Objective of the Game
In "The Lord of the Rings," players take on the role of hobbits aiming to travel to Mordor and destroy the One Ring. This is a cooperative game, meaning players must work together to achieve this goal. Players win collectively by destroying the Ring before Sauron reaches them or the Ring overpowers them.
Setup
- Place the game board in the middle of the table.
- Each player selects a hobbit character (Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pippin, or Fatty) and takes the corresponding hobbit tableau.
- Place the Sauron piece on the starting point of the Mordor track.
- Stack the adventure boards (Moria, Helm's Deep, Shelob's Lair, Mordor) in the designated order.
- Shuffle and prepare the card and event decks.
- Each player receives a starting hand of cards.
- Distribute life points (hearts) and power points (stars) according to the instructions.
Gameplay
Gameplay is divided into event phases, action phases, and end phases:\ 1. Event Phase: - Draw an event card and follow the instructions. These can move players closer to their goal or present events and dangers. - Event cards are drawn from the different adventure boards representing events from "The Lord of the Rings" story.
2. Action Phase: - Players choose different actions in this phase to advance on the adventure board. - Players can use action cards to move forward, gather symbols, use special abilities, or call upon allied characters such as Fellowship members. - Players must wisely decide when to play certain cards to successfully overcome the challenges of the current adventure and mitigate any negative impacts.
3. End Phase: - Check the end of the current adventure, collect rewards, or resolve consequences. - Players then proceed to the next adventure until they reach Mordor or fail.
Collaboration and Strategy
- Coordination and Communication: Players need to work closely and align their strategies. Decisions such as when to play certain cards or when to take risks are crucial.
- Resource Management: Cards are limited. Careful planning is needed to decide when to use each resource.
- Task Distribution: Depending on the hobbits' special abilities, strategic division of tasks among players is beneficial.
End of Game
The game ends in victory when the Ring is destroyed in Mordor. It ends in defeat if all hobbits are reached by Sauron or the Ring corruption track reaches the end, corrupting the hobbits.
