Lord of the Rings is more than just incredible literature and top-tier cinema. Let’s look at all the ways you can bring Middle-earth to your gaming table.
Greetings, adventurers! If you’re like me (I imagine you are if you clicked on this article), you love J.R.R. Tolkien’s genre-defining Lord of the Rings series. This phenomenal series of books details the struggle of good versus evil on the backdrop of a rich fantasy world steeped in incredible lore. However, the fun doesn’t stop when the book closes or the credits roll. There are many ways to keep the fun rolling at home and craft your own stories in Tolkien’s expansive world. Here’s your guide for how to get the most out of your Middle-earth gaming.
LotR vs The Hobbit
While they take place in the same universe and timeline, most properties distinguish between Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. While there are undoubtedly massive battles in The Hobbit, the story focuses more on the actions of a small company of dwarves and Bilbo, the titular hobbit. As such, most of the gaming features the Lord of the Rings trilogy or the prequel novels like Children of Hurin or The Silmarillion.
However, there isn’t a great deal of difference when it comes to gaming. You’ll usually find that games featuring The Hobbit are a bit more self-contained and on rails, while the Lord of the Rings games have more variance.
READ MORE:LoTR: Who are the Istari, the Blue, Brown, Grey, and White Wizards
Lord of the Rings Board Games
There’s no shortage of Lord of the Rings board games. While you have your standard fare of adventure games detailing the stories of the films and books, there are also plenty of flavored takes on classic games. Players can bid on the various landmarks of Middle-earth in Monopoly: Lord of the Rings Edition or put a twist on a classic game of luck and deduction with Love Letter: The Hobbit. There’s even a Trilogy edition of Risk, allowing you to gamble the fate of Middle-earth on the roll of the dice.
Of course, the adventure games are where the real magic is. Players can be one of Middle-earth’s many brave heroes or vile villains to tip the balance for the forces of light or the armies of darkness. Some of the games, like The Battle of Five Armies, are focused on a single important event. Others allow you to play out the entire saga, from the flight of the Hobbits all the way to Pelennor Fields and Mordor itself!
There are even a few strange entries, like The Vampire, the Elf, & the Cthulu. This game asks the question on everyone’s mind: what if Cthulu made his way to Middle-earth? It’s more meta than most other games since you represent a fantasy writer, but it still counts. There’s a massive list of games, so whatever suits your fancy, you can find a Lord of the Rings variant.
Lord of the Rings Card Games
As prolific as the board games are, Lord of the Rings games don’t stop with a dice roll. CCG and TCG players have a wealth of gaming options in Middle-earth. Top of everyone’s mind is most likely the recent Magic: the Gathering Universes Beyond set. The set was a full release featuring characters, locations, and creatures from Middle-earth. The set featured a variety of reprints flavored after Lord of the Rings alongside brand-new cards. Some even redefined the MTG meta, like The One Ring, a card so powerful it was recently banned in Modern.
Several attempts have also been made to create a Lord of the Rings CCG, but none remain. However, there are still plenty of fans of both the original and the second version playing with their old collections. Just because the cards aren’t produced anymore doesn’t mean the game has died. Many FLGSs still hold meetups for players. If you can find the decks, you’ll find plenty of eager fans to play the game with. If you want a more contained experience, The Lord of the Rings Deckbuilding Game may be for you. It has all the fun of a CCG without shelling out for expensive booster packs.
Lord of the Rings Tabletop Strategy Games
Easily the most well-known way to game in Middle-earth, the Lord of the Rings tabletop battle games are a great way for players to shape the story. Games Workshop produces a variant of the game based on the films, with a few book-exclusive characters thrown in for good measure. Several non-named characters, like the other seven Nazghul (not counting Khamul and the Witch King), are given names and lore in the game. You can play in three eras, based on the films: the main Trilogy, the Hobbit, or the War of the Rohirrim.
Several other tabletop strategy games exist, most based around a single important battle. The War of the Ring toes the line between board game and strategy game. It requires players to track the political changes of Middle-earth while also waging war against their foes. Most have minis, but some are based entirely on hexes. Players track the movement of entire armies, rather than single fighters, using their position on the hex.
LotR RPGs
Like with card games, there have been several attempts to create a role-playing game within the world of Middle-earth. At present, the top offer is The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game by Free League Publishing. This game bases it’s rules off D&D 5th edition, but tweaks a few things to better make them fit within Tolkien’s world and timeline. There is also The One Ring roleplaying game, which boasts a robust and original rules system but may be a bit too complicated for inexperienced players. Whichever you choose, there’s no end of adventures to be had in the realm of Lord of the Rings.
*BoardGameGeek has compiled a comprehensive list of all LotR Board and Card Games, which can be found here*
Which LotR game is your favorite?
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From North Carolina to Texas and back to North Carolina again, Clint lives the life of a traveling artist. An avid gamer, writer, actor, pyrotechnician, and general nerd, he has finally turned his love of EDH into a career. When not busy being a clueless cowboy, Winterfell Bannermen, or whatever else acting life throws at him, he enjoys reading folklore from around the world, writing narratives for his Wargaming armies, or running D&D 5e games as a professional DM. Look for his storytelling podcast, By the Dancing Fire, or find him on Twitch at FeybornPhyrexian, where he produces MTG content.
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