It is fair to say that Tolkien gave us one of the best loved and most inspiring fantasy worlds ever. Known pretty much all over the world and with millions of devoted followers, it is not surprising that it has reached pretty much any medium from the original books to cinema and, of course, tabletop games.
So why write anything about RPG’s? Maybe this question isn’t very easy to answer. After all everyone has an opinion, everyone had a system they champion and everyone has fun playing at what they are playing. So then why does it matter?
I’d heard bits and pieces over the years about the Legend of the 5 Rings RPG and CCG’s and was always somewhat fascinated with the theme – fantasy, ancient Japan, Samurai, Ninjas and all that. Trouble is, I’ve never had the inclination to really invest time or money in either genre of game so I just let it pass. Lo and behold, AEG comes along with War of Honor, an entry into the world of L5R and my interested increased. After all, it was supposed to have 4 fixed CCG decks, and simpler rules to get stuck in.
The Hobbit is a light “roll and move” game with simple conditional ”success vs. failure” mechanics. There is very little player interaction to speak of, reducing the game to little more than a race to the finish line.
Evil is stirring again in the black lands of Mordor. Brave heroes are needed to stand against the terrible might
The Silver Line edition of Reiner Knizia’s The Lord of the Rings is on sale! Read Post »
