There has been a number of titles around the War of the Ring, this major conflict of Tolkien’s Middle Earth Third Age. But the early job done by SPI in the 1970’s is certainly standing out:
War of The Ring – SPI – 1977, which is actually the first opus of a trilogy with the other titles below, Gondor and Sauron.
Gondor, Siege of Minas Tirith – SPI – 1977
Sauron, The Battle for the Ring – SPI – 1977
To know more:
- BoardGameGeek Page: http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2228/war-of-the-ring
- Get all game components here: http://tzeentchnet.pingslave.com/Tolkien.html
- Vassal Modules: http://www.mediafire.com/?2mnr6es4dq1l8
More recently, Fantasy Flight Games has revamped this concept into a pretty figurines game. The War of the Ring board game is a grand strategic simulation of Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy. While the Fellowship of the Ring advances towards Mordor, the Dark Lord Sauron tries to find the location of the Ring-bearer, and unleashes his armies against the last strongholds of the Free Peoples. Faithful to the epic flavor of the books, characters and strongholds play a major role in the flow of the game and represent the main focus of the action. A simple and fun, dice-based, resource management mechanism is used to determine the various types of action possible for each player. Smooth, original mechanics have been devised to handle the hidden movement of the Fellowship and the Hunt for the Ring. This enormous game includes a gameboard depicting a large color map of Middle Earth; 200+ plastic figures representing the Armies and Characters of the War of the Ring, including the Nazgûl, each member of the Fellowship of the Ring, Shadow Army units, Free People Army, Leader units and Minions of the Shadow; 135 die-cut cardboard counters; 100+ cards for Events and Characters; and over 20 dice!
- More about the game: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_the_Ring_(board_game)
- Official forum: http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_foros_temas.asp?efid=72&efcid=1
- BGG: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/9609/war-of-the-ring
- Extension: Battles of the Third Age
For a truly exhaustive list of board games set in Tolkien’s Middle Earth, I urge you to visit David and Mike’s collection page: http://www.freewebs.com/tolkienboardgamecollecting/
Here is the incredible Chronology they have pulled together:
1970
1971
1972
1973
1974
1975
- Siege of Minas Tirith (Richard Jordison)
- Siege of Barad-Dur (Jagdpanther)
- The Battle of the Five Armies (LORE)
- Two Towers (Fantasy Game Company)
- Quest of the Magic Ring (Land of Legend)
- Siege of Gondor (Panzerfaust Magazine Issue #66)
1976
- The Battle of the Five Armies (TSR)
- Ringbearer (Little Soldier)
- War of the Ring (SPI) (Includes Games of Middle Earth, Sauron, and Gondor)
- The Hobbit Game (American Publishing Corp)
- Dragons -An Adventure into Middle Earth (Lee Harvey)
- Wizards and Warfare (Heritage models)
- Middle Earth Wargame Rules (SELWG)
- War of the Ring (Fantasy Games Unlimited – Bagged version)
1977
- The Hobbit (Milton Bradley)
- There and Back Again (West Coast Games)
- Riddle of the Ring (Fellowship Games, INC)
- Battle of the Ring (3W and Wargamer magazine)
1978
- The Lord of the Rings Recall Games (Milton Bradley)
- War of the Ring (Fantasy Games Unlimited – Boxed Version)
1979
1980
1981
1982
1983
- The Lonely Mountain (Iron Crown Enterprises)
- Fellowship of the Ring (Iron Crown Enterprises)
- Riddle of the Ring (Fellowship Games, INC)
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
- Die grossen Abenteuer der kleinen Hobbits” – German – Queen Games (same as The Hobbit ICE version in 1997, this is the original German version that came out first)
1995
1996
- Battle at Helms Deep (Miniature Wargames/Doug Larsen)
1997
- The Hobbit (Iron Crown Enterprises) (“Die grossen Abenteuer der kleinen Hobbits” – German – Queen Games)
- Lord of the Rings Spoof Game Idea (Melkor-Bradely found on flyingmoose.com)
- Pelennor Fields (Miniature Wargames/Doug Larsen)
- Battle of the Five Armies, KAOS Magazine #50 (Nexus – Italy)
1998
1999
2000
2001
- Die Gefahrten (“The Fellowship”) (German – Kosmos Games)
- Der Herr der Ringe – Die Gefarhten: Das Kartenspiel (“LOTR The Fellowship Card Game”) (German – Ravensburger)
- The Search (US – Rio Grande Games) (“Die Sucche” – German – Kosmos Games)
- The Enemies (US – Hasbro) (“Die Feinde” – German – Kosmos Games)
- The Fellowship of the Ring Tabletop Game (Game Workshop)
- The Hobbit – The Defeat of Smaug (US – Fantasy Flight Games) (“Der Kleine Hobbit” – German – Klee/Kosmos)
- Lord of the Rings Activity Game Pack (Mobil Oil New Zealand LTD)
- Lord of the Rings – Friend or Foe (LOTR Expansion Game) (Kosmos/Parker Brothers/Fantasy Flight) (German – Kosmos Games)
- O Senhor Dos Aneis – A Sociedade do Anel – A Guerra do Anel (Brazil – Glasslite)
- Kellogg Lord of the Rings 3D Card and Boardgame (Kellogg Cereal promotional in Germany) Fellowship of the Rings Version
2002
- Lord of the Rings Limited Edition by Reiner Knizia
- Lord of the Rings – Sauron (LOTR Expansion Game) (Final Flight/Hasbro/Sophisticated Games)
- Lord of the Rings – The Confrontation (US – Sophiticated Games) (“Die Entscheidung” – German – Kosmos Games)
- El Senor de los Anillos (“Lord of the Rings” – Spain – EDAF) (Spainsh Version of Tarot Card Game)
- El Senor de los Anillos (“LOTR” – Spain – Fournier) (Deck of Cards)
- The Two Towers Tabletop (Game Workshop)
- Lord of the Rings Role Playing Adventure Game (Decipher)
- Middle Earth Games- Play by E-Mail (UK – Middle Earth PBEM Games)
- Lord of the Rings Risk Fellowship of the Ring/Two Tower version (Hasbro)
- Lord of the Rings Classic Chess (Hasbro)
- Lord of the Rings Collectable Card Game (Decipher)
- Lord of the Rings Deck of Cards (Bicycle and Character Games, and some cheap Singapore company)
- Lord of the Rings Computer Game for PS2, PC, XBox (Black Label)
- LOTR The Fellowship of the Ring Boardgame (RoseArt)
- Lord of the Rings – The Two Towers Computer Game for PS2 (Black Label)
- LOTR Top Trumps Card Game: Fellowship of the Ring (UK – Winning Moves)
- Kinder Surprise Lord of the Rings Boardgame (German – Kinder Surprise Eggs)
- Der Herr der Ringe: Die Zwei Turme, Spiel zum Film(German Board Game) (LOTR – The Two Towers, film version) – Kosmos
- Wizards Duel (Games Workshop – UK)
- Kellogg Lord of the Rings 3D Card and Boardgame (Kellogg Cereal promotion in Germany) The Two Towers version
- A Guerra Do Anel (War of the Ring) Brazil – Free download PDF format, currently only in Portuguese (I’m working on an English translation)
2003
- LOTR Top Trumps Card Game: The Two Towers (UK – Winning Moves)
- Die Zwei Tuerme – Kartenspeil (German Card Game – Ravensburg Games) (Two Towers – Cardgame)
- Lord of the Rings The Two Towers Role Playing Game (Decipher)
- Lord of the Rings Childrens Game (Eagle Games)
- Middle Earth Games (Mike’s unlicensed game)
- Lord of the Rings Trivia Game (Fantasy Flight Games)
- Lord of the Rings Memory Game (See LOTR Tri-Memo game below) (UK)
- Lord of the Rings Checkers Game (USAOPOLY)
- Lord of the Rings Backgammon (USAOPOLY)
- Lord of the Rings Mind Teaser Games (3 versions)
- Lord of the Rings Combat-Hex Game (Sabertooth Games)
- Battle of Destiny (LOTR) The Two Towers version (Character Games – UK)
- Lord of the Rings Monopoly (Hasbro) – Nov 2003
- Lord of the Rings Trivial Pursuit (Hasbro) – Nov 2003
- Lord of the Rings Tri-Memo Game (BETEXA/Feva UK Ltd Games – UK) – Nov 2003
- Lord of the Rings: Risk – Trilogy Edition (Hasbro) – Nov 2003
- Lord of the Rings Labyrinth (Germany – Ravensburger)
- Der Herr der Ringe – Die Ruckkehr des Konigs (Return of the King – Germany – Kosmos)
- Lord of the Rings – The Fellowship of the Ring (Impact International – UK)
- Lord of the Rings – The Two Towers (Impact International – UK)
- Lord of the Rings – The Two Towers (Rose Art – US)
2004
- Lord of the Rings Risk “Mordor and Gondor Expansion” (Europe – Parker Brothers)
- Lord of the Rings – The Return of the King (Impact International – UK) Due Mar 2004
- Lord of the Rings – The Return of the King (Rose Art – US) Due Summer 2004
- War of the Ring Boardgame (Developed by Nexus, Distributed in US by Fantasy Flight) Due May 2004
- Battle of Destiny – Return of the King version (Character Games – UK)
- Lord of the Rings Stratego – Trilogy Edition (MB/Hasbro – US)
- Lord of the Rings Return of the King Playing Cards (Character Games)
- Lord of the Rings Top Trumps – Return of the King deck (Winning Moves, UK)
- Lord of the Rings Dominoes (Rose Art)
- Lord of the Rings Trivial Pursuit DVD – Movie Trilogy Edition (Hasbor/Parker Bros)
- TelePizza Lord of the Rings Games (3) (Telepizza, Spain/Portugal)
- Lord of the Rings Warriors of Middle Earth TV Sword Game (Tiger Games)
- Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth (I) for PCs (Electronic Arts – EA)
- Memory – Lord of the Rings (Return of the King version) (Ravensburger)
2005
- Parchis (Spain)
- Battle of the Five Armies (Games Workshop – UK, but available in the US in limited numbers)
2006
- Lord of the Rings: The Confrontation, Deluxe Edition (Fantansy Flight)
- Battles of the Third Age – War of the Rings Expansion Game (Nexus/Fantasy Flight)
- Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth II -for PCs (Electronic Arts – EA)
- Lord of the Rings: Tactics for PSP (Play Station Portable by Electronic Arts)
- Ringmaster (Gioacchino Prestigiacomo – self published; Italy)
2007
- Lord of the Rings: Battlefields – Expansion (Fantasy Flight Games) March
- The Lord of the Rings Game (Sophisticated Games – UK) (not to be confused with other LOTR game – this is a dice/board game)
2008
- None found at this time. If anyone has heard of one for 2008, please let me know.
2009
- Middle-Earth Quest – (Fantasy Flight Games) I don’t have a month at the moment.
2010
- War of the Ring Collector’s Edition – (Fantasy Flight Games) They say you can pre-order by Christmas for delivery in 2010, January I suppose
The Australian Wargamer 