you to re-live the struggle between the free people and the shadow time and time again. While it’s unlikely to make any fans of casual gamers, it’s worth your time for any hardcore fans who think they could do it better than Sauron did. That said, there’s no shame if the sheer table space and number of miniatures included makes you dry heave a little in panic. This game won’t be for everyone. Should I Buy War of the Ring: Second Edition? Remember all those times that you had no space to fit a whole army in one region? Ares has added three boxes and some counters so that you can replace all your figures from one army with a single counter, and then place the army in the box on the board. You can swap them out at any time; they are there to help you when you just don’t have enough space.If the Shadow conquers enough of its enemies’ cities and strongholds, or if the Ring-bearers fail and are corrupted, Darkness will triumph.