The very first thing I want to point out is that this is an area control game somewhat akin to Risk. There are strongholds and cities that help with defense but at its core, it is area control with “dudes on a map” sort of gameplay. You will spend most of your turn deciding on how to allocate the dice you rolled and what areas will need more units to take over enemy territory. This is critically important as it helps with both a conquest victory and provides safety (or danger) to the fellowship. There are a lot more rules that I could go into, including the nuances of combat, siege craft, specific units, card play, etc, but for the sake of time, I won’t. Suffice to say, this game has a lot of interworking elements that will have you balancing multiple spinning plates while dancing a jig atop the tables of the Prancing Pony with a “yes, it comes in pints”-worth of both strategy and tactics. The Wise Speak Only of What They Know – Final Thoughts

At his command gather Sauron’s legions of Orcs and Trolls, the forces of the wizard Saruman, and the hosts of the Southrons and Easterlings, set to bring darkness over the West. All the counters and markers are of very sturdy cardboard and I particularly like the new squareArmy markers [which replace the former, smaller round ones]inscribed with elven script that can be used to replace large numbers ofunits that are then placed in the Army Holding boxes on the map. Beside the few physical changes, overall there have been very limited minor changes and additions to the rules- why change what was very good in the first place? Each side of the battle also has special individuals that can either perform special actions with certain dice symbols, or upgrade dice spent to perform better with set parameters. For example, I was controlling Sauron’s minions and had been able to claim Saruman as a follower who allowed me to spawn extra troops in certain areas with stronger warriors, at the cost of Saruman himself never being able to move around the map. This gave me a good advantage for a while, spawning loads of orcish men everywhere, until the Fellowship player managed to get the help of the Ents. As Saruman was alone at the time, they beat him up and killed him. I’m told this is very true to the tales, but I liked my slightly creepy wizard man. Should I Buy It Then?Controlled by the Free Peoples player, the Fellowship is his true chance of winning, as the military forces of the Shadow will be vanquished together with their master if the Ring is undone. But the Quest is fraught with ever greater perils, as the Darkness falls over Middle-earth… 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!

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.

Pre-order the Anniversary Release of War of the Ring 2nd Edition now

One narrative strength of Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings universe is that underneath all the grand gilded garrisons of a war epic is the simple story of two buddies going cross-country to return some jewelry. The importance of the “little guy” amidst worldwide chaos was never lost on the author, demonstrably having Frodo and Sam, two mostly normal Middle-Earth hillbillies, being the primary protagonists. War of the Ring stays true to this ethos. While navigating international diplomacy and managing military might is crucial to survival, we can’t forget that the quest is still about the ring.