The Lord of the Rings game from Eagle Games is built intentionally for children. The age limit on the box says it is for kids six or older, but it could probably be played by even younger kids, if they were particularly precocious. The question that arises, however, is whether the grownups will want to play a game that a six-year-old can enjoy.
The Components
The Lord of the Rings board game comes with a splendid assortment of game pieces. The board is attractive, if a little subtle, and is printed on linen stock and mounted on sturdy cardboard. The art is very nice, and perfect to portray the spirit of Tolkien's epic without scaring young children. Let's face it, without some creative work, Shelob is one frightening foe, not to mention the Witch King. The board roughly approximates Middle Earth, and traces a path from Hobbiton to Mount Doom.
Five hobbit cards represent the players. Each is adorned with a different hobbit, and there is really no way to know which hobbit is supposed to be Frodo. The point of the game is not to reenact the books, it is to make a game that kids enjoy. To this end, the brightly-colored wooden pawns and attractive cards are friendly and generic.
A few dozen large cardboard counters represent friends and foes that the hobbits will meet on their adventure. These are also attractive and kid-friendly. The orcs even look like silly, fat goblins, and the Uruk-hai are almost companionable. The only enemy tile to which my kids took exception was the wolf, as they are both animal lovers who know that wolves are not all wild fiends bent on eating every human they see.
An oversized six-sided die is used for moving, and is numbered from two to five. The two extra sides show another three and the black silhouette of a flying nazgul. This die is chunky enough to handle well, and with the corners rounded off, is as child-friendly as everything else in the game.
Additional pieces include black flying nazgul counters and small red blocks. These are all made of wood and are simple and effective. A red marble represents the palantir, and three easily-assembled cardboard towers add considerable dimension to the playing board.
Finally, the game comes with a large spinner used to resolve conflicts. The spinner has a tendency to stick a little if it is not placed flat, but is otherwise quite nice.
The rule book is in full color with photographs and large fonts. The rules are easy to read and follow, and any child who can read could pick up this game and play it without parents.
The most significant, and in my opinion, the greatest achievement in the components is an incredibly handy caddy to hold components. There are compartments for everything, and it is a snap to put the game away or take it out and set it up. This is without a doubt the best storage tray I have seen in a game in a very long time, and Eagle Games deserves some respect for making this so easy and organized.
The cardboard counters all come in large sheets, waiting to be pressed out, but unlike many other games, they are not perforated. They are completely die-cut, and a four-year-old could get these pieces out with damaging a single one.
I had only two complaints with the components, and they are both very minor. First, the towers had a tendency to fall apart, requiring me to keep sliding the roof back onto the base. Second, the towers were supposed to fit into slots cut into the game board, but the legs were slightly too far apart and would not slide into the board easily.
Aside from these two very minor complaints, I was powerfully impressed by the quality of the components in this game. I cannot help but give Lord of the Rings the highest marks for style, because the pieces are attractive and kid-friendly, and the storage tray is the best I can recall seeing in years.
The Game
After reading that the Lord of the Rings game was written by Reiner Knizia, I could not help but want to play it. Some of my favorite board games are products of this game-designing genius, and even if this game is intended for kids, I felt sure I would enjoy it.
I was a little surprised.
In the Lord of the Rings game, each player selects a hobbit card and an accompanying wooden pawn. The cards serve no purpose, except to show a graphical representation of the character portrayed by the wooden playing piece. Players roll the die and proceed on a path toward Mount Doom with the goal of defeating Sauron and destroying the ring.
Of course, there are complications. Every other turn or so, a player will run into either a friend or foe. If they wish to pass, they must defeat the foe or win the friend. The spinner contains four spaces - one with one red square, one with two red and a black flying nazgul silhouette, one with three red squares and one with the red eye of Sauron.
When confronted by a friend or foe, the player spins the spinner. If the hobbit is facing a potential friend, he just tries to avoid the red eye. If he does, the friend counter is placed in front of the player and replaced on the board by another counter. If he rolls the red eye, his turn ends.
Enemies contain a number of red squares, and red blocks are placed on the counters. Each spin removes a certain number of red blocks. Players may continue to spin until they either defeat their foes or point to the red eye.
The black flying nazgul on the die allows the player to place a flying nazgul onto one of the blocking counters on the board. The player who wants to face down the foe at that place must defeat the nazgul by spinning the black nazgul silhouette. The nazgul must be defeated before the player can attempt to take blocks off the foe, and this can cause a player to be stalled for several turns.
Some spaces on the board can cause a hobbit to be captured. If a player lands on a space with a picture of a tower, another player picks up the palantir and hides it in one hand. The player who is in jeopardy picks a hand, and if he picks the red marble, he must move to the tower and wait until his next turn to attempt and escape. Escapes are fortunately easy - simply roll anything but a nazgul - but the real damage is in being pulled backward.
Friends can come in handy, though most players will only have one. Whenever something bad happens, a player may discard his friend to negate the effect. They are handy, and we all ended the game after using up every friend we had.
Finally, one or more hobbits will arrive at Mount Doom. There they must battle Sauron, who has nine red blocks and might have as many as three nazgul with him, too. In every game we played, the game ended with two or three hobbits all camped out on Mount Doom, spinning madly to take out nazgul and red blocks and thus win the game.
I have to admit, Reiner Knizia seems to have dropped the ball a little on this one. His other games are generally so simple and elegant, requiring more strategy than luck. This one devolves into a variant of Candyland. I would not have been surprised at this game if it had not carried Knizia's name. As it is, I was amazed that he made such a straightforward die-rolling clone of Chutes and Ladders.
In all fairness, my kids enjoyed the game. They were probably happy that it was simpler than Axis and Allies, for one thing, and they were able to understand every rule without my help. The game was simple, and the kids were happy with it. I personally found the game to be completely lacking in anything that might be an interest for me, but then, I love Risk and chess, not random games of chance.
Observations and Summary
The pieces that come with the Lord of the Rings game are fantastic. I cannot stop commending Eagle Games for creating such a beautiful game with fantastic components. My slight complaints are not enough to keep me from giving this game the highest style marks possible. It is not exaggeration to say that the presentation of this game can hold its own against many games from the biggest game companies in existence.
Sadly, I found the game play to be shallow and random. There is nearly no strategy to the game. I prefer games that are contests of skill, not chance, and no skill is required to prevail at this game. On the other hand, Lord of the Rings is a good game for young children, and I can recommend it to anyone with youngsters interested in a fun half-hour of board gaming.
Style: 5 - Great art and high-quality components are complemented by the most brilliant storage tray I have seen in years.
Substance: 2 - While it might be great as a kids' game, Lord of the Rings has only slightly more depth than Candyland.
