War of the Ring: Second Edition

War of the Ring represents the kind of purchase I always wanted to make, but never could. Either the prospect of the game reaching India without any shipping damage, or the exorbitant shipping costs that pile up after the initial purchase, made me feel like this game was going to be out of reach for me. It was quite a stroke of luck that I found boardgamesindia.com listed the game early last year. Of course, it is not available right now (at least, as of the time of writing), but the fact that I could purchase it does suggest that we don't have to worry too much about being separated from the rest of the board game community.

As for the game itself, War of the Ring is a game that can last up to six hours and not be over. The action selection happens via dice roll, which means every turn is deciding between using the dice you have to counter the opponent or pursue your own goals. The hidden movement of the Fellowship of the Ring, quite well represented in the game, definitely slows the game down significantly, simply because you don't want to jeopardise your chances of winning by pushing your luck too much. Sieges require a lot of elite units to keep them going, and movement restrictions mean that you cannot hope to win sieges and battles without a constant supply of units. The cards can be used to create opportunities on your turn, or have a better chance at winning the battles and sieges. Randomness is something you have to constantly account for.

Despite this, War of the Ring presents a consistently engaging experience where, for almost the entire six hours of the game, you paid attention to something completely. Indeed, it is this constant attention this game generates and requires that tires most people. You can make plans to supply units, win sieges, push the Fellowship, or take over areas that the Fellowship would need to heal the corruption it suffers from during its journey, or your can give yourself some leeway to enjoy the happenings rather than focus on winning. The action selection dice can either become your friends, guiding you through to decisions that you could make and not make (because the game is happy to accommodate for any reactive plays), or your worst enemies, preventing you from doing the One Thing You Needed To Do Right Now (which, if that does happen, the game would still allow you to recover from). This does mean that people familiar with The Lord of the Rings are more likely to enjoy the game, but, given the source material, I don't see how anyone should miss out on some of the best films ever made or books ever written.

War of the Ring, then, represents a unique game, combining wargaming with Ameritrash conventions to best represent the War of the Ring to a fault. While many may find a war that does not go according to plan a less-than-enjoyable experience, for the role-playing minded, this game still contains something that its spiritual successors, like Star Wars Rebellion, have not been able to capture.