2012 · Fantasy

The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-Earth

Players control bands of companions who collect matching combat symbols to defeat roaming enemies from Mordor. Three enemy cards are always revealed; each shows one to four symbols drawn from six types (sword, axe, spear, bow, fist, shield), with some symbols rarer than others. On a turn a player may play a companion into an existing group and attempt an attack, start a new group and attempt an attack, or draw from the deck until a companion appears (Mordor cards drawn during a draw are added to the table and trigger immediate effects). When a group’s combined symbols match an enemy card the group is sent to battle and discarded; enemy cards score 1–10 points. If three Mordor cards accumulate players suffer a counterattack that forces card losses, an enemy is discarded, and play continues. The game ends when all enemies are defeated; the highest total victory points wins.

groupPlayers

2–4 best 3

schedulePlaying time

30 min

cakeAge

8+

psychologyComplexity

1.2 / 5