New Lord of the Rings board game lets you play the entire trilogy in less time than it takes to rewatch Fellowship of the Ring
Page turns.
A new Lord of the Rings board game is on the way, letting you form your own Fellowship and make the journey from the Shire to Mount Doom from the comfort of your kitchen table.
The Lord of the Rings Adventure Book Game is, true to its on-the-tin name, a co-op game that follows the entire trilogy from Frodo’s first steps out of Bag End to his climactic ascent to destroy the One Ring under the gaze of Sauron’s eye in Mordor.
As the name suggests, the upcoming board game plays out in the pages of a book that doubles as its board. Players flip between different spreads inside the book as they make their way through the game’s eight chapters, making their way from the Shire and Frodo’s meeting with the Fellowship of the Ring in Rivendell to the Mines of Moria, Saruman’s tower of Isengard and finally Mordor.
During each chapter, the players must work together to cross Middle-earth while resisting the temptation of the Ring as they draw cards from a deck, hoping to avoid Eye of Sauron cards. Each spread has its own setup instructions and unique challenges, with tokens and challenges used to capture moments from the films, such as the hobbits’ escape from the Black Riders and the addition of Aragorn to the party.
Each chapter is said to take around 20 minutes to play, meaning that the entire journey should last around 160 minutes - or two hours and 40 minutes. That’s a good chunk less than the two hours, 58 minutes you’ll need to rewatch Peter Jackson’s Fellowship of the Ring movie. (And even less than the superior three-hour-plus Extended Edition.)
The game includes seven miniatures to represent most of the Fellowship - sorry, Boromir - with characters such as Gandalf, the Nazgul and Gollum appearing as tokens during specific scenarios. As well as playing with friends, a solo mode will be included.
The Lord of the Rings Adventure Book Game is due for release in February. The $25 game will be exclusive to retailer Target in the US.