First published in 2000, The Lord of the Rings: The Board Game has been a seminal classic and an iconic tabletop retelling of J.R.R. Tolkien’s trilogy, created by world renowned game designer, Reiner Knizia, and brought to life with the stunning artwork of John Howe. Twenty years later, the game returns to print in a brand-new anniversary edition—a faithful recreation that now includes beautifully sculpted plastic miniatures for the Hobbits, Sauron, the threat die, and the One Ring.
The Lord of the Rings: The Board Game Anniversary Edition is the definitive edition of this classic cooperative board game, challenging you and up to four other players to play through the entire trilogy, from the long darkness of Moria and the ferocious battles beneath the walls of Helm’s Deep, to the shadows of Shelob’s Lair and the dusty grey wastes of Mordor. In every location, you and your fellow Hobbits must push forward, battling the forces of the Dark Lord and marching ever closer to the Cracks of Doom and the destruction of the One Ring. The road is long, the Eye of Sauron is watchful, and the threat of the Ring’s corruption is ever-present. Can you save the Free Peoples of Middle-earth and destroy the One Ring?
Newly Sculpted Miniatures in the Anniversary Edition
For the game’s anniversary edition, the polished gameplay mechanics and beautiful artwork that shaped previous editions arrives untouched, but you’ll find that the punchboard Hobbit markers, Sauron marker, threat die, and Ring token from the game’s previous edition have been upgraded with brand-new, beautifully sculpted miniatures.
The Hobbits setting out on their journey are shaped with careful attention to detail, from their hairy feet to the top of their sturdy walking stick. The Sauron token has now been replaced with a menacing Black Rider figure, racing forward at a dead gallop and representing the constantly growing threat of corruption. The threat die now represents Sauron’s power in a menacing black. And finally, the One Ring is now a beautiful miniature, graven with Elvish script and perfectly sized to fit over the Ring-bearer’s miniature when they choose to use the One Ring.
The Path to Mordor
In The Lord of the Rings: The Board Game, you and your friends become intrepid Hobbits, set on carrying the One Ring into the heart of Mordor and casting it into the Cracks of Doom where it was forged by Sauron. Your journey, however, will be most perilous.
Over the course of the game, you’ll have to make your way across four conflict game boards, representing some of the most memorable conflicts from the entire trilogy—Moria, Helm’s Deep, Shelob’s Lair, and Mordor. Every conflict board will test your small Fellowship to the utmost as you must play your quest cards to advance along multiple tracks. These tracks represent fighting, hiding, traveling, and friendship, and by playing quest cards from your hand with matching symbols, you’ll be able to keep moving forward and push closer to victory.
If you’re able to quickly slip past your foes, you can hope to escape with minimal corruption, healing your hurts at safe havens along your path, such as the forest kingdom of Lothlórien. By playing your cards right and advancing quickly you can collect powerful runes, unlock legendary cards to aid your journey, or find life tokens to help stave off corruption—not to mention advancing quickly through the conflicts. As you travel, the One Ring can be a crucial tool in your journey, allowing you to hide from sight, but repeated use will draw the attention of Sauron and corrupt the heart of the Ring-bearer.
Your journey leads you deeper into the darkness with each passing conflict, and safe havens become few and far between. You’ll launch from one conflict into the next with little opportunity for respite. All the while, you must carefully watch the corruption track, because if the Sauron miniature ever meets a Hobbit, that player is eliminated—and if the Ring-bearer is eliminated, all players lose as Sauron reclaims the power of the One Ring.
You have only one path to victory: progress through all four conflict boards and complete the long march across Mordor, making your final stand to resist the power of the Dark Lord and destroy the Ring!
Your Journey Begins
Whether you’ve played countless games of The Lord of the Rings: The Board Game, or this is your first chance to play a timeless classic, you can’t ask for a better presentation of the entire The Lord of the Rings trilogy on your tabletop than what you’ll find in this anniversary edition.
